Holly's review
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga
This is a young adult coming-of-age story that is very true to life in that it doesn't have a happy ending. The socially-inept and bullied comic fanboy lead character doesn't escape his bullies entirely, and still has a lot to patch up with family and friends. The little goth girl's problems are not magically solved, and she is still depressed and in danger at the end of the book. But the lead character learns to not take things as seriously, to give other people the benefit of the doubt a bit more, and to try to get over some of the teenage rage. I think he'll be okay in the end.
There is a lot I identified with in this book, but it didn't completely stop me from getting frustrated with the lead character's selfishness and his fears and prejudices that were stalling his life. He's pretty whiny in parts and you kind of want to smack him and explain it all to him. I'm not sure that a kid the age of the characters would glean much insight from this book, and as an adult I was a bit t...more
There is a lot I identified with in this book, but it didn't completely stop me from getting frustrated with the lead character's selfishness and his fears and prejudices that were stalling his life. He's pretty whiny in parts and you kind of want to smack him and explain it all to him. I'm not sure that a kid the age of the characters would glean much insight from this book, and as an adult I was a bit t...more
