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Kelly's Reviews > Nothing Special
Nothing Special
by Geoff Herbach (Goodreads Author)
by Geoff Herbach (Goodreads Author)
This was such a perfect continuation of Felton's story -- when we leave him in Stupid Fast, things AREN'T settled. There are still questions. And while this one answers some of them, it opens up even more important questions.
Felton's being recruited by so many colleges and universities because of his athletic prowess, and he's caught up in this world of being in the spot light and in the being the Felton he realized he could be. The problem is, he's forgetting about the other people in his life, including his brother. Andrew's always loved Felton, but Felton's been too blind to see it. And when everything unravels the summer before and the truth about their father spills out, Andrew only pours more love into his brother. Except, that love and devotion is really his way of coping with so much loss and emptiness. It's also his way of dealing with living in the shadow of someone who has everyone's attention.
This is a story about family and about those relationships among family members that are tricky, uncomfortable, and broken. It is not an easy read because these are heavy topics, but Felton has a sense of humor and brings such levity to the situations it that makes them easier to digest. He comes to realize how truly selfish he's become, both as a result of his transformation and as a result of having other people's expectations hoisted upon him. He's judgmental and rude, and he doesn't necessarily realize it because he's too self-involved. But it kills his brother.
Nothing Special tore at me. I related to Felton a lot more in this book than I did before, if for no other reason than I understood just how uncomfortable dealing with the family stuff was for him. About page 200 I started getting to the point where I knew there'd be tears at the end, and I did well up a bit. He's just a character who you WANT to succeed. He tries so, so hard, even if it's misguided.
More than that though, this is a love story, but the way it plays out is subtle (but brilliant). Everyone gets what they deserve in this book without being a pretty ribbon on a neat package. There are still tons of unresolved issues. But that's OKAY.
Without doubt, Felton is and will be one of my favorite characters for a long, long time.
(For what it's worth, this isn't a book you can read without reading the first one.)
Full review here: http://www.stackedbooks.org/2012/05/n...
Felton's being recruited by so many colleges and universities because of his athletic prowess, and he's caught up in this world of being in the spot light and in the being the Felton he realized he could be. The problem is, he's forgetting about the other people in his life, including his brother. Andrew's always loved Felton, but Felton's been too blind to see it. And when everything unravels the summer before and the truth about their father spills out, Andrew only pours more love into his brother. Except, that love and devotion is really his way of coping with so much loss and emptiness. It's also his way of dealing with living in the shadow of someone who has everyone's attention.
This is a story about family and about those relationships among family members that are tricky, uncomfortable, and broken. It is not an easy read because these are heavy topics, but Felton has a sense of humor and brings such levity to the situations it that makes them easier to digest. He comes to realize how truly selfish he's become, both as a result of his transformation and as a result of having other people's expectations hoisted upon him. He's judgmental and rude, and he doesn't necessarily realize it because he's too self-involved. But it kills his brother.
Nothing Special tore at me. I related to Felton a lot more in this book than I did before, if for no other reason than I understood just how uncomfortable dealing with the family stuff was for him. About page 200 I started getting to the point where I knew there'd be tears at the end, and I did well up a bit. He's just a character who you WANT to succeed. He tries so, so hard, even if it's misguided.
More than that though, this is a love story, but the way it plays out is subtle (but brilliant). Everyone gets what they deserve in this book without being a pretty ribbon on a neat package. There are still tons of unresolved issues. But that's OKAY.
Without doubt, Felton is and will be one of my favorite characters for a long, long time.
(For what it's worth, this isn't a book you can read without reading the first one.)
Full review here: http://www.stackedbooks.org/2012/05/n...
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Quotes Kelly Liked
“If you act out of love, whatever you do is both perfect and right. It doesn't matter if you're a deep thinker or a squirrel nut if you act out of love. Crap starts getting seriously screwed if something else gets in the way, something like fear or revenge or even victory or being famous or some other dumb thing. The only thing we need to do is figure out what we really love.”
― Geoff Herbach, Nothing Special
― Geoff Herbach, Nothing Special
Reading Progress
| 03/20/2012 | page 50 |
|
16.0% | "There aren't words for how much I just LOVE this character." |
| 03/20/2012 | page 215 |
|
71.0% | "I've hit the point where I know there will be tears by the end. Already welled up a little bit, and I've still got a good chunk of book left to go!" |
