Take a photo of a barcode or cover
toni_reads07 's review for:
Sex & Violence
by Carrie Mesrobian
There aren't enough words to describe the magic that is Carrie Mesrobian's writing. Is it her capacity to write--over and over and over--squarely from the hemmed-in mind of teenage boys? Or is it her stunning use of evocative language both natural and unnatural to teenagers? Or perhaps her clever, interesting, very real dialogue? Whatever it is, no one else seems to match up to Mesrobian's mighty pen strokes. As Evan McElhatton Carter proves, Mesrobian isn't the slightest bit interested in flat narrators or genius plot devices or stock landfill characters. No. She prefers layers of truth, unconventional yet honest (and frankly, rampant) displays of adolescent sexual behavior, and genuine activity and banter among people we've all seen, people we've all known. Evan Carter, if met in real life, might be a colossal asshole; or he might just be the sweetest guy you've ever met. Mesrobian settles for neither cliché. Instead she weaves them together, composing a complex Wagner-esque symphony in her narrator--a boy whose mind makes him far more convoluted and fucked-up and fetching than your imagination almost allows. And just when you think you've had enough, Mesrobian takes you a few steps further. By the end, you realize most suddenly that terms such as "almost-rape" aren't as much a reflection of Evan's journey as his dating the girl who introduced this bizarre concept to his mind. If you can somehow read Sex & Violence, and come away lacking further compassion for teenage boys (and girls!) in your life, then Evan isn't the heartless monster here.