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Slam

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

'There was this time when everything seemed to have come together. And so obviously it was time to go and screw it all up.'

Sam is sixteen and a skater. Just so there are no terrible misunderstandings: skating = skateboarding. There's no ice. Life is ticking along nicely for Sam; his Mum's got rid of her rubbish boyfriend, he's thinking about college and he's met someone. Alicia.

Then a little accident happens. One with big consequences for someone just finding his way in life. Sam can't run (let alone skate) away from this one. He's a boy facing a man's problems and the question is - has he got what it takes to confront them?

Slam, from the acclaimed author of About a Boy and High Fidelity is a teenage novel about a boy who has to grow up in big, big hurry. It is The Catcher in the Rye for the 21st century.

'Very funny...very real' Daily Telegraph

'Hornby gets his point across with the subtlety and skill of a born novelist who always deserves to be read' Independent

'A moving read for anyone' Elle

Nick Hornby has captivated readers and achieved widespread critical acclaim for his comic, well-observed adult novels About a Boy, A Long Way Down, Juliet, Naked, How to be Good and High Fidelity. His three works of non-fiction, 31 Songs (shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award), Fever Pitch (winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award) and The Complete Polysyllabic Spree are also available from Penguin.

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I dismissed this book when it first came out because I thought (from the blurb) that it was just a book about skateboarding, but it's really about teen pregnancy. I really got into it and listened to it in one 6-hour sitting. I could relate to Sam, even though I'm 35 (older than his mother!) and really enjoyed the 'magical' element to the story as well. The narrator did a pretty good job, but I did have to speed him up a bit as he had the habit of pausing too long between sentences, particularly during conversations. Speeding him up didn't help much to be honest because the gaps just made it sound very choppy, but I got over it as time went on and I got into the story.

Much better than I expected!

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Great intreaging story line

LOV IITTTT

Mad mad
Mad mad
Mad mad mad mad
Mad mad

Best book I have ever listened to.

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I'm pretty one track mind about teenage pregnancy - get an abortion! No matter how many times I read books or watch movies abt kids who decided to have kids, I never get it. Why do you do this to yourself when you don't have to?

Don't like teenage pregnancy stories

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Easy Listening. A great narration from Nicholas Holt, you can picture him perfectly as the main character Sam, this helped with the visualisation. Will be listening to more Nick Hornby thanks to his office friendly format!

Easy Listening for in the office!

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Nick Hornby entry into into the YA book market. Its the story of Sam a skating/Tony Hawks obsessed London teen whose life is changed when he meets the gorgeous Alicia.

Its a slight tale that's been told a hundred times before but Hornby throws a quirky time travel spin in to the story.

The audiobook is narrated in an engaging way by Nicholas Hoult (the boy star of the film of Hornby's About a Boy) who gets across the confusion of a teen facing life changing circumstances (and time travel!) well.

Not Hornby's best work but a great way to pass a few hours.

Nick Hornby's horny boy...

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