Now Playing: Stoner & Spaz II continues the tale of the fraught relationship between Ben Bancroft, the spaz, and Colleen Minou, the stoner. Ben wants to save Colleen from herself and her drug addiction and she is the only girl who he believes sees the real him and not his cerebral palsy. They became friends in the first novel after meeting at the movies. Ben is a budding film maker who has just had a successful showing of his first documentary at a local South Pasadena gallery, where he meets Amy or A.J., another budding filmmaker. Colleen left the event with another guy, confirming what Ben’s grandmother already thought about her. Ben knows his grandmother, who raised him after his mom left and his dad died, would prefer he fall for someone like A.J., clean-cut, upper class girl, with higher aspirations than just finishing high school and staying clean. Ben pursues a friendship with A.J. but comparing her to Colleen all the while, especially in the way she looks at him. He wonders what she sees and whether she is a potential girlfriend, whereas he feels he knows what Colleen sees, just him and he loves her for that. While Colleen struggles to stay clean, she convinces Ben to find and meet his mother with interesting results. He realizes maybe he wasn’t so bad off being raised by his grandmother. The all of thecharacters are well drawn including the secondary ones and readers will enjoy the disparate personalities of Ben and Colleen. ( )

Ok sequel. ( )

One of the many reasons that Ron Koertge's a great author is that he knows how to end a book. His endings are never about putting a bow on a situation and making everything come together. They tend to be a bit messy and show that life is complicated and never has a perfect ending.

"Stoner and Spaz" is one of my favorite books and this sequel doesn't disappoint. Colleen and Ben are great characters full of life, energy, intelligence and rawness. Ben is a rich kid with Cerebral Palsy obsessed with film and Colleen is a too-smart-for-herself drug addict who is slowly coming to grips with sobriety.

Their odd coupling is completely believable and charming. If Ron Koertge wrote a book about these characters every year for the rest of his life, I would be utterly thrilled. ( )

Now Playing: Stoner & Spaz II leaves off immediately after Stoner & Spaz ends, despite the 10 year hiatus between the writing of the books. Colleen, the stoner, has just ditched Ben, the spaz with cerebral palsy, to hook up with some guy she doesn’t know, Nick, to get high. Ben can’t believe she would do that. Despite it all, Ben still loves her and you know, in her way, Colleen loves him. Days later, she’s back asking Ben to write a school paper for her—up to her usual tricks.
Now Playing has the same characters as the original; Ben’s Grandmother and guardian, and their across the street neighbor, Marcie, who got Ben into film making. As such, it tracks Ben and Colleen’s relationship, her attempt at rehab, and her leaving home. But the book adds some new characters: AJ who Ben met at his film showing and who shows an interest in him. AJ’s the second ‘normal’ girl to not be repelled by Ben’s physical condition. She’s the complete opposite of Colleen. While Colleen dresses in short skirts and torn shirts and has tattoos, AJ is upper crust, clean and cute. We also meet Ben’s mother, Delia, who dropped Ben on his grandmother’s doorstep when he was quite young and disappeared from his life forever. It’s Colleen’s snooping and finding an address for her that forces Ben to meet her. So, readers are introduced to a character with emotional issues in addition to Ben’s physical ones and Colleen’s drug issues.
While the plot of Now Playing is interesting, it is the dialogue between Ben and Colleen, their relationship with all its ups and downs, and their commitment that are compelling. How often does one see someone love another unconditionally? Koertge introduces some new issues in Now Playing and plays out some of the old issues. While part of his ending is idealistic, part of it is realistic and hopeful, not necessarily pat and tied in a bow. Now Playing: Stoner & Spaz II is a must read for anyone who liked the original. However, it is a standalone book and people who aren’t familiar with the first book will still enjoy it. ( )