Juvenile Nonfiction
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
2014-12-23
336
When I was twenty-five years old, it came to my attention that I had never had a girlfriend. At the time, I was actually under the impression that I was in a relationship, so this bit of news came as something of a shock. Why was Josh still single? To find out, he tracked down each of the girls he had tried to date since middle school and asked them straight up: What went wrong? The results of Josh's semiscientific investigation are in your hands. From a disastrous Putt-Putt date involving a backward prosthetic foot, to his introduction to CFD (Close Fast Dancing), and a misguided "grand gesture" at a Miss America pageant, this story is about looking for love-or at least a girlfriend-in all the wrong places. Poignant, relatable, and totally hilarious, this memoir is for anyone who has ever wondered, "Is there something wrong with me?" (Spoiler Alert: the answer is no.)
Review:
All I really want to write about “We Should Hang Out Sometime” is a bunch of keyboard slamming with “EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS NOW” at the end of it. Oh, and a whole bunch of “lols”. It really is that good, and Josh Sundquist is a master storyteller.
The book is a somewhat scientific exploration of all of the author’s failed relationships and an attempt to find out where, exactly, they went wrong. He is a Christian homeschooled amputee with a nerdy side, making him atypical in many ways, but I dare anyone not to find parts of the story that they feel do not come straight out of their own lives. This is where Sundquist’s genius comes in: He can make us all relate to him, and therefore learn from him. I, by the way, fell (and still do) solidly in the “let me make a flowchart to minimize the pain of rejection during a social interaction” category. But I digress.
There are a lot of laughs in “We Should Hang Out Sometime”, including some of those uncomfortable “should I be laughing at this?” moments. My advice is to go with it, because trying to keep it in will hurt. It isn’t only words. There are hand-drawn charts graphs that are worthy of being made into posters illustrating many key points.
By the end of the book, the Josh Sundquist has shown remarkable growth as a person and managed to teach us some very good inspirational life lessons. An excellent, and important, read for middle readers through adults.
So, in closing: Mr. Sundquist, we should hang out sometime. (But not in that way.)
This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warning:
Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations, Risk of Urinary Incontinence While Laughing
