A review by goodmorningidea
Juventud salvaje by Anthony Breznican

3.0

I thought this book was well written but you really have to be ready going in that this is dark humor and a bit campy. Some of the dialogue, characters, and plot points are SO unrealistic and over the top, but if you just roll with it, it's okay. I'm not sure if this is categorized as YA but that's what it felt like to me - the upper age range of YA. At times it felt like he was writing it to be a movie - and I can't stand that. There were so many times I thought, "Wow that parent/teacher really hates kids for no reason." I think it kind of missed the mark here BUT then you have to remind yourself of its campiness. This book straddles that line too much, though. It delves into manipulative sentimentality but then reaches for the outrageous and I think it needs to go further one way or the other. Either go full camp or cut that out and make it more realistic.