Slam

Bibliographic Details

Slam

Nick Hornby

Date of Publication: 2007

Publisher: Penguin Group Inc.

Summary:

            The novel opens with the introduction of Sam, an average fifteen year-old boy.  The narrator is an adult Sam, reminiscing about his childhood.  As a typical teenager, Sam does not have any major responsibilities; his main focus is skateboarding.  These comfortable living conditions soon take a turn when Sam starts to become involved with a new girl, Alicia.

            After dating for a while, Sam and Alicia drift apart.  The timing could not have seemed worse when Sam is informed that his ex-girlfriend is pregnant.  At war with himself, Sam is at a loss of what to do.  He attempts to run away from the situation, but quickly returns, still horrified at how this baby will alter his future. 

            Eventually, Sam realizes that the child is and will always be a responsibility and priority of his.  When the baby is born, Sam undergoes a new sense of both father and man hood.

Quotation:

            “There was a lot of work to do, and arguments to have, and kids to take care of, and money to find from somewhere, and sleep to lose.  I could do it, though. I could see that.” (Hornby 309)

Reaction:

            Sam is finally realizing that his future has not been ruined due to a teenage pregnancy. There are a variety of achievements left for him to make, and all he needs is persistence to reach his goals.  This quotation exemplifies how Sam has truly come into adulthood by the end of the novel.  He is no longer the young boy that ran away when he was informed that he impregnated his girlfriend.  Sam was a young man, dealing with life day by day, and accepting whatever comes.