Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Angry Young Man

2.95 of 5 stars 2.95 · rating details · 188 ratings · 51 reviews

In Angry Young Man, award-winning author Chris Lynch takes us into the mind of a boy whose journey of self-discovery leads to the unthinkable.

Hardcover, 167 pages

Published February 8th 2011 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

On Shelves This Week - Feb 6

7th out of 17 books — 8 voters

2012 YALSA Nominees - List 1

93rd out of 100 books — 44 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 494)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jan 20, 2011 Sparrow rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classic-young-adult, reviewed, young-adult, up-hill-both-ways-in-the-snow, under-read-gems, want-a-hardcover-of-my-very-own

Beautiful. I woke up on the morning I started reading this book and went down to my first breakfast at the new resort I was staying at for the last leg of my trip to Zanzibar. The girl I was with slept fourteen hours every night (hi, Miranda!), so I always had the mornings to myself at that resort. I went up to the waiters to find out how to order breakfast because it was never the same at any of the hotels.

The mustachioed waiter said, “This is where you write your order,” and showed me the she...more Beautiful. I woke up on the morning I started reading this book and went down to my first breakfast at the new resort I was staying at for the last leg of my trip to Zanzibar. The girl I was with slept fourteen hours every night (hi, Miranda!), so I always had the mornings to myself at that resort. I went up to the waiters to find out how to order breakfast because it was never the same at any of the hotels.

The mustachioed waiter said, “This is where you write your order,” and showed me the sheet of paper.

“But what are my options?” I asked.

The non-mustachioed waiter said, “Optionsssssss! You have many options!” and then grinned at me conspiratorially because we were already kind of friends. I had a Spanish omelet, which they guarantied me was the best. I got to the table and pulled open my Kindle to take a look at the first couple of pages of Angry Young Man. My plan was to move on to something else if it didn’t catch my interest. I was immediately hooked, though, and spent the rest of the day inside of this so beautiful story.

As a sibling story, this reminds me of J.D. Salinger’s and David James Duncan’s writings. It has that cadence of family lingo built from years of affection and harassment. One brother is the sensitive one in this story – the Seymour Glass, Holden Caulfield, Irwin Chance, or Bill Bob Orviston – the magic brother. The other is the more mainstream brother, who has ancestors in the Salinger and Duncan stories as well. The mainstream brother tells the story, but with so much love for the heartbreak of the sensitive brother that I fell for them both a little. It seems more similar to Brothers K than the Salinger books because it pokes fun at the drama of the sensitive brother, even while sympathizing with him. Salinger takes the anger and alienation more seriously.

I think that this book has the potential to be controversial like Catcher in the Rye is controversial, though. The other day, a friend of mine posted a quote on facebook that made me think of Angry Young Man and Catcher. “Ultimately . . . any text speaks through its reader. . . . Consequently the meaning of the text is often only as moral as its reader. If the reader is intolerant, hateful, or oppressive, so will be the interpretation of the text." It’s from Khaled Abou El Fadl in an article titled “The Place of Tolerance in Islam.” It’s easy to blame books for violence, and this feels like a book that will get blamed for violence. I don’t think it should be, though.

I just found out that my financial aid for this term of school is set to be about one-fourth of what it was last term, and the aid office is being very frustrating about it. And it makes me so angry! It is so infuriating to have people be cavalier with your livelihood. I don’t think we’re intended to endorse or condemn the boys in this book, but they seem so realistic to me, so like how you react when your family and home is threatened. I get who they are and why they do what they do, and I am them right now, shaking my fist at the financial aid office. And they’re realistic in this lovely way. Lynch tells you just the right things about who they are and what they do.

Also, there are some great women in here, even though it is not about them.

Despite the ultimate seriousness and social relevance of this story to American society, which contrasted weirdly when I was reading it with drinking soda and cider in a tiki hut down by the beach, it was sort of wonderfully lighthearted and entertaining. I guess it kind of reminds you that most of us are somehow displaced and imposed upon by the injustices of the world. It made me look at the waiters, both mustachioed and non-, who worked from 6:30 a.m. to 10 or 11 p.m., and wonder if they don’t feel something like the brothers in this book. Like you can’t just not do something about so much injustice.(less)

16 likes · like · see review

Oct 05, 2011 Young-adults rated it 5 of 5 stars

Review by Jenny F.

Anger can kill; but will Alexander actually do it? He’s had enough of the torment, the lame excuses, and the misery that’s been thrown on top of him, so he joined the Good Causes, a group who says they’re devoted to making the world a little better; however, when they start digging up graves and poisoning doctors, his big brother, Robert, is worried that he’s going overboard. Then robert finds out about the bomb. Deep inside his hear, Robert knows that Alexander is a good pers...more

like · see review

Jul 25, 2011 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Angry Young Man is the story of two brothers. The elder, Robert, is our narrator. He's the popular, assured one with the cool girlfriend (Babette), the community college plan, and future goals to be a kids' sports coach. Xan, on the other hand, is the misfit of misfits. It's hard to describe Xan. You really have to read him to get him. He's awkward, super sensitive, socially floundering, and his intensity about injustice rules his life. The book begins with Xan putting on a pair of amber sunglas...more Angry Young Man is the story of two brothers. The elder, Robert, is our narrator. He's the popular, assured one with the cool girlfriend (Babette), the community college plan, and future goals to be a kids' sports coach. Xan, on the other hand, is the misfit of misfits. It's hard to describe Xan. You really have to read him to get him. He's awkward, super sensitive, socially floundering, and his intensity about injustice rules his life. The book begins with Xan putting on a pair of amber sunglasses that conceal his eyes. Since the eyes are the windows to the soul, Xan doesn't want anyone looking in. You can't help but like Xan, but you know from page one that life has to be an ongoing source of trauma for him. Robert mercilessly but lovingly gives Xan a hard time. All the time. Yet Robert, who never protected his brother adequately in high school, now wants to see Xan figure out his life. The boys both live with their mother. She works all the time, spends much of her life exhausted, yet she insists on sit down dinners with her sons at least once a week. This is a close family. A loving one. And one now tormented by a slimy debt collector who's hounding them over the mother's unpaid credit card bills. When Robert brings Xan with him to his community college classes, and Xan starts attending a social worker's beginning course, Robert little realizes that Xan is going to take a turn for the truly troubling. Suddenly aware of even more injustices plaguing the world, Xan takes up company with a local group of young students whose acts border on terrorism. And there is Xan, the sensitive, misled young man, fulfilling the increasingly dangerous wishes of the group's militant leader. Robert fights to save Xan from the group and from himself (Xan, that is) while at the same time trying to stave off the harrassment of the debt collector. Things begin to spiral out of control, leaving the reader wondering if everyone is going to meet an unpleasant downfall.

Sounds heavy, right? Parts are, though nowhere near as heavy as Chris Lynch's novel from a few years back, Inexcusable. This new book, despite its conflict for the characters, is full of humor. Lynch writes about brothers who fight but love one another, from the point of view of a very funny, if angry, narrator. It's the way the narrator speaks and sees the world that makes you like him so much. Robert and Xan are polar opposites, bound by blood. Even when Robert is giving Xan the worst treatment, you know he loves Xan. This is a brief book, but don't let that fool you into thinking there isn't a lot within its pages. Is this the best teen book of the year? Well, I'm not sure of that yet. The ending seemed a trifle abrupt to me, although I also found it very satisfying. (less)

like · see review

Jul 07, 2011 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: july-2011, read-on-kindle

4.5 stars.

Chris Lynch, you still have it in you!

After being thoroughly disappointed by INEXCUSABLE and wanting to hug SINS OF THHE FATHERS for the rest of my life and being thoroughly confused by FREEWILL and not in a good way, I wondered if there was a more inconsistent author than Lynch.

But Angry Young Man is quite the wow book. The humanity of the writing is almost unbearably beautiful. A surprise of AYM was how lovely the female characters were - both Babette and Carly. Babette especially, b...more 4.5 stars.

Chris Lynch, you still have it in you!

After being thoroughly disappointed by INEXCUSABLE and wanting to hug SINS OF THHE FATHERS for the rest of my life and being thoroughly confused by FREEWILL and not in a good way, I wondered if there was a more inconsistent author than Lynch.

But Angry Young Man is quite the wow book. The humanity of the writing is almost unbearably beautiful. A surprise of AYM was how lovely the female characters were - both Babette and Carly. Babette especially, but Lynch had sensitivity for Carly, the Christian fanatic. After the overwhelmingly unlikeable Gigi in Inexcusable, I was starting to wonder if Lynch's thing were his male characters, while his female fell by the wayside. AYM disproves this. But what I loved about AYM is Lynch's ability to take a not wholly sympathetic character as his main one and give him such a rhythmic, extraordinary and compelling voice. Robert is the kind of character who would be a secondary antagonist in most YAs - the bullying perfect older brother, under whom the younger brother feels lost and overshadowed. And Xan? What did he did with Xan was equally special. Xan is a disturbed person, but Lynch's writing of him made him so real and awkwardly relatable that it actually made me feel sick throughout the book. What was going to happen? What was Xan going to do? What was Robert going to do? Oh holy shit, was it all about to go wrong?

More, please, Chris Lynch.

Half a star taken off because the storyline felt underdeveloped in parts, especially Xan's bond with Harry. I have an extreme amount of admiration for Lynch's ability to take a secondary character as the main character, but, in all honesty, he wasn't 100% successful. I would have liked to see Xan's relationship with Harry get deeper and darker, and I felt that we needed to see more of it to understand how Xan could be so enthralled by someone who even Carly admitted was dangerous.

Also, don't think that this is 100% depressing. It's not. It has moments of humour that had me scoffing and laughing to myself, and the scene where Robert verbally kicks Wayne's ass is glorious.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jan 07, 2011 Peep (Pop! Pop!) rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: insane, read-in-2011, what-the-heck, addicted-to-ya

Let's get this straight - I didn't hate the book. I know I gave it only one star, but I have my reasons.

First, I LOVE the cover. It's kind of simple but it just tells me so much. It just tells me that this book will be about an angry young man and there will be trouble. Yes, trouble. I'd rate this as one of my favorite covers because I think it says so much while being so simple.

I liked the story about meeting his father. I thought that was pretty funny though it didn't have much to do with the...more Let's get this straight - I didn't hate the book. I know I gave it only one star, but I have my reasons.

First, I LOVE the cover. It's kind of simple but it just tells me so much. It just tells me that this book will be about an angry young man and there will be trouble. Yes, trouble. I'd rate this as one of my favorite covers because I think it says so much while being so simple.

I liked the story about meeting his father. I thought that was pretty funny though it didn't have much to do with the rest of the book.

I like the way it was written. I liked Robert as he did seem like a typical big brother. I thought it was realistic how he behaved towards his brother. Annoying, loving, rude, sometimes clueless, and slightly protective.

We weren't inside Alexanders head so I don't know why he did some of the things he did. His need to wear his tinted glasses made me think that there was something more to him but for the most part he just was the same guy throughout the book. I felt bad that he felt so left out and young all the time. I had a hard time remembering that he was an older teen and not much younger.

I don't get it. Yeah, he's a hothead at times but I got the vibe that he was more weird than anything. That didn't work for me. I didn't get "angry", I got a crazy mix of mentally unstable and weird. I saw some stupid and impulsive things. I felt that the whole cause for him being angry was just silly. I felt like the book was going somewhere and that the Cause was preparing for this dastardly deed but ultimately they came off as pranks. Not anything angry, just something you'd see on a prank show or Jack***. Scratch that, these are pranks that I'd see in a YA book for younger kids. I guess the cover just built me up and I expected more.

About the ending, I didn't feel like it matched with the rest of the book. I thought to myself, "Is this a joke? Is this really happening?". I did not get the jump from A to Psycho.

My biggest problem with the book is the total lack of responsibility for their actions. There was a need to punish others but no need to be accountable. For example, the mom just swept everything under the rug and brushed off her problems. Here's a thought - you got yourself into this mess now try to work it out! Her lack of stepping up almost cost her her kids. That made me so mad. Why not face it and own up to it? Either way you look at it, your boys are involved. They are old enough to help so let them. Instead it gets crazy and ridiculous and everything "works out". Ugh. Am I wrong to think that what they did was SERIOUS?!?! After the "incident" in the end, we get treated to a prologue of sorts that I felt was extremely out of place. Hey, let's do this "incident" but it's okay now. I was hoping there would be some mention of therapy or something. Ugh.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jan 01, 2011 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: realistic

Although Xan and Robert are brothers, they’re on the opposite end of the spectrum, and Xan is always in his older brother’s shadow. Robert has a somewhat steady job, goes to the community college and has a girlfriend while Xan is struggling with everything, especially a place to fit into. Robert has always been the one to keep his brother’s temper in check, so what will happen when he has a lapse in judgment?

This book is very hard to summarize because its plot is pretty amorphous, but it’s not...more

like · see review

Mar 13, 2011 Mrs. ReaderPants rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011

This book does have a positive message about turning your life around, even after you have royally messed up. I like how close the brothers are, even though they are quite competitive and Robert does not initially seem to realize how much his teasing affects Xan. Xan and Robert are well-drawn characters that evoke reader sympathy.

A slice of life story about a family in hard times, this short novel just didn’t move me the way it should have. Nothing much really happens. Xan definitely gets in ove...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 14, 2011 Cornmaven rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: high-school

I liked this book about two brothers one a shining star throughout middle school and high school, the other adequately talented, but a victim of bullying and rejection. The setting is post all that, but everyone's got to deal with the past. Lynch kept me guessing about Alexander's relationship with Harry, and actually I was surprised at what it turned out to be.

The writing was very well done, characters well developed, with the voicing of these early young adults at a pace that to me replicated...more

like · see review

Mar 13, 2011 Brian Kelley rated it 1 of 5 stars

Of the tall stack of YA books I've read since early November, I struggled the most with Chris Lynch's Angry Young Man. I just couldn't read through a chapter without feeling like I was wasting my time, but I pushed through the book anyway to be fair. At times it took me two to three sittings per chapter to move through it; I found other distractions easily...such as filling the dog's water dish.

No offense to the author intended, but I really felt like I wasted my time with this novel.

(Note: I c...more Of the tall stack of YA books I've read since early November, I struggled the most with Chris Lynch's Angry Young Man. I just couldn't read through a chapter without feeling like I was wasting my time, but I pushed through the book anyway to be fair. At times it took me two to three sittings per chapter to move through it; I found other distractions easily...such as filling the dog's water dish.

No offense to the author intended, but I really felt like I wasted my time with this novel.

(Note: I can't speak about the book without including a spoiler here, so if you intend to read Angry Young Man you're better off leaving my review now and experiencing it for yourself.)

The story itself: a pair of post-high school brothers try to find their way in a house barely kept afloat by a single mother struggling to make ends meet. A bill collector intrudes on their house and family, pounding on the door, calling on the phone at all hours of the day and night. One of the brothers spends a lot of time with a local militant hell bent on causing damage and inflicting harm to making the world a better place one night at a time. It all meets at the end where the brothers take a homemade bomb and place it under the bill collector's desk (to prove a point?)--and then think better of it as they leave. They run back in, convince the guy who is just doing his job to chase them (which saves his life as the building goes boom), and live happily ever after because the bill collector suspects someone else and these two kids get off clean...everyone in their family maintains a job and they bond as a family, making it work one day at a time.

The story didn't speak to me on any level--as a reader, teacher, admirer of good story telling... Written in first-person narrative the story contained a lot of summary. I never felt any emotional connection with any circumstance. Their angst, anger, frustration, deviance, love for their mother or each other fell completely flat and ineffectual.

The reader is kept at a distance from a plot which never really sorts itself out. At the moment that you might start to believe that the younger brother is lost in the seedy underbelly of a homegrown terrorist then story conveniently ends with all is well.

I thought a writer's job was to be brutal with his/her characters. Raise the stakes. Raise the what next factor. Lynch totally bails his characters out and left me wishing I bailed when I first suspected a problem existed. For all of the huff and puff of the terms "terrorist" and "bomb" this book delivered as much disappointment as a hollow chocolate bunny.

I do not recommend this for your classroom library--there is too much going on in the world of YA literature to settle for this novel.

http://walkthewalkblog.blogspot.com/(less)

like · see review

Jan 04, 2012 Miz Lizzie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: anger, families, guysread, realistic-fiction, siblings, usa, young-adult

Two brothers living in the inner city with their mother struggle to find purpose and meaningful relationships in their lives. Told by Robert, the older brother who has a girlfriend and a part-time job and attends community college as he seeks to understand Alexander, his sensitive misfit unemployed younger brother whom he both loves and picks on. Robert's voice is strong and engaging. The novel swiftly appears to be a study of the forces that draw angry young men to become terrorists. But, then,...more

like · see review

May 28, 2011 Betsy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen, realistic-fiction

Robert and Xan are brothers with little in common except their age and their affection for each other. They live with their mother in a small apartment and share a bedroom. Robert has a job, goes to community college, plays soccer, has a girlfriend. He contributes to his family financially but they are about to be evicted. Xan cannot hold a job. He has no friends and no real interests. He seems to be somewhere along the autistic spectrum. Always in Robert's shadow he stumbles along until he begi...more

like · see review

Jul 11, 2011 Martha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Perhaps I really liked this book because I just left off with Orphan which I did not finish. This book is about two brothers, one in college and one who dropped out of high school. For me, the narrator, the older brother, tends to be preachy. It might be difficult for a reluctant reader to get beyond his voice.
I think this would be a good read for the "Critics of Society" class because it deals with some community work that goes too far.
I wrote down an idea from the book, that is to do something...more

like · see review

Feb 17, 2011 Zoë (In The Next Room) rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: egalley, ebook, young-adult

I'd actually been meaning to pick up Inexcusable by Chris Lynch for the past few months, but when I had the opportunity to read Angry Young Man I decided to make that my introduction to Lynch instead. Angry Young Man is the story of two brothers, told from the perspective of the older brother Robert, who lives in a small apartment with his little brother Alexander and his mother. The boys have two different fathers and their mother has never married. Robert is taking classes at the local communi...more I'd actually been meaning to pick up Inexcusable by Chris Lynch for the past few months, but when I had the opportunity to read Angry Young Man I decided to make that my introduction to Lynch instead. Angry Young Man is the story of two brothers, told from the perspective of the older brother Robert, who lives in a small apartment with his little brother Alexander and his mother. The boys have two different fathers and their mother has never married. Robert is taking classes at the local community college, working to help out his mom, and spending a lot of time with his girlfriend, while Alexander mostly just spends time in his room. When Alexander does the unthinkable Robert has to decide how far he'll really go for his little brother.

This book took me awhile to get into, which is kinda significant when you consider it's under 200 pages so taking 100 to catch my interest is over half the novel. The issue I had was that Angry Young Man only develops a plot in the last quarter of the book. I've repeatedly said that I don't mind novels without plots (hello literary fiction) but this is a young adult book with fairly basic characters and writing so it just doesn't work without any plot driving the reader to turn the pages. It was really difficult to even try to give a synopsis of the story without giving away spoilers, since the story doesn't even really start until three quarters into the book. I did find it nice to read a novel written in a masculine voice for a change as I seem to mostly pick up YA with female narrators.

My favourite thing about Angry Young Man is the relationship that Lynch portrays between Robert and Alexander. He shows that even when people love each other, they can still sometimes do heartless things, like ignore their younger brother when he is being bullied. The way the brothers interacted felt very believable. On the other hand, I couldn't care less about all the relationship drama the book contained including Alexander going out with a girl Robert once dated.

The major problem I had with Angry Young Man was not only that there wasn't a plot for most of the book, but that when it did occur I really didn't buy it. Of course, the book is written from Robert's perspective not Alexander's so it is impossible to really get inside his head, but Lynch made him become suddenly "angry" and it just felt odd. I never truly felt Alexander was even actually angry, he seemed more jaded and a bit of a loner, and his sudden transition to extremist felt awkward and unbelievable. Angry Young Man is a book which is definitely attempting to appeal to a specific audience- that of angry young men- but I think from a literary perspective it would mostly be appropriate for younger teens who might not notice the gaping flaws in character development. (less)

like · see review

Jun 08, 2011 Alexandria Godina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

WOW- i couldn't believe this got such bad reviews. I loved this book, read it in a day since it was so intriguing and short-which was really nice. I felt like i could easily recommend this to any reader especially those who like a little darker stories. Yes, there were sudden plot endings but you can only expect so much from a short book and i think that is okay sometimes you don't want to read a 400 page book. I enjoyed reading and learning about the dynamic of the brothers relationship and how...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 17, 2011 Sandra Stiles rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, young-adult, realistic-fiction

Alexander and Robert are brothers. Alexander has grown up unable to really fit in with society in general. His brother sticks up for him, tries to keep him under control all the while tormenting him because he can. Robert's dream is to become a P.E. Teacher. He is surprised to find his brother auditing a course at the same community college he attends. As his brother's behavior becomes even more strange he has to wonder about the class and the group his brother has gotten mixed up with. Just how...more

like · see review

Apr 18, 2012 Pam Gardow rated it 5 of 5 stars

Angry young man tells the story of two brothers. Robert is popular, athletic, and career bound. Xan is sensitive, caring, supremely ethical, but has been damaged by a lifetime of bullying and has seemingly no interest in college or career. Robert claims to have Xan's back, but has he really been responsible for much of the bullying? Anger kills, but who is really the angry brother, and will there be an inevitable death?

This is a powerful book, filled with psychological depth, achingly beautiful...more

like · see review

Dec 13, 2012 Jason Kurtz rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, realistic-ya

Having read Inexcusable and Freewill, I expected much more from Lynch in this novel. I was expecting something horrible to happen with the turn of every page and it never comes to fruition. The title is Angry Young Man but no one seems very "angry", mostly just irritated.

This book does not push the envelope for me and definitely does not live up to the hype of the back cover blurb. "This edgy exploration of what goes on in the mind of someone pushed to the brink examines the seeds of extremism...more

like · see review

Jul 02, 2011 Tatiana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, ya

2.5 stars

A menacing cover, a title promising darkness and danger... and the story itself just doesn't deliver.

What kind of person becomes a terrorist? Violent? Crazy? Not necessarily. Lynch offers a very convincing portrait of such a person - a teen without a father figure, sensitive, vulnerable, tender, easily influenced, unable to fend for himself or fit in, inevitably bullied and, yes, sympathetic.

The strength of Angry Young Man is in characterization. Troubled Alexander (Xan) as seen throug...more

13 likes · like · see review

Nov 15, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

There are two young men in Chris Lynch's new novel with reason to be angry. Robert and Alexander have been raised by a single mother who struggles to make ends meet. Robert had the unpleasant experience of meeting his father once, while Alexander knows nothing about his sperm donor. The two brothers are different as night and day, but still living at home and still sharing the same tiny room, they have developed a sometimes strained...more Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

There are two young men in Chris Lynch's new novel with reason to be angry. Robert and Alexander have been raised by a single mother who struggles to make ends meet. Robert had the unpleasant experience of meeting his father once, while Alexander knows nothing about his sperm donor. The two brothers are different as night and day, but still living at home and still sharing the same tiny room, they have developed a sometimes strained but tolerable relationship.

Robert, the older brother, attempts to describe his unusual sibling. He wishes others would understand Alexander (Xan). In fact, he wishes he could understand him. Xan definitely marches to the beat of a different drummer. Although smart enough, he quit school and spends his days just hanging around, while Robert works hard for a local mechanic so he can contribute to the household expenses. At the same time, he also attends the local community college. These different approaches to life make for almost daily arguments.

Even though Xan irritates Robert, he tries to get his younger brother involved in activities that will get him out of the house and hopefully build Xan's self-esteem. For a short time, soccer appears to be a possible solution, but Xan's erratic behavior ends up turning the team against him.

When Robert learns that Xan is starting to attend a class at the community college aimed at inspiring social activism, he has hopes that maybe things are changing. Unfortunately, Xan gets involved with a less than desirable group who call themselves the Good Causes. When the leader of the group reveals some radical ideas that get him kicked out of the Social Responsibility class, Xan is already deeply involved with the group.

Robert watches from a distance until he discovers the group's activities are becoming more violent. He fears Xan's need for acceptance will result in his involvement in a dangerous situation. In the meantime, Robert's attempts to protect their mother from problems of her own have him battling his own angry impulses.

Author Chris Lynch expertly portrays two young adults struggling to find their way in a world out to stack the odds against them. Alexander is a typical misfit lucky enough to have a brother willing to stand up for him. Robert's hard work and confidence is inspiring, even when it becomes obvious that he isn't as sure of himself as he would like people to believe. Lynch makes great use of humor to lighten the tense moments in this sometimes rather dark tale. (less)

like · see review

Oct 07, 2012 Julie Hucke rated it 2 of 5 stars

Last I checked, people use contractions when they speak. The fact that the characters didn't in this book threw me so much that I could not remotely get into the flow of it. Add to that the weak plot, the lack of depth, and the dullness of the narrator, and this was a doozy of a flop. Only saved from one star by an interesting-ish brither character (who could have been so much more). This book reads like it was written by a tenth grader.

1 like · like · see review

Sep 19, 2012 Kate rated it 2 of 5 stars

Two big problems: (1) the INCREDIBLY stilted dialogue. I can't remember a book published in the last 30 years that so rarely had teenagers using conjunctions. (2) Not enough ever felt at stake. I did like the narrator's relationships with his mom and brother, and I liked how the brother's apparent Aspergers was portrayed. But yeah, it had an oddly, tediously safe feeling despite the issues of ecoterrorism and sex.

like · see review

Jun 16, 2012 April rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review, ya

When I think of myself in high school, I remember back to being angry with the status quo, angry with politics, etc. I wrote political poetry for our high school poetry slam team, and our coach dubbed me an angry young man, despite my being a woman and all. I think this makes sense, or at least this time in life, because being a teen is a time of rebellion, testing limits, and not liking the status quo if you are being shafted by it. Angry Young Man by Chris Lynch is a very short contemporary yo...more

like · see review

Apr 10, 2011 Sherry rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-qp-shelf

I love the cover, but it didn't reflect the plot of the story. Xan is very much ADD, and has little self control. Robert is the very opposite of Xan. Robert, is reliant, self-controlled, stable, or is he?

The plot moved around too much, and because of this, it was very hard to stay on track. Lynch does let the reader have a glimpse into a struggling family, and what struggling families must sometimes face.

like · see review

Nov 23, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: realistic-fiction

Chris Lynch gets right to the ideals that get left out of too many teen books: honor, responsibility, loyalty, all the things that aspiring young men so often need to explore. Alexander is different, and that is fine with him. After all, “normal” is mean, brutal, heartless, and cruel. But when he finally sees a chance to stop fuming and actually do something to change the world, does he know any way to do it other than becoming the things he despises?

like · see review

Mar 15, 2011 Marilyn rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: 10th grade and up

Shelves: realistic-fiction, romance, youngadultfiction

I'm surprised that so many goodreads readers didn't like this book. I found it funny, insightful and compelling. I thought the brothers' relationship was complex and true to life in that complexity. And there is a scene describing a soccer match that is probably the best description of soccer play that I've ever read. Some language, violence and talk of sex.

1 like · like · see review

May 16, 2012 Kim rated it 2 of 5 stars

I read this in a half a day. It kept me going and was heading to something I kept waiting for. Low rating is because it never got there. It fizzled and ended like a fairytale. Just not my thing. I like happy endings, but with a twist at least. This just didn't fulfill the promise of my expectations of it. You may not agree.

like · see review

Oct 20, 2012 Ronald rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-about-anarchists

I read this book after in came up in a library catalog search as fiction about anarchists.

I never expect much when reading these kind of books, but this was worse than usual. The connections to anarchism--via one of the brother's turning to animal rights protests--are weak and bear little resemblance to reality.

like · see review

Dec 04, 2011 Kim rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-and-youth

I like the topic of trying to understand the anger in some teens, but this book was too short to develop the reasons, and the character of Xan was very hard to relate to on any level. Still, some teens, especially angry ones might like this book about making the choice not to let the anger take over and wreck lives.

like · see review

May 02, 2011 Kathleen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, read-in-2011, young-adult

A book that makes me like ecoterrorism somewhat less than Zodiac did, and also makes one think deeply about the reasons people join organizations. A good, if serious, read.

like · see review

Apr 17, 2011 Alicia rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: boy, odd, politics

It never did quite get it together. I was waiting for some really big unveiling of Xan's issues told from the perspective of his eighteen year old brother who lives in the same room (the brother who has it together, Robert). It seems like he's got autism and is protected by Robert and his mother. Yet, the story begins to diverge in a few directions-- a shark trying to get money from their single mother, Robert's girlfriend, Robert's job and life and then all of a sudden Xan is hanging out with a...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 16 17 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (3)

Genres

Young Adult

19 users

Realistic Fiction

10 users

Young Adult > Teen

5 users

Contemporary

2 users

Young Adult > High School

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Chris Lynch

Chris Lynch is the Printz Honor Award-winning author of several highly acclaimed young adult novels, including KILL SWITCH, ANGRY YOUNG MAN, and INEXCUSABLE, which was a National Book Award finalist and the recipient of six starred reviews. He is also the author of FREEWILL, GOLD DUST, ICEMAN, GYPSY DAVY, and SHADOWBOXER, all ALA Best Books for Young Adults; EXTREME ELVIN WHITECHURCH, and ALL THE...more

More about Chris Lynch...

Books by Chris Lynch

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Angry Young Man

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Angry Young Man

“Sometimes seeing everything just gets in the way.” — 3 people liked it

“The right word at the right time helps you make sense of the world. It helps, but sometimes not a lot.” — 1 person liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Angry Young Man
avg rating	preview: Angry Young Man Goodreads rating: 2.95 (188 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6668975-angry-young-man?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348761751l/6668975.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6668975-angry-young-man?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Angry Young Man by Chris Lynch[/url]

Angry Young Man

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website