#20: Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar is a book I originally read a while back. I enjoyed it the first time, and bought a copy, which has sat on my shelf for about a year. After I began Revolutionary Road, but made little progress, I decided to pick this up and reread it as a break. I found that it was still enjoyable the second time around.

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie tells the story of Scott Hudson as he progresses through his freshman year of high school. Soon after he begins school, he learns that his mother is pregnant. He decides to jot down his thoughts about high school survival in a journal for his future sibling.

At school, Scott is enrolled in advanced classes, while his friends from middle school are not, so he finds himself growing apart from them. He develops a crush on Julia, a girl he has known since kindergarten, and as a way to get closer to her, he joins in succession the school newspaper, student council, and the musical. Much to his chagrin, Julia, for various reasons, does not end up participating in any of these activities, leaving Scott with a very busy schedule, but no closer to his dream girl.

Scott also deals with a variety of characters in various ways. There is his seemingly aimless older brother, Bobby, who has inherited the family's mechanical aptitude, which has seemed to pass Scott by. Mouth is a talkative classmate who Scott has known for a while and who gets on Scott's nerves. Wesley is a law-breaking upperclassman with whom Scott develops an unexpected friendship, while Lee is the mysterious new girl who does not seem to care that she does not fit in.

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie is a book that reminds me of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, although at a little more advanced level. It has a lot of humor in it, although the situations are a little less over the top, and it lacks the cartoon drawings. Still, it provides a humorous take on the perils of adolescence. Scott has to deal with serious situations, and is able to learn a lot about himself over the course of a year.

Rating: *****