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Youth and Other Fictions

by Jonathan Cook

4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 · rating details · 7 ratings · 4 reviews

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Published (first published September 23rd 2011)

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Jan 18, 2012 L_manning rated it 4 of 5 stars

We've all heard the stories. Students bring guns to school and kill others, often ending by killing themselves. This book looks at the effects of such an event on students and teachers. The first half of the book tells the story of Jack, a outcast who is often bullied. He struggles with how he is treated by others at school. While he wishes for revenge, he is soon faced with the aftermath of someone else taking the ultimate revenge. As Jack tries to deal with what happened, he feels his life spi...more We've all heard the stories. Students bring guns to school and kill others, often ending by killing themselves. This book looks at the effects of such an event on students and teachers. The first half of the book tells the story of Jack, a outcast who is often bullied. He struggles with how he is treated by others at school. While he wishes for revenge, he is soon faced with the aftermath of someone else taking the ultimate revenge. As Jack tries to deal with what happened, he feels his life spiraling out of control. Jason is another student who survives the tragedy. He returns to town years later to teach. However, Jason is left answering questions from his school days. When bad things start happening again, he has to sift through all his emotions to be able to cope.

This book starts off as one thing and ends as another. With Jack, I felt bad for him. Here was a boy that was clearly bullied and depressed, and yet no one did anything for him. I wanted to get him help so bad. I was so caught up in him story that when the school shooting occurred, it really got to me. Seeing Jack trying to deal with all the feeling afterword was even more difficult. With Jason, I was definitely unprepared for where his story went. He talks of his class being considered by some to be cursed, and I started to believe that. I found the ending to be a bit abrupt and confusing though. I wasn't even sure what was real by the end.

Overall, I can't say I enjoyed this book in the sense that it was a fun read or anything. In fact, it was fairly hard for me to read because of the subject matter. I wanted so much to be able to change things for the characters. I will say that the story completely absorbed me. I did not want to stop reading because I had to know what would happen. This book does a brilliant job of getting into the heads of Jack and Jason. It shows the horrors of having to deal with the tragedy of a school shooting. It goes places you never expect. I think it is a book that people will want to read.

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Dec 13, 2011 Molly rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

Recommended to Molly by: Premiere Virtual Author Book Tours

Shelves: book-review

Jonathan M. Cook's work is fascinating. This a work of true goodness. He takes the unthinkable: teens committing horrific crimes, and turns it into a realistic fictional read for everyone. Of course, in today's society, there really are teens who commit the said horrific crimes. It's just unthinkable in my mind. I could never have imagined even THINKING of committing the crime when I was in high school. But, it's reality. These things happen, and Cook portrayed it perfectly in this debut novel....more

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Jan 04, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

How do I even begin to describe the way that Youth and Other Fictions affected me? In all honesty, I've read books that deal with school shootings before. I know the harsh reality that comes with the discussion of this topic, and how much it hurts to read. I've seen it discussed from all the different perspectives that there can be. Still, no matter how many times I read about this topic, it never gets any easier.

In Youth and Other Fictions we meet a main character who could be any one of our st...more How do I even begin to describe the way that Youth and Other Fictions affected me? In all honesty, I've read books that deal with school shootings before. I know the harsh reality that comes with the discussion of this topic, and how much it hurts to read. I've seen it discussed from all the different perspectives that there can be. Still, no matter how many times I read about this topic, it never gets any easier.

In Youth and Other Fictions we meet a main character who could be any one of our students, children, or even next door neighbors. Jack is just trying to get by. He isn't that well liked, but he isn't despised either. He kind of just coasts through life, trying his best to blend in. That nagging voice in his head? Nothing he can't deal with. Sometimes he's sure that voice might even be right. Just a normal kid, nothing special.

Cook allows us to get into the mind of his characters, and it brings a vividness to this story that is startlingly easy to fall into. When everything heads south, you'll know exactly why. The reader is given an up close and personal look at the daily life of these students, at the cruel way kids can act towards one another, and at the frustration and anxiety that comes with feeling utterly alone. Even when the world falls apart for these characters, you'll still find yourself rooting for them. They are too believable for me to really explain.

What is really interesting about Youth and Other Fictions though is the fact that the second half of the book is told from an adult's perspective. One of the students who witnessed the shooting comes back as a teacher, and we get to see the new batch of high school students through his eyes. I liked the way that Cook showed the stark contrast between the kids of Jack's youth, and the kids of today. It's alarming how much life has changed for kids, and yet there are still similarities. Especially the ones that lead someone to commit a murder that seems so atrocious to everyone else.

I can't say much more without spoiling the book, and so I'll stop here. What I will say is that even if you think you know what happens in this book, you'll still find yourself at least partially wrong. Watching the events unfold really took my breath away, and I found myself reading at a manic pace to find out what ultimately happened. Cook definitely shows his prowess at writing characters that will pull you in and keep you there. Youth and Other Fictions definitely isn't an easy read, but it's one that I enjoyed. I highly recommend it.
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Dec 08, 2011 Valentina rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a book that is wholly relevant to our times, when violence of all sorts happen at schools. It seems like every day we hear about a kid being bullied enough to commit suicide, or retaliate against his tormentors in the most horrific manner.
At its core, this story is a psychological analysis of what causes a ten to be the perpetrator of an unthinkable crime. We see plot from two viewpoints: the student’s and the teacher’s. This gives us two very different perspectives and allows us to ful...more

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Jan 22, 2012 Addie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Dec 07, 2011 SenoraG rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, arc, fiction, pvabt, ya

Nov 23, 2011 Autumn added it

Dec 02, 2011 L.E.Olteano rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: blog-review, reviewed, received-for-review

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