Goth Girl Rising (The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, #2)

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Goth Girl Rising (The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl #2)

3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 · rating details · 979 ratings · 165 reviews

Time is a funny thing in the hospital. In the mental ward. You lose track of it easily. After six months in the Maryland Mental Health Unit, Kyra Sellers, a.k.a. Goth Girl, is going home. Unfortunately, she’s about to find out that while she was away, she lost track of more than time.

Kyra is back in black, feeling good, and ready to make up with the only person who’s ever...more

Hardcover, 388 pages

Published October 19th 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

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Nov 06, 2009 Annalisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, coming-of-age, psychology, contemporary

In the voice of Kyra, AKA Goth Girl: Geez, Barry you had this like totally awesome character in Fanboy and he was cool and sweet and awkward and I liked him, well not like like, but you know he was a cool character that I could get into and then you have to eff it up with this story about this totally angry chick who isn't so much a real girl as much as a girl the way a guy thinks a girl is. I get that teenage girls are angry and narcissistic and way harder to write than guys but I like totally...more

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Jan 10, 2012 Kim rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorite-authors, mmxii, the-kids-are-all-right

Barry Lyga impressed the fuck out of me with Boy Toy and amused me with The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl so I was relatively excited to see this sequel that I must have somehow overlooked during my Lyga-mania stage.

Relatively Excited…. That usually isn’t a great state. I mean, super-excited, or moderately interested and there’s that chance of being bowled over or pissed off. Relatively excited usually leads to ‘meh’.

And meh (which is so 'meh' to say now, maybe I should try 'de...more Barry Lyga impressed the fuck out of me with Boy Toy and amused me with The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl so I was relatively excited to see this sequel that I must have somehow overlooked during my Lyga-mania stage.

Relatively Excited…. That usually isn’t a great state. I mean, super-excited, or moderately interested and there’s that chance of being bowled over or pissed off. Relatively excited usually leads to ‘meh’.

And meh (which is so 'meh' to say now, maybe I should try 'derp')it is.

I don’t know… maybe it’s just that I’m old (I’ve said this in so many reviews now… you’d think I’d just accept and move on, but noooooooo)---I’ve been there done that with this story. Hell, I lived it. Okay, not the mental institution or the suicide attempt but most definitely the BoD (Bangs of Doom) and the goth (or post-goth—whatever she calls it to get to sleep at night) and above all, I’ve done the Mom-dying-of-Cancer-routine.

I felt cheated. I wished that Barry had given Kyra a more original voice. I wish that the formula weren’t so formulaic and that there wasn’t the happy ending that is supposed to still be a big ol’ fuck you to society. Teen angst, Smiths style. Yawn.

I do have to admit that there was one little light bulb moment… In today’s anti-depressant ridden society it’s interesting to think back to that old idiom and how positively appropriate it is now. Accept your punishment---take your medicine. HA!

It might also be meh because well, it so belittles that time in my life. No one takes that seriously… hiding behind your bangs, wearing clothes that make other people stay away from you because, frankly, you want to be left alone. The confusion that is misplaced anger and total self-absorption. It seems trite when you can look down the barrel 20 years.. It was supposed to be more important than that.

“People think I’m a goth. But I’m not. I’m post-goth. I hang out with goths and they think they get me but they really don’t. But they’re the closest thing I’ve got to people who do get me, so I stick with them.
See, goth was originally all about rebelling and being different. You’d be lucky to see two or three goths together at once (ed. Note: TRUTH) Now they’re everywhere. There are, like, stores and stuff that cater to them. There’s a website I found once that even does date matching for goths. Bakeries that make cakes with black icing…
It’s all mainstream.
That’s what I hate about this world: It takes everything unique and cool and interesting and makes it mainstream. There’s an effing TV channel for everything. A website for everything. A section of the bookstore for everything.
I want to yell. I want to scream to the world: THIS IS NOT SOMETHING FOR YOU TO MARKET! THIS IS NOT SOMETHING FOR YOU TO SELL! THIS IS MY LIFE! THIS IS HOW I FEEL!
There’s no room left to be an individual. Everyone’s part of a group. And it sucks."

Yay, Barry, yay. Except that I’m sure there’s a t-shirt and a scene from Reality Bites that mimics this. Turn it up a notch, kay?
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May 29, 2010 Claire rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

I'm the first to admit, this book has a lot going for it -- strong writing, interesting characters, pop culture cred, "edge" (whatever that means). And that maybe, from other people's perspective, the good outweighs the bad. But the book hit on a few personal pet peeves and I couldn't get past them.

1) Creepy Freudian portrayals of women. I've had this problem with other books by this author, but it's amplified when a girl is the main character and narrator. She just doesn't feel realistic. It's...more I'm the first to admit, this book has a lot going for it -- strong writing, interesting characters, pop culture cred, "edge" (whatever that means). And that maybe, from other people's perspective, the good outweighs the bad. But the book hit on a few personal pet peeves and I couldn't get past them.

1) Creepy Freudian portrayals of women. I've had this problem with other books by this author, but it's amplified when a girl is the main character and narrator. She just doesn't feel realistic. It's like she's being viewed through the lense of the male gaze -- her issues, her reactions (and overreactions) to situations, her "feminist" ponderings all seem sensationalized.

2) Men trying base their books around deep insights into the teen girl experience. Not that it can't be done, but if you're going to do it, please, make it a little less boob-centric. That's a dead giveaway. I quote: "In your comics, Dead (you know, the big D, like my cup-size, LOL) is comforting and cool)." I mean, REALLY? Is that REALLY necessary? And can you REALLY imagine an actual troubled teenage girl, writing out her thoughts in solitary contemplation, making that kind of throwaway poor-me-my-boobs-are-so-big joke? I can't. Maybe in a group, maybe as a defense mechanism. But even then.

3) The lesbian-until-sane storyline. The protagonist finds comfort and escape, and yes, sensual pleasure in kissing her (female) friend. (A friend who uses her as a way to attract the attention of her male crush, by the way). Up until she realizes that her true feelings are for the boy, and her ultimate connection with him is a sign that she's on the road to recovery. Now, there's an obligatory "it must suck for real lesbians now that it's all cool to be a fake lesbian" thought train when this storyline is introduced. And I don't think the author really means to say anything dismissive about lesbianism. But it reads to me like a ratings trick, or at least cheap shorthand for "look how cool and edgy I am," and I do not appreciate it.

3a) Bonus creepy: The girl/girl relationship started, the protagonist realizes, when she was brushing her friend's hair one day. And she felt all these feelings because she used to do the same thing for her now-dead mother. Freud would have a field day.

This author gets critical acclaim all over the place and I'm not saying there's not plenty to like here. But for this reader, the creepy outweighs the good. In light of all the raves, I thought I'd register my dissent.

Rant complete.(less)

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Apr 10, 2011 Cory rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of John Green's Books Written After Looking for Alaska

Recommended to Cory by: Myself

This was not as good as the original. It was too long, there wasn't enough Fanboy, and Kyra wasn't as smart as she used to be.

I think Fanboy and Goth Girl needed a sequel, but not because the fans convinced Barry Lyga to write one. It should have come naturally. This whole book could have been compressed into fifty pages, then we could have had the rest of the story devoted to Kyra's growth as a character. As it stands, this is 400 pages of rage and self-hate.

Also, since I've never read anything...more

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Dec 26, 2012 Grace rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: coming-of-age, fiction, for-teacher-review, for-review, lifetime-tv-worthy, teen, ya, young-adult

Summary
Kyra Sellers lost her mom, then herself. Or was it herself, then her mom? It was probably at the same time, actually, since her mother was dying of lung cancer while Kyra was hitting the roughest part of the teenage years. After her mom's death, Kyra goes through a bit of self induced hell trying to figure out who she is, who she isn't, and what she wants out of life.

Characters
The characters in this book are mostly secondary characters. Since it's told from Krya's perspective, it makes a...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Lauren rated it 5 of 5 stars

You know I actually haven't read the first book but when I picked this off the library shelf I knew that I had to read it. The blurb was very interesting and I wondered why it said what it said, I just had to find out more. So I read it and here I am, writing a review.

I feel like this story is sort of about empowering oneself and I know that sounds like a cheesy turn of phrase but it's true. She was standing up for what she believed in and she didn't care what anyone else thought or their opinio...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Nick rated it 5 of 5 stars

Why did I read it?

Because I finished The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl and had to know if Kyra was going to be able to work through her problems, or if she was going to get worse...

What happened?

SPOILER ALERT

So Donnie thought that he might have unintentionally told Kyra to kill herself, so he freaked out and called her Dad who swiftly dropped her back in the mental hospital. Oh sweet!

Well, Kyra just got released, and she is still ticked at her Dad and Fanboy (Donnie)! But, she i...more

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Sep 02, 2012 NVHS LMC rated it 3 of 5 stars

After a stint in rehab, Goth Girl Kyra is back with a vengeance and aiming for Fanboy for putting her in the hospital. Occurring six months after Lyga’s popular The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl, Goth Girl Rising switches to Kyra’s narration and shows a lost teen who must transition back into reality and return to school and so-called friends. Truly understanding girl bravado, Barry Lyga portrays Kyra as outwardly confident with her shaved head, blue lipstick, and killer attit...more

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May 17, 2012 Jessica(WonderlandReviews) rated it 2 of 5 stars

When I first picked this book up, I wasn't aware that this was the second in a series. I had stumbled upon the author when I had received some random swag after giving someone a R.A.K. and it was the cover that drew me. That intense stare that seemed to say so much with just one look, it was beautiful.

Having read the book, I will say that it can be a stand alone read but I am sure had I read the first book I would have enjoyed the second much better, especially because of all the tension from th...more

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Mar 23, 2012 Brittany rated it 4 of 5 stars

I liked this more than the first book. I hope there will be another. I was hoping for some romance to FINALLY happen between Fanboy and Kyra. Basically Kyra has been locked up in a mental institution and hasn't heard from any of her friends. Not even the one she wanted to hear from most of all Fanboy. In a way she didn't blame him because she was a bitch to him when she left. But she was also hoping that he wouldn't give up on her and would still be in her life. Kyra at first seemed like she mig...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Maricor rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: review

Lyga, Barry.
Goth Girl Rising.
Oct. 2009 (galley). 388p. Houghton Mifflin Books.
Grades 9 and up.
REVIEW. First published August 9, 2011 (Akibird).

After a stint in rehab, Goth Girl Kyra is back with a vengeance and aiming for Fanboy for putting her in the hospital. Occurring six months after Lyga’s popular The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl, Goth Girl Rising switches to Kyra’s narration and shows a lost teen who must transition back into reality and return to school and so-call...more

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May 10, 2011 Rhiannon Ryder rated it 5 of 5 stars

As I mentioned yesterday, I unequivocally fell in love with Kyra, otherwise known as Goth Girl.

Set six months after The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, Goth Girl Rising joins Kyra as she's wheeled out the door of a mental health unit, six months after being committed. She feels good and is ready to face her life again, until she gets to school where she realises Fanboy has comitted the capital sin, he seems to have forgotten her, and appallingly- gotten popular! So as her fantas...more As I mentioned yesterday, I unequivocally fell in love with Kyra, otherwise known as Goth Girl.

Set six months after The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, Goth Girl Rising joins Kyra as she's wheeled out the door of a mental health unit, six months after being committed. She feels good and is ready to face her life again, until she gets to school where she realises Fanboy has comitted the capital sin, he seems to have forgotten her, and appallingly- gotten popular! So as her fantasies of how her come back was going to go down begins to crumble Kyra takes on her usual no nonsense, angsty outlook, and decides a healthy serving of revenge is in order.

Kyra is one of those spectacular characters who's both difficult and yet so true to herself, you can't dislike her, no matter how hard she tries. She's almost Larry David like in her calling it as she see's it attitude, and she's about as popular for it as he is in Curb your Enthusiasm. Yet some of her insights on sexuality and feminism are so impressive I was hard pressed to believe Barry Lyga came up with them without some serious help. Yet he has always said he didn't do any particular consulting or research to write Kyra. However he's done it, he's managed to grasp some facts about life as a teenage girl that I think is often lost on most teen girls themselves.

It was really refreshing to read a character like hers in YA, so unlike the pretty, flirty, boy crazy girls in so much young adult fiction these days. Kyra has a depth that's unfortunately unusual, and I was both impressed and a little awed by her, not to mention completely enthralled by her story. It's amazing someone so seemingly broken can be a hero in so many ways.

I also really loved that Lyga approached Goth Girl Rising from the opposite view point from The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl. It was really fun to see Fanboy from Goth Girls perspective and to climb inside her head and get a look at what she was thinking. Together they make great bookends for each other, making up this completed story of a time and relationship that is defining for both of them.

Barry Lyga did not originally intend to write Goth Girl Rising, and I can't help but think what a loss that would have been for us the readers. Thank god he fell in love with Kyra the same way the reader does! After reading them together I can't imagine them on their own!

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Jan 12, 2011 Leanna rated it 2 of 5 stars

The first YA I've read in awhile! I loved "The Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl," and I have to say, this was a disappointing "sequel." I would have preferred more from Fanboy's point of view! Or, if from Kyra's, the story told differently. I think I am tired of the romanticization of crazy female protagonists (we begin with Andre Breton's Nadja...and it just keeps coming. And it's the men who write women this way. Oooh, those men). Kyra is 16, out of control, reeling from her mom's death four...more The first YA I've read in awhile! I loved "The Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl," and I have to say, this was a disappointing "sequel." I would have preferred more from Fanboy's point of view! Or, if from Kyra's, the story told differently. I think I am tired of the romanticization of crazy female protagonists (we begin with Andre Breton's Nadja...and it just keeps coming. And it's the men who write women this way. Oooh, those men). Kyra is 16, out of control, reeling from her mom's death four years ago. My problem with Kyra is that she is frankly too unlikeable. She is very cruel and never really repents or relents; instead, she thinks she is doing the world a service by "telling it how it is." Perhaps this is an adolescent way of thinking; in fact, it surely is, but I would have loved for some outside character to give her the smack down that no, she is not always right, and she, too, is flawed, and "speaking the truth" does not have to come from a place of such vindictive cruelty. So my main issue with the book was with this character. Kudos to Lyga for risking such an unlikeable character, but I think it's dangerous to present her world view as more or less correct! And I feel like that's what he did! Also, I won't spoil too much, but the girl reveals her last words to her dying mother, and I'm sorry, but no kid in her right mind (or a grief-stricken traumatized mind) would ever say what she said. Not to keep harping on my problems with the characterization of Kyra, but, also, she sometimes feels like either the "idea" of a rebel teenage girl or a mouthpiece for adult commentary on teen girls these days.

My other problem with the book is that if you don't love and know comic books, you're going to miss a lot. Somehow that wasn't a problem for me in the first book; the esoteric comic stuff was more accessible. This book has sections of letters to Neil Gaiman that get pretty comic booky (and inaccessible), but they also seem kind of useless in and of themselves. Supposed to be Kyra journaling to figure herself out but to me it felt like a strained conceit.

Pros? Well, there are a lot of interesting thoughts about female adolescents' experience and use of their bodies. However, this does seem to be coming through an adult perspective, as funneled through Kyra. Also, there's something to be said for Lyga's maintaining Kyra's bullheadedness and fierceness for nearly 400 pages. I also like how Kyra experiments with her look; Lyga gets some almost lyrical images out of that. As a sidenote, the cover is awesome.

I do hope Lyga comes back to these characters, but I hope it's to explore Fanboy again, and to continue with his story! (less)

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Dec 30, 2010 Karissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the sequel to the "Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl". You wouldn't absolutely have to read the first book to understand whats going on in this one, but reading the first book gives you Fanboy's perspective on things and helps this book make a lot more sense. So, I guess I would recommend reading the first book before this one. This was a pretty darn good book by itself. I had a lot of trouble putting it down, Goth Girl is a very engaging character.

After the incident with th...more This is the sequel to the "Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl". You wouldn't absolutely have to read the first book to understand whats going on in this one, but reading the first book gives you Fanboy's perspective on things and helps this book make a lot more sense. So, I guess I would recommend reading the first book before this one. This was a pretty darn good book by itself. I had a lot of trouble putting it down, Goth Girl is a very engaging character.

After the incident with the bullet in the first book Kyra is sent to a mental ward. This book starts as she is returning back to school from the mental ward. When she returns to life "outside" she is peeved to find out that none of her friends have e-mailed her in the 6 months she was gone. She is especially pissed at Fanboy. When she goes back to school she finds that Fanboy has started publishing his graphic novel "Schemata" in the school newspaper and on top of that people actually like him now. The whole thing makes her even madder and she sets out to plot her revenge against Fanboy.

Overall this book was paced much like the first one. This book is all from Goth Girl's view. Goth Girl spends a lot of time thinking and struggling with her rage throughout this book and dealing with her mother's death. The chapters are interrupted by occasional letters to Neil (Neil Gaiman) where she talks out the things that are bugging her. There are a boatload of references to Neil Gaiman's Sandman in here. I am a huge Gaiman fan so I enjoyed those references. There was also a lot of discussion around what different parts of the Sandman novels actually mean; it makes me want to go back and read them all more carefully to see what I missed.

I thought that this story wasn't quite as good as "The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl" in a couple of aspects. Goth Girl spends a lot of the beginning of the book complaining about her big breasts and how people notice them too much. Way too much time is spent on this. I started scanning the parts of the book where she just spends too much time on this. I also thought it took way too long for Goth Girl to come to some of the revelations that she came to; it made her come off as a little dim at parts. I know Fanboy is super smart, but I never thought Goth Girl was stupid and there are parts of this book where she acts pretty stupid (although smarter than her girlfriends).

Still, overall I really enjoyed the story. This is another one of those young adult books that talks about how young adults deal with anger and with the crappy hand that life deals them. I am sure many people can relate to this book. Kids who have lost a close loved one will relate with a lot of the feelings Kyra (Goth Girl) deals with. The thing I love most about this book is that the writing is witty and snappy. This book makes reading about all the heaviness in Kyra's life kind of fun for the most part. I really do enjoy Lyga's writing style.

Will I be reading more Lyga books? Not for a while; just because I prefer fantasy/paranormal books to angst ridden young adult books. I will definitely check out some more of his books when I am in the mood for some more young adult drama. (less)

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Apr 29, 2010 Bruce rated it 4 of 5 stars

Kyra Sellers, Goth Girl of The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl is back from her stay at the Maryland Mental Health Unit, sent there, she discovers, because of her condition: a severe case of DCHH, Daddy Couldn't Handle Her. Her mom went to the hospital and died, but Kyra figures she’s tougher than her mom. So watch out people at South Brook High. Kyra swings between sad and angry. Sad is hopeless, powerless and confusing, but anger, anger gives you the power to do something and a...more

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Apr 03, 2010 Laurie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Six months after the end of The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, Kyra- the goth girl- is getting out of the mental hospital. Sent there because it was wrongly thought she was going to try and kill herself (something she *had* tried before), she is angry at everyone. Not that this is unusual for her- she was pretty much angry at everyone before she was sent away, too. But now her anger is amped up to the nth power, and most of it is directed at Fanboy, who she did not receive a sin...more Six months after the end of The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, Kyra- the goth girl- is getting out of the mental hospital. Sent there because it was wrongly thought she was going to try and kill herself (something she *had* tried before), she is angry at everyone. Not that this is unusual for her- she was pretty much angry at everyone before she was sent away, too. But now her anger is amped up to the nth power, and most of it is directed at Fanboy, who she did not receive a single phone call, visit, text or email from during the entire six months. Fanboy must be destroyed. Her father, who sent her away, must be punished.

Where did Kyra’s anger originate? Her mother died of cancer when Kyra was 12, when Kyra started puberty the same day her mother found out how ill she was. Krya’s mothering ended that day, and she never got any assurances about her body. To make things worse, her mother, who never smoked, died of lung cancer. Kyra’s father *did* smoke, so she is totally alienated from him.

Thankfully, Kyra does have a couple of friends among the goth set, but even they don’t get what she has gone through. Nobody does. She trusts no one, which makes Fanboy’s betrayal even worse- she had started to trust him.

While Kyra is portrayed as an annoying teen with lots of issues, Lyga handles her character very well. He captures a teen girl’s body issues and quest for identity. Her anger is justified- although, at times, misdirected. But Kyra is not stuck; she is working through her problems. Unlike her somewhat flat characterization in Astonishing Adventures, she has a lot of dimension and depth. The best part, to me? Her piercings, blue lipstick, hair dye and black clothing aren’t portrayed as acting out, but as things that truly make her comfortable with herself.

While this is another coming of age novel like Astonishing Adventures, I feel it’s more enjoyable by adults that AA is. Things don’t just happen to Kyra; she *makes* things happen. She takes things on. Her methods are unconventional- sometimes illegal- but she gets things done. And she learns.
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Feb 06, 2010 Jessikah rated it 4 of 5 stars

3.5 Stars
I have to admit I was reluctant to read the sequel to "The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Gothgirl", as I was not a fangirl of the novel myself. However, I was eternally curious, in spite of my criticisms, about Kyra's background.

As the story goes, Kyra/goth girl is out of the mental hospital in which she was placed after Fanboy narc-ed on her for having a bullet. He was afraid she would try to commit suicide, and apparently so was her father.

When Kyra is released she becomes enr...more 3.5 Stars
I have to admit I was reluctant to read the sequel to "The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Gothgirl", as I was not a fangirl of the novel myself. However, I was eternally curious, in spite of my criticisms, about Kyra's background.

As the story goes, Kyra/goth girl is out of the mental hospital in which she was placed after Fanboy narc-ed on her for having a bullet. He was afraid she would try to commit suicide, and apparently so was her father.

When Kyra is released she becomes enraged by Fanboy's newfound popularity due to the publication of Schemata, his graphic novel in the school paper. Schemata was his thing with Kyra, something he shared with only her... and he moved on without her. And where is all his newfound confidence from?

Kyra decides she must knock him down a few pegs in revenge for forgetting about her while she was "away". To her surprise nothing is as it was before she left... even her goth friends. And her feelings for Fanboy are even more confusing.

This book is far better written than its predecessor. I was surprised as to how well Kyra was written. I have read reviews claiming Lyga writes women as men would fantasize they are... obsessions with the size of their breasts, sexuality confusion etc. So many girls worry about sex.

I guess everyone is different, because I found this to be very accurate with my own groups of friends and people I knew throughout high school and college. Many girls obsess over their breasts, many girls act slutty for attention. The latter refers to one of Kyra's best friends, Kyra was far more chaste than I expected.

I really enjoyed the romp through Kyra's twisted mind. Yes, I admit she was mostly unlikable as a character, but I still wanted to know her fate. To me that is good writing. When you dislike a character, but still care about them.

The progression of her breakthrough, from the letters to Neil Gaiman, to the mysterious poem about her mother's death, to recollection of the time spent in the mental ward bloomed into a breakthrough, which once again brought a renewed Goth girl to an improved Fanboy (whose name we finally learn).

Give it a shot.(less)

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Jan 07, 2010 Cindy Hudson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Kyra is back from the mental institution where she spent six months after her dad thought she wanted to kill herself. She’s been released to return home and go back to high school, because she’s not considered a threat to herself any more. But that doesn’t mean life is easy. Her dad, whom she calls Roger, is keeping a tight leash on her, she hates school and gets in trouble her first day back, and she’s very angry. Angry at Roger, angry at her mother who died of cancer a few years ago, and most...more Kyra is back from the mental institution where she spent six months after her dad thought she wanted to kill herself. She’s been released to return home and go back to high school, because she’s not considered a threat to herself any more. But that doesn’t mean life is easy. Her dad, whom she calls Roger, is keeping a tight leash on her, she hates school and gets in trouble her first day back, and she’s very angry. Angry at Roger, angry at her mother who died of cancer a few years ago, and most of all angry at the guy she calls Fanboy, who told Roger she may be suicidal and got her sent away in the first place.

While Kyra was away, Fanboy has suddenly gone from being a geek to being popular with a lot of the kids in school. He’s publishing his graphic novel serially in the pages of the school journal, and he’s getting a lot of attention for it. Before, no one really knew Fanboy except Kyra. She gave him advice about his graphic novels, and she thought they may become more than friends. But now that Fanboy seems to have dropped her and moved on, she’s bent on getting revenge.

Goth Girl Rising by Barry Lyga is not a comfortable book to read, mostly because Kyra is such a hard character to like. Her emotions are raw, she bucks all authority, and she’s what every parent doesn’t want to have for a child: a smoking, cursing, school-skipping, car-stealing, in-your-face girl. Yet, interspersed between the chapters with Kyra’s voice are vignettes of a small poem that builds as the book goes on. It’s Kyra’s memory of her cancer-chemotherapy-ravaged mother’s last days. These vignettes give you a glimpse into the pain and guilt that Kyra has never dealt with since her mother’s illness and death, and you begin to see what’s behind her self-destructive behavior.

While Goth Girl Rising is a continuation of the story from The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, this book stands on its own and you don’t have to have read the first one to appreciate it. This book is definitely for older girls, I’d say 15 and up. The teens use foul language, are sexually promiscuous, drink alcohol, smoke, and make very bad decisions based on faulty information. It all feels painfully real, and the situations should provide great discussions between mothers and daughters and book club members.
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Jul 20, 2009 Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009, contemporary

It's six months after the end of The Astonishing Adventure of Fanboy and Goth Girl. Kyra has spent those six months in a psych ward, dubbed DCHH by the nurses because Daddy Couldn't Handle Her. During those six months, Fanboy was incommunicado. Why did he stop caring? To Kyra, it doesn't matter. All that matters is getting her revenge.

I love Barry Lyga's books. I love the voices of his characters. This one is no different. 4.5 stars, I think.

An important question to ask regarding sequels:

Do I...more

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Feb 21, 2010 laaaaames rated it 1 of 5 stars

I know, I know. I've read two books by Barry Lyga at this point and deemed them both misogynistic. So I should stop! YES. But he read a passage from this at a reading I attended (not on purpose - I was there to see someone else) and at the time I thought, OK, maybe he figured out how to write from a girl POV without being, you know, so women-hatey.

But then I read two of his books. I had a bad feeling. But I had to find out for sure. No. Lyga has no idea about women. I could knock this thing apar...more

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Sep 22, 2010 Julia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, glbtq, ya

Kyra tells her own story in this novel and she is one effed up cookie, as she herself might say. (She swears like a sailor, with the exception of that word, and she and her friends think a lot about/ have sex, as a heads up.) After her friend Fanboy (Don) got hold of her father to tell him she had a bullet— and a history of suicide, she spent six months in a mental hospital. The nurses and orderlies tell each other she has DCHH; Daddy Can’t Handle Her. And it’s no wonder to me; she is a hot mess...more

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Oct 02, 2009 Karin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009-reads, edgy, youngadult

By the time GOTH GIRL RISING hits the shelves it will have been three years since THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OF FANBOY AND GOTH GIRL was published. For those that haven’t read it, do so now! You will probably enjoy GOTH GIRL RISING even without the backstory from TAAFGG, but not nearly as much as you could if you take the time to read it.

Unlike TAAFGG, this story is told from Kyra’s point-of-view. Six-months have passed since the last time we saw her. Because of something that happened at the en...more

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May 31, 2011 Karin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: realistic, young-adult-fiction, goth-girls, suicide, friendship, high-school, sex, sexual-identity, sexuality, families, fathers, father-daughter-relationships, annoying, therapy, teenagers, borrowed-from-the-library

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Kyra, also known as “Goth Girl,” just got out of the mental hospital where her father has had her locked up for the past 6 months because of a suicide (her second attempt) scare. She’s ready to go back to high school, but she’s also still dealing with a lot of issues – her mother’s death (cancer), the betrayal and anger she feels over her abandonment by both of her parents, and her feelings for Fanboy and Jecca. While she’s been gone, people have moved on with their lives and Kyra feels a little...more Kyra, also known as “Goth Girl,” just got out of the mental hospital where her father has had her locked up for the past 6 months because of a suicide (her second attempt) scare. She’s ready to go back to high school, but she’s also still dealing with a lot of issues – her mother’s death (cancer), the betrayal and anger she feels over her abandonment by both of her parents, and her feelings for Fanboy and Jecca. While she’s been gone, people have moved on with their lives and Kyra feels a little left behind. The goth crowd welcomes her back with open arms, but when Kyra runs into Fanboy it’s like he’s a completely different person – he’s more confident, outgoing, popular, but his worst betrayal (aside from apparently being able to get along without Kyra in his life) is the serial publication of his graphic novel, Schemata, in the school literary magazine (the same graphic novel Kyra was helping him with before she was hospitalized). For some reason, this angers Kyra more than anything else and she vows to make Fanboy sorry he was ever born. A better reason for hating Fanboy might be because he is the one who blows the whistle on Kyra’s second suicide attempt – making an anonymous phone call to her father, who has her committed because just can’t deal with her anymore.

Kyra’s attitude is really off-putting. She always seems to find the most antagonistic way to express herself and she doesn’t seem to care about or understand other people’s feelings/point of view. It makes it hard to sympathize with her point of view. You might even find yourself siding with her dad – yes, she is impossible. Kyra spends a lot of time being infuriated about how women/girls put themselves down and become obsessed with guys (to their own detriment), but she never points the magnifying glass of perception at herself (Hello? Obsessed with a guy! And doing everything she can – to her own detriment – to ruin his life). I guess this (her flaws) makes her real. It also makes her really annoying. Kyra is full of contradictions and anger and secret sorrows, which one comes to appreciate by the end of this book. I think I should have read The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl first so I would have had some background on what Kyra and Fanboy’s friendship/relationship was like before Kyra was hospitalized. I don’t feel like I ever had a good sense of just how close they were, which made it harder to understand Kyra’s devastation. I still don’t understand why she didn’t just talk to him in the first place, however. Would have cleared things up – spit-spot – without all of the agonizing drama.(less)

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Oct 09, 2012 Heather rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Read more reviews here!

2.5 stars

Kyra is released from the hospital after six months. When she gets home, she finds out that Fanboy never tried to contact her at all... so she wants to get revenge. Then she sees the comic she helped him with is published in the school's literary magazine... so now she's even more mad. She spends her time trying to think of ways to bring him down.

I have discovered that there is a book that's just too teen for me- not because the writing is on a lower reading level...more

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May 09, 2010 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

Be careful what you wish for...in my review for the Astonishing Adventures of the Adventures of Fan Boy and Goth Girl I wanted to know more about Kyra. This book is the Kyra Show--and it's not exactly easy to watch. This picks up after Kyra's stay at the treatment facility as she's rejoining the high school social scene and reuniting with Fan Boy. Since his tip-off to her dad landed her in treatment and she believes he didn't even try to contact her when she was away, this isn't exactly a happy...more Be careful what you wish for...in my review for the Astonishing Adventures of the Adventures of Fan Boy and Goth Girl I wanted to know more about Kyra. This book is the Kyra Show--and it's not exactly easy to watch. This picks up after Kyra's stay at the treatment facility as she's rejoining the high school social scene and reuniting with Fan Boy. Since his tip-off to her dad landed her in treatment and she believes he didn't even try to contact her when she was away, this isn't exactly a happy reunion on her end. All the worse when she finds out he's blossomed in her absence, actually gained a precarious foothold on the ladder of social acceptance and behaving like Cinderella at the ball while she's feeling damaged, rejected, bitter, and not unlike an Ugly Stepsister. As much as you feel for her overall situation though, it's difficult to watch her barrel down her path of revenge and resentment when she's surrounded by people trying in their own imperfect, human ways of trying to help her. Her bereaved dad-desperately, Fan Boy-obliviously, her friends-misguidedly, her teachers-ineffectually. It's especially hard to empathize or even watch her punish her father over and over again in her way of coping with her mother's passing, or condone her plots against Fan Boy (who remains a sympathetic, likable character). Most of all though, it's kind of hard to accept that Lyga, who usually nails the mindset, dialogue, everything--of this demographic so unerringly and doesn't shy away from taking on tough issues and controversy---hangs most of a major plot point on what amounts to an easily cleared up misunderstanding.

For anyone who read the first book, I can't help but think it's just going to feel like too much of a stretch, even given Kyra's almost pathological stubbornness. On the plus side, even a disappointing Lyga novel is still a Lyga novel, and for a teen who has known what's it's like to be so focused on your own self-destruction they're blinded to the hand that's being offered to them--maybe they'll find something to relate to here.(less)

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Oct 19, 2009 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

Goth Girl Rising, companion novel to The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, picks up Kyra’s story after her six months in a mental institution, where she was committed after Fanboy told her Dad she was suicidal. Back at school, her primary agenda is ruining Fanboy’s life, as he has ruined hers, though she struggles with feelings toward him that range from loathing and resentment to love. She also struggles with mixed feelings toward her best friend, who initiated a romantic relation...more

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Jul 25, 2009 Stefani rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-teen

This sequel switches narrators from the first book. Kyra, AKA Goth Girl, tells us what happens after she is released from the mental hospital. We learn more about her father, her friends, and her take on her relationship with Fanboy.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story. I loved how real Kyra was, namely how she could be thinking "This is what I should say and do" and then do something completely different. We've all been there. She tries to rationalize her feelings and stay in control, which doe...more

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Apr 15, 2013 Jennifer Haight rated it 3 of 5 stars

I wanted to love this book as I'm a big fan of Lyga's book, I Hunt Killers. I haven't read the first book in the series although I don't feel like that took away from my experience with this title. There were some qualities of the story that I really enjoyed, especially the letters that Kyra writes to Neil Gaiman and the references to other comic books. Unfortunately I just couldn't buy Kyra as a full character. She was so focused on her boobs and the lesbian storyline read more like men's fanta...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Tiffany rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: barry-lyga

Sigh. Well, I didn't love this one. I wanted to, I really did, but it was so much like The Catcher in the Rye in that it was a bunch of angsty whining and bitching about every. single. thing.

I honestly read this because I LOVED The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl so much, and I wanted to know that third thing so so baddddd it wasn't even funny. I knew that it would be a long shot that I would find out in this book considering that it was told through Kyra's eyes, but I wanted thei...more

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May 27, 2011 Lloyd rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

I LOVED The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl and am happy to be able to immediately jump into this sequel!

[update] I think. Only 15% in and I already want to slap her. (Is it okay to slap fictional characters?) Stupidity just makes me angry. She's not a dumb character, yet she's acting like an idiot. It's kind of shame. I used to have some empathy for this character. Now I'm just "You are an idiot". We'll see how things go. Seriously - this may be one of the dumbest female characte...more

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About Barry Lyga

Barry Lyga is a recovering comic book geek. When he was a kid, everyone told him that comic books were garbage and would rot his brain, but he had the last laugh. Raised on a steady diet of comics, he worked in the comic book industry for ten years, but now writes full-time because, well, wouldn't you?

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl is his first novel.

http://www.barrylyga.com ...more

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The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl (The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, #1)

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Quotes from Goth Girl Rising

“One time you told me that the opposite of love isn't hate. And I didn't understand that, but I think I do know. Because if you hate someone, you most still care, right? You have to care a little bit; otherwise you would just ignore them and forget they even live. Or lived.” — 29 people liked it

“You can't rely on love. Love will let you down every time. Every. Single. Time.
I don't love Jecca. I don't love Fanboy.
But...
God, the buts in life will kill you absolutely every time, won't they.
I don't love. But I need. I can admit that to myself.” — 10 people liked it

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Goth Girl Rising (The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl #2)

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