Reviewed by Cheryl
TITLE: Why Can’t Dating Be Like Pizza
SERIES: The Pizza Chronicles
AUTHOR: Andy V Roamer
PUBLISHER: NineStar Press
LENGTH: 221 Pages
RELEASE DATE: November 8, 2022
BLURB:
RV is now a junior. It’s the most important year of high school, as his guidance counselor makes clear, pushing him to improve his grades, get more active socially, and show colleges why they should accept him over other candidates.
RV has other things on his mind though. He met Luke, who shows him a whole new world of romance, movie making, and fun, but RV’s friends and family pull him in other directions.
His old crush Bobby isn’t around much, and RV has to accept that he and Bobby are no longer an item, though he still has some feelings for him. But when Luke makes an unexpected announcement, RV learns that dating has painful downs as well as joyful ups.
REVIEW:
The Pizza Chronicles is a true series. I highly recommend that you start with Book 1 in order to make sense of this one.
Many people don’t like first person perspective, and it isn’t easy to write. In this case, especially after reading all five books in the series, I can’t see it written in any other way than in RV’s own words. RV has a particular perspective on life that has been consistent throughout the series, and which makes sense of all the nonsense.
RV is under a lot of pressure which he works through in his own inimitable way. Yes, some of his logic is flawed; yes, he is inconsistent and sometimes immature in his thinking and reasoning, but the fact is that he is immature because he is still very young.
As usual, Mr Aniso is a steadying influence, even when his own life is in upheaval. In fact, there are moments when the tables are turned and it is RV who is the supporter and confidante, a role that he seems to be slipping into in other parts of his life, also.
Carole is her usual self, a ball of energy that sweeps RV along and is a cause of a good chunk of the pressure he finds himself under. She’s a good friend, but also an oblivious one at times. When she gets caught up in her own schemes she doesn’t stop to see if RV is keeping up or being dragged behind in the dust.
While RV continues his struggles with school and with the teachers he so vividly brings to life through his thoughts and anecdotes, his biggest struggles are still with his emotions and his love life. Bobby is keeping his distance and when they do meet their relationship is awkward and stressful. RV decides he wants to move on, and when Luke comes back into his life it seems as if that’s exactly what he’s doing. The problem is that as much as his head is telling him it’s the right thing to do, his heart is still very much with Bobby.
Dating goes about as well as these things usually do for RV. It all starts with sunshine and flowers, drags through thorns back into sunlight, then ends in the weeds, and this time Mr Aniso is also going through a hard time in his own relationship and is not so emotionally available.
All the old gang are back, with some new members. I particularly like Mary, RV’s new boss at the movie theater. She introduces him to the joy of film projection and opens up a new world of possibility. In fact, it appears that this is one of the themes – possibilities and roads opening before you.
As usual, the author is not afraid to confront the big issues. It’s not all about angsty teens and their dating ups and downs. In particular, RV is, once again, brought face to face with the issue of teen suicide and is just as lost, but just as sincere. The situation is not glossed over, but neither is it dwelt on. It is one of the many worries RV is working through, and helping others to work through and as usual it is not something that happens in a vacuum, ie it has ripple effects through RV’s own life and thought processes.
There is a great deal of consistency in voice and action throughout the series and this one is no different. I love RV. He’s a mess, but he’s a beautiful mess and he drags us along behind him as he hurtles from one emotion to another as he bounces around in his own head like a ball in a pinball machine. So shiny.
As with all of the books in the series, it ends on an upbeat with hope for the future and RV moving steadily forward. It might seem that RV is going around in circles, but it is actually a spiral, ending each turn on a higher level. He’s getting there.
RATING: 
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