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X-It

by Jane George (Goodreads Author)

4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 · rating details · 23 ratings · 9 reviews

LOVE IS A DRUG.
In 1980 NYC, eighteen-year-old J.J. Buckingham is an uptight trendoid. Working as a mannequin painter and a counter girl, she moonlights as a creature of the nightclubs. J.J. falls for aloof, crazy-talented artist and bicycle messenger X-It. In order to win his love, she succumbs to the dark machinations of drug dealer Marko Voodoo. X-It will love her if she...more

Paperback, 210 pages

Published March 26th 2012 by Paper Grove Publishing (first published March 1st 2012)

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Jul 27, 2012 Pavarti Tyler rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review, fiction

DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of X-It in exchange for an honest review. No promise of a positive review was made and I wasn't compensated in any way.

Beautifully written X-It is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. Jane George has woven a concise, raw and honest work of literature that maintains it's literary standards without ever crossing over in to the realm of pretentious and indulgence. This book doesn't rely on a lot of exposition but instead takes you directly into the meat of each moment,...more DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of X-It in exchange for an honest review. No promise of a positive review was made and I wasn't compensated in any way.

Beautifully written X-It is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. Jane George has woven a concise, raw and honest work of literature that maintains it's literary standards without ever crossing over in to the realm of pretentious and indulgence. This book doesn't rely on a lot of exposition but instead takes you directly into the meat of each moment, each heartbeat and each disaster.

I love books that have that element of poetry that doesn't really have a genre. Some people call it Lit Fic, but most become a parody of itself. X-It never does. If you've ever loved something unattainable, then you know X-It. I had my own X-It in a way. The story isn't nearly as tragic and he was never as selfish, but I loved him, in my own way. I idealized him and wanted so much from him that was never his to give. I felt that longing, that desperation George has infused in every word of X-It.

X-It is set in 1980 and 1981. The main character J.J. runs from her life in San Fransisco to make her own way in NY. Just as she gets her feet under her, with a roommate who becomes her best friend and obsession, work she is good at and a life that, the very life she was running from shows up at her apartment door. Pulled into a life of drugs, clubs and wanna-be punk rockers, J.J. begins down the road that will ultimately take everything she thought she wanted away from her.

At the core of X-It is a romance. A tragic and all consuming love that overshadows reason. But can obsession ever live up to expectations? Is the grass ever really greener, or is real love, honest, giving, accepting love worth fighting for?

This book is not for the faint of heart. Nothing is explicit, nothing is overt, but the insecurities of J.J. are so well portrayed you can slip into her skin and feel the need for relief, for a moment of rest, for just a little something to make the moment to moment miseries bearable. J.J.'s slip into drug abuse could happen to anyone. And readers are not spared the real life consequences of that road.

The real reason to read this book though, is the prose itself:

Charred mannequin arms reach up from the cellar like victims begging to be saved. Their graceful, stylized gestures make their doomed petition all the more poignant.

Lose yourself in something spectacularly unexpected and beautifully devastating. Pick up a copy of X-It today.(less)

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Jul 16, 2012 Karen Toz rated it 5 of 5 stars

I just finished reading X-It, by Jane George a few moments ago, and my brain is just reeling – in a good way. In fact, I read this book over the course of just a few days. I honestly could not put it down.

From the very first pages I was drawn to J.J. – From her dripping purple hair dye through her slow, dark, and painful decent into the 80’s punk/club scene. Jane George truly created a dynamic character with incredible depth. To me this book read like a memoir, making it even more powerful and...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Leah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Disclosure: I received this book for review from the author. I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Loved this book. It felt like a punk rock rollercoaster ride. J.J. was a character I loved and hated. I loved that she was an artist and so insecure about herself that she didn't realize what a gem she could be. This was a great story about heartache, finding yourself and your true worth, but with not much of the niceties. As t...more Disclosure: I received this book for review from the author. I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Loved this book. It felt like a punk rock rollercoaster ride. J.J. was a character I loved and hated. I loved that she was an artist and so insecure about herself that she didn't realize what a gem she could be. This was a great story about heartache, finding yourself and your true worth, but with not much of the niceties. As the book summary suggested, this story took place in 80's punk New York, so drugs, punk music, and even sex were involved. I couldn't relate to all that, but I've read and heard enough true stories to know that such Lifetime-movie-worthy ways of life were (and still are) real. The author was able to capture this perfectly and it wasn't hard not to be swept away in the chaotic J.J. express train. I loved that the two main characters, J.J. and X-It, were artists. Usually when I think about punk club scenes, I picture a groupie in love with a broody and moody musician married to his les paul guitar. In this case, it was an artist painfully in love with a fellow artist, who happened to be her supposed bestfriend and the kind of talent she wished she could be. I loved reading about J.J.'s style and how her innate artistic spirit comes out through her thoughts and choices.

Aside from the gut and heart wrenching (but hopeful!) story, I really loved the writing style. It fit perfectly with the whole artsy thing in the book. It was visual and emotional poetry. The author had that clever way with words that I always strive to do in my own writing attempts. I read this in Kindle but I could just imagine holding a paperback in my hands and feeling the pages. I think this is that kind of book, better read as a paperback than an e-book, so you can roll around in the words. Er, that's just me.

If you like a little punk pizzazz with your coming-of-age story, you might enjoy this one.

Blog post here.(less)

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Dec 22, 2012 Naomi Leadbeater rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've had more than my share of X-its, and they've all had re-entries at some point as well.
There are three main reasons to like this 'against-the-grain' love story (that's far more common than people think, I think). I mean this in a not-quite literal to the events sense though.

There is so much detail andpoignantdescription in this book it reads like a fine-art portrait of society, fashion, gender wrapped in a nice package with an absolutely perfect cover. That should probably be more than one r...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Drennan Spitzer rated it 3 of 5 stars

In X-It, Jane George tells the story of J.J. Buckingham, an aspiring artist in New York City in the 1980s. J.J. falls in love with her roommate X-It, as she negotiates the nightclubs and drug scene that surrounds them both. George's novel might be classified as combining chick-lit, romance, and the coming-of-age novel, without the saccharine overlay that these genres too often tend to employ. If "love is a drug," as George's book cover proclaims, we see the havoc addiction plays in the life of J...more In X-It, Jane George tells the story of J.J. Buckingham, an aspiring artist in New York City in the 1980s. J.J. falls in love with her roommate X-It, as she negotiates the nightclubs and drug scene that surrounds them both. George's novel might be classified as combining chick-lit, romance, and the coming-of-age novel, without the saccharine overlay that these genres too often tend to employ. If "love is a drug," as George's book cover proclaims, we see the havoc addiction plays in the life of J.J.

I have to say that I found X-It to be compelling, surprisingly so. I read it quickly and had a hard time putting it down. I'm unsure of what to attribute this to. While I appreciate the narrative voice here--J.J. is our central character as well as the first-person narrator of this story--I didn't necessarily like J.J.'s character. She seems both desperate and bent on self destruction. While this type of character strikes me as realistic, it's not necessarily the kind of character I would normally enjoy reading about. And yet, I found myself wanting more of J.J.'s story. I think that I found the work to be compelling precisely because I found the voice to be particularly engaging. This work is written in the present tense, something I often find to be irritating, but here it works. This first-person, present tense narration lends an immediacy to the novel, and I think the work would be flat without this particular type of narration. For it's these details, rather than the plot or even J.J.'s character that kept me engaged.

The setting, the New York City drug / nightclub / art scene in the early 1980s is also engaging. And yet, I'm not entirely sure that this setting is necessary to the story. It seems to me that J.J.'s plight is universal, or at least typical of certain types of women, and that this plot could work just as well in a contemporary setting. Nonetheless, I found the details of the setting to be interesting and entertaining, from discussions of J.J.'s fashion choices to the picture of the nightclub sub-culture of the period. George recreates this specific time period, location, and sub-culture well enough that it feels authentic.

There is so much about this novel that seems like I shouldn't have liked it, and yet I found it enjoyable. George's X-It is a quick, entertaining read. Maybe not profound and moving, but there's still something believable about J.J. and her telling of her own story, enough so that I'd recommend it as a light read, particularly for a particular type of reader.

NOTE: This review originally posted at my website, Speaking of Books, www.drennanspitzer.com Please visit me there!

X-It is available from Amazon in both electronic and hard formats.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for review from the author. I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”(less)

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Dec 10, 2012 Charlie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: indie, teen-ya

This is very punk rock and not in the candy-coated nostalgia sense, but in the dirty, dye-stained world of vaseline and aqua net. Even though this is set in 1980, it easily could range into the mid 90's. The club scene, drug addiction, music and underground hipness of punk rock influence reached over a decade. The only thing missing, intravenous HIV inflections and a groupie gang of junkie strippers. Engaged in high risk behavior, this fortunate teen escapes battered but not dead, which is an ac...more

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Dec 11, 2012 Lydia rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was a roller coaster in the best way possible!!! Going on this crazy nostalgic ride with J.J. was amazing and very very very 80s. Not bad 80s but like all those things that the ones that didn't live during that time hear about it and wish we were apart of (I was born in 1990. You do the math.). So my comparison would be a tame Sid and Nancy and that one movie with Robert Downey Jr. and Molly Ringwald but not as campy. It's a weird reference but it's the only one I got!

X-It has you root...more

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Sep 16, 2012 Tasha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I received this book free from Goodreads' first reads.

I don't know what made me enter to win this book. It's not the type of book I normally read. In fact after I entered I almost withdrew. It's not really fair to be given a book to read when it's not your usual genre, when you are not the target audience. I didn't withdraw. I figured I wouldn't win anyway. When j did win it, I wasn't too excited about reading it. It sat on my coffee table for several weeks. Finally I started it one night. I rea...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Carrie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, 2012, reviewed

3.5 star
X-it for me was a nice fast paced book that I read in one sitting. I really liked how J.J. tried and did what she needed to do to better her life. She had her setbacks like everyone but in the end did what was best for her. I did enjoy this book but was a little hard reading the drug addiction struggles. I know someone who is going through almost the same situation. Hopefully she can recover as well as J.J.

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About Jane George

Jane George lives in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area with her family and beloved kitty cats. She attended the California College of the Arts and is a lifelong appreciator of the sublime and the absurd.

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