One Butt Cheek At A Time by Amber Kizer

Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Pub. Date: October 2007
Age Range: Young Adult
Pages: 304
Format: paperback
Source of copy: Amber Kizer

GERT GARIBALDI ISN'T ONE OF those people who believe high school is the best part of life. She has a whole notebook full of rants about high school, and she's fully aware of how ridiculous the experience is, thank you very much. Gert just wants to survive the next three years, one butt cheek at a time, with her best friend, Adam, by her side - and maybe Luscious Luke attached to her lips. With a stapler. Or something. But muddling through isn't even as easy as it seems - there are geriatric parents to deal with, Homecoming festivities (admit itÑthose words just sent a little chill down your spine), crushes, ed (both sex and driving), and potential new boyfriends - for both Gert and Adam.



Extremely hilarious. That's how One Butt Cheek At The Time appeared to me. It's the kind of book that will bring you ultimate fun. The title itself is crazy enough, not to mention the cute, realistic cover. And the story you may wonder? Just as nice.

Gertrude's life was similar to any of the modern teenagers. She had a lot of doubts and she faced a lot of minor to major troubles. So what made her different from others? The fact that her parents had her at such an old age and Gertrude only had one best friend who turned out to be gay - Adam. Also, her name played a real good role on drawing unwanted attention to her. I love the voice of the narrator real much, it made everything ordinary become interesting and laugh-worthy. In between telling the story of how Gert handled life, there were excerpts from her journal - aka Gert's notebooks of raves and rants. I found those the most amusing. I read them and couldn't stop giggling. And it felt great.

Gert was an adorable girl. Though it seemed comic seeing her struggle with lots of things on her own (her parents were too old to understand a teenage life now and her brother couldn't care less), I still felt really bad, especially when she had her first hearbreak and her bestfriend's boyfriend was to invade their time. But Gert was still hopeful and she took life in a positive way, which I truly liked. There was a part about sex education that I found really bizarre of Gertrude but that only made her character more fun.

The ending was a little bit unimpressive. I was hoping for something really unique just like the rest of the book but it seemed typical. However, I was happy for Gertrude since she finally found the right way in her life, everything was okay now.

Overall this is a super cute and funny read you shouldn't miss. Trust me, you'll love Amber Kizer's writing.

Rating: 3/5