book data
202 ratings,
3.43
average rating, 48 reviews
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published
June 1st 2006
by Harper Perennial
binding
Paperback, 240 pages
isbn
0060882980
(isbn13: 9780060882983)
description
<center>A wise, bighearted, and hilarious look at one teenager's life by a remarkable new voice in contemporary fiction
It's 1992, and as
...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 305)
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5 stars (49)
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4 stars (46)
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3 stars (65)
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2 stars (26)
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1 star (16)
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avg 3.43
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in March, 2007
I found this book slightly too pretentious. It tries hard to be one of those books that everyone instantly loves for being different with a trouble antihero (like Perks of Being a Wallflower). There were some ups and some downs, but mostly downs.
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1 comment
recommends it for:
douchebags
Self-indulgent self-conscious coming of age story all the worse because it is speckled with lines of brilliance, like vitamins in a turd. Think an indie rock-themed Good Will Hunting. Or Kerouac cameos the O.C.
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This is essentially "teen lit," and entertaining...but mostly because I already knew these characters. Why did he have to remind me? Gets an extra star solely on the basis of being (most likely) the only novel to mention Circus Lupus, Spitboy, and (most definitely) Spork. Now the question I have is, are/were all us punks as so fucking predictable, one-dimensional, and--gasp--NORMAL as Mr. Charles portrays us? I'm afraid of the answer.
Alas, as we age, we'll eat up anyt...more
Alas, as we age, we'll eat up anyt...more
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i read 30 or 40 pages and realized THIS BOOK SUCKS AND IT'S NOT GETTING ANY BETTER. i hardly EVER give up on book. i've done so only once or twice before. thank goodness this was an advance and i didn't spend any money on it. piece of garbage.
alright. so i read some more. i hate giving up on books. i'm still not liking anything about this thing but i haven't thrown it out yet.
i finished it. waste of time. it's so disjointed and not very interesting. i don't fe...more
alright. so i read some more. i hate giving up on books. i'm still not liking anything about this thing but i haven't thrown it out yet.
i finished it. waste of time. it's so disjointed and not very interesting. i don't fe...more
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What a surprising and terrific book!
This is one of those books that actually changes the cadence of your thoughts as you read it.... The author's voice is so intensely urgent, so fervent and sure. Vim is the boy I would have been (and was!) in love with in high school.
This is one of those books that actually changes the cadence of your thoughts as you read it.... The author's voice is so intensely urgent, so fervent and sure. Vim is the boy I would have been (and was!) in love with in high school.
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I had to think about this book for a while before I wrote about it. Set in 1992 Vincent attempts to make sense of the world by partying, playing in a band and lusting after his band mate's damaged girlfriend. At various points during the book I wondered about mental illness issues (at the very least, depression) and fully expected something along those lines to be revealed by the end of the book. It wasn't. Apparently this is a look at a typical teenager during the grunge years but the book felt...more
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If you went to high school in the late 80s early 90s, this book will probably resonate with you. It's the story of that tenuous journey from adolescence to young adulthood. Parents, friends, the unattainable girl, mistakes, all are at play in this novel. The language, style, story, main character are all too familiar in a reminiscent, genuine, and real kinda way. You knew this kid, were friends this kid and probably..were this kid.
Also, there are some funny, 90s references that m...more
Also, there are some funny, 90s references that m...more
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Read in February, 2009
I don't think I was the right demographic for this book. The author writes almost poetically at some points, but at others it's downright confusing. It switches between first and third person, and sometimes going along with the chapters feels like your stoned--it's supposed to make sense, but it doesn't, but it does--does that make sense? I get that it's the way the book is supposed to be written, but that doesn't mean I liked it. At any rate, it comes together pretty well in the end, but I felt...more
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Read in March, 2009
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
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Read in August, 2008
recommends it for:
Teens
The main strength of this book besides a catchy title is the narrative voice. The narrator takes the reader into the story and sustains a semi-lucid story which weaves through a highschool kids year summer after graduation. That being said, the rest of the novel is just a standard coming of age story. These novels have their place, especially for angsty young teens; however after reading a few you never need to read another one.
In the end, the main character seems shallow and naive, not...more
In the end, the main character seems shallow and naive, not...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
bright young things
"Give me a sweater made from your smell and whispers."
"The fatigue setting in, the emptiness, the dull panic, an alarm clock blaring, banging against the love and desire. The certain knowledge that all of these things will live within you and fight for dominance the rest of your days."
"The power light on the Twin Reverb glows like god's electric blood."
"You lean down, closer, closer, close enough now to feel the heat o...more
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Read in January, 2009
Fantastic example of what a coming-of-age novel can be. Avoids sentimentality and really moves forward thanks to Charles's ability to write really profound, wonderful sentences. Essentially the tale of a kid graduating HS in the early 90s. But it takes place in Michigan, so it has this great feeling of uniqueness. I never felt like Charles was writing a cliched story. Amazing how that can be accomplished with a setup that has been done to death.
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone enthralled with grunge or 90's culture
This was a really differnt book for me. My awesome friend, JD, bought it for me after we had a conversation about fascinations with book covers and titles and this book came up.
It is written in a very fragmented and poetic fashion. It reflects alot on the mass feelings of anxiety demonstrated by adolescents and young adults in the 90's. I enjoyed the elopement from my usual genres and topics of interest.
It's a quick read too and far from the sameold, sameold we can easily run ...more
It is written in a very fragmented and poetic fashion. It reflects alot on the mass feelings of anxiety demonstrated by adolescents and young adults in the 90's. I enjoyed the elopement from my usual genres and topics of interest.
It's a quick read too and far from the sameold, sameold we can easily run ...more
Read in November, 2008
I actually liked this a lot, but near the end the teenage angst was a little too much to take. Imagine your high school diary, and the sections that make you cringe the most to read now. Now make them somewhat well phrased and uniquely arranged, and you have a lot of the content in this book. I did like it, but at times the narrator was just too melodramatic for me.
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
EVERYONE
This book changed my view on life completely. Vim is the epitome of a love/hate relationship to me. At times I found myself hateing his very core and saying to myself "why do you continue reading this, this is just going to turn out to be the same as all the other similar books out there. Vim will just disapoint you"; but at other times you wish Vim Sweeney really did exist, and you could talk to him, and tell him that you know exactly what he means, and that he didnt have to explain a...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in March, 2008
recommended to Callie by:
I saw it in Katie's To-Read section. I only read what Katie want
Good at times, embarrassing at others.
The "Insights, Interviews, & More..." section at the end almost made me want to add an additional star... When discussing his influences, Mr. Charles shares the following: "Finally, I recommend the lyric sheet to Pavement's Brighten the Corners. The album is musically close to flawless, but even if late-nineties indie rock isn't your thing the words alone are worth the price of admission. Especially with "Shady Lane", "St...more
The "Insights, Interviews, & More..." section at the end almost made me want to add an additional star... When discussing his influences, Mr. Charles shares the following: "Finally, I recommend the lyric sheet to Pavement's Brighten the Corners. The album is musically close to flawless, but even if late-nineties indie rock isn't your thing the words alone are worth the price of admission. Especially with "Shady Lane", "St...more
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11/09/07
Lisa
marked it as to-read
Read in January, 2008
I bought this book because the cover illustration was done by my favorite silkscreen dude, Jay Ryan of the Bird Machine.
Today I read the first 24 pages. I didn't like them. It reminded me of slammed poetry. I don't like poetry slamming. It was also like a snot-nosed teenager who is trying very hard to be cool, but ends up just sounding like a snot-nosed teenager trying to sound cool, and therefore, not cool.
I might try again later. A lot later after all of my books have ...more
Today I read the first 24 pages. I didn't like them. It reminded me of slammed poetry. I don't like poetry slamming. It was also like a snot-nosed teenager who is trying very hard to be cool, but ends up just sounding like a snot-nosed teenager trying to sound cool, and therefore, not cool.
I might try again later. A lot later after all of my books have ...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone!
This book is so good it makes me sick. The prose is random and real and nonstop and he just writes like he talks (now that I've read some interviews), and I was a tiny bit skeptical when I read the first few pages, like, "Oh, here's this angsty kid, why should I care about him?" but immediately I was drawn in, and it's so funny, too. The way he wrote this book is how I try and would like to write sometimes. How did he do it?! I'm definitely going to buy my own copy (got this one at...more
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Read in November, 2006
recommends it for:
Fans of Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Catcher in the Rye
This is a coming of age novel set in the midwest that infuses a love of rock and roll and girls, and a hatred for a kid in the next county over who everyone is talking about, some high school baseball star named Derek Jeter. Fun and fast to read. Angsty, hilarious, well written, and the title was inspired by Stephen Malkmus of the band Pavement. What more could you ask for?
Note: Bryan Charles, the author, is writing a new book about September 11th, 2001. A day that no doubt changed...more
Note: Bryan Charles, the author, is writing a new book about September 11th, 2001. A day that no doubt changed...more
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Read in December, 2008
Very extremely teenage teenage boy, funny and depressing
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