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stephen_arvidson's review against another edition
4.0
Set in the early 1990s, this haunting and well-written collection of interconnected stories centers around the lives of Palo Alto's more ambivalent high school students, youths wholly consumed by their own sexual frustration, self-loathing, guilt, homophobia, and unrequited love. Readers will find James Franco's lean writing style honest, raw, and reflective of the scattered thought processes of your garden-variety angst-addled teenagers struggling to find meaning in their lives. The actor/filmmaker reveals himself to be a versatile artist. Using terse language, Franco succeeds in depicting bleak and realistic situations besetting a generation enveloped by nihilism, decadence, longing and desire. These stark and tragic coming-of-age tales will linger in your mind long after you've finished them.
thewriterrose's review against another edition
1.0
This felt like an excuse to use the n word a lot and say other super racist things.
stephaniexpink's review against another edition
1.0
badly written with too many short sentences to the point it was weird to read; non-existent plot and everything just seemed out of place. Just felt like It was someone trying to be too edgy? I hated it.
tanyawinanto's review against another edition
2.0
although i have a very big fond of Mr. Franco, but i gotta say this book is rubbish. it's very bad written, horrible storyline and boring.
bentrevett's review against another edition
2.0
absolute shit. written like a 12-year-old trying to copy brett easton ellis.
dimples0508's review against another edition
2.0
I'm going to go with Zoey on this one! That was some weird stuff to get through. It was like a super shocking gritty Arcade Fire Suburbs without a huge shock factor, it was just kind of gross. So I got through it fairly quick but then I sat and wondered about Franco's writing style and whether or not he wrote this book for the passion or for the Duchamp quality of "this is a book, this is art". And whether or not he experienced this stuff because if he did that's pretty messed up.
doritobabe's review against another edition
2.0
Palo Alto review.
This is a pretentious piece of work. I originally bought this book for my brother when he was 17 as I felt it would maybe speak to him in some way...all because i had heard it was about youth lifestyle. If anyone remembers the movie Thirteen with Evan Rachel Wood, this is essentially the same kind of story: wayward teens guided by sex, drugs, and violence (for a new generation, because we all know rock and roll and it's ideologies of rebellion have been replaced by EDM, friends named MOLLY, and an uncontrollable desire to get bitches and spend money.)
I honestly cannot tell if Franco:
a) decided to write the most outrageous book he could to see if it could sell purely on its celebrity basis
b) intended to write a 'meaningful' book about teenage folly, ignorance, and cruelty in order to describe/outline/show to the readers something about the youths of today and the influence of society and parents (or the lack thereof for both of these categories.)
**Keep in mind this point can be argued extensively because of how un-carefully written this book is.**
Regardless of his intent, this book is... interesting to say the least. His teenagers seem emotionless and senseless--almost brain dead--with the style of writing used. The plot itself is incoherent because each short story jumps around feeding the reader random facts about "teenage life" that revolve mostly around the size of someone's penis, breasts, or who can give the best head.
I feel that if a parent read this they would get paranoid about their children because the content is so frightening yet hyper-realistic--essentially just one big parental nightmare wrapped neatly between a cover and the name "James Franco"; giving it the appearance of "truth" (because you know, the validity of all celebrity endorsement.) Much like we saw again with Thirteen and it's suicidal-blow-job-obsessed-teen-queen or the '90s terror Kids.
Honestly, maybe there is something to this book. Maybe it speaks volumes about the naitivity of youth; about the miseducation of sex and violence (or rather lack thereof); maybe it is important for those who are young to read so that they can realize, from the outside perspective of the book, that some things they may be doing are wrong. Potentially, this book is important, but as an avid reader and someone who is interested in the sociology of youth and youth subcultures, I feel as though these stories are only true or real to an extreme minority. And remember folks, Franco is an actor and director first, and what do movies do best other than exaggurate things for a good story?
This is a pretentious piece of work. I originally bought this book for my brother when he was 17 as I felt it would maybe speak to him in some way...all because i had heard it was about youth lifestyle. If anyone remembers the movie Thirteen with Evan Rachel Wood, this is essentially the same kind of story: wayward teens guided by sex, drugs, and violence (for a new generation, because we all know rock and roll and it's ideologies of rebellion have been replaced by EDM, friends named MOLLY, and an uncontrollable desire to get bitches and spend money.)
I honestly cannot tell if Franco:
a) decided to write the most outrageous book he could to see if it could sell purely on its celebrity basis
b) intended to write a 'meaningful' book about teenage folly, ignorance, and cruelty in order to describe/outline/show to the readers something about the youths of today and the influence of society and parents (or the lack thereof for both of these categories.)
**Keep in mind this point can be argued extensively because of how un-carefully written this book is.**
Regardless of his intent, this book is... interesting to say the least. His teenagers seem emotionless and senseless--almost brain dead--with the style of writing used. The plot itself is incoherent because each short story jumps around feeding the reader random facts about "teenage life" that revolve mostly around the size of someone's penis, breasts, or who can give the best head.
I feel that if a parent read this they would get paranoid about their children because the content is so frightening yet hyper-realistic--essentially just one big parental nightmare wrapped neatly between a cover and the name "James Franco"; giving it the appearance of "truth" (because you know, the validity of all celebrity endorsement.) Much like we saw again with Thirteen and it's suicidal-blow-job-obsessed-teen-queen or the '90s terror Kids.
Honestly, maybe there is something to this book. Maybe it speaks volumes about the naitivity of youth; about the miseducation of sex and violence (or rather lack thereof); maybe it is important for those who are young to read so that they can realize, from the outside perspective of the book, that some things they may be doing are wrong. Potentially, this book is important, but as an avid reader and someone who is interested in the sociology of youth and youth subcultures, I feel as though these stories are only true or real to an extreme minority. And remember folks, Franco is an actor and director first, and what do movies do best other than exaggurate things for a good story?
itsalexjackman's review against another edition
3.0
A compelling collection of stories that perfectly captures the dramas, emotions, and grit of american teenagers.
trixabelle's review against another edition
3.0
Not sure about this. Some well conceived settings and characters and I liked the way it was a series of short stories linked by either time or locale. It was a bit vulgar for me though and I din't relate well to potheads!
depressingreads's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0