The Hottest State
by Ethan Hawke
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 583)
Read in March, 2008
recommended to Taylor by:
my crush on Ethan Hawkerecommends it for: lovers
This was a lot better than I remembered it.
The story of a first love, supposedly fiction, but it reads too much like something that's intimately a part of his history, so I would say it has to be semiautobiographical.
William is a young Texan actor, recently moved to NYC. He's young (20), attractive and cocky, and has no trouble with ladies, at least as far as the bedroom is concerned. One night out he meets Sarah, seemingly his opposite, a shy woman who wants to be a singer. He's drawn t...more
The story of a first love, supposedly fiction, but it reads too much like something that's intimately a part of his history, so I would say it has to be semiautobiographical.
William is a young Texan actor, recently moved to NYC. He's young (20), attractive and cocky, and has no trouble with ladies, at least as far as the bedroom is concerned. One night out he meets Sarah, seemingly his opposite, a shy woman who wants to be a singer. He's drawn t...more
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Read in September, 2007
A realistic statement about the throes of young love, relationships, and most markedly, heartbreak. Hawke does a nice job of depicting the messy maelstrom following heartbreak, and then what people choose to do with their lives from that point on. Trying to cope. Trying to decide what to do next, where to go from there. Supposedly, it makes a person stronger, more mature.
Who among us really knows where and with whom we will end up, if anyone? What kind of attitude or outlook on life is shap...more
Who among us really knows where and with whom we will end up, if anyone? What kind of attitude or outlook on life is shap...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
romantics and fans of Ethan Hawke
I've read another of Ethan Hawke and thought he was good. So when I saw this book in the free box I couldn't just pass it up laughing that an actor actually thinks he can write too(like I could at a Mel Gibson or Bruce Willis novel). Quite contrary, Hawke has a writing voice that is simple, direct, and sometimes ingenious. Check out one of his character's resolutions: "I want to never waste energy degrading someone else. Also, I want...more
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I bought this the day it came out... just because of the author... the cutie pie greasy haired lead guy in Reality Bites.
I read this book twice within a month of having it. and have reread it multiple times since.
Its one of those cute, heartbreaking, poor guy sort of quick reads.... I wanted to be the girl that broke this kids heart. I wanted to be the girl he pined for. I wanted to be the girl that picked up the pieces and put him all back together again.The girl that he treated like s...more
I read this book twice within a month of having it. and have reread it multiple times since.
Its one of those cute, heartbreaking, poor guy sort of quick reads.... I wanted to be the girl that broke this kids heart. I wanted to be the girl he pined for. I wanted to be the girl that picked up the pieces and put him all back together again.The girl that he treated like s...more
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An incredibly visceral, raw wound of a book, perfectly detailing everyone's experience of obsessive, passionate love that ends badly.
'I loved that stupid girl so much', he says. If you can't identify with that statement on some level, you have no heart...
A great debut from a promising author, who has far surpassed expectations as an actor/writer/artist.
A quick read that's very easy to pick up again, even if it has the effect of giving you an ear to ear grin at the start and ending wi...more
'I loved that stupid girl so much', he says. If you can't identify with that statement on some level, you have no heart...
A great debut from a promising author, who has far surpassed expectations as an actor/writer/artist.
A quick read that's very easy to pick up again, even if it has the effect of giving you an ear to ear grin at the start and ending wi...more
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As i was reading this book, I got the distinct impression that Hawke wasn't necessairly writing about invented characters, but instead about personal experiences that he encountered as a young man. How desperate he was to find himself, how he wanted so badly to impress, how he created an image to hide behind. I think many young men can relate to having a posture, and this book is wonderful because it talks about a young man who has one, looses it, and discovers he didn't really need it in the fi...more
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I'm not sure why this perfectly lovely books gets the bum's rush, nor do I care to speculate. I really think this a great book. I think as far as dick lit goes, it's so much better than the copy-cats that have come after. No, it's not on a par with Carver in terms of saying anything new and/or interesting about white people falling in love and ripping each other into shreds, but who cares!
It's a great, realistic glimpse at a boy, many of us have probably dated and finally know why he was suc...more
It's a great, realistic glimpse at a boy, many of us have probably dated and finally know why he was suc...more
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Read in December, 2007
I wanted to dislike this book as much as I wanted to dislike Marc Acito's book....but as with the latter I did not. It perfectly describes the 20's and falling love for the first time (or believing you have fallen in love). I am so glad I am older....cause really how could you not see your ridiculous behavior and desires in this book. I don't think you'll like it unless you're feeling nostalgic and self-indulgent.
They're turning it into a movie and the soundtrack is really good by the wa...more
They're turning it into a movie and the soundtrack is really good by the wa...more
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Read in November, 2007
Meh. I don't dislike Ethan Hawke...but the thing is that Ethan Hawke is, clearly, very fond of Ethan Hawke. So fond he's essentially written a book about what it's like to be Ethan Hawke and what people think of Ethan Hawke...sort of a novella sized "Enough about me...what do you think of me?" Except that by fictionalizing the character, the author becomes both narrator and subject. And Ethan Hawke is not interesting or talented enough to pull that off.
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I almost always give Ethan Hawke a pass. I really like him in most film roles. And the ones I don't like him in, I let those slide due to the ones I do like. When I heard that he's directing a film based on this book, I thought I'd give it a read. But, it's awful. Dick-Lit of the worse kind. The conversational tone of the book isn't that bad. The characters are just uninteresting at best and deplorable at worst. Still, I'm curious to see the movie...
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Read in January, 1997
recommended to Karen by:
Mandyrecommends it for: Anyone & everyone
Literary critics had a field day with this novel by actor Ethen Hawke, but I really enjoyed it. The store is simple, but well told. The main characters were very fleshed out and believable. I think part of the reason that I related so well to the characters was that I received it as a gift on my 21st birthday and the main character also turns 21 through the course of the book. All in all, a good coming of age story.
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recommends it for:
no one
The only reason i am writing this review is to justify why i read it. I was nearing the end of my junior year of school and had TONS to write for school. To brake up the brain fry i read the lamest book i could find- that book was The Hottest State.
Adding it to a website titled "goodreads" is like adding "Crossroads" and "Scorpian King" to a website named "greatmovies"
Adding it to a website titled "goodreads" is like adding "Crossroads" and "Scorpian King" to a website named "greatmovies"
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Read in July, 2007
Meh. I read this mostly because I got a press release about the soundtrack for the film and I was curious. It has some moments of truth, but overall just sort of eh. I know, not the most brilliant assessment of fiction but I did read it in about two days. Ethan Hawke is writing and directing the adaptation which comes out in late August, but not starring in it.
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Read in January, 2002
So they are making this into a movie? The book was pretty good as a quick read. I picked it up because I liked the first few chapters of his other book Ash Wednesday and because it was clearanced at BN years ago. I just figured he was writing about Lisa Loeb the whole time (probably the real reason I picked it up in the first place).
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Read in May, 2007
Ethan Hawke can write a semi decent chick lit piece from a guys perspective. I think having it from a guys POV is what actually made it interesting. However, sometimes it felt cliche, it was like sex and the city if Carrie had been male. Also, at many points you feel like you're getting pages out of Ethan Hawke's prepubescent-actor diary.
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Read in January, 1999
A literary masterpiece, no - a self-gratifying read, yes. This is one of a few, well perhaps the only book, that I have read multiple times. I often visual the characters in my head, turning them into a movie, and he does a spectacular job at making the characters and their often heart-wrenching journey come alive.
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Read in June, 2008
i honestly really enjoyed reading this book. i can remember it being mid-90s and seeing ethan hawke on tv and thinking of how much i loved him in reality bites and my young hipster literary self wanting to read this. it's gotten lots of eh reviews. but i don't care, i liked it. i think i'll catch the movie, as well.
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Read in January, 2006
Read this not long after seeing "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset". In case you haven't noticed, I tend to read an author through a few works. In this case, my Ethan Hawke phase ended after this book. His creative medium really is the screen. Texas...hot, Ethan Hawke, pretty hot... this book? Not so hot.
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I can't believe I found someone else that read this book!! This was a Julie recommendation - or maybe giveaway...like misery loves company. I would agree that's it's pretty forgettable b/c I don't actually remember much of it, aside from the fact that Ethan Hawke wrote it...he should stick to the acting thing!
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As for an actor being writer, it was good. It was good in the way, I sought out heart breaking stories at the time, I highly enjoyed. Like other people's first novel, it's semi-autobiographical. It dealt with Ethan Hawke and Lisa Loeb's affair years ago. Quite nice touch on characters being in the similar age.
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