A review by ablotial
Going Nowhere Faster by Sean Beaudoin

3.0

This was one of the very first books I ever added on Goodreads, back in 2007 -- apparently even before it was published. I don't remember how I learned about it -- it's completely random. But however I learned about it, I remember noticing the author's name was the same as someone I knew growing up. It's not the same person, which I found interesting because it's not like "John Smith" or something, where you expect multiples. Anyway, that's what got it added to my list. When I joined PaperbackSwap, I added it to my wishlist there, and in 2013 my wish was granted and I received a copy in the mail. And it sat on my bookshelf ever since. So in that respect, I'm glad I finally crossed it off my list.

But the book itself wasn't great. It wasn't awful, either. It just... was. Parts of it were pretty funny. Other parts were quite dumb... like all of the failed scripts. The scriptwriting

Spoiler

really didn't add a single thing to the story. Like, at all

I knew "whodunnit" very early on. The plot was mediocre, the characters were not compelling and overblown (seriously, his whole family, including Fred/Prarash... wtf... and his friends, his boss, his therapist, his gifted/talented teachers...
the only remotely believable person in this entire book was his kid sister).

I did enjoy the movie recommendations at the end. Even though I don't watch many movies -- maybe I'll find time for that to change during this covid-19 quarantine stuff we're all doing.

One thing I found really interesting though was the treatment of the bully and the end of the story.

Spoiler

In the end, he runs into the bully guy, who barely even remembers who he is. And he's just ... a guy. Not scary. Doesn't remember even threatening him.

This mirrors my experience with my own bully, and I have to say it's really almost disappointing and anti-climactic. How is it that these people make such a big impression in OUR lives, but we are so insignificant to them? I harbored so much hatred for so long, and ... yeah.

The relationship with the girl felt all too familiar to me also...

Spoiler

being fake-dated to get to someone else

. Can you tell middle/high school were not my favorite points in life?

So yeah, I think the author got some things right. And it was a fast, funny read. But nothing special.