Frogman's Response

Frogman's Response

by Heidi Voss

 

Matthew Shaw is an unintentional loner. He wants friends but friends mean inviting people to his house and his mom has made sure that he'll never do that. His mom is a hoarder and Matthew does everything he can to keep himself and his life in the house away from those outside the house.

After Matt's best friend moves out of state, Matt seeks solace in the idea of helping others. He contributes to the school's advice forum under the pseudonym of "Frogman". And while he thinks he may actually be helping, the school's counselor does not and ends up shutting down the forum. Now Matt has all this advice and nowhere to share it.

Matt enlists the help of the school anarchist and the girl who runs all the practical elements of the student body council. Together, they start their own blog and begin sharing ideas and advice with the students of Henry Blake High.

But not everyone likes Matt's advice. Some take it far too literally. Others get caught in the undertow of bad decisions. And the counselor wants to expel "Frogman" just as soon as he figures out who he really is.

Can Matt figure out how to manage his home life, his academic life, and his advice columnist persona?

Final thoughts: While there are some excellent realistic portrayals here of high school life, there are also quite a few stock characters who never seem to learn or grow. One of those is Matthew Shaw himself. There is a resolution to this story, but it feels rushed and incomplete and Matt never seems to actually change when it's all over. His life doesn't really get better. His mom is still hoarding. He's still an outcast to many. It just feels unfinished.

Rating: 3/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.