Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published May 2016
336 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Fans of Andrew Smith and Matt de la Pena will be captivated by this summer-in-the-life of a teenage guy growing up in a trailer park in Eugene, Oregon.
Travis plans to spend the summer as follows:
From a powerful new voice in YA literature comes an unforgettable account of growing up, making mistakes, and growing out of the shadow of drug abuse.
"Starred Review. A memorable story of good kids' transcending rough lives.... What might seem didactic in lesser hands feels realistic and right here. Messages are delivered in natural dialogue, the well-drawn characters speaking from the heart with wisdom derived from firsthand experience." - Kirkus
"A unique, unforgettable tale that is a must-have for all YA collections." - School Library Journal
"This Is the Part Where You Laugh is so real it hurts. Hoffmeister explores the depths of family and addiction, friendship and first love with the skill of a writer who knows his way around- and I was happy to follow. This story will stick with you." - David Arnold, author of Mosquitoland
"In my mind the best storytellers walk that high tight wire between tragedy and comedy with a magician's grace. The further they take you down the road of comedy, the further you're willing to follow them down the road of tragedy. Enter Peter Hoffmeister. This Is the Part Where You Laugh is exactly the part where you laugh. And ache. This is a really good book!" - Chris Crutcher
"This book breathes with wild love and ache. Incandescent and unflinching." - Jeff Zentner, author of The Serpent King
"Hoffmeister crushes it, weaving seamlessly between aching humor, brilliant dissonance, gritty romance, and chaotic hope. He glosses over nothing. He doesn't give a single word for free. There is blood and truth on every page." - Estelle Laure, author of This Raging Light
This information about This is the Part Where You Laugh was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Peter Brown Hoffmeister is the author of the critically acclaimed adult novel Graphic the Valley, and the memoir The End Of Boys. A former troubled teen, Hoffmeister now runs the Integrated Outdoor Program, serving teens of all backgrounds, taking them into wilderness areas to backpack, climb, spelunk, orienteer, and whitewater raft. He lives with his wife and daughters in Eugene, Oregon.
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