Seth Baumgartner’s Love Manifesto
Gr 9 Up–Poor Seth Baumgartner: his girlfriend dumps him during lunch, and while leaving the restaurant he sees his father with a woman who isn't his mother. The 17-year-old has a lot to process over the summer. Along with humorous conversations and soul-searching with his relatively clueless friend Dimitri, he pours out his feelings about love on the Internet. Seth has typical teen interests (music, cleavage, hanging out) but is overwhelmed by the thought that his father is having an affair, and finding out more about the woman becomes a fixation. More trouble arises when Seth's podcasts, full of snarky comments, are discovered by people who consider him a friend and he struggles to make amends. Seth and Dimitri are avid golfers with summer jobs in a country club pro shop. A stroke-by-stroke description of an important tournament deliciously draws out the tension in the last chapters, and the revelation of a secret results in a positive ending and the indication that Seth is maturing. Those who enjoy computers and music will appreciate the details of creating and uploading the podcasts, although the pop-culture references will date this book in a few years.Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX© Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.