Doing It

Author: Melvin Burgess
Year Published:2004
Publisher:Henry Holt and Co.
Cost:$13.56
Other Bibliographic Info.:

ISBN: 0805075658
ISBN13:0805075658
Word Count: 83,474
Reading Level: 4.4
Interest Level: 9-12

Plot Summary:
Doing It by Melvin Burgess introduces us to Dino, Jon, and Ben, three teenage best friends who can't stop thinking about, and talking about (and hoping to experience), sex. At first, all the mention of sex are overwhelming (oral sex, masturbation, etc.), but the author gradually moves from this to the characters feelings and more mature thoughts about sexuality. The seemingly callous male characters become more sympathetic as their personalities, feelings, and problems are unveiled. Readers will find a well-developed story that will spark reflection on the meaning and strength of real romantic relationships.

Issues for Being Challenged:
Book cover of a couple having sex, explicit talk of sex throughout the book, masturbation, oral sex, casual sex, homosexuality, and use of profanity.

Evaluation:
This book reminded me of my own teenage years where boys constantly think about and talk about sex. It is a hilarious book that looks at teenagers with raging hormones. This book is written from the characters’ points of view, which is what makes this book interesting. It illustrates how guys think about sex and how girls think about sex as well. I found this story very easy to read which is a great book for reluctant readers.

Reader's Annotation:
SEX! How much do you think about it?

Author Website:http://www.melvinburgess.net/

Review Excerpts:

Horn Book

Each of three high school protagonists has a different kind of love trouble. While shifting perspectives make for a rather static novel, Burgess's understanding of male sexuality, emergent and otherwise, is completely authentic, often touching, and ruefully hilarious. Didacticism occasionally rears its ugly head, but no one will mistake this raunchy tale for a lesson in sensitivity.

ALA Booklist

Burgess' third novel follows three best mates as they shag, attempt to shag, try to get out of shagging, masturbate while contemplating shagging, and then shag some more. Ben is sleeping with his obsessive drama teacher; Jon finds himself irresistibly attracted to Deborah, who would be perfect if her pudginess didn't make him subject to ridicule; and Dino, as handsome as he is horny, just wants to shag the gorgeous Jackie--or, failing that, anyone else. From snogging to shagging to buggering, Doing It discusses it in a dizzying array of contexts, and it is relentlessly and refreshingly honest: this is certainly the first YA novel to feature two boys who lose their erections while trying to lose their virginity. Scenes like that make Doing It less erotic than comforting: boys will be pleased to learn they are not alone in their sexual anxieties; and girls will learn that boys want sex, but are also confused and fearful about it. But while the content will raise eyebrows, it's the writing that's problematic. Though periodically very funny and excellently plotted, the alternating-voices narration falls flat because the characters sound nearly identical, and the writing is surprisingly undescriptive, a disappointing departure from Burgess' previous novels (Smack and Lady, e.g.). Still, there's a lot to like here, and to say that Doing It will generate interest among readers would be to understate the matter dramatically.

School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up-Three teenaged boys enjoy talking about, thinking about, and joking about sex. Dino finally establishes a relationship with Jackie, the prettiest girl in school, who will allow all sorts of sexual liberties, but draws the line at intercourse. He finds another girl whom he mistakenly thinks he can use for sex while keeping his relationship with Jackie viable. In the meantime, he witnesses his mother passionately involved with a man who is not his father, and must deal with the results of his own treacherous behavior as he watches his parents' marriage fall apart. Ben finds himself steeped in a dilemma of a different sort. His 20-something drama teacher chooses him to be her secret sexual playmate, which he first enjoys but then desperately tries to escape. Jonathon's predicament involves his budding romance with Deborah, an overweight girl whom everyone likes as a friend, but not a girlfriend. He has to decide whether to follow his heart, despite taunting from his peers. Burgess's novel, which retains its original British terminology and sexual slang, is crude, irreverent, and explicit, yet honest and frequently funny. At first, the sexual elements are uncomfortably overwhelming, but Burgess gradually twists the story so that the characters' personal situations become prominent, with casual sex secondary. The seemingly callous male characters become more sympathetic as their personalities, feelings, and problems are unveiled. The female characters are not afforded the same sensitivity. Readers may be drawn in by the intense sexual tone, and find a well-developed story that will spark reflection on the meaning and strength of peer and romantic relationships.-Diane P. Tuccillo, City of Mesa Library, AZ Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.


Excerpt from the book:

“Okay,” said Jonathan. “The choice is this. You either have to shag Jenny Gibson—or else that homeless woman who begs spare change outside Cramner’s bakers.”

Dino and Ben recoiled in disgust. Jenny was known as the ugliest girl in the school but the beggar woman was filthy. Her teeth!

“You are so gross,” said Ben disgustedly.

Jonathan acknowledged the compliment smugly and nodded. He was the King of this...”At least they’re both female,” said Dino.

“And you have to do oral sex on her, too.”

“ You never said anything abut oral sex,” said Ben.

“Oral sex until she comes.