XL Hardcover – March 26, 2019

I wasn't expecting this surprise of a book. It has a lot of elements which I enjoy, sarcasm, wit and hits in the emotions aka "feels" as the young folk call it.Will, the POV character is 16, lives with his dad, stepmom and her son, named Drew, who is his blood-brother. He's a typical teen, smart but a smart-alec with his wit but something is a hassle for him; he's around 4'11 feet tall.That's a lot to handle as a teenager being underfoot in his class. This also gives him a bit of an inferiority complex due to him also having feelings for his other best friend, Monica, Mon for short.They are a trio of friends that have known each other for ages and on Will's birthday, he wants to go for broke, reveal his feelings. But that's not the top, what happens to Will when he finally gets his growth spurt?As a teen hitting the height factor over the course of the summer, Will will be learning the pitfalls and greatness of young adulthood in this great book! Along with not to trip on his own feet. You'll be surprised how tall he gets!This has a lot of sarcastic and at times meta humor, which is an instant A in my book, however, there is a lot of heart in this story as well as life isn't always the best and there will be times when it sucks. I re-read this book twice to make sure I got the meaning of the story, or at least, what I interpret as the meaning and once that hit, it got me in the feels.Scott Brown knows his stuff and I loved reading this book.This does have an age factor of 13-18 range however I, being an adult in his 30's, can still get some meaning in this book. If you need some good laughing mixed with the bitter-sweet of growing up, this is the book for you!To be honest, I'm actually hoping for a sequel. If there isn't though, I'll hold this story in high value and will read again.Overall, funny and recommended!

In the YA world, I feel like there’s always a gimmick of some kind of fight to the death, so I was surprised when the major event for the main character is a growth spurt. In the hands of another author, the stakes wouldn’t be high enough and the conflicts of daily life would need blood-letting to hold attention, but in Scott Brown’s hands, the characters drive the story with such humor and humanity that it shows respect for the real lives of high schoolers.

This book is everything one should be for either teen or adult: exquisitely written, charming, full of heart (and life lessons, no matter your age), and un-put-down-able. These days I rarely read through the night, but I did with XL because it’s a true page-turner!

A fun read. I especially like the voice. It's high-school age characters but with the smart wit and ability to laugh at yourself of someone beyond high school. I love the author photo in the back, his expression cracks me up. That expression sums up the book.

Hilarious, strange, heartbreaking and wonderful. Just like I remember adolescence. Scott Brown is hilarious. I could simultaneously hear him cracking the jokes in the background as the author and also completely forget him and believe in these characters. Highly recommended! Though I’ll wait to read it to my kids til they’ll older.

"XL: A Love Story of Epic Proportions" by Scott Brown is a finely-crafted, extremely relevant novel in the YA category. It presents us with a typical, yet exceptional, "Coming of Age" narrative. The three protagonists are: Will, who at the beginning of the story is 4'11" and by the end is topping 7' tall; Drew, his step-brother who is a basketball star and somewhat OCD in nature; and Monica, a couple of years older, daughter of an alcoholic single father and determined to "catch the perfect wave". These three have been best friends since middle school, but with the complications of Will's unprecedented growth spurt and the arrival of teen-aged sex drives, the relationships become more than fragile.Will is also the son of the Primatologist at the local zoo, and following his mother's death from cancer has been allowed to intern at the Lowlands, the Gorilla Habitat. The way in which the author weaves his main character's experiences with the primates into the narrative is both intriguing and powerful. Although the story has the usual subplot elements of bullying and jealousy, antagonistic relationships with parents, and so on, they really are handled in a refreshingly different and creative way. The narrative contains "now" idioms of the variety modern teens use, but there is no gratuitous use of four-letter words or excessive sexual innuendo. Personal interactions are realistic, sometimes traumatic, but handled with sensitivity. This is a very worthwhile book.

I enjoyed the book. It was down to earth and held my attention. However, I will not be handing it on to my ten year old cousin just yet, even though she is a capable reader. Within the first pages the main character hurries to breakfast so his parents will not fear he is masturbating on his birthday morning. I read Steinbeck's East of Eden at age twelve, and still remember a man bringing home.an std from the Civil War, among other souvenirs. Consider your audience on this one.