King of the creeps Book

Reviewed by Long Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com

Tom Johnson is short, has a big nose, and even has frizzy hair to top it all off. Put quite simply, in Tom's own words, he's a Creep. Set against the immediate post-JFK assassination in 1963, Tom finds himself on his way to a local bridge to jump off following a traumatic Creep-related event. But on his way he finds himself staring across at a record of some folk singer that's short, has a big nose, and frizzy hair to top it all off -- Bob Dylan!

Inspired by his sudden revelation of his resemblance to the legendary folk singer, Tom decides to become a folk singer, too, and make something of himself. He buys a guitar and only has time to learn one chord before a number of things happen, one of which is his meeting Angelina: the groovy, deep poet who might actually be interested in him. Before Tom knows what has happened, he and his one-chord show have a chance to do something big, something important, something Tom doesn't know if even he wants to do.

In his fun and straight-ahead debut novel, Steven Banks tells the story of a new kind of protagonist who must decide for himself what the right thing to do is. KING OF THE CREEPS is a story of lame right-wing jokes, the New York folk scene in Greenwich Village, learning to speak up for yourself, getting the girl, and ultimately deciding your own fate -- and making it count. Banks himself knows twenty-eight guitar chords.

Cheers to S.B.