nai777's review
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
h_motionless's review
3.0
(Actual rating 3.5)
How I Paid For College by Marc Acito is a comedy/drama novel following the teenage life of Edward as he is trying to “earn” money to afford to go to college, while encountering many life experiences along the way.
The subtitle of this novel is A Tale of Sex, Theft, Friendship, and Musical Theatre, and this basically sums up the entire book. There’s plenty of sex and discussions about sexuality, there is an insanely obscure theft of a Buddha (dubbed “grand theft Buddha” at the end of the novel, which I found hilarious), friendship is a very heavy topic, and there are so many references to musical theatre. As a theatre fan, I appreciated this so much.
Regarding the actual story, it was nothing groundbreaking, and the writing certainly wasn’t Shakespeare, but that’s not what Acito was aiming to achieve. How I Paid For College is meant to be funny, light-hearted but simultaneously hard-hitting, and entertaining, rather than the next Pride and Prejudice. Recently, I have been reading more literary works, so I couldn’t help but think that the writing came across as a little juvenile, but I couldn’t do better, so who am I to judge?
Even though the writing and the story weren’t great, I absolutely adored all of the references to not only musical theatre, but also pop culture in general. There are countless references to Grease, Cats, Cabaret, The Wizard of Oz and many more musicals, and also amazing actresses like Liza Minelli and Betty Buckley, but there were also a few more minor references that I picked up on, like a small mention of Stephen King, and a reference to his novel Carrie. There was also (on the same page as the Carrie reference) a reference to Janet Leigh’s performance in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. I just loved how jam-packed this book was with references to the things I love.
Overall, this was an extremely funny novel that I wouldn’t typically pick up, but I ended up really enjoying it!
How I Paid For College by Marc Acito is a comedy/drama novel following the teenage life of Edward as he is trying to “earn” money to afford to go to college, while encountering many life experiences along the way.
The subtitle of this novel is A Tale of Sex, Theft, Friendship, and Musical Theatre, and this basically sums up the entire book. There’s plenty of sex and discussions about sexuality, there is an insanely obscure theft of a Buddha (dubbed “grand theft Buddha” at the end of the novel, which I found hilarious), friendship is a very heavy topic, and there are so many references to musical theatre. As a theatre fan, I appreciated this so much.
Regarding the actual story, it was nothing groundbreaking, and the writing certainly wasn’t Shakespeare, but that’s not what Acito was aiming to achieve. How I Paid For College is meant to be funny, light-hearted but simultaneously hard-hitting, and entertaining, rather than the next Pride and Prejudice. Recently, I have been reading more literary works, so I couldn’t help but think that the writing came across as a little juvenile, but I couldn’t do better, so who am I to judge?
Even though the writing and the story weren’t great, I absolutely adored all of the references to not only musical theatre, but also pop culture in general. There are countless references to Grease, Cats, Cabaret, The Wizard of Oz and many more musicals, and also amazing actresses like Liza Minelli and Betty Buckley, but there were also a few more minor references that I picked up on, like a small mention of Stephen King, and a reference to his novel Carrie. There was also (on the same page as the Carrie reference) a reference to Janet Leigh’s performance in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. I just loved how jam-packed this book was with references to the things I love.
Overall, this was an extremely funny novel that I wouldn’t typically pick up, but I ended up really enjoying it!
roxanebayer's review
5.0
It was awkward, embarrassing and funny to read. The story is well written and that ending... The ending was so clever and witty, as a matter of fact, the entire book was witty. This book is a must-read for any coming-of-age book lover. I loved it.
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