Reviews

thanks to permuted press for a free digital copy of this title in exchange for a review! i will start by saying, you need to enter this text knowing it is dripping with satire. i love an unlikable, irredeemable protagonist so much, someone to root against. however, brad sela is a character i actually held a lot of sympathy for. this character study is gritty, unapologetic, and raw beyond belief. however, it moved slooooow, slower than most character studies, in my experience. there were a lot of blocks of dialogue that were difficult to get through, just because of how they were set up on the page, and it felt a bit jarring compared to the very fast-pacing of the action. i could definitely see the influences of filmmakers like araki and korine beyond the casual name-dropping from characters--this is a new doom generation in the making.

lukes_getting_old's review against another edition

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4.0

The dialogue is as melodramatic as the Gregg Araki films it's emulating and its nostalgia comes through as an annoying Ernest Cline-Ian oversaturated listicle but as a 42 year old dude who really lived some of this books soften, reined in moments it definitely got to me in places. Unexpectedly nihilistic, it really feels like a product of the time it's focused on.

litsleaze's review against another edition

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5.0

First off - if you want a song to listen to give you a bit of the theme of this book, listen to Mr.Self Destruct by NIN. I think it fits perfectly. Mix a bit of Burn in there too and that's basically this book in song form.

"If you don't like the reflection, don't look in the mirror. I don't care. I'm too wild to live, too deadly to die."

We follow Brad, a 17-year-old who is entering his last year in HS who gets involved with the wrong crowd and ultimately makes a series of bad decisions to be accepted by his new friend(s). Though that's not who Brad really is, not really. You're a fly on the wall as it is mostly dialogue through the whole 300-some page book, but it works. I can't imagine this book having the same impact if told in third person. Transgressive as all hell. If you're sensitive to anything, don't read this book. If you want to get pissed off though, then yeah go ahead. lol.

Spoiler

The last several 50 pages of the book left me heart broken, and ultimately left me in my feels.

I can't think of any book I have read in the last 15 years that has brought me down memory lane as much as this book did. The nostalgia, the 2000's references, MTV, Surge, Beavis and Butthead, man they talked shit about my girl Daria. lol.

This book is an ode to the following- The degenerates. The outcasts. The socially awkward. The weirdos. The goth kids. The punks. Those who don't get offended easily. Those who can laugh at themselves. Those with thoughts that are deeper than skin level. Those who ever felt utterly alone in this impossible world.

Alex, when you read this, thank you. I can see why it took 10 years to get this out.

Thanks Permuted Press for giving me the opportunity to read early. <3

frasmcm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

nathanreadsnovels's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5
Thoughts to come!

beanreads's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

cleopatrainfurs's review against another edition

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dark emotional

4.0

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