Planet of the Dates

by Paul McComas

Planet of the Dates follows the exploits of Phil Corcoran, a girl-crazed Milwaukee teen stumbling toward adulthood in the summer of 1980. Phil's personal transition coincides with a cultural shift:... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1579621600
• ISBN13: 9781579621605
• Release Date: February 2008
• Publisher: Permanent Press (NY)
• Length: 223 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Charming

A charming, coming-of-age story; a quick and entertaining read. I bought it originally because I also grew up in Milwaukee at this same time (although I am about 8 years older than the author), knew the same people, ate at the same restaurants, saw the same bands, went to the same nightclubs, and experienced many of the same things McComas writes about. It was a nice surprise that it's an enjoyable read, and as one reviewer has noted, the character development of the women is fully drawn and they come alive on the pages. Only one gripe - not really - but, I'm sorry, Radio Doctors was [arguably] NOT the best record store in Milwaukee at this time. Dirty Jack's Record Rack was. LOL! I oughta know, I worked there.

Would you want to live on this planet?

If you've never been sixteen, this book is clearly not for you. For the rest of us, however, you're liable to sweat, grimace, shout "Oh, no!" and laugh out loud as future film-maker Phil and his cast of lovely young damsels flounder their way through the joy and bewilderment of hormonal explosion. This book is a romp, full of characters who - while horny as hell and desperate to get laid - still care about how what they do affects the others around them. Whether you're rooting for Cheryl or Stephanie (I won't give away the surprise) to be the one to finally spread the whipped cream on top of Phil's sundae, you'll thank the author for helping you remember what it was like.

Planet of the Dates

I may be 70 years old, but Paul McComas pulled me back to an earlier time in my life and that of my children. Folks say they'd like to be 16 again, but, our "hero", Phil reminds me that perhaps I would not! Paul's writing is warm and lovely, and his characters are as real as the skin on the back of my hand. I had that dreadful feeling on the last page that they were gone from my life, and I was sad. "Planet" is book to begin and plan on not doing much else until you've finished...it is a magical literary moment.

There's no shortage of smarmy coming of age tales with the cliché events we all know.

There's no shortage of smarmy coming of age tales with the cliché events we all know. "Planet of the Dates" is not exactly one of those books. Following young Phil, a sci-fi geek of sorts who enters into a believable story filled with entertaining characters and realistic outcomes when Phil is faced with more than one romantic possibility. Brilliant writing from first page to last that should keep the book in the readers hands the entire time, "Planet of the Dates" is enthusiastically recommended to both science fiction buffs and romance fans everywhere -- and especially for community library contemporary fiction collections.

Super fun!

I must admit upfront that I am a friend of the author, and that I have only read an earlier draft of this novel. But I must say it was really very engaging, even to someone like me who usually doesn't enjoy stories of teenage boys and their exploits. Phil, the protagonist, seemed like someone I would have been friends with growing up in the 1970s and 1980s. Phil's experiences and (mis)adventures are quite relatable, and very very entertaining for the reader. Plus it's got an awesome cover! Buy it, you'll love it!