lsvicente537's review against another edition
3.0
Cute, funny, the perfect I-am-leaving-in-2-days read.
waterlilydragon's review against another edition
5.0
Ich habe das Buch heute gelesen, während meine Freundin Larissa Latein-Schulaufgabe nachgeschrieben hat, und ich kann nicht verstehen, wieso manche dem Buch nur 1 Stern geben. Ich fand das Buch unterhaltsam und lustig. Vor Allem haben mir die sarkastischen Bemerkungen gefallen und die Bewerbungen von ihm an eine Firma. Das Buch ließ sich in weniger als einer Stunde lesen und war eine schöne, köstliche Zwischenlektüre!
miakve's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really quirky book, yet there were some deeper meaning behind. I have never read anything like this, I liked it. A really easy and quick read.
antoniasophie03's review against another edition
5.0
Ich habe das Buch heute gelesen, während meine Freundin Larissa Latein-Schulaufgabe nachgeschrieben hat, und ich kann nicht verstehen, wieso manche dem Buch nur 1 Stern geben. Ich fand das Buch unterhaltsam und lustig. Vor Allem haben mir die sarkastischen Bemerkungen gefallen und die Bewerbungen von ihm an eine Firma. Das Buch ließ sich in weniger als einer Stunde lesen und war eine schöne, köstliche Zwischenlektüre!
pwbalto's review against another edition
5.0
It's sneaky to slide emotions like regret and sorrow into a book this fun. It's sneaky to establish your boy's credibility by letting him get chased by dogs and bit on the butt on one day, and then test it by parking him on a bench to read Winnie the Pooh the next. He's doing it for a girl, but that doesn't make that book any less read.
Full review on Pink Me: http://pinkme.typepad.com/pink-me/2012/03/12-things-to-do-before-you-crash-and-burn-james-proimos-review.html
Full review on Pink Me: http://pinkme.typepad.com/pink-me/2012/03/12-things-to-do-before-you-crash-and-burn-james-proimos-review.html
kittspaw's review against another edition
i think this was supposed to be meaningful or something? but it really didn't give me much
corncobwebs's review against another edition
I guess I’m reading everything Monica! is! Sorry Monica! Not trying to be creepy!
Hercules “Herc” Martino digs a metaphorical grave for himself when he badmouths his deceased father at said father’s funeral. Apparently being Dr. Phil (or some such kind of dude) doesn’t preclude you from being an asshole, at least in Herc’s mind - but that doesn’t mean the other funeral-goers want to hear about it. Needing some space, or time, or whatever, Herc’s mother ships him off to Baltimore to spend the remaining two weeks of summer with his gruff, foul-mouthed Uncle Anthony. Herc just wants to binge sleep and eat vegetarian bean burritos, but a couple things keep him tethered to the land of the living - first, he has a chance encounter with a “beautiful unobtainable woman” on the bus ride to Baltimore. He rescues her forgotten copy of Winnie-the-Pooh, and vows to return it to her (and possibly get lucky in the process). Second, Uncle Anthony has given him a list of 12 tasks to be completed by the end of his two week stay. The tasks include everything from the mundane (“find the best pizza joint in town”) to the somewhat profound (“think big thoughts and write them down”) - but they’re all just supposed to keep Herc somewhat out of trouble for the next two weeks. Some of the tasks get ignored (did he ever clean out Uncle Anthony’s garage?), but others are completed in an out-of-the-box sort of way: “share a meal with someone” happens in a homeless shelter; “go to a place of worship and pray” happens in a church-like stable. Herc bumbles through it all with charisma and lots of profanity, and even learns a thing or two - even though his infatuation with the “beautiful unobtainable woman” doesn’t work out like he dreamed it would.
The inside jacket flap says: “James “Hercules” Martino has until the end of the summer (a.k.a. two weeks) to accomplish the twelve tasks given to him by his Uncle Anthony. The tasks will take him to the far reaches of Baltimore, lead him to a Beautiful and Unattainable Woman, and change the way he sees his past, present, and future.” It’s a mildly funny, profanity-ridden book written at a very accessible reading level (and it’s short - a mere 128 pages), so I think it would appeal to a wide variety of readers - including reluctant and struggling readers. But it was too slight to really expound on how “[Herc] sees his past, present, and future.” I certainly didn’t get a sense of deeper self-exploration from this book. But as long as that’s not what readers are expecting/looking for, I think they’ll enjoy it just fine.
Hercules “Herc” Martino digs a metaphorical grave for himself when he badmouths his deceased father at said father’s funeral. Apparently being Dr. Phil (or some such kind of dude) doesn’t preclude you from being an asshole, at least in Herc’s mind - but that doesn’t mean the other funeral-goers want to hear about it. Needing some space, or time, or whatever, Herc’s mother ships him off to Baltimore to spend the remaining two weeks of summer with his gruff, foul-mouthed Uncle Anthony. Herc just wants to binge sleep and eat vegetarian bean burritos, but a couple things keep him tethered to the land of the living - first, he has a chance encounter with a “beautiful unobtainable woman” on the bus ride to Baltimore. He rescues her forgotten copy of Winnie-the-Pooh, and vows to return it to her (and possibly get lucky in the process). Second, Uncle Anthony has given him a list of 12 tasks to be completed by the end of his two week stay. The tasks include everything from the mundane (“find the best pizza joint in town”) to the somewhat profound (“think big thoughts and write them down”) - but they’re all just supposed to keep Herc somewhat out of trouble for the next two weeks. Some of the tasks get ignored (did he ever clean out Uncle Anthony’s garage?), but others are completed in an out-of-the-box sort of way: “share a meal with someone” happens in a homeless shelter; “go to a place of worship and pray” happens in a church-like stable. Herc bumbles through it all with charisma and lots of profanity, and even learns a thing or two - even though his infatuation with the “beautiful unobtainable woman” doesn’t work out like he dreamed it would.
The inside jacket flap says: “James “Hercules” Martino has until the end of the summer (a.k.a. two weeks) to accomplish the twelve tasks given to him by his Uncle Anthony. The tasks will take him to the far reaches of Baltimore, lead him to a Beautiful and Unattainable Woman, and change the way he sees his past, present, and future.” It’s a mildly funny, profanity-ridden book written at a very accessible reading level (and it’s short - a mere 128 pages), so I think it would appeal to a wide variety of readers - including reluctant and struggling readers. But it was too slight to really expound on how “[Herc] sees his past, present, and future.” I certainly didn’t get a sense of deeper self-exploration from this book. But as long as that’s not what readers are expecting/looking for, I think they’ll enjoy it just fine.
nikkibejan's review against another edition
2.0
This book was really weird. The plot (if you could call it that) was just, kind of lack luster, and in my opinion not actually there. It’s basically about this teenaged boy going to spend time with his uncle after his father has died. The only thing that happens that I would call character development was that he finally answered his phone when his mother called, where previously he’d ignored her. And that happened at the very end of the book.
I suppose you could call the list his uncle gives him ways to cope with the dead of a family member, but at the same time he really doesn’t seem to care. I would understand if we got any hint that this was just his coping mechanism, but all he says about his father throughout the novel are bad things. I just don’t understand if he simply doesn’t care or if he’s numb to the whole thing while he’s grieving. It honestly comes off in the book as the latter, like this is more of a weird vacation than a mourning period.
There wasn’t really anything wrong with the tone of the story, but the events that happen in the book are so random. I don’t know if the writing could have been better, since I’ve read nothing else by the author, or if the whole point of the novel is going over my head. I’m not sure what the author was trying to get across, and therefore I couldn’t connect with the story.
I suppose you could call the list his uncle gives him ways to cope with the dead of a family member, but at the same time he really doesn’t seem to care. I would understand if we got any hint that this was just his coping mechanism, but all he says about his father throughout the novel are bad things. I just don’t understand if he simply doesn’t care or if he’s numb to the whole thing while he’s grieving. It honestly comes off in the book as the latter, like this is more of a weird vacation than a mourning period.
There wasn’t really anything wrong with the tone of the story, but the events that happen in the book are so random. I don’t know if the writing could have been better, since I’ve read nothing else by the author, or if the whole point of the novel is going over my head. I’m not sure what the author was trying to get across, and therefore I couldn’t connect with the story.
pegahe's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it. It was reallllyyy short, but just so amusing. And I found it pretty refreshing to read about a pretty snarky character considering I've been reading about hero types for a while now. I reccomend checking it out, but the ending leaves a little to be desired.
mynameisactuallylenny's review against another edition
2.0
The writing wasn't bad but the story overall was weird, to put in those words.