Grab On to Me Tightly as if I Knew the Way: A Novel

Bryan Charles

May 2011 · Harper Collins

About this ebook

An engaging, often hilarious coming-of-age novel of uncertainty and discovery oozing with early 90s nostalgia. 

“Funny and unpredictable...(Charles) proves impressively adept at capturing the inchoate ache of adolescent longing.”
   — Washington Post

It’s 1992, and America is caught in the grip of major Angst. In Washington, D.C., George H. W. Bush is rattling the mother of all sabres at Saddam Hussein. In Seattle, Curt Kobain is heady with the smell of teen spirit. And in Kalamazoo, MI, Vim Sweeney is trying to put off adulthood and all that comes with it (whatever that is) as long as he can. He’s already juggling guitars, girls, and graduation—and a biological father who Wants To Be Involved. And he still can’t convince his friends why local schoolboy hero Derek Jeter is bound for obscurity. How can he possibly handle the future when he can’t even cope with right now?

Grab Onto Me Tightly As If I Knew the Way traces Vim’s stumble toward adulthood as he comes to terms with his parents, balances friendships and infatuation with varying levels of success, and accepts that the things he thought would last forever probably won’t. Big-hearted and laugh-out-loud funny, it introduces an exciting and imaginative new writer who deftly captures the follies, foibles, and fun of adolescence for readers of every age.

Ratings and reviews

This is truly original writing, full of little poetry bombs that alternately ripped me open and took my breath away, and sometimes just made me sigh with pleasure. Keep writing, Mr. Charles!

About the author

Bryan Charles is the author of the memoir There's a Road to Everywhere Except Where You Came From, and Wowee Zowee, a book about Pavement written for the 33 1/3 series.