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Playing It Cool
“I always know what I’m doing.”
So says 18-year-old Sebastian Montero, who is famous around town as a problem solver of the subtlest kind. Want a date with the girl of your dreams? Bastian can make it happen. Have a friend threatening suicide? Baz can talk him off the ledge. But as popular as Sebastian is, no one really knows him. Thanks to his intricate network of favors and debts Sebastian controls the world, manipulates it—and hides from it. It isn’t until his best friend asks him to track down his long-missing father that Sebastian is forced to face the most challenging problem of all, the solution to which will change his life forever.
So says 18-year-old Sebastian Montero, who is famous around town as a problem solver of the subtlest kind. Want a date with the girl of your dreams? Bastian can make it happen. Have a friend threatening suicide? Baz can talk him off the ledge. But as popular as Sebastian is, no one really knows him. Thanks to his intricate network of favors and debts Sebastian controls the world, manipulates it—and hides from it. It isn’t until his best friend asks him to track down his long-missing father that Sebastian is forced to face the most challenging problem of all, the solution to which will change his life forever.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published June 2, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 17, 2017
I did not really like this book. It is about a kid named Sabastian who is famous around town. If you wanted to go on a date with a girl, he can make it happen. If someone wants to commit suicide, he can stop them. But this book to me, was very bland and boring. There was too much going on at the same time that it was hard to understand and follow. I would strongly recommend reading a different book.
June 30, 2023
After randomly picking this up from a bookshare library, I was obsessed after 1 chapter. Main character is so easy to like and follow their story. Highly recommend.
May 9, 2014
I think I liked this book, but I’m not really sure.
I’ve spent the entire afternoon trying to decide how I feel about Playing It Cool, and that’s the closest I’ve come to a conclusion. The plot is interesting, and I had a hard time putting the book down, but there’s something about this novel that just feels off.
Take the main character, for example. In theory, Sebastian Montero should be my dream protagonist. He’s a schemer, his mind always working a mile a minute. He can solve just about any problem and charm his way out of any situation. He is always wheeling and dealing, always one step ahead of the game.
The problem, though, is that he’s so cool and efficient that he doesn’t feel like a teenage boy – he feels like an unapproachable, high-power CEO. He’s too smooth, too aloof, too crisp, too…much.Rather than swooning after him, as I have other clever scamps in fiction (Eugenides, Locke Lamora, Dodger, etc.), I simply admired him, and only at a distance. I wish he could be both brilliant AND relatable.
There are a few lucky moments when Dorfman manages to make Sebastian feel a little more human, and these moments, combined with an interesting plot, got me through the book.
I liked that there’s little to no down time in this novel. The action starts on page one and doesn’t slow down until the conclusion. There isn't really an intro in which the characters are formally introduced or the background is laid out; you just get dropped in the middle of the story and figure out the personalities and set-up as you go. It's very effective.
Something that I didn’t like is that the writing is a little pretentious for my taste. Part of this could be to match Sebastian's suave demeanor, but whatever the reason it just made me roll my eyes at times. The book reads almost like the narration in an old black and white noir film. When I read certain sections I couldn’t help imagining a smoky-voiced private eye speaking the words while melancholy saxophones played in the background. I think this has something to do with Dorfman’s diction – there are lots of short, choppy sentences and matter-of-fact observations. For example: “Train whistle in the distance. All the deceptive makings of a small town in North Carolina. I got out of the car, shut the door to the passenger’s side. Jeremy got out of the backseat. Headed for the house.” Strange, no?
Something else that bothered me is that I’m not sure what my reaction is supposed to be now that I’ve finished this novel. I feel like there’s a message Dorfman wants the reader to get, but I have no idea what that message is. Am I supposed to admire Sebastian? Be wary of him? Are there characters in the book that I should consider good role models? Bad ones? I’m a little confused, and I don’t like feeling that way.
This review can also be found on my blog, Angela's Library.
I’ve spent the entire afternoon trying to decide how I feel about Playing It Cool, and that’s the closest I’ve come to a conclusion. The plot is interesting, and I had a hard time putting the book down, but there’s something about this novel that just feels off.
Take the main character, for example. In theory, Sebastian Montero should be my dream protagonist. He’s a schemer, his mind always working a mile a minute. He can solve just about any problem and charm his way out of any situation. He is always wheeling and dealing, always one step ahead of the game.
The problem, though, is that he’s so cool and efficient that he doesn’t feel like a teenage boy – he feels like an unapproachable, high-power CEO. He’s too smooth, too aloof, too crisp, too…much.Rather than swooning after him, as I have other clever scamps in fiction (Eugenides, Locke Lamora, Dodger, etc.), I simply admired him, and only at a distance. I wish he could be both brilliant AND relatable.
There are a few lucky moments when Dorfman manages to make Sebastian feel a little more human, and these moments, combined with an interesting plot, got me through the book.
I liked that there’s little to no down time in this novel. The action starts on page one and doesn’t slow down until the conclusion. There isn't really an intro in which the characters are formally introduced or the background is laid out; you just get dropped in the middle of the story and figure out the personalities and set-up as you go. It's very effective.
Something that I didn’t like is that the writing is a little pretentious for my taste. Part of this could be to match Sebastian's suave demeanor, but whatever the reason it just made me roll my eyes at times. The book reads almost like the narration in an old black and white noir film. When I read certain sections I couldn’t help imagining a smoky-voiced private eye speaking the words while melancholy saxophones played in the background. I think this has something to do with Dorfman’s diction – there are lots of short, choppy sentences and matter-of-fact observations. For example: “Train whistle in the distance. All the deceptive makings of a small town in North Carolina. I got out of the car, shut the door to the passenger’s side. Jeremy got out of the backseat. Headed for the house.” Strange, no?
Something else that bothered me is that I’m not sure what my reaction is supposed to be now that I’ve finished this novel. I feel like there’s a message Dorfman wants the reader to get, but I have no idea what that message is. Am I supposed to admire Sebastian? Be wary of him? Are there characters in the book that I should consider good role models? Bad ones? I’m a little confused, and I don’t like feeling that way.
This review can also be found on my blog, Angela's Library.
February 6, 2013
Sometimes, you just do too much for you friends. Popular Sebastian Montero runs a network of favors for his entire town, getting involved deep into the drama of others. He can make anything happen, for a price, and even goes as far as saving lives. Sebastian realizes things maybe have gotten out of hand when he decides to take his best friend Jeremy to meet his father for the first time. They decide to switch identities so Jeremy doesn’t get emotionally involved, but things get crazy when Sebastian starts to believe that Jeremy’s father is really his. All the while, Jeremy is working back at home, trying to cover up a favor-gone-wrong when somebody figured out how he helped get a girl an abortion. Afraid that his favor business will come to an end, he scrambles to make things right. Sebastian actually has a lot of things to figure out. Is Jeremy’s dad really his? Will he get involved too deep? Sebastian is willing to take a lot of risk, but are those favors really worth it?
This book is definitely teen/young adult intended. I really think that girls may enjoy this book more than guys, but I think that everyone would find it somewhat appealing. I would not recommend this book to younger readers, however, for the amount of language and inappropriate themes. For those who are like me and just think that stuff is unnecessary, you may find Playing it cool outrageous. Many teens may find that the book is inaccurate of teen life, since this book is written by a 30 year-old European man. If you really just like drama in your everyday life, this book is for you. Sebastian encounters tons of situations that may just fill your drama needs. Personally, I think that this book wouldn’t appeal to many people.
This book was just ok overall. I really just continued to read it to see how outrageous and unrealistic it got. It got flat out crazy at some points, but I guess some people like that. I wasn’t too big of a fan of the authors writing style, since he included so much language and adult themes. I will actually make an effort to steer myself away from Joaquin Dorfmans’ books in the future. I did give the book three stars though, just from the creative side. The story is fairly intricate and complicated, but it obviously took a lot of planning to make everything work together. Overall, Playing it cool just too unrealistic for me.
This book is definitely teen/young adult intended. I really think that girls may enjoy this book more than guys, but I think that everyone would find it somewhat appealing. I would not recommend this book to younger readers, however, for the amount of language and inappropriate themes. For those who are like me and just think that stuff is unnecessary, you may find Playing it cool outrageous. Many teens may find that the book is inaccurate of teen life, since this book is written by a 30 year-old European man. If you really just like drama in your everyday life, this book is for you. Sebastian encounters tons of situations that may just fill your drama needs. Personally, I think that this book wouldn’t appeal to many people.
This book was just ok overall. I really just continued to read it to see how outrageous and unrealistic it got. It got flat out crazy at some points, but I guess some people like that. I wasn’t too big of a fan of the authors writing style, since he included so much language and adult themes. I will actually make an effort to steer myself away from Joaquin Dorfmans’ books in the future. I did give the book three stars though, just from the creative side. The story is fairly intricate and complicated, but it obviously took a lot of planning to make everything work together. Overall, Playing it cool just too unrealistic for me.
November 9, 2012
Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com
Sebastian Montero has a reputation around town as a problem solver. Any problem you've got, Sebastian has a way to fix it. He doesn't do it just out of the goodness of his heart, though; it's all part of the complicated network of favors, debts, and problems that he's organized. He's calm and in control in the middle of his domain. He knows how it all works.
Along comes another problem. This one directly involves Sebastian's friend, Jeremy. Jeremy has just found out that the man he thought was his father, well, isn't. Sebastian has found Jeremy's real father, and the two of them set off for the coast of North Carolina to meet Dromio. Seems straightforward enough, right?
Well, then throw this into the mix: Bastian and Jeremy are switching identities, so that Jeremy won't get hurt if Dromio turns out to be a shady character or just a jerk. When Dromio accepts him right into the family, Bastian keeps pushing the charade further and futher--but to what end?
PLAYING IT COOL is a very interesting novel. Most of the characters are realistic, and the plot is certainly well-thought out. The scenario itself is a little odd, but suspension of disbelief is common enough in fiction. The writing is pretty excellent, too, but it lacks a certain spark throughout a good chunk of the book. At the beginning, and then again at the end, it seems good, but lacks whatever it is that makes a book special. Still, though, this is a book worth reading!
Sebastian Montero has a reputation around town as a problem solver. Any problem you've got, Sebastian has a way to fix it. He doesn't do it just out of the goodness of his heart, though; it's all part of the complicated network of favors, debts, and problems that he's organized. He's calm and in control in the middle of his domain. He knows how it all works.
Along comes another problem. This one directly involves Sebastian's friend, Jeremy. Jeremy has just found out that the man he thought was his father, well, isn't. Sebastian has found Jeremy's real father, and the two of them set off for the coast of North Carolina to meet Dromio. Seems straightforward enough, right?
Well, then throw this into the mix: Bastian and Jeremy are switching identities, so that Jeremy won't get hurt if Dromio turns out to be a shady character or just a jerk. When Dromio accepts him right into the family, Bastian keeps pushing the charade further and futher--but to what end?
PLAYING IT COOL is a very interesting novel. Most of the characters are realistic, and the plot is certainly well-thought out. The scenario itself is a little odd, but suspension of disbelief is common enough in fiction. The writing is pretty excellent, too, but it lacks a certain spark throughout a good chunk of the book. At the beginning, and then again at the end, it seems good, but lacks whatever it is that makes a book special. Still, though, this is a book worth reading!
January 28, 2016
Fatoma Babonjo
Mrs. Brown
English 9
27 January 2016
Playing it Cool Review
In the story “Playing it cool”, By Joaquin Dorfman, a 18 year old boy, Sebastian Montero, is known around his hometown for getting people out of tricky situations that seem impossible to solve. Calm and collected, however he is cocky at some points, he has earned himself a nice life solving problems and getting repaid debts at will. His latest case involves his friend Jeremy, a spastic kid with a disorder, and his birth father who has a mysterious past. After Sebastian manages to make arrangements for both of them to meet him, the teens agree to switch identities, allowing Jeremy an emotional distance from which to better examine his father. As Sebastian gets up close, he starts to dig up his own grave with mixed feelings, as well as paring against Cynthia, who is cruel and cold-shouldered towards Sebastian. As Sebastian goes through major turns in his new temporary life, he must outwit his opponents, find the truth, and not lose his cool.
This book always keeps up a fast pace, rapid theme as Sebastian must use quick and logical thinking to win his way through. Sebastian never skips a beat, and the book always keeps up. The scenario is a little off, but the characters seem almost real, and the overall mood is perfect. Any Mature adult would enjoy giving this a read, for the theme and mood sets of immediately.
Reviewed By: Fatoma Babonjo
Mrs. Brown
English 9
27 January 2016
Playing it Cool Review
In the story “Playing it cool”, By Joaquin Dorfman, a 18 year old boy, Sebastian Montero, is known around his hometown for getting people out of tricky situations that seem impossible to solve. Calm and collected, however he is cocky at some points, he has earned himself a nice life solving problems and getting repaid debts at will. His latest case involves his friend Jeremy, a spastic kid with a disorder, and his birth father who has a mysterious past. After Sebastian manages to make arrangements for both of them to meet him, the teens agree to switch identities, allowing Jeremy an emotional distance from which to better examine his father. As Sebastian gets up close, he starts to dig up his own grave with mixed feelings, as well as paring against Cynthia, who is cruel and cold-shouldered towards Sebastian. As Sebastian goes through major turns in his new temporary life, he must outwit his opponents, find the truth, and not lose his cool.
This book always keeps up a fast pace, rapid theme as Sebastian must use quick and logical thinking to win his way through. Sebastian never skips a beat, and the book always keeps up. The scenario is a little off, but the characters seem almost real, and the overall mood is perfect. Any Mature adult would enjoy giving this a read, for the theme and mood sets of immediately.
Reviewed By: Fatoma Babonjo
May 26, 2008
Sebastian is just a teenager just trying to keep playing it cool. he goes around helping people and doing everyone favors. But when he goes with his best friend, Jeremy, to visit his friends father who walked out on him, it becomes harder for him to keep playing it cool. While pretending to be Jeremy, and Jeremy is pretending to be him, he starts to feel connected and realizes he wished his father did not leave his family too. As things start to mix up, he does not know that Jeremy's father has some tricks of his own and he's bound to discover them...
May 30, 2011
'Playing It Cool' was an interesting read about a boy who spends his life in a web of deals and favors. This works for him until he meets a man named Dromio, who proceeds to turn his life upside-down. The descriptions in this book were marvelous- you could see every little detail of the characters' lives. The writing was a little choppy at times, so you might want to find a time to read this when you can focus. It is, overall, a read I'd recommend for people looking for a light summer-y read with a little more meaning than most.
April 28, 2013
Maybe this book was trying just a little too hard to be cool.
It was a little too smooth, the interlude chapters took a while to feel natural, and there was just something missing. Maybe this book just isn't my cup of tea.
I didn't really follow the evolution of the main character, who is a bit of a trickster, which made the conclusion less than satisfactory. I'm not sure that the way his faults were portrayed if they were really faults at all so the whole resolution at the end just didn't feel genuine.
It's a perfectly fine book. I just didn't really care for it.
It was a little too smooth, the interlude chapters took a while to feel natural, and there was just something missing. Maybe this book just isn't my cup of tea.
I didn't really follow the evolution of the main character, who is a bit of a trickster, which made the conclusion less than satisfactory. I'm not sure that the way his faults were portrayed if they were really faults at all so the whole resolution at the end just didn't feel genuine.
It's a perfectly fine book. I just didn't really care for it.
March 22, 2013
Fast and easy read with an intricate story. The supporting characters are so real, it feels like you know them and that they aren't just archetypes. Sebastian Montero, the main character, is a fast talking con artist with a heart of gold. The epilogue left me a bit unsatisfied because I think that his character devolved a bit and he just ends up as a passive person.
September 19, 2007
I just couldn't get into this one. I just didn't find the character (a cool smooth teen with a network of people that owe him favors) compelling enough to stick with the story. Maybe I'll give it a reread sometime, but for now, it's back to the library tomorrow.
April 28, 2007
Sebastian and his best friend Jeremy take a road trip to meet Jeremy's father for the first time. After only a few days, Sebastian begins to suspect that Jeremy's father may be his own as well.
August 15, 2008
this book rock man!
January 15, 2011
Really dramatic in the end, kind of confusing though.
December 16, 2011
I'm not finished reading this book but over all a good book a little edgy some language but otherwise I love it.
July 31, 2012
abandon it
January 27, 2013
This book started out pretty good story line was going well but the ending killed it for me. I hate open endings.
August 12, 2013
Mysteries are my favorite; to me, this book had many "hidden" details that caught me by surprise. I really enjoyed this book when I was in high school.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews