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crystaltran 's review for:
The Spectacular Now
by Tim Tharp
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this is one of those books that i only planned on reading because i wanted to watch the movie… almost a decade later i finally read it 🫣 and it was honestly a pleasant surprise!! (even a decade later!)
this book follows Sutter, a senior in high school that’s definitely an alcoholic, lives life to the fullest with any regard for consequences, and is just here to enjoy the “spectacular now” (omg that’s the title of the book woahhhh). it’s a typical coming-of-age story, but more specifically is about Sutter trying to get his newly ex girlfriend, Cassidy back. in the midst of that he also decides to help local loner Aimee in breaking out of her shell and living life away from her controlling family. in his quest to help Aimee, she ends up falling in love with him, and not wanting to hurt her (and rationalizing it in this weird, helping her gain world experience kinda way), he agrees to be her boyfriend and all that.
all in all, Sutter is a terrible influence on Aimee. she used to be a really good and innocent student, but now she’s flunking class, slacking on college, and breaking all of the time. the book is told solely through Sutter’s POV, so we don’t get to see the full scope of his influence on Aimee and those around him, but through Sutter’s friends and Cassidy, we see how hard he’s spiraling and how much he’s affecting Aimee.
Sutter himself doesn’t experience a lot of character growth, mainly bc he’s clouded by his own narcissism, but we do see inklings of him trying to be better, but not ever fully taking hold of himself. this and the ambiguous ending is probably the least satisfying part of the book. while i don’t personally enjoy that part, it’s pretty clear that it’s purposefully don’t like that to symbolize that not everyone gets a happy ending, and life is a little too complicated to give everything a clear cut answer. while i can appreciate that message, i think it would’ve been nice to at least get some sort of confirmation that Sutter continues to better himself or some sort of conclusion on the Aimee storyline.
other than that, it was a super fun and light hearted read. now i gotta watch the movie 😳
this book follows Sutter, a senior in high school that’s definitely an alcoholic, lives life to the fullest with any regard for consequences, and is just here to enjoy the “spectacular now” (omg that’s the title of the book woahhhh). it’s a typical coming-of-age story, but more specifically is about Sutter trying to get his newly ex girlfriend, Cassidy back. in the midst of that he also decides to help local loner Aimee in breaking out of her shell and living life away from her controlling family. in his quest to help Aimee, she ends up falling in love with him, and not wanting to hurt her (and rationalizing it in this weird, helping her gain world experience kinda way), he agrees to be her boyfriend and all that.
all in all, Sutter is a terrible influence on Aimee. she used to be a really good and innocent student, but now she’s flunking class, slacking on college, and breaking all of the time. the book is told solely through Sutter’s POV, so we don’t get to see the full scope of his influence on Aimee and those around him, but through Sutter’s friends and Cassidy, we see how hard he’s spiraling and how much he’s affecting Aimee.
Sutter himself doesn’t experience a lot of character growth, mainly bc he’s clouded by his own narcissism, but we do see inklings of him trying to be better, but not ever fully taking hold of himself. this and the ambiguous ending is probably the least satisfying part of the book. while i don’t personally enjoy that part, it’s pretty clear that it’s purposefully don’t like that to symbolize that not everyone gets a happy ending, and life is a little too complicated to give everything a clear cut answer. while i can appreciate that message, i think it would’ve been nice to at least get some sort of confirmation that Sutter continues to better himself or some sort of conclusion on the Aimee storyline.
other than that, it was a super fun and light hearted read. now i gotta watch the movie 😳