DPL Teens

This title jumped right out at me when I was browsing for a new book to read out at the Fairmount Street Library.  When I pulled it off the shelf, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the cheerful High-School-Musical-esque cover art — clean-cut teens smiling the biggest smiles possible under the the very large words “CASTRATION CELEBRATION.”  When I realized that the book is by the same guy who wrote the hilarious (and surprisingly heartfelt) story Spanking Shakespeare, I was hooked. 

The story is fairly straightforward — Olivia has sworn off men since she walked in on her dad cheating on her mom with one of his students.  She’s attending a prestigious drama camp at Yale for the summer, and determines to write a musical condemning the idiot males in her life.  Her end product is “Castration Celebration,” a musical that chronicles Dick and Jane’s attempt to have a happy relationship, despite Dick falling prey to the classic male pitfalls — other girls. 

If you’ve ever wondering what High School Musical might be like if all the songs were about sex, then you will certainly want to check out the book Castration Celebration. Here’s a sampling of the songs that Olivia writes for the musical:

From Unlucky in Love:

“I fell for Mel / His smell cast a spell / But oh it was hell / Let me tell you / When I found him in bed / With a fellow named Fred / Said he wanted to try something new”

From I’m in Love with Dick:

“Before I got to know him, I wondered if we’d click / Now I know for sure that I’m in love with Dick”

From I Saw My Parents Having Sex:

“You may say it’s scientific / Let me tell you, it’s horrific / I know it’s how I came to be / But it’s not something I should see / There is nothing quite so gruesome / As my parents in a twosome”

And here’s a video by the author of the song I just quoted “I Saw My Parents Having Sex”:

Funny stuff from a supremely funny author.  But this book is more than just a sex-filled castration party — it’s filled with fully realized characters who are surprising, witty, and thoroughly engaging.  If you like your books hilarious and a little edgy, then you will not want to miss this one.

- Sam