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.