Every Cliche--And Yet...

Storky: How I Lost My Nickname and Won the Girl by D. L. Garfinkle is about a teenage boy.

His parents are divorced.

His older sister is attractive and popular while he is a tall, skinny, high-achieving geek.

His father is distant and uncaring.

His mom is going back to school.

His mom has a new boyfriend.

His dreamgirl is in love with someone else and uses him.

He has an elderly wise friend.

He goes to a funeral.

He keeps a journal, which provides the structure for this novel.

There may be a cliche...or two or three...that I've missed.

However, in spite of the fact that this book contained nothing new, I actually looked forward to reading it. Storky, himself, is engaging and witty. And that journal format? Great for reading on the treadmill. Because journal books don't include much in the way of transitional material, the reader doesn't have to do much.

In fact, I enjoyed Storky enough that I picked up another teen journal book that I've seen promoted quite a bit. Unfortunately, it's no Storky. The long, tedious entries telling me about the main character's cliche-ridden life are a chore.

While I looked forward to going back and reading more of Storky, I think I'm going to forget about the other book. No matter how trite I may find the journal thing, not everyone can pull it off. I think it's only fair to say that Garfinkle does.