Nick Twisp is an awkward teenager with a rough life. He struggles with girls, he doesn't fit in with popular kids, and his mom's idiot boyfriend owes money to some violent sailors. This prompts them to move to an RV park far from their home, much to Nick's dismay. However, things look up when he meets in the park Sheeni Saunders, a fellow misfit with a passion for all things French. Things get in the way of their happiness: for example, Nick buys her a pet dog, but it rips up the bible of Sheeni's fundamentalist parents. Nick is forced to move back home away from the park, but Sheeni comes up with a plan-- she can arrange for Nick's dad to get a job near her, so all Nick has to do is get kicked out of his mom's house for them to be happy together. Nick lacks the fortitude and rebelliousness to get kicked out of his house... so in his brain, he creates Francois Dillinger, a disrespectful alter-ego that desires nothing more than to stick it to authority figures everywhere. Nick's mom starts dating a new man, a hard-nosed police officer. Nick unleashes Francois upon them, as he shows his contempt for them at every turn. Nick steals the family car and attempts to stage a car crash, but it escalates when it rolls into a restaurant, catches fire, and blows up half a block. The police officer tells Nick's mom he'll report the car stolen first, but only if Nick is shipped off to live with his dad. Nick is on his way, but when he brags over the phone to Sheeni what he did for her, her parents overhear and send her to a boarding school on the other side of the state. Nick needs to find a way to break into this all-female boarding school and rescue Sheeni, so they can finally be together.
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Best part of story, including ending:
This is a hilarious and really off-kilter comedy, with crazy dysfunctional characters and some terrific one-liners. Cera is great as our teen hero.
Best scene in story:
Nick tries to stage his suicide by putting his clothes into a car and crashing it off a cliff... but in a hilarious turn of events, the lake he's crashing it into is incredibly shallow.
Opinion about the main character:
Nick is a sweet guy who hates not being taken seriously because he's too nice and awkward. Every sweet guy has wished he had a hardcore alter ego before.