The Tragic Age by Stephen Metcalfe

Mar 05, 2015 Rebecca rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, read-in-2015, genre-contemporary

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Okay let’s do this.

First things first: I received an ebook copy of this book via NetGalley for my honest review.

So at the very beginning of this book I fell in love. It was funny, it was quirky, it was enjoyable. It had a certain spark and I was excited. The writing was really well done, too. It seemed like it was going to be great. Basically, I was duped.

It didn’t take long for this book to spiral into “??!??!?!” territory. First, you have the oversexualised Latina, the smart As ...more

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Dec 14, 2014 Erin Lynn rated it it was ok

Shelves: arc, young-adult, first-reads, 2015-aaya-a-z-challenge, 2015-debut-author-challenge, march-2015, booksfortrade, owned-physical-arcs

In accordance to FTC guidelines, I must state that I received a free galley copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program. This did not alter my thoughts on the book in any way.

The Tragic Age by Stephen Metcalfe was definitely one of my more anticipated debut novels of 2015. When I saw the synopsis, I knew I wanted to read it, especially with the comparison to The Catcher in the Rye. Then I saw that Stephen worked on one of my favorite movies, Pretty Woman. I was sold, and I knew t In accordance to FTC guidelines, I must state that I received a free galley copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program. This did not alter my thoughts on the book in any way.

The Tragic Age by Stephen Metcalfe was definitely one of my more anticipated debut novels of 2015. When I saw the synopsis, I knew I wanted to read it, especially with the comparison to The Catcher in the Rye. Then I saw that Stephen worked on one of my favorite movies, Pretty Woman. I was sold, and I knew that I would be reading it. I became even more excited when I found out that I had a galley on the way.

You know the saying, "Less is more?" Someone should have given Stephen Metcalfe that piece of advice after reading a draft of The Tragic Age. While the story is extremely interesting and intriguing at first, Metcalfe just includes too much information for a reader to handle. All was well when I was reading the first few chapters, and I was laughing and enjoying myself. Then suddenly, about a quarter of the way through the book, things turned ugly. Reading this book became tedious, and I really started to feel like I was in a reading slump. Only I wasn't in a slump; I just wasn't enjoying the book anymore. I kept reading because I was hoping to rediscover a greatness in the book, but it wasn't the case. I probably would have DNFed this book, but by the time I really felt like things weren't going to get better, I was too far into it. It would have felt pointless to DNF it.

The characters in the book are some of the most messed up characters I have ever come across in a book. At first, I really liked Billy, but as the book progressed, I began to strongly dislike him. I understand that he has a lot to deal with, but he went from being a likeable character to an irritating character. To be honest, I didn't even know his name throughout most of the book because he's just not memorable. That's kind of a problem because he's the narrator. The other main characters, Twom, Ephraim, and Deliza bring uniqueness and a little bit of diversity to the book, but they don't save the poor writing and plot.

I did find a few things that I liked about the book. In many of Billy's tangents, he refers to historical events and pop culture. I was able to tell that he was a well-thought character and that Metcalfe put a lot of effort into creating him and making him this super smart but careless human. I also liked the minor character, Gretchen, and her connection to Billy and his family. I think she was a much needed character for the book, but I just wish that Metcalfe would have included her in more parts of the novel.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. I would feel extremely guilty if I did, especially if the person ends up disliking it as much as I did. ...more

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Dec 16, 2014 Kelley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, goodreads-giveaways, ya

Novel received courtesy of Goodreads.com First Reads Giveaway

It's going to take a while to get over this book. I could not stop reading this until I got about 50 pages from the end, then I didn't want to finish it. I even walked away from it knowing that the end was going to be too tragic and emotional. Of course, my resolve lasted about a half hour before I gave in and finished.

Billy's family lives in a wealthy community in California. They won the lottery to get there; the other families "belo ...more

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Oct 05, 2015 Sahifah rated it did not like it

Shelves: read-and-gave-up

As a 22-year-old lover of YA fiction, I was excited to read this book (although I was more excited when I thought the title was A Tragic Ape). I was unable to finish because of the insufferable protagonist and the choppy sentence structures. I think I got a headache from the lack of sentence structure variety, really. I could have gotten over the holier-than-thou attitude of the main character and finished the book if reading it weren't such a pain. ...more

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Mar 07, 2015 Once rated it it was amazing

I'm glad that I read this novel shortly after reading How to Win at High School (You can check out my review of that one here). Both had a male as the main character, and even though I'm not usually a fan of male main characters, I really enjoyed them both. Who knows...I might start requesting more books like this one!

First, I LOVED the snarky writing in this one. I'm all for main characters where you feel like you are them, and not that you are looking down on a movie set. I instantly felt lik I'm glad that I read this novel shortly after reading How to Win at High School (You can check out my review of that one here). Both had a male as the main character, and even though I'm not usually a fan of male main characters, I really enjoyed them both. Who knows...I might start requesting more books like this one!

First, I LOVED the snarky writing in this one. I'm all for main characters where you feel like you are them, and not that you are looking down on a movie set. I instantly felt like I was Billy. I had an instant connection with his pessimistic viewpoint of the world and his snarky personality. I've been reading so many contemporary romance novels lately, that this was a breath of fresh air.

Billy is a kid after my own heart and it killed me to see him doing things he shouldn't. I grieved with him over the loss of his sister and could see the sense of longing in his heart as he tries to fit in despite a deformity on his face. His group of misfits remind me of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. They need each other, but they don't need each other. Together they don't feel so lonely, but they end up doing so many things they shouldn't. This novel also reminds me of The Catcher in the Rye in that the main character's are both male and learn about life doing things that are a little above their age level. Ephraim was probably my favorite character of all. He reminds me so much af several kids I went to high school with. Totally addicted to games and totally has lost touch with reality. He's just so happy to have people to hang out with that it breaks your heart.

The ending was a little confusing and I had to go back and read through it a few times. Billy has a way of playing things out in his head, coming up with different scenarios, and I couldn't figure out if this was in his head or actually happening. I knew that the ending couldn't be prefect, but I was shocked with how it all went down. I don't want to say anymore about the ending because I'm afraid I'll give something away, but it was surprising.

Overall, I was very happy with this novel and I hope that Metcalfe writes another one. I would recommend this to older teens because it has a lot of sex and violence in it. ...more

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Dec 30, 2014 Brittany rated it liked it

One word to describe this book: clever.

The Tragic Age is a thought-provoking novel that follows high school senior, Billy. This novel is compelling and clever, and touches on tough subjects such as death and suicide.

You would think that Billy had the perfect life, if you didn’t know him. His family has been living in an upscale neighborhood since winning the lottery a few years ago. But Billy’s life is far from perfect. His twin sister, Dorie, passed away from leukemia. His father is an alcoholi One word to describe this book: clever.

The Tragic Age is a thought-provoking novel that follows high school senior, Billy. This novel is compelling and clever, and touches on tough subjects such as death and suicide.

You would think that Billy had the perfect life, if you didn’t know him. His family has been living in an upscale neighborhood since winning the lottery a few years ago. But Billy’s life is far from perfect. His twin sister, Dorie, passed away from leukemia. His father is an alcoholic, and his mother recently fought a battle with breast cancer. Billy has a large birthmark on his face, which causes him to have self-esteem issues.

In the beginning of The Tragic Age, Billy is still struggling after losing Dorie. He doesn’t sleep, and he refuses to talk to anyone. He tries to blend in the shadows and just wants to move on. A kid named Twom moves to town, and around the same time Billy reconnects with a girl named Gretchen. Billy and his friends begin breaking into houses. They don’t steal anything, but they do eat some food. And Billy finds out that he can sleep at other people’s homes and not his own. After a while, things begin spiraling out of control and things get out of hand.

The Tragic Age is a coming of age story that gives the same vibes as A Catcher in the Rye. It deals with tough subjects and makes you think about what you would do if you were in Billy’s situation. The Tragic Age is an entertaining book. I couldn’t stop reading it, but I did find Billy a little hard to connect with at times. The Tragic Age takes you on an emotional journey as Billy comes to terms with who he is and what he wants out of life.

The Conclusion:

There was a little bit of info dumping that happened, and that made things a little confusing at times. Billy was a hard character to connect with, but I did enjoy reading his point-of-view. The Tragic Age is thought-provoking and will make you wonder what you would do if you were in Billy’s shoes.

Recommended To:

Fans of the classic; A Catcher in the Rye, will LOVE this book. It has the same vibes and reminded me so much of that book. ...more

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Dec 25, 2014 Aroog rated it liked it

Recommends it for: the freaking riddler from dc comics because maybe this will make sense to him

this book was so good but the ending was so confusing? billy often provides alternate endings to things as a joke, and it's very clear in the beginning what he does and doesn't do, but the end is such a mess because you're not sure what quite happened to twom and deliza and billy in mexico, so despite the excellent court scene end, it's not very clear

the bad:
-wow, oversexualized latinas!!!! so original!!! also black kids, mexican kids, and asian kids are stereotyped for FILTH what is happening
-b

...more

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Mar 05, 2015 Morris rated it really liked it

Shelves: recommend, 2015-reviews, 2015-favorites

“The Tragic Age” is the type of novel I adore, but yet find extremely difficult to find one that is well-written. It is, above all else, an excellent study in existentialism for the current high school generation, not to mention the rest of us.

Billy is a narrator with an excellent voice. His observations are disturbing, disturbed, witty, intelligent, and downright funny. Funny, that is, until you actually think about them too hard. Then they become disturbing and/or disturbed. The author managed ...more

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Jan 21, 2016 Lekeisha The Booknerd rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fc-for-review, pb-to-trade

Originally posted over at Lekeisha The Booknerd

I’ve wanted to read this book since it first released last year. However, all the mixed reviews made me put it on hold for months. When I got the chance to review it for it’s paperback release, I was all for it. After reading this book, I’m torn between the beautiful writing, and the chaos that it all wraps up to be.

The Tragic Age is, as I said before, beautifully written. There are a slew of characters that make up this story, and they are all real ...more

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Nov 12, 2014 Lauren Bujorian rated it it was amazing

I won a copy of this book In a giveaway here on goodreads. This book is an amazing story, a story of a young teen boy who has had just about anything that could go wrong in his life actually go wrong. It's a story about choices, and how we have to live with the consequences. It's well written book and I found myself truly struggling to ever put it down! I would suggest it be aimed for an older audience As it touches on sex, and suicidal thoughts as well as some other topics that wouldn't be suit ...more

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Jan 12, 2015 Mia Searles (The Muses Circle) rated it it was amazing

This review and more can be found on my blog The Muses Circle

My Review: I'm hoping to keep this review short and sweet as there are so many wonderful layers to this unique, coming-of-age novel by the visionary Stephen Metcalfe. The Tragic Age is packed with themes and life lessons-- so much so that I can see this being a novel that should be read in the classroom (although language and sexual situations may be an issue; more about that later).

The story is told through ...more

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Jan 27, 2015 Tikaa rated it really liked it

More reviews at fANGIRLconfessions

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This opinion is my own, and will not be affected by this.

Young Adult Perspective Survey

In YA novels, do you prefer to read from the perspective of a male or female?

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Outside of the blogging community, I'm one of those people who has a ton of friends. The difference between me and other bloggers I know, is that I have more MALE friends than female. I've always chalked this up to the f ...more

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Apr 15, 2015 Jill rated it liked it

When I started this book I thought it was going to be a cute, snarky, coming of age update to Catcher in the Rye, but it turned out to be more like a cute, snarky, coming of age update to Dante’s Inferno. Certainly there was a nihilistic edge right from the beginning that should have clued me in, but I so wanted it to be just a modern Salinger I ignored it (and attributed it, moreover, to the inevitable reflection of our current, perhaps more cynical, age.)

17-year-old Billy Kinsey lives in a ric When I started this book I thought it was going to be a cute, snarky, coming of age update to Catcher in the Rye, but it turned out to be more like a cute, snarky, coming of age update to Dante’s Inferno. Certainly there was a nihilistic edge right from the beginning that should have clued me in, but I so wanted it to be just a modern Salinger I ignored it (and attributed it, moreover, to the inevitable reflection of our current, perhaps more cynical, age.)

17-year-old Billy Kinsey lives in a rich enclave of fake people, his parents being his two primary exemplars of this type of hypocritical denizen. He has pretty much felt alone since his twin sister Dorie died of leukemia when they were eleven. Now he can’t sleep, because Dorie comes to him in dreams, presumably to accuse him of killing her since his transplanted bone marrow didn’t help her. [It is odd that Billy, who is otherwise so intelligent, even having a photographic memory, would not know that the bone marrow of an identical twin would not in fact be able to kill the cancer cells.] Billy also has a port-wine hemangioma on his face, adding to his sense of alienation and of being an outsider.

When a new kid comes to his high school, “Twom” (pronounced, portentiously, like tomb) Twomey, tattooed, pierced, and, as it turns out, dyslexic, Billy gravitates to him after the jocks try to put the very different Twom in his “place.” Soon their little group is enlarged by Ephraim, a loser-ish computer hacker nerd, and Deliza, a sort of walking oozing-sex-machine who is attracted to bad-boy Twom. The four of them begin to escape from real life by breaking and entering into (but not stealing from) the mansions of rich neighbors. The police call the perpetrators “The Night Visitors.”

But a catch has developed in Billy’s progress down through Hell. He has started a relationship with Gretchen Quinn, former BFF of Dorie, and as unrealistically perfect as Dante’s Beatrice. With Gretchen, Billy occasionally experiences happiness, but he doesn’t believe it:

"The world suddenly seems like it has the potential to be an okay place. And this bothers me because I know deep inside the world isn’t and never will be.”

As he explains at another point:

"I swear, if alien ants came to earth, they’d look around at the lack of planning and foresight and the poverty and the greed and selfishness and the ignorance and the intolerance and the overall wasted opportunity that, other than the occasional rare glimmer of light, is the basic human condition, and they’d say, Whoa! Whose great idea was this?”

Billy, gifted in so many ways, personifies at least part of what this potential alien scrutiny might reveal, in that he lacks planning, foresight, and wastes his opportunities. And as the group comprised of Billy, his fellow travelers, and their families spiral down to the innermost circle of Hell, no one seems to have learned anything.

Discussion: This is a disturbing story with lots of moments of cleverness, and a few oddly-dropped plot threads. It keeps you turning the pages, in the way in which people can’t turn away from newsreels of crashing planes or collapsing buildings. It also gives you a lot to think about, including all that your teenagers might be up to without your knowing about it.

Rating: 3.5/5
...more

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Dec 17, 2014 Rachel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, for-review

Stephen Metcalfe’s THE TRAGIC AGE is an impactful, intense and riveting novel with a smart, interesting and somewhat antisocial protagonist whose oftentimes profound statements are delivered in a way that is sharp, clever and witty. It’s a story that makes a statement from the start with a quick, entertaining, intelligent and opinionated narrative that tells you exactly who Billy Kinsey is, how he thinks and how he sees the world.

A number of events have led up to the Billy Kinsey we first meet. Stephen Metcalfe’s THE TRAGIC AGE is an impactful, intense and riveting novel with a smart, interesting and somewhat antisocial protagonist whose oftentimes profound statements are delivered in a way that is sharp, clever and witty. It’s a story that makes a statement from the start with a quick, entertaining, intelligent and opinionated narrative that tells you exactly who Billy Kinsey is, how he thinks and how he sees the world.

A number of events have led up to the Billy Kinsey we first meet. Billy might have called those events fate. His father wins the lottery. He invests well. The family moves to an affluent community. His parents fight it off but eventually conform to the behaviors of what is expected of the wealthy. His sister Dorie gets sick. She dies. Billy is forever changed.

And during this brief time we get to know Billy, his life is altered once again. Enter Twom. He is charismatic, larger-than-life, he doesn’t play by any rules but his own. He’s non-conformist. He won’t get pushed around. He stands up to those that do. He makes Billy want to embrace chaos and change. He makes Billy engage with life.

THE TRAGIC AGE is not a story that promises happy times and a happy ending. It’s sad. It’s violent. It’s messy. It’s complicated. It’s ugly. It’s beautiful. It’s heartbreaking. It’s hopeful. It’s real. Its characters are destructive and pessimistic and exciting and disconcerting and free-spirited and kind and cruel. They’re shaped by their circumstances, their parents, the world they live in, the time they live in, who they are, who their friends are, and most of all the choices they make.

Author Stephen Metcalfe paints a disturbing yet authentic picture of the world today and some of the ways it has the potential to influence and impact today’s disaffected youth. He introduces a character who is brilliant and jaded and angry and fatalistic and introverted. Someone who is informed and complex and sarcastic and inventive. Someone who is capable of change, even if they don’t know it. And he does so in a way that is biting, humorous, provocative, imaginative, compelling.

THE TRAGIC AGE is a truly spectacular must-read debut. It’s poignant. It’s stunning. It’s important. It’s compelling. It’s unputdownable. It offers a no b.s. look at the world through its main character’s eyes and through his funny and informational factoids and sidebars. It delivers thrills and excitement and a touch of romance. And, as the title promises, tragedy.

Original GR comments

Wow, this book was incredible. I loved the main character's voice and the way the story played out. I chuckled at some of Billy's descriptions. I shook my head at some of his choices. I haven't read a book quite like this one in a long time.

The description called it Less Than Zero meets Catcher in the Rye (the first I loved, the latter I despised) so my interest was piqued before I even began. This was such a refreshing change up in my reads. I could not set this one down. The title fits this book to a t. And I will not say anything more for fear of spoiling how things go down at the end.

Witty, clever and a really great read.

Review TK in Feb. 27th. ...more

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Feb 18, 2015 Aeicha rated it it was amazing

High school senior, Billy Kinsey, is both all too aware of the world around him and desperate to escape from it. His lottery winning parents’ marriage is more like a war, his beloved twin sister Dorie has died, and his constant insomnia has deprived Billy of dreams to escape to. When two very different, but equally important people- rebel, Twom and optimistic, Gretchen- enter into his life, Billy’s world is forever turned upside down in both quiet and earth shattering ways.

Stephen Metcalfe’s The High school senior, Billy Kinsey, is both all too aware of the world around him and desperate to escape from it. His lottery winning parents’ marriage is more like a war, his beloved twin sister Dorie has died, and his constant insomnia has deprived Billy of dreams to escape to. When two very different, but equally important people- rebel, Twom and optimistic, Gretchen- enter into his life, Billy’s world is forever turned upside down in both quiet and earth shattering ways.

Stephen Metcalfe’s The Tragic Age, is an emotionally raw, unapologetically honest, and fiercely startling coming of age story about life, death, and every amazing, terrifying, fucked up thing in between.

I’ve come to find that many YA contemporaries, with their grand gestures; poetic metaphors; and emotionally manipulative premises, try too hard to be poignant or meaningful or clever or simply unforgettable...I don’t think this is one of those novels. The writing in The Tragic Age is straightforward and isn’t trying to be anything other than what it is. When it’s smart, it’s smart, when it’s funny, it’s funny, when it’s profound, it’s profound, and so on. Yes, it’s full of drama and sex and teenage life and a myriad of other things that can be found in countless YA Contemps. And no, it isn’t ground-breaking or staggeringly new. This novel simply is what it is, and what it is is an utterly engrossing, believable exploration of life that is, at turns, both laugh at loud funny and achingly heartbreaking; unabashedly intimate and cooly aloof. Through Billy’s social commentary and inner reflections, Metcalfe explores a wide range of topics, from sexuality; materialism; depression; love; bullying; to suicide, and does so in realistic, thought-provoking ways.

Metcalfe has cleverly filled his book with characters, that on the surface seem almost stereotypical and cliche (the thoughtful loner, bad boy rebel, hot promiscuous chick, gorgeous girl next door, bullied nerd, douchey joke, etc), but have been given a breathtaking amount of depth and dimension. And I love how these characters aren’t likable in the predictable ways; in fact, most of the characters can be down-right unlikable at times. But they are impossible to turn away from and captivating in their tragic flaws.

My Final Thoughts: A brutally beautiful novel, The Tragic Age took me on a stunning, unexpected journey that made me feel ALL the things! This book will stay with me for a very long time.
...more

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Dec 12, 2014 Ginger at GReadsBooks rated it liked it

Shelves: to-read-2015

There is a voice inside The Tragic Age, whispering to be heard, one that had me reflecting back on my own youth and how ugly the world can be if we choose to see it that way. Billy comes from a very dysfunctional family. His mother and father had the potential to be upstanding parents, but when an (un)lucky lottery ticket cashes in their morals for blinded selfishness, they ignore heavy issues such as the death of their daughter Dorie, only to bury their problems with what money can buy. Billy k ...more

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Dec 30, 2014 Kerry rated it really liked it

Shelves: first-read

Oh my dear Stephen...
This book is EXCELLENT...until the ending. It does smack of that "Catcher In The Rye" adolescent angst story, but for the new generation. My only qualm is that I felt like he pulled out in the end. The book was raw and honest, but I feel like it fluffed a bit in the end. Metcalfe is a LEGIT storyteller though. You've got my ear homey (you had it since Mr. Holland's Opus though really... Richard Dreyfuss is the tits in that one) and I'd like to see where you roam from here. ...more

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Jan 03, 2015 Kelly Hager rated it it was amazing

I know that the comparisons to Catcher in the Rye and The Outsiders are both pretty bold statements. They're also both pretty apt. This book is one I would've loved if I had read it in high school (I loved it now, when I am in my mid-30s). It's an incredibly caustic book but also one that doesn't continue on the myth that high school is the best years of your life.

I loved the characters in this, and also the general plot. This is a story about grief but at the same time, Billy's grief for his tw ...more

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Jun 02, 2015 Jessica rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult

I don't normally read YA (or recommend it for that matter) but this book was pretty awesome. For starters, I loved the narrator. And it starts off mild and gets really dark really fast. Combined with a dynamite ending, this book makes a great quick and easy summer read for both older teens and adults! ...more

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Dec 16, 2014 Barbara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: first-reads, fiction, debut, coming-of-age

I won this book in a goodreads.com giveaway...thanks you.
This book was excellent...it is a riveting coming of age debut novel. That's all I'm going to say because it's only fair that you experience this brilliant novel without any other information. You will be blown away as I was. Enjoy!!! ...more

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Apr 14, 2015 Abigail rated it liked it

Nothing uplifting about this story of a misfit teenager who gets involved with the wrong crowd. Even "first-love" can't save him. Angsty teens will identify with the characters though and may find the journey cathartic. ...more

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Apr 26, 2016 Vanessa / Little Gold Pixel rated it liked it

As far as teen angst stories go, this gets the job done. It's not super graceful, nor are motivations clear for many of the actions throughout. I read to the very end, waiting to see how everything played out, but some of the resolution fell flat for me. ...more

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Mar 04, 2015 ExLibris_Kate rated it really liked it

3.5 Stars

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Jan 06, 2018 Petite Clementine rated it liked it

Shelves: rev

?????
This is the second book that I have found deleted from my account????

Wth, Goodreads?

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Dec 16, 2020 Dara rated it did not like it

WHAT WAS THE REASON???!!!

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Aug 17, 2021 Mem rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Im giving it an extra star because I would recommend reading it because it's my new favorite terrible book. It surpassed "this is where it ends", a book about a school shooting filled with gratuitous ballet metaphors and "diversity" that is so stereotypical it feels racist. I would recommend reading that one too.

SPOILERS PROBABLY

As for this book, initially I was super excited to read it. The narrators tone is interesting and unique, but the second Deliza Baraza was introduced it was downhill f Im giving it an extra star because I would recommend reading it because it's my new favorite terrible book. It surpassed "this is where it ends", a book about a school shooting filled with gratuitous ballet metaphors and "diversity" that is so stereotypical it feels racist. I would recommend reading that one too.

SPOILERS PROBABLY

As for this book, initially I was super excited to read it. The narrators tone is interesting and unique, but the second Deliza Baraza was introduced it was downhill from there. Every woman in this book is so painfully sexualized, and it feels extra creepy that the most sexualized characters are the teenaged girls. I get that it's from the perspective of a teenage boy, but the whole "woman written by a man" trend I feel was based on this book. Multiple paragraph long descriptions of every little detail of how slutty the women (girls, actually) are dressed, how their boobs look, how sheer the fabric is, its just unnecessary and adds nothing to the story. Even regular women who are not critical to the story are by default attractive, like the school guidance counselor and the NARRATORS OWN MOM. HE SAYS HIS OWN MOM IS HOT. WHAT. Every woman is sexualized except of course the heavy girl. because who doesnt love a bit of fat shaming.

Deliza Baraza, I could write essays about how wrong this character is. The name itself gives me cho chang energy. Shes described as "mocha" and "toffee" colored, she acts like a pornstar, and I wanted to clean my eyes with bleach after reading "my pelotas." She's your standard fetishized latina basically. More racism involved the nerdy asian kids who talk to each other in chinese, and the black kids who were only good for their athletic ability. It tried to comment on stereotypes but somehow only worked to reinforce them.

Twom is a good character, I will admit. I really liked him, so much so I can overlook all the homophobic jokes he makes. But don't worry guys, theres a token lesbian in the book. All is right.

I'm gonna end this by just summarizing my least favorite parts of this book: The main character gets an erection over everything, and just gives me really bad incel energy. He's a "loser" who obviously gets the girl of his dreams, and thinks his deep worldview is so much better than anyone else, especially the girls who dress like sluts on halloween. The ending was confusing and came out of nowhere, and the bit with the "but it doesnt happen like that" was repetitive and seemed meaningless until you get to the ending of the book which utilizes it for the "twist ending" that makes you realize thats why the false reality thing was shoved down your throat the whole time. For this part when they try a "gotcha" moment.

Things I liked: the tone in the beginning, the parents drama, and twom being really cool before he kind of lost himself. That moment about the next global pandemic, another thing to look forward to, I will also give props to. Who would've guessed. This guy apparently.

...more

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Dec 10, 2020 Christie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

Billy Kinsey is an outsider. It’s not just the port-wine hemangioma on the right side of his face. It’s not just the fact that he’s moved to L.A. suburb from the San Joaquin Valley, where he lived a slightly more normal life. It’s not just that he’s an insomniac. It’s not just that his father won 37 million dollars in the lottery and now his mother lunches and plays tennis and his father drinks. It’s not even just that when he was 11, his twin sister Dorrie died of cancer. Well, actually, it’s a Billy Kinsey is an outsider. It’s not just the port-wine hemangioma on the right side of his face. It’s not just the fact that he’s moved to L.A. suburb from the San Joaquin Valley, where he lived a slightly more normal life. It’s not just that he’s an insomniac. It’s not just that his father won 37 million dollars in the lottery and now his mother lunches and plays tennis and his father drinks. It’s not even just that when he was 11, his twin sister Dorrie died of cancer. Well, actually, it’s all of these things.

Stephen Metcalfe’s debut novel, The Tragic Age, is laugh-out-loud funny, tender and wry. Billy, 17, is adrift. He wants to do the right thing, but he’s not exactly sure what the right thing is. It isn’t until Willard “Twom” Twomey comes into his life, followed by the re-entrance of his sister’s childhood bestie, Gretchen, that the fog starts to lift for Billy.

Twom is a larger-than-life character. He doesn’t back down from anyone. When the school’s meathead starts teasing Twom about his name, Twom lets him have it with the back of his dinner tray.

I also soon discover that despite his revolutionary’s attitude towards rules and authority, Twom has his own highly evolved sense of right or wrong. He dislikes what he calls the “dickhead club” and he has complete empathy for the underdog.

Although I wouldn’t necessarily say that Billy’s an underdog, he sure could use a friend or two and Twom comes along at the right time.

So does Gretchen. Although Billy of course knows her, she and her family have been, until recently, living in Africa, where Gretchen’s father “was a hotshot doctor of infectious diseases.” Her arrival back in Billy’s orbit is problematic.

It goes without saying that girls can make you do insane things. One minute a guy can be, if there is such a thing, normal, the next, he’s cracking stupid jokes and running and dancing in place like a babbling, mindless idiot. Another word for this is “dating.”

The Tragic Age follows Billy as he navigates his final year of high school, falls in love and tries to figure out what anything means…and whether anything is worth it, after all. The grief he feels over Dorrie’s death is clearly unresolved; in fact, he and his parents never even talk about Dorrie. They don’t really talk about much of anything, and that’s part of Billy’s problem.

Billy is on a slippery slope and the novel’s final pages are made for the big screen. That makes sense, since Metcalfe has worked in the film biz. I’m not sure the frenetic pace suits the rest of the book, but I still really enjoyed it. Billy is a memorable character and his experience of disillusioned, navel-gazing, teenagedom will be recognizable to anyone who has ever struggled to fit in or figure out how to simply survive.
3.5 stars ...more

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Mar 29, 2019 Jamila rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019-reading-challenge

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm going to say right off the bat that this book was.. something else. Billy is (apparently) trying to decide between right and wrong - swayed either way by his rebellious friend Twom and his angelic girlfriend Gretchen.

Speaking of Gretchen, what was that relationship? Gretchen was the best friend of Billy's late sister (Who, according to my timeline, passed away 7 years ago, when she was 11), and who magically reappears at the beginning of the book after spending an unknown amount of time over I'm going to say right off the bat that this book was.. something else. Billy is (apparently) trying to decide between right and wrong - swayed either way by his rebellious friend Twom and his angelic girlfriend Gretchen.

Speaking of Gretchen, what was that relationship? Gretchen was the best friend of Billy's late sister (Who, according to my timeline, passed away 7 years ago, when she was 11), and who magically reappears at the beginning of the book after spending an unknown amount of time overseas, which she later complains about not enjoying. Gretchen is a character who confused me, as it appears she was meant to be this do-good, wonderful human being who can do no wrong, yet the complaining about being overseas helping the less-fortunate felt out of place and made me side-eye her as a character.

Twom, on the other hand, was seen to be the rebellious bad boy from the beginning, and we knew what his intentions were before we even knew him. Described as having tattoos, spikes, and everything "bad guys" have, we had our opinion of him before we even knew him. Through the book, we find out more, that maybe he does want to be a better person (His leniency with Ephraim, and Ophelia being 2 main examples), but is just destined to do the wrong thing, no matter what he tries.

Ephraim and Deliza were so empty I have no opinions on them, although again, they were painted so we already had their opinions of them - Ephraim was the nerdy, out-of-place guy who we were meant to feel sorry for, and Deliza was the cool, sassy girl who.. Okay, I don't know how we were meant to feel about her, but she just annoyed me.

The ending of this book was so ridiculously out-of-place that it blindsided me. I never expected it to happen, and genuinely had to take a moment to just stare at the book wondering if what I'd just read was even real.

I have to admit that I didn't enjoy this book from the get-go and found Billy's incessant whining annoying - Billy is just sssooo "unique" and special, because he hates other people, and doesn't have a phone, and hates humanity for how sheep-like they are, and blah blah blah.

Not a book I really enjoyed, and definitely not one I would recommend to others. ...more

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Aug 19, 2018 Avery rated it it was ok

I'm only giving this book 2 stars, because I enjoyed the first few chapters. In the beginning, the main character, Billy, was funny. The writer did an excellent job of making him a sarcastic teen dealing with hard issues and keeping secrets from his parents.

Billy had one trait that got tiresome quickly. He liked to rambled off 'facts' in an inner monologue that distracted from the main plot (if there was one.) Most of these facts aren't true. I know a lot of people draw a parallel to Catcher in ...more

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Jan 28, 2015 Mallory rated it it was ok

Shelves: review-copies-books-i-won, 2015

Find this review and more fantastical things at The Leaning Tower of Tomes.

Source: I received this book from the publisher via Shelf Awareness in exchange for review consideration. This in no way affects my review; all opinions are my own. Thank you, St. Martin's Griffin!

The review:

Billy Kinsey knows all about everything. Every page there is a fact he shares about something that relates to his life and current situation. I thought it was a unique approach, but sometimes I felt like I was reading

Find this review and more fantastical things at The Leaning Tower of Tomes.

Source: I received this book from the publisher via Shelf Awareness in exchange for review consideration. This in no way affects my review; all opinions are my own. Thank you, St. Martin's Griffin!

The review:

Billy Kinsey knows all about everything. Every page there is a fact he shares about something that relates to his life and current situation. I thought it was a unique approach, but sometimes I felt like I was reading news headlines and those “did you know?” boxes in little kid educational materials. Basically, I read books for stories, not for facts I can find all over the internet. Sometimes these random facts worked, but most of the time they were jarring and lifted me out of the story. You could say Billy’s a know-it-all, but that term, at least for me, is only applied to people who actually tell others all the things they know. Billy kept these tidbits and info bites to himself, which made him seem nerdy and quirky, if a bit passive and depressed overall.

I preferred the first half of the book over the second half. The first half dealt more with getting to know all the (immensely) flawed characters. The second half just got really dramatic, and the characters who started off so interesting and layered turned two-dimensional and cliche. I didn’t expect the book to go where it did, and I wasn’t a fan of the intense and tragic climax. I thought this was going to be a story about a boy who finds new friends, all of them vastly different, who help him out of his rut of a comfort zone and show him the world through different perspectives. It became a book about making stupid choices/decisions, peer pressure, and hiding/running from and dealing/ignoring problems.

The characters who started off so promising were Twom, Deliza, and Gretchen. Twom is a juvenile delinquent, the bad boy, the one with a dark side. Deliza is a sexy, popular girl who knows she’s sexy but is also damn smart. Gretchen is sweet, caring, and a “daddy’s girl” and “all-American girl next-door” anybody would be lucky to have as a friend. The three of them instantly intrigued me, but I was disappointed with their arcs. No one grew; if anything, their lives and demeanors just got worse and worse. Twom, who started out seeming like a major player in this whole story, sort of took a backseat, and Deliza just became his hot girlfriend and nothing more. Ephraim, Billy and Twom’s loser/geek tag-along friend, had a character arc that just exploded without warning, without any clues (at least, none that I caught). And Gretchen, sweet, wonderful Gretchen, never dared, never stood up for what she thought was real (I’m trying to not get spoiler-y). I, and Billy, wanted her to grow some balls and become more independent, more defiant. I guess you could say, though, that all the characters were real. Everyone was screwed-up somehow, and their lives -- their growth -- didn’t go the typical YA novel route. This is either brilliant or terrible; I’m not sure which. But I like and want to read about people who change and learn, and these kids… Well, I didn’t like any of them by the book’s end, and I didn’t really have much sympathy for them, either.

One thing I did really like about the book was how Billy came up with various scenarios for predicaments he was caught in. He thought of multiple ways the scene might play out -- but we, the reader, don’t find out he was just imagining the particular outcome until he actually tells us “that’s not how it happened”. I liked these instances of unpredictability; it made him an unreliable narrator without actually being an unreliable narrator. (Or, perhaps, was he really?) They got easy to pick out after a while, when the scenarios would get more and more ridiculous, and towards the end of the book I was beginning to think it had seen its limit, its welcome, a while ago. Still, it was fun to be jerked around like this for some time. It made things interesting, shook things up, and showed how gullible we as readers can be, when we take a character’s word for it.

In the end, The Tragic Age was an interesting novel that started out really good and enticing and with a lot of promise. However, it fell flat after a while, went in a direction I didn’t see coming, and had all hell break loose so fast it almost seemed out of the blue. I (think I) liked how absolutely messed-up the characters were, but really disliked how no one changed. (This is not a coming of age novel. It’s, like, a “deciding to completely throw away everything you’ve thus far learned right before coming of age” novel.) I didn’t hate The Tragic Age, there were things I did like about, but I was a bit perplexed by it and ultimately let down. It wasn’t the greatest YA contemporary I’ve read, but it’s definitely left me thinking about it a lot. So the fact that I’m still scratching my head and reading others' reviews and flipping through the pages says something. My feelings are very muddled. ♦

So tell me...

Have you read The Tragic Age? If not, would you be interested to after reading this review? What was the last "coming of age" contemporary you read? Comment below letting me know! And, as always, happy reading!

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