My opinion

My opinion on the novel is that it was an interesting and believable story, and I really enjoyed reading it. I really liked the way Nick Hornby writes, and the fact that the language is different from other adult books and more directed to teenagers. Sam quickly became my favorite character because he seemed like an ordinary 16 years old boy, and still he managed to deal with all his struggles. In my opinion, Hornby managed to write a believable and relevant novel. It is not the kind of book I normally would read, but I really enjoyed Slam and I am glad I read it. If I were to rate the book, I would give it a 5 out of 6 because it was extremely well written and the plot was exiting, but sometimes there were some confusing parts and the story sort of paused for a short while. But all in all, a very good book that I recommend to all teenagers:)

Themes and messages

1a) The main theme of the novel in my opinion is teen pregnancy and the time after. It is shown through both Sam’s girlfriend Alicia and Sam’s mother, both of them had a child as sixteen years old girls, and Sam is both a father to a child as sixteen years old and a son of a woman who gave birth as a sixteen years old. Alicia’s parents represent the people that look down on teen pregnancy. The novel show the different sides of teen pregnancy and both the struggles and hard work, and some of the good sides. As we see in the novel, Sam’s mother still got an education, but she could not follow some of her dreams. Alicia has a hard time while being pregnant, but in the end it seems like her life turned out ok and she had gotten a good education as well.

1b, In my opinion, Nick Hornby try to show the difficulties of being a teen, in general as well as teen pregnancy. Sam is struggling with chancing from a teenager to an adult. I also think that he is trying to show that everybody makes mistakes and then do the right thing; such as Sam did when he ran away but realized that he had to go back and take care of his child. I think there are many thing Hornby is trying say, but mainly how difficult the transformation from a teenager to an adult can be.

Sam and Alicia

Sam and Alicia are two very different persons, but they become more like each other towards the end of the book. Sam grew up with only his mother in an apartment, and Alicia grew up with rich and snobby parents in an enormous house. Alicia has lots of friends and is very popular, Sam on the other hand has some good friends but not that many. When they first meet, Alicia was acting superior and did not talk that much to Sam, but when they get to know each other, they actually fall in love. They are a couple for several months, but after some time, they break up. When they found out that Alicia was pregnant they start to get feelings for each other again, but it is not the same. They fight more often, mostly about non important things. Alicia is grumpy and mad when she is pregnant, and Sam is not much better. They are both actually two calm and nice persons, but having a baby changes their personalities. They both grow up and become much more mature in the end of the book. Although they have had several arguments and disagreements they stay friends to the end, but they are not more than friends.

Chapter 20

In the last chapter, Sam has a last dream or vision. He wakes next to a beautiful girl, and he has no idea of what is going on. He just plays along, and finds out that they are going to meet Alicia at a restaurant. Alicia stands is waiting for them with a good looking man, and she is looking better and healthier than Sam has seen her for a long time. He finds out that the beautiful girl is Alex, his girlfriend, and that the man, Carl, is Alicia’s new boyfriend. Sam and Alicia have moved on with their lives, Sam continued his studies and got a job, and Alicia has started studying. They both spend a lot of time with Roof, and currently he is living with Sam while Alicia studies. Sam and Alicia have moved on, and Sam thinks that it seems like everything is going to be all right :)

Chapter 19

Time has passed, and Sam is now eighteen years old. He still lives at home with his mother, and she has given birth to a little girl, Emily. Sam is looking back at the time that has passed, and answers some questions, the biggest one being how the relationship is with Alicia. Sam and Alicia had been living apart, but they stayed together for Roof. One day, when they had been in the park with Roof and there had been none fighting between them, they ended up having sex for the first time since Roof’s birth. Alicia’s mother walked into them after they had sex, and she reacted quite badly.  She screams at them and makes them get dressed and come down. Then it is revealed that the relationship between Alicia’s parents is not as good as it seemed. Alicia’s mother wants Alicia to be with someone she really loves, and will love for the rest of her life, and not make the same mistake as her. Sam understands because he is not sure if he loves Alicia the way he used to before roof, but he still wants to give it a try. After the discussion, Sam goes home, and Alicia’s parents are still screaming at each other in the kitchen.

Chapter 18

Sam is staying with his mother because of his cold, and he is reading about teenagers with babies on the internet. Then he comes across some statistics about how eighty percent of fathers in England lose connections with their children after fifteen years. Sam gets frighten and does not want it to happen to him, so he goes over to Alicia to talk about it. When he tries to explain it all comes out wrong, and they get into a fight. Ironical, Alicia threatens Sam with that he never will see Roof again, the same thing Sam was afraid would happen. Thanks to Alicia’s mother, they sit down and talk, and the misunderstanding gets cleared up.   

Chapter 17

Sam father had not seen Roof jet, but a couple of days after Sam and Alicia fought, he asks Sam to go to a restaurant with him and that he should bring Roof. Sam’s father tells Sam a bit about how it was when Sam was born, and how Sam’s relationship with Alicia probably would end out with a break up. This gets Sam thinking, and in the days after, him and Alicia fights a lot. Sam catches a cold and he does not want to infect Roof. For that reason, and also to spend some time apart, he moves back to his mother. Then he lives the moment he dreamed of, or had some sort of vision the second time (chapter 12). This time he handles it a lot better, and he knows that he is just staying at his mother’s place, because he has a cold.