The Big Crunch 12+

About this book

A funny, clear-eyed view of the realities of teenage love from National Book Award winner Pete Hautman.

Jen and Wes do not "meet cute." They do not fall in love at first sight. They do not swoon with scorching desire. They do not believe that they are instant soul mates destined to be together forever. This is not that kind of love story.

Instead, they just hang around in each other's orbits...until eventually they collide. And even after that happens, they're still not sure where it will go. Especially when Jen starts to pity-date one of Wes's friends, and Wes makes some choices that he immediately regrets.

From National Book Award winner Pete Hautman, this is a love story for people not particularly biased toward romance. But it is romantic, in the same way that truth can be romantic and uncertainty can be the biggest certainty of all...

Reviews

Praise for How to Steal a Car:

"A sporty, stylish model with peppy acceleration and surprising traction, this will be a sweet ride for readers from reluctant to avid." -Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"[A] joyride of a novel... Hautman's charismatic firstperson narrator recounts a convincing tale of a good girl stumbling upon her wild streak." -Horn Book

"A sharply observed, subversive coming-of-age tale." -Kirkus Reviews

"A great contemporary read for anyone who loves quirky narrators!" -TeensReadToo.com