erebus53's review against another edition
dark
emotional
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A note, the audiobook is recorded to play too slowly. It is dead on 3 hours in length if you play it at 1.3× speed (130%) which is what I did and at that speed it felt natural.
A book aimed at teens, focused on the adventures of a low flying drop out, that is told mostly in the second person... I immediately felt like this was written by a highschool English Lit teacher.. and well.. yes.
Let's just say I think this teacher/author may have loved Catcher in the Rye a little too much (a book that is written by a drop out who keeps explaining "what You feel like doing", "what you do in these situations"), leaning into that whole "You" narrative technique so much that he named the book after it.
When Kyle starts giving up on his own prospects his teacher is quick to tell him that he needs to take control of his destiny and make "good choices", his parents jump at the chance to organise him job interviews and nag him to be more forward thinking. Kyle is a normal teen who is floundering under the weight of authoritarian parents who are giving up on him almost as quickly as he is giving up on himself.
Then he meets an aggressively non-conformist Wunderkind who loves to push everyone's buttons. He's bored with trying to play games by Their rules and has the brains and social manipulative skills to busy himself with getting everyone else to play by His rules. He comes across like a cross between Mary Poppins and Dirk Gently, and Kyle starts hanging around with him as though they are buddies after he rescued him from GBH at the hands of a school bully, and social boredom by inviting him to exclusive parties.
The story starts with a scene of loads of blood but it is unclear what happens, so we know that somehow this odd boy is going to get Kyle into some real trouble... just how far things go you need to find out for yourself.
Chaotic evil? Most likely. Char 18, Int 19? Quite possibly. I am a nerd? Indubitably.
I feel like this is a cautionary tale for kids who already come from a privileged background, to pull their darned socks up. It certainly doesn't challenge many ideas about what it's like for children who have to struggle just to GET an education or a job.
Although the narrative seems to challenge some ideas about the stupidity of the US schooling system (of teaching to tests, and pop quizzes) it grazes that point and places the onus of motivation squarely in the hands of students. "Don't do things your way.. do it the right way!" is a surefire way to cultivate switched-off students with a sense of learned incompetence; growing kids who expect to be told what to do, don't develop their own problem solving skills by trial and error, and can't assess a situation or make decisions for themselves.
A book aimed at teens, focused on the adventures of a low flying drop out, that is told mostly in the second person... I immediately felt like this was written by a highschool English Lit teacher.. and well.. yes.
Let's just say I think this teacher/author may have loved Catcher in the Rye a little too much (a book that is written by a drop out who keeps explaining "what You feel like doing", "what you do in these situations"), leaning into that whole "You" narrative technique so much that he named the book after it.
When Kyle starts giving up on his own prospects his teacher is quick to tell him that he needs to take control of his destiny and make "good choices", his parents jump at the chance to organise him job interviews and nag him to be more forward thinking. Kyle is a normal teen who is floundering under the weight of authoritarian parents who are giving up on him almost as quickly as he is giving up on himself.
Then he meets an aggressively non-conformist Wunderkind who loves to push everyone's buttons. He's bored with trying to play games by Their rules and has the brains and social manipulative skills to busy himself with getting everyone else to play by His rules. He comes across like a cross between Mary Poppins and Dirk Gently, and Kyle starts hanging around with him as though they are buddies after he rescued him from GBH at the hands of a school bully, and social boredom by inviting him to exclusive parties.
The story starts with a scene of loads of blood but it is unclear what happens, so we know that somehow this odd boy is going to get Kyle into some real trouble... just how far things go you need to find out for yourself.
Spoiler
Let's just say that the kid is a sociopath, thrill seeker, who draw people around him with ease, and his social satellites crash and burn at his hands all the time.Chaotic evil? Most likely. Char 18, Int 19? Quite possibly. I am a nerd? Indubitably.
I feel like this is a cautionary tale for kids who already come from a privileged background, to pull their darned socks up. It certainly doesn't challenge many ideas about what it's like for children who have to struggle just to GET an education or a job.
Although the narrative seems to challenge some ideas about the stupidity of the US schooling system (of teaching to tests, and pop quizzes) it grazes that point and places the onus of motivation squarely in the hands of students. "Don't do things your way.. do it the right way!" is a surefire way to cultivate switched-off students with a sense of learned incompetence; growing kids who expect to be told what to do, don't develop their own problem solving skills by trial and error, and can't assess a situation or make decisions for themselves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Moderate: Body shaming, Classism, Cursing, Drug use, and Sexual content
harumijackson's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Kyle is a former honor student who now attends a less prestigious school, struggles pathetically to find a job, and is awkward around his crush. is an excellent antagonist, whose manipulative influence over his peers makes him an actual threat and . This is a dramatic, tragic telling of a boy who gave into his inferiority complex and fell even further because of it.
Spoiler
ZackSpoiler
his dramatic flamboyance is as annoying (to the point that you almost see him as harmless) as it is entertaining, keeping you on the edge of your seat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Minor: Toxic relationship, Misogyny, and Drug use
Kyle gives into peer pressure to use cigarettes and alsoSpoiler
slowly gave into Zach's influenceSpoiler
manipulative jerk that exploits females sexually through their insecurity.
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