Slam is a novel written by Nick Hornby. It tells a story about a young, troubled 16-year-old boy called Sam. The book is written from his point of view. Sam’s passion is skateboarding, and Tony Hawk is his huge idol. He has a poster of him to whom he talks about skate tricks and his life and Tony responds him with a quote from his book. It gives him comfort as he faces struggles in his life. Sam and his mother are happy enough, but they’re barely getting by. Sam isn’t optimistic about what awaits him in the future. The biggest struggles start when he meets a girl named Alicia at her mother’s birthday party. Their relationship get off to an awkward start because of Sam’s obvious flirting, but soon they start dating. After a while Sam gets bored of this relationship and they break up. A while later Alicia calls him to meet her so they can talk. Alicia tells Sam that she’s pregnant and refuses to make an abortion. Now he and Alicia must find a way to cooperate with each other, their families and a child.
Sam keeps having flashes into the future. It makes this book interesting. It is somewhat relatable to déjà vous. There are a few instances in which Sam wakes up in the future, which he explains that Tony Hawk has sent him to the future. In these instances everyone around him knows exactly what is going on while he is clueless. These glimpses into the future are not simply dreams, but they are actual events that will take place.
The best thing about this book is that it has the potential to be moving and relatable for any teen or young adult. Though it’s not the main point of this book, but it also teaches a very important lesson for teenagers. Hornby respects the seriousness of this subject, but he manages to deal them with humor and in a heartfelt style. There are issues which are real and dramatic and he describes them honestly.