The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! š
badassbookbestie's review
4.0
Kept me laughing! A bit predictable, but it did not distract too much from the funny forensics story line.
kt01's review
1.0
Poorly written.
Contradicting details, weird pacing - the āmurderā doesnāt happen till 3/4 way through the book, red herring doesnāt even feel believable, main character tries to be funny but isnāt, and is super lazy, yet heās supposed to be one of the top of his class - overall just comes across as annoying, the murder ends up being a suicide. Thereās a large stretch made from coins being stolen (which the main character told the thief about anyway when he later says that he never tells people about it) to the thief being a blood crazed murderer hunting down the main character who then turns out to not be the thief and is actually the main characters brother and supposedly the nicest guy in NY, the actual thief just gives coins back and doesnāt face any consequences and as already said the red herring was laughable. And for a forensics squad it seems that all they learn about is how to take a fingerprint...thatās it...
If itās supposed to be a coming of age/contemporary story, donāt market it as a mystery...
This book annoyed me, thatās the best way to sum it up. The only good thing about it is that I finished it, but I think that says more about me than it does about the book...
Plot/pacing = poor
Characters = poor
Humour = poor
Romance = poor
Detecting skills/mystery = poor
L **(1f but more frequency)
M *
S ** (vulgar jokes)
Contradicting details, weird pacing - the āmurderā doesnāt happen till 3/4 way through the book, red herring doesnāt even feel believable, main character tries to be funny but isnāt, and is super lazy, yet heās supposed to be one of the top of his class - overall just comes across as annoying, the murder ends up being a suicide. Thereās a large stretch made from coins being stolen (which the main character told the thief about anyway when he later says that he never tells people about it) to the thief being a blood crazed murderer hunting down the main character who then turns out to not be the thief and is actually the main characters brother and supposedly the nicest guy in NY, the actual thief just gives coins back and doesnāt face any consequences and as already said the red herring was laughable. And for a forensics squad it seems that all they learn about is how to take a fingerprint...thatās it...
If itās supposed to be a coming of age/contemporary story, donāt market it as a mystery...
This book annoyed me, thatās the best way to sum it up. The only good thing about it is that I finished it, but I think that says more about me than it does about the book...
Plot/pacing = poor
Characters = poor
Humour = poor
Romance = poor
Detecting skills/mystery = poor
L **(1f but more frequency)
M *
S ** (vulgar jokes)
rebeccawolfe's review
5.0
"Some day this unpleasantness will just be an ant fart in the hurricane of history." Favorite quote from the book. Love this one! Funny funny funny. Unfortunately, not useful for booktalks because of the pervasive teen boy humor(your mother jokes, penis jokes, etc.). Not much of a mystery, but a great "regular guy" story. Kind of a John Green book that's not so self-consciously hip.
suzannedix's review
3.0
Was expecting something different. By the fifth chapter I was tired of the "boy" humor and what seemed to be a melodramatic plot. Summer is too short to stick with something I'm not enjoying.
boleary30's review
2.0
Good ending, bad book, tries way to hard to be a stream of consciousness book instead of just telling the story through his eyes
nerfherder86's review
4.0
Hilarious story of a slacker guy just trying to do as little as possible, and get over the loss of his dad at the same time. Guy joins his high school's CSI/Forensics Club but only because his best friend Anoop assures him it will help them impress the hot girls in the club. Guy's like, whatever dude. But he *is* interested in a cute girl in the club, so maybe...Guy's also hurting from the recent death of his dad, a man who was older than his mom and was married before. Guy discovers some things about his dad's past that surprise him, and when a student in a rival forensics club is found dead, Guy begins to suspect that the dead kid and his own father might have something in common. So he's going to try to use his newfound forensics skills to solve an actual murder. If the murderer doesn't find him first. On the surface this book sounds like a mystery, and it is, a little, but it's primarily a very funny story of a guy coping with the loss of his father in the only way he knows how. Guy worshipped his father and he tries to write a book of wise sayings of his father's, but he also learns some unsettling things about his dad's past that change the way he views him. The humor throughout is very funny but very coarse; lots of fart jokes and "potty" humor and gags that guys will love. For a high school main character, Guy is really more of an immature middle schooler at heart, which would make this a great recommendation for middle school boys to read--IF there weren't also a lot of swear words. I kept track as I listened to this on audio, and pretty much every swear word is in it! So, fair warning, if that sort of language bothers you. But if you can overlook the very realistic guy-speak, this is a very entertaining book.
nematome's review
2.0
Well, I made it to about 50%. I am so bummed about this one. After reading [b:The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin|6435578|The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin|Josh Berk|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1242955616s/6435578.jpg|6625130] I was so excited to get my hands on this early. But unfortunately, this does not live up to his first book. Where Will Halpin has depth, subtlety, and good humored self-deprecation (and yes, a few juvenile jokes), Guy Langman has none of the aboveā¦except for the juvenile jokes. He has those in groan-inducing, schlocky abundance. The whole time I was reading this, I felt like I needed a guy behind me with a drum kit, doing that whole da-dun cha! sound effect.
Well, at least one thing can be said: this definitely isnāt just a rehash of the same character. Guy feels like a completely different and new person. Unfortunately, I just couldnāt tolerate him. Itās not that I donāt like him; he just reminds me intensely of why Iām glad that Iāll never have sons. He makes me think of all those times that my girls and I have gone to public play areas, on the days when there are large crowds of boys there. They run around, screaming, pretending to shoot each other with finger-guns. And my girls are just standing there, looking confused and a bit condescending, like, āReally? This is what they do for fun? Okayā¦.ā
Itās not like I donāt enjoy the juvenile humor, either. I can honestly say that The Naked Gun 2 Ā½ is one of my favorite movies of all time. Seriously. But in this book, he has to explain every single joke to the point where itās so transparent that itās no longer just juvenile; itās infantile.
And I was so pumped for the forensic science angle, but this book isnāt really about forensic science; itās about crime solving: hunches, wild leaps, illogical gut feelings. Things which have no place in science. Things which are sometimes incorrectly associated with forensic science, and thus give forensic science the ānot a real scienceā reputation.
So yeah, I wouldnāt recommend this. However, his first book is great. Please pick that one up instead!
Perfect Musical Pairing
Weezer ā Beverly Hills
I used to love Weezer. Their first two albums are still good. But then they came out with thisā¦thisā¦crap. Repetitive, boringā¦Hef in the video. Ugh.
Well, at least one thing can be said: this definitely isnāt just a rehash of the same character. Guy feels like a completely different and new person. Unfortunately, I just couldnāt tolerate him. Itās not that I donāt like him; he just reminds me intensely of why Iām glad that Iāll never have sons. He makes me think of all those times that my girls and I have gone to public play areas, on the days when there are large crowds of boys there. They run around, screaming, pretending to shoot each other with finger-guns. And my girls are just standing there, looking confused and a bit condescending, like, āReally? This is what they do for fun? Okayā¦.ā
Itās not like I donāt enjoy the juvenile humor, either. I can honestly say that The Naked Gun 2 Ā½ is one of my favorite movies of all time. Seriously. But in this book, he has to explain every single joke to the point where itās so transparent that itās no longer just juvenile; itās infantile.
And I was so pumped for the forensic science angle, but this book isnāt really about forensic science; itās about crime solving: hunches, wild leaps, illogical gut feelings. Things which have no place in science. Things which are sometimes incorrectly associated with forensic science, and thus give forensic science the ānot a real scienceā reputation.
So yeah, I wouldnāt recommend this. However, his first book is great. Please pick that one up instead!
Perfect Musical Pairing
Weezer ā Beverly Hills
I used to love Weezer. Their first two albums are still good. But then they came out with thisā¦thisā¦crap. Repetitive, boringā¦Hef in the video. Ugh.
momentum262's review
2.0
This book lacked a decent climax/plot/thriller/mystery point. It was a lot of static storytelling with the biggest parts of the story occurring very close to the end, and thus wrapping up way to quickly. A slow build to a let down of the plot. It was enjoyable to listen to as an audiobook, but I probably would have abandoned it if I was physically reading it. The audiobook narrator was the huge win of this book for me.
akmargie's review
3.0
An interesting, mystery plot complete with forensics and a murder scene. Well developed characters and some funny moments although I feel the humor really favors male readers and I was a bit put off by some of it. You can only read so many "your mom" jokes before it gets old. One of those cases where the humor was definitely not written for me.