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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
Heartbreaking. There is not much else to say about this book. Life is in this book is real, with a range of characters we see everyday. Sutter is truly a spectacularly pathetic, endearing and frustrating guy. Disclaimer: the ending is shatteringly realistic. Be prepared.
I started out with a three star rating for this book but after thinking about it for a while I'm changing that to five. I hated the ending. It leaves you feeling so depressed and lost for the character. But, I realized that's the point. The writing is awesome. There are some really awesome quotes. My favorite is, "embrace the weird." That should be everyone's motto especially my library's. This is a book about what could happen if you only ever live in the now. I hope teens that read it get that. I'm afraid they will think they can drive around drunk all the time without consequences. I'm still really sad for the main character. I want him to have a future. I'm going to believe he turns his life around.
I loved it. This was the first book that touched and influenced me personally. I really could identify myself with Sutter. Not in the whole, but with many of his problems and thoughts. I could find something for myself in so many dialogues, it helped me to realize to be more open and confident.
Let's take a high school boy who is an alcoholic and believes that he is literally the coolest person ever, and see what happens when he meets the weird but awesome nerdy girl who has real life dreams and aspirations and believes in doing what she needs to whether or not it is the right thing. And let's take that boy and make him change the girl to what he thinks is best, getting her to be a big drinker, letting her fall in love with him while he just looks at her as a charity project, and let's let him be the hero in the end when he decides to break up with her because it's the right thing to do, but oh wait, let's lead her on and let her move to a different state believing he's going to follow her and live with her and love her while he has no intention to because THAT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. Really the only thing to learn from this book is that you shouldn't be a self centered ass hat and you really shouldn't party and drink a ton. And it's really time to grow up and not believe that the man who left you as a child is a hero while your mom is a terrible human being and hey, lighting expensive suits on fire is not funny.
This book literally had no redeeming qualities. Highly disappointing because the movie trailer looks so good.
This book literally had no redeeming qualities. Highly disappointing because the movie trailer looks so good.
This is one of those rare instances where I saw the film and loved it so much, I needed to read the source material. It's even rarer in the sense that the film vastly outperforms the book. The narrative is streamlined, the characters fleshed out, and the main character (I can't quite get to the point of calling him an antagonist or protagonist - he just IS) comes through in such a huge way. Tharp does a wonderful job, but in the hands of Weber and Neustadter and Ponsoldt, this book becomes an instant classic of a film. The performances of Teller and Woodley are jaw-dropping and make you care for the characters in a way that I'm not sure many people would after reading the book.
In short - see the movie. You'll be searching for your own spectacular now soon after.
In short - see the movie. You'll be searching for your own spectacular now soon after.
Tharp set out in this novel to break the rules of the YA novel. Mission accomplished.
Exhibit 1: the male narrator. What in the name of Holden Caulfield has happened in YA lit in recent years? Female narrators, if not female voices, have dominated the genre in recent years. Tharp takes a pretty recognizable boy--the party animal, the good-time friend--and he gives him a brain and a sensitivity that is both warm and refreshing. Sutter Keely never quite recovers from the end of the relationship at the beginning of the book, but he never lowers himself to exploit Aimee either.
Exhibit 2: a hyper realistic look at a number of segments of teen life. Sutter is open about his alcoholism, and the tone of the book seems to accept it until close to the end. With all of the driving Sutter describes, the absence of problems may seem unrealistic. Sex is engaged with thought and caution. Sutter seems willing to accept "no" as no, and to say yes only after avoiding going all the way. Needless to say, this will end up on quite a few district "censored" lists, which will make it all the more popular among teens.
Exhibit 3: the ending, where the boy changes to meet the aspirations of his true love (loves in Sutter's case). Yeah. I don't want to give it away (and I prefer the more hopeful movie ending to the book), but the ending fits the character, not the format.
As my daughter said after she read it, too, "I expected him to change for Aimee, and he didn't." Aimee, on the other hand, begins to abuse alcohol with Sutter, but ends the story strengthened by both his affections and *spoiler* his abandonment.
My only quibble with the book is just how thoughtful Sutter is. Writing as a 'recovering teenage boy of 42' myself, I stumbled through that age with about 1/8th of the perception that he shows. Is Sutter idealized, or is he just the insightful side of the party-crasher that none of us ever noticed?
Exhibit 1: the male narrator. What in the name of Holden Caulfield has happened in YA lit in recent years? Female narrators, if not female voices, have dominated the genre in recent years. Tharp takes a pretty recognizable boy--the party animal, the good-time friend--and he gives him a brain and a sensitivity that is both warm and refreshing. Sutter Keely never quite recovers from the end of the relationship at the beginning of the book, but he never lowers himself to exploit Aimee either.
Exhibit 2: a hyper realistic look at a number of segments of teen life. Sutter is open about his alcoholism, and the tone of the book seems to accept it until close to the end. With all of the driving Sutter describes, the absence of problems may seem unrealistic. Sex is engaged with thought and caution. Sutter seems willing to accept "no" as no, and to say yes only after avoiding going all the way. Needless to say, this will end up on quite a few district "censored" lists, which will make it all the more popular among teens.
Exhibit 3: the ending, where the boy changes to meet the aspirations of his true love (loves in Sutter's case). Yeah. I don't want to give it away (and I prefer the more hopeful movie ending to the book), but the ending fits the character, not the format.
As my daughter said after she read it, too, "I expected him to change for Aimee, and he didn't." Aimee, on the other hand, begins to abuse alcohol with Sutter, but ends the story strengthened by both his affections and *spoiler* his abandonment.
My only quibble with the book is just how thoughtful Sutter is. Writing as a 'recovering teenage boy of 42' myself, I stumbled through that age with about 1/8th of the perception that he shows. Is Sutter idealized, or is he just the insightful side of the party-crasher that none of us ever noticed?
not sure if I wanna give this 3.5 or 4. I'll be nice and give it 4.
this book is well written. Sutter had a distinct voice that reminded me vaguely of holden caulfield, which I have no problem with. he was a prick a lot of the time, but he really had a heart. he had good intentions, but he, just like holden, wasn't sure of anything.
this book just sort of meandered it's way through. I felt for aimee, I felt for sutter, I even felt for cassidy. but I don't understand what happened to them all in the end. well, cassidy and Aimee, I do. but Sutter? he never really changed. he went back to his alcohol, to where he was in the beginning.
perhaps, the point of this book is that we can't always strive for the highest things, we just have to make what we're dealing with now spectacular in its own way. I don't know. it was a good book, one I'll perhaps return to eventually.
this book is well written. Sutter had a distinct voice that reminded me vaguely of holden caulfield, which I have no problem with. he was a prick a lot of the time, but he really had a heart. he had good intentions, but he, just like holden, wasn't sure of anything.
this book just sort of meandered it's way through. I felt for aimee, I felt for sutter, I even felt for cassidy. but I don't understand what happened to them all in the end. well, cassidy and Aimee, I do. but Sutter? he never really changed. he went back to his alcohol, to where he was in the beginning.
perhaps, the point of this book is that we can't always strive for the highest things, we just have to make what we're dealing with now spectacular in its own way. I don't know. it was a good book, one I'll perhaps return to eventually.
While I read this book, I couldn't stop the flashes to The Catcher in the Rye. Sutter is incredibly similar to Holden Caulfield. I enjoyed reading a book from the perspective of a character who is the life of the party. Tim Tharp excellently depicts Sutter's character through the actions and reactions of other characters. The way the other characters perceived and responded to Sutter built my understanding of him. As an English teacher, I am always sad when a character has little growth over a novel. By the end of the book, Sutter was still lost, and he still had an alcohol and attitude problem. Perhaps, this is realistic. We don't all grow from each and every experience. Other than learning what not to do, I don't think readers will learn very much from Sutter's actions because he doesn't seem to realize that he has a problem. It would be fascinating to do a comparison between Sutter and Holden, as they both have so many similar psychological issues and personal concerns. I don't plan to see the movie, but I know English teachers lament that there is no movie to go along with The Catcher in the Rye. I predict that this movie would make for a great comparison. Even better, teachers could provide this book as a bridge to help students understand the human condition, through the lenses of both of these fascinating characters.
Finished this book in 4 days because I couldn't put it down...and the end killed me. The words stabbed me in the chest like a knife. That was not an ending. I have no closure. Where is the closure!?