It’s 1992, and as Vim Sweeney deals with the recent end of his high school career and the uncertainty of his future, America shares his angst.

In Seattle, Kurt Cobain reeks of teen spirit. In Washington, George Bush (the first one) has just finished rattling his saber at Saddam Hussein.

And in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Vim is trying to put off adulthood and all that comes with it, whatever that is, for as long as he can. He’s already juggling guitars, girls, and a long-absent biological father who's suddenly making noise about Wanting to Be Involved. And he still can't convince his friends why local schoolboy hero Derek Jeter is bound for obscurity.

Grab on to me tightly as if I knew the way traces Vim's stumble toward adulthood as he comes to terms with his parents, balances friendships and infatuation with varying levels of success, and accepts that the things he thought would last forever probably won't.

Generous in spirit and laugh-out-loud funny, here is a novel that introduces a tremendous new talent and deftly captures the alternately amusing and harrowing process of holding on until you find your way.

Booklist (starred review)

“The wistful title (taken from song lyrics by the band Pavement), eye-catching cover art from Chicago printmaker Jay Ryan, and fine writing from the gifted Charles make for a powerful combination in a debut novel that seems poised to generate a fair amount of buzz . . . Charles strings together poetic, episodic glimpses of Vim's life, including his erotic infatuation with his bandmate's girlfriend, his anger at his deadbeat dad and love for his stepfather, and, most of all, his desperate yearning to make sense of the world. Telegraphing ambience in the details—pithy T-shirt slogans, brightly lit donut shops, apt song lyrics—Charlesdraws a loving if unforgiving portrait of the seedy, semirural Midwest. His approach—plenty of heart and laugh-out-loud humor—will invite comparisons to Nick Hornby, but let it be said that Charles does it his way.”

Washington Post

“Addictive . . . the first-time author's writing is funny and unpredictable, and he proves impressively adept at capturing the inchoate ache of adolescent longing.”

Time Out New York

“Go buy Bryan Charles's brave and beautifully written novel about music and growing up . . .”

Village Voice

". . . sketches a teenage identity crisis of the early ’90s in sharp detail.”

Time Out Chicago

"Bryan Charles's unlikely hero, Vim Sweeney, revitalizes the coming-of-age genre."