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Grow Up: A Novel
by
Ben Brooks
In this bawdy, raucous, and unabashedly frank novel, youth is certainly not wasted on the young
Hailed as "one of the most hilarious and well-observed accounts of teenage debauchery you are ever likely to read" by the trendsetting British lifestyle magazine Dazed & Confused, Ben Brooks's Grow Up is a shocking, stylish, and very modern coming-of-age story.
As Jasper J. Wo...more
Hailed as "one of the most hilarious and well-observed accounts of teenage debauchery you are ever likely to read" by the trendsetting British lifestyle magazine Dazed & Confused, Ben Brooks's Grow Up is a shocking, stylish, and very modern coming-of-age story.
As Jasper J. Wo...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
April 24th 2012
by Penguin Books
(first published January 1st 2011)
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20 year old Ben Brooks wrote this book about being a teenager in England when he was 17.
His mastery of the novel is stunning. The writing is fucking amazing.
His vivid depiction of sex, violence, confusion & drugs rules!
Jasper is very funny and insightful and totally mixed up all at once, like a real person. Half genius half idiot.
Grow Up is entertaining and moving. Disturbing and hilarious. Like being a kid. This English perspective on teenager-dom is existential and fraught and tangled a...more
His mastery of the novel is stunning. The writing is fucking amazing.
His vivid depiction of sex, violence, confusion & drugs rules!
Jasper is very funny and insightful and totally mixed up all at once, like a real person. Half genius half idiot.
Grow Up is entertaining and moving. Disturbing and hilarious. Like being a kid. This English perspective on teenager-dom is existential and fraught and tangled a...more
i liked reading this book
one of my friends said seems like this is 'just about sex and drugs'
ben said 'this is 99% descriptive of my life'
feel like there is more to him than that [via irl conversation]
which makes me feel that he is conscious of the way he chooses to portray jasper
i think that is important to remember and is why it shouldn't be dismissed at first read
interesting again to think of the relation between text produced and person who produced text
laughed re post-its that his mom made...more
one of my friends said seems like this is 'just about sex and drugs'
ben said 'this is 99% descriptive of my life'
feel like there is more to him than that [via irl conversation]
which makes me feel that he is conscious of the way he chooses to portray jasper
i think that is important to remember and is why it shouldn't be dismissed at first read
interesting again to think of the relation between text produced and person who produced text
laughed re post-its that his mom made...more
asdfghjkl;' all I can say about this book! First off this book is not for children. I have never read a Chuck Palinuk book just one of his short stories but I hear this book is somewhat comparable. The main character to me was quite interesting. You feel sympathetic towards him in some parts. He is the general ass hole guy though. This book is hilarious as well and written in a way that you are like damn you are an idiot, or damn thats fing hilarious at the weirdest parts that you think afterwar...more
Zásadní otázka, které mě napadá při pohledu na seznam knih Bena Brookse: Je ten kluk grafoman nebo spisovatel?
Po přečtení knihy Dospěj! je mi jasný, že je to skvělý spisovatel se zajímavým úderným stylem. Miluju jeho krátký věty. Jeho postava je mladý kluk, který experimentuje s drogama a sexem a má trochu moc velkou fantazii. Knihy o dospívání z klučičího pohledu vyhledávám od přečtení Kdo chytá v žitě. Tahle kniha byla zajímavá, byla trochu jiná. Jasper je zajímavý charakter - je rozervaný mez...more
Po přečtení knihy Dospěj! je mi jasný, že je to skvělý spisovatel se zajímavým úderným stylem. Miluju jeho krátký věty. Jeho postava je mladý kluk, který experimentuje s drogama a sexem a má trochu moc velkou fantazii. Knihy o dospívání z klučičího pohledu vyhledávám od přečtení Kdo chytá v žitě. Tahle kniha byla zajímavá, byla trochu jiná. Jasper je zajímavý charakter - je rozervaný mez...more
I recently went to a friend with the following statement about this book: "Good golly I read a coming-of-age book last night that was so foul languaged and filled with sex, drugs and alcohol that I don't know how to talk about it on the blog.. because I actually enjoyed it."
Then I realized, that's exactly what I wanted to say about Grow Up by Ben Brooks. Frankly, I needed to grow up and face the fact that, in spite of its numerous moral deficiencies, this book tackles tough, hard issues teenage...more
Then I realized, that's exactly what I wanted to say about Grow Up by Ben Brooks. Frankly, I needed to grow up and face the fact that, in spite of its numerous moral deficiencies, this book tackles tough, hard issues teenage...more
3 likes · like · see review
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I am in the bath thinking about these things. In my hands there is a Philosophy and Religion textbook. I am reading about how some people believe in God because they had visions of the Virgin Mary. There is a large picture of the Virgin Mary wearing a blue dress and looking quietly pleased. I am bored. The book says that humans can hallucinate due to extreme emotional distress. I wonder if I will hallucinate because of the emotional stress caused by Keith’s constant murder-plotting. I hope I hal...more
http://www.cozylittlebookjournal.com/...
Grow Up is the sort of novel people refer to as "coming of age" because it's about teenagers about to graduate from high school (or finish A-levels, since they're British kids). It's also the sort of novel that gets very mixed reviews because the characters, particularly the main character, is equally charming and despicable. In other words, he's a teenager. Add to that the fact that the author is barely nineteen years old himself and has already written f...more
Grow Up is the sort of novel people refer to as "coming of age" because it's about teenagers about to graduate from high school (or finish A-levels, since they're British kids). It's also the sort of novel that gets very mixed reviews because the characters, particularly the main character, is equally charming and despicable. In other words, he's a teenager. Add to that the fact that the author is barely nineteen years old himself and has already written f...more
If you want a window into the world of contemporary suburban middle-class English teenage life, this is the book for you. It's narrated by Jasper, a seventeen-year-old boy with all the characteristics of many of his ilk: self-absorbed, sometimes thoughtful, sometimes charming, often irritating, generally scheming to avoid studying and on the lookout for maximum sex, drugs, booze, and good times with his friends. Although the book is sometimes quite winning and amusing, Jasper's narration can als...more
Conversations I had about this book:
me: im reading grow up
seems pretty good
spencer: i read like the first several pages
seemed engaging
been meaning to order it
seems like i'd have an unfair bias
like "who the fuck... does this guy think he is ..." re him being my age
me: yeah. seems really bleak that he's younger than me and already has multiple books
spencer: ya
and is also like
successful/attractive
seemingly healthy
like..
me: yeah
fuck
spencer: god damn it
ben brooks wtf
me: its because of his alliterati...more
me: im reading grow up
seems pretty good
spencer: i read like the first several pages
seemed engaging
been meaning to order it
seems like i'd have an unfair bias
like "who the fuck... does this guy think he is ..." re him being my age
me: yeah. seems really bleak that he's younger than me and already has multiple books
spencer: ya
and is also like
successful/attractive
seemingly healthy
like..
me: yeah
fuck
spencer: god damn it
ben brooks wtf
me: its because of his alliterati...more
Jul 14, 2011
A.M.
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to A.M. by:
Debbo
Shelves:
fiction,
contemporary
This book is weird. Not good weird or bad weird, just weird.
It's a snapshot of today's hedonistic youth: taking drugs, attending parties, getting laid, acting as if they'll be young forever with barely a thought given to the future. (If you've watched the TV series Skins, you'll have a fairly good idea what this book is like.)
It's also a meta-literary exploration of self. While I'm not a fan of metafiction, Ben Brooks somehow manages to pull it off; his writing is simple, his imagery effortless...more
It's a snapshot of today's hedonistic youth: taking drugs, attending parties, getting laid, acting as if they'll be young forever with barely a thought given to the future. (If you've watched the TV series Skins, you'll have a fairly good idea what this book is like.)
It's also a meta-literary exploration of self. While I'm not a fan of metafiction, Ben Brooks somehow manages to pull it off; his writing is simple, his imagery effortless...more
“Grow Up is the ultimate twenty-first-century coming-of-age novel.”
Egh...
Not quite.
It did get entertaining at points, even funny and sometimes even inappropriate/decidedly slightly non-PC. All that, plus the sex and drugs. Loads of sex . Loads of drugs. Then again this tale is one told by a certain Jasper yet another person likes mucking about. His day is made if his gotten high, had a drink (or two, but better if more) then made head way with one of the opposite sex. Though not necessarily...more
Egh...
Not quite.
It did get entertaining at points, even funny and sometimes even inappropriate/
His work isn't deep, granted. But the author is 18.
People (readers and critics alike) seem to forget that, they demand Charles Dickens out of him just because he's published. He is a teenager, and although young, his writing is better than a lot of adults ever will be. Give him time.
The book is not sophisticated, it's a very simple story about a teenage boy and drugs and sex and what's going through their head at that age. But I was often pleasantly surprised by choice of wording and sentences...more
People (readers and critics alike) seem to forget that, they demand Charles Dickens out of him just because he's published. He is a teenager, and although young, his writing is better than a lot of adults ever will be. Give him time.
The book is not sophisticated, it's a very simple story about a teenage boy and drugs and sex and what's going through their head at that age. But I was often pleasantly surprised by choice of wording and sentences...more
1 like · like · see review
'One thing I have learned from being alive for seventeen years is that people like to touch things very much. Things that people like to touch: Vaginas. Expensive things in shops. Jelly that is not ready to eat yet. Cigarette lighters. Necks. Dead things. Dogs. Piercings. Toddlers' cheeks. Snow. Each other's knees.
People also like to touch death.'
This book is hilarious. It's also very dark, and has beautiful language, and has wonderful relationships, too. Meet Jasper. He's very anxious. He goes...more
People also like to touch death.'
This book is hilarious. It's also very dark, and has beautiful language, and has wonderful relationships, too. Meet Jasper. He's very anxious. He goes...more
Three things I enjoy most in a novel:
Shock Value.
Well Developed Characters.
An Extensive Vocabulary.
This story featured all of these, and seemed to me like a Palahniuk - ish coming of age novel. The fact that it was written by a boy who was still growing into himself was interesting as well as impressive.
In the beginning of the novel, Jasper talks about how his mother likes him to write down a schedule every morning. Throughout the novel, it's written like you're going through his schedule with...more
Shock Value.
Well Developed Characters.
An Extensive Vocabulary.
This story featured all of these, and seemed to me like a Palahniuk - ish coming of age novel. The fact that it was written by a boy who was still growing into himself was interesting as well as impressive.
In the beginning of the novel, Jasper talks about how his mother likes him to write down a schedule every morning. Throughout the novel, it's written like you're going through his schedule with...more
Oct 16, 2012
michella
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
young-adult,
contemporary
this book was fairly filthy and crass but funny and it's a good read. the author has a certain way with words through out that make you stop and think. there's some real beauty behind this book if you look for it.
"the sky is wide and white, with a wash of early morning mint green. pink clouds push together and mate. they move in slow teams across the edge of the fields. everything is very quiet. the quietest of quiets always fall after the loudest louds. this is because quiet can put its arm ar...more
"the sky is wide and white, with a wash of early morning mint green. pink clouds push together and mate. they move in slow teams across the edge of the fields. everything is very quiet. the quietest of quiets always fall after the loudest louds. this is because quiet can put its arm ar...more
It's quite funny, not that weird and very similar to Catcher in the Rye (except it's funny). Tells you what school would have been like if you were in the in crowd. Makes you a bit jealous if you weren't and you missed the mephadrone buzz but chin up, it's never too late to start using drugs and having casual sex. It is not the deepest book you will ever read but is good fun and a fast read.
I didn't really know quite what to expect from this book upon starting it, but it instantly drew me in. I had seen a lot of negative reviews on this book with comments such as 'it's just about sex and drugs.' I disagree. Granted it is a book that involves a lot of sex, and a lot of substances. However, for me the book had a lot more than that. For one it was extremely funny. Very few books make me laugh out loud, but this was 100% laugh-out-loud-funny in places. I also love how it was written. T...more
This book was a fast and enjoyable read. It won't be for everyone due to the frank talk of sex and drugs but those who read it will be entertained.
Jasper is a teenager and the book is an account of a small section of his life, dealing with his impending exams, friends, sex, drugs, and alcohol. He also thinks his step-father is a murderer! The dialogue is realistic and the prose is well-written. The author uses some wonderful expressions and gives descriptions in bizarre ways that actually work w...more
Jasper is a teenager and the book is an account of a small section of his life, dealing with his impending exams, friends, sex, drugs, and alcohol. He also thinks his step-father is a murderer! The dialogue is realistic and the prose is well-written. The author uses some wonderful expressions and gives descriptions in bizarre ways that actually work w...more
**Received this book as part of a GoodReads First Reads giveaway.**
I don't think I really understood this book. I read it quickly, partly while I was on vacation. However, the protagonist, Jasper, is half my age, lives on the other side of the world, and is the opposite gender from me, so I think the problem might have something to do with a difficulty relating to him. Also, I didn't like him. He really came off as a horrible human being.
There was no point, only a vague outline of a plot, and so...more
I don't think I really understood this book. I read it quickly, partly while I was on vacation. However, the protagonist, Jasper, is half my age, lives on the other side of the world, and is the opposite gender from me, so I think the problem might have something to do with a difficulty relating to him. Also, I didn't like him. He really came off as a horrible human being.
There was no point, only a vague outline of a plot, and so...more
I liked the book because, even though at times I scoffed at the character's immaturity, that's what happens when you're a teenager--you're immature and you do stupid things. Plus, there wouldn't really be a story if the character never did anything stupid, right? I was really surprised at how well-written the book was at times. Although not a deep book, it was hilarious, and the writing swept me into Jasper's world and left me nostalgic for my own risk-taking adolescence. However, near the end t...more
Well, this was one very interesting read. Different and intriguing. Jasper is a 17yo and as one we see the world from his perspective, which I found very erratic, disorganized and at times deep and moving. I don't know what else to say except tons of drugs and sex, which I guess goes hand in hand with typical 17yo behavior. And a very vivid imagination; i like how deep his relationship with his best friend is, how out of his way he goes to help her feel better, how he truly and deeply cares for...more
the second half of the book was better. two stars taken off for that ridiculously unnecessary detailed explanation of how jasper accidentally injured a cat and violently put it out of its misery. it was really hard to concentrate after that. seriously, why go into detail? it served no purpose. i don't think that should be considered a spoiler since some people might not want to feel like shit after reading that part like i did. only reason i didn't stop reading is because a kid wrote the book an...more
Really good book actually! it was amusing yes, but Noel Fielding was a little wrong :P It was a sort of dream world but maybe possible? what do I know? I'm the one reading the book B) :P I will be reading some other Ben Brooks books that I find! I can't believe how young his is and how he has five or so books! unbelievable!
I loved Jasper as a character! He was amazing. Dumb but incredibly clever. Some things I could empathise with and others I saw his point completely! it was brilliant to read...more
I loved Jasper as a character! He was amazing. Dumb but incredibly clever. Some things I could empathise with and others I saw his point completely! it was brilliant to read...more
Oh god, I just found a new favourite author. I feel like shit because he wrote this when he was 17 and now I feel like SUCH an underachiever. This book made me laugh every five seconds, and interrupt my friend every few pages so I could read her passages aloud (she was trying to write computer code and so naturally was not very impressed, but I'm going to make her read this).
Reeeeaddd this book, it's fucking awesome. Don't go expecting to hear the voice of a generation, go in openminded and enjo...more
Reeeeaddd this book, it's fucking awesome. Don't go expecting to hear the voice of a generation, go in openminded and enjo...more
This book reads like an autistic kid wrote and episode of skins. And not the original cast era skins either, but rather the American series, or the 3rd series.
It had a few interesting moments and wasn't that bad. Maybe I'm just too old to really relate. Jasper reminded me of me in high school minus the the need to hurt animals and the middle classness.
I like the references to pop culture like Wu Tang, Murakami, Bon Iver and other things that I know.
Maybe I would have rated this high if I was par...more
It had a few interesting moments and wasn't that bad. Maybe I'm just too old to really relate. Jasper reminded me of me in high school minus the the need to hurt animals and the middle classness.
I like the references to pop culture like Wu Tang, Murakami, Bon Iver and other things that I know.
Maybe I would have rated this high if I was par...more
Originally featured on www.yareads.com, reviewed by Kiona
Jasper spends his days partying with friends, doing drugs, and trying to find evidence incriminating his step-dad as a murderer. He wants to seduce Georgia Treeley, stop one of his best friend’s from hurting herself, and ace his A-levels, as that’s what everyone seems to expect of him.
First thing’s first, this novel is extremely explicit and definitely intended for an older/more mature audience. The author thoroughly details extensive recr...more
Jasper spends his days partying with friends, doing drugs, and trying to find evidence incriminating his step-dad as a murderer. He wants to seduce Georgia Treeley, stop one of his best friend’s from hurting herself, and ace his A-levels, as that’s what everyone seems to expect of him.
First thing’s first, this novel is extremely explicit and definitely intended for an older/more mature audience. The author thoroughly details extensive recr...more
The books was hard to read at times, just due to the fact that the main character was so vile. I don't know if we where supposed to hate him, but I did. It only took a few pages into the book to dislike him but that grew to hatred and in the end I despised him. A few too many tasteless jokes and comments for my liking, which says a lot as I can usually appreciate fiction and nasty characters but they definitely got in my way of enjoying this book as I feel we were not supposed to find the main c...more
Originally posted on www.yareads.com
Jasper spends his days partying with friends, doing drugs, and trying to find evidence incriminating his step-dad as a murderer. He wants to seduce Georgia Treeley, stop one of his best friend’s from hurting herself, and ace his A-levels, as that’s what everyone seems to expect of him.
First thing’s first, this novel is extremely explicit and definitely intended for an older/more mature audience. The author thoroughly details extensive recreational drug use as...more
Jasper spends his days partying with friends, doing drugs, and trying to find evidence incriminating his step-dad as a murderer. He wants to seduce Georgia Treeley, stop one of his best friend’s from hurting herself, and ace his A-levels, as that’s what everyone seems to expect of him.
First thing’s first, this novel is extremely explicit and definitely intended for an older/more mature audience. The author thoroughly details extensive recreational drug use as...more
I received this book through Net Galley.
Jasper Wolf, the narrator of Grow Up by Ben Brooks, blithely compares himself to one of literature’s most famous teen misanthropes, Holden Caulfield. In his words, however, he is “less reckless, and more attractive.” Jasper is wrong. Jasper lacks the charm, the frustration, and the underlying goodness unique to Holden, and so does his story.
Jasper is directionless, and accordingly, there is no plot.
Grow Up is a mishmash of tropes about a particular type o...more
Jasper Wolf, the narrator of Grow Up by Ben Brooks, blithely compares himself to one of literature’s most famous teen misanthropes, Holden Caulfield. In his words, however, he is “less reckless, and more attractive.” Jasper is wrong. Jasper lacks the charm, the frustration, and the underlying goodness unique to Holden, and so does his story.
Jasper is directionless, and accordingly, there is no plot.
Grow Up is a mishmash of tropes about a particular type o...more
I was really excited to read Grow Up. Looking back on it, I’m not sure why this was, other than I loved the cover art and the description sounded really good. However, there’s a big difference between the way a book is marketed and the book itself. After the first couple of chapters, I started feeling really ambivalent toward this book, and that feeling grew as I read on. There are a lot of funny parts. For instance, the main character, Jasper, has it in his head that his step-father murdered hi...more
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