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Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp : Volumes I, II, III/Youth in Revolt/Youth in Bondage/Youth in Exile
The hilarious, take-no-prisoners novel about a cynical, sex-obsessed teenager's pining love for an intelligent girl– now a major motion picture from Dimension Films starring Michael Cera
SIX MONTHS IN THE LIFE OF THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS TEENAGER
Youth in Revolt is the journals of Nick Twisp, California's most precocious diarist, whose ongoing struggles to make sense out of high school, deal with his divorced parents, and lose his virginity result in his transformation from an unassuming fourteen-year-old to a modern youth in open revolt. As his family splinters, worlds collide, and the police block all routes out of town, Nick must cope with economic deprivation, homelessness, the gulag of the public schools, a competitive type-A father, murderous canines, and an inconvenient hair trigger on his erectile response–all while vying ardently for the affections of the beauteous Sheeni Saunders, teenage goddess and ultimate intellectual goad.
503 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1993
3 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
C.D. Payne
41 books171 followersAuthor and showman C.D. Payne was born in Akron, Ohio in 1949 (making him a contemporary of Richard Gere and Meryl Streep). He spent his early years in West Virginia and southern Ohio, moving back to Akron while still a mere tot.
He went to public schools in Akron, and then graduated from Harvard College, where he majored in history and participated in the annual spring riot. In 1971 he moved to California. During the next 25 years, he held over 50 jobs including newspaper editor, book publisher's assistant, proofreader, trailer park handyman, and catalog writer.
Since 2004 he has been the proprietor of the Eyelusion Museum, a mobile discovery museum in a restored and polished 1964 Airstream trailer. His latest mobile sideshow is a 1950s miniature town (shown below) called Zippy Town. It can been seen at the Santa Rosa Handcar Regatta and other events.
He is married and lives in Sonoma County.
He went to public schools in Akron, and then graduated from Harvard College, where he majored in history and participated in the annual spring riot. In 1971 he moved to California. During the next 25 years, he held over 50 jobs including newspaper editor, book publisher's assistant, proofreader, trailer park handyman, and catalog writer.
Since 2004 he has been the proprietor of the Eyelusion Museum, a mobile discovery museum in a restored and polished 1964 Airstream trailer. His latest mobile sideshow is a 1950s miniature town (shown below) called Zippy Town. It can been seen at the Santa Rosa Handcar Regatta and other events.
He is married and lives in Sonoma County.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 1, 2018
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
3.5 Stars (rounded down instead of up because I didn’t like the reader of the audio)
Meet Nick Twisp. He used to fantasize about how he would grow up to be “Nick the Prick” – a real tough guy. But ever since he met Sheeni???? Well, let’s just say Nick’s . . . .
And abitch charming young lady most definitely is one. Now Nick will do anything to be with his true love and reach the milestone all pubescent boys dream of . . . .
Let me just say right off the bat that Youth in Revolt is NOT for everyone. I assume reactions to oversexed Nick run the gamut from . . . .
To . . . .
To which I shall respond like so . . . .
If you are easily offended DO NOT read this. Nick is 100% offensive. Sadly so are his love interest, his best friend and his parents. On the other hand, if you want something completely over the top and scenes that will make you laugh out loud, this might work for you. Negatives for me were that these children were only FOURTEEN YEARS OLD and trying to get on the road to Pound Town, apparently it was written around the time I was a teen but it seemed waaaaaay older than that (like 20 years older), and that I listened to the audio and did not like the reader (who is probably like super famous and everyone loves him and now I get the honor of both reading AND listening wrong - yay me). Michael Cera stars in the movie and he pretty much just plays Michael Cera in everything he’s in, so if you’re a fan you should definitely check this one out. I know I will if I ever see it on one of the movie channels.
3.5 Stars (rounded down instead of up because I didn’t like the reader of the audio)
Meet Nick Twisp. He used to fantasize about how he would grow up to be “Nick the Prick” – a real tough guy. But ever since he met Sheeni???? Well, let’s just say Nick’s . . . .
And a
Let me just say right off the bat that Youth in Revolt is NOT for everyone. I assume reactions to oversexed Nick run the gamut from . . . .
To . . . .
To which I shall respond like so . . . .
If you are easily offended DO NOT read this. Nick is 100% offensive. Sadly so are his love interest, his best friend and his parents. On the other hand, if you want something completely over the top and scenes that will make you laugh out loud, this might work for you. Negatives for me were that these children were only FOURTEEN YEARS OLD and trying to get on the road to Pound Town, apparently it was written around the time I was a teen but it seemed waaaaaay older than that (like 20 years older), and that I listened to the audio and did not like the reader (who is probably like super famous and everyone loves him and now I get the honor of both reading AND listening wrong - yay me). Michael Cera stars in the movie and he pretty much just plays Michael Cera in everything he’s in, so if you’re a fan you should definitely check this one out. I know I will if I ever see it on one of the movie channels.
February 15, 2010
Hilarious. I read this in Hong Kong and in the Northern parts of Vietnam, and it was odd to read of places I know so well (Berkeley, Oakland, Ukiah) while being abroad. This book made me remember while high school aged kids are basically way more awesome than adults.
February 2, 2020
This is a review for the first, "unedited" edition.
I had read the movie tie-in cover edition before that film was released and I fell in love immediately. How had a book so strongly resembled my own feelings at that age, yet it wasn't on any librarians radar for "contemporary young adult fiction." Even from that first reading, I knew I had my hands on one of my favorite books of all time.
Now, many years later, I had come into possession of not one, but TWO first editions. One was purchased from eBay and was autographed to some stranger, and the second was a mix up order, yet signed to myself from the author. While maybe not rare in the strictest sense, but both copies are among my most prized possessions.
The book surrounds about six months of the life of Nick Twisp. I can relate with a lot of his emotions and musings, but definitely not his vocabulary or his tastes in hobbies and music. So why had the book resonated with me so much? Well, I think it has to do with his passion for writing and Nick's commentary on the world around him. His friends seemed similar to those that I grew up with and the conversations were very similar to my own.
The humor flows throughout the book and there are so many great jokes that I was overwhelmed with trying to find my favorite. Many of the situations are obviously unreal and over the top, but I'm not exactly expecting realism here. But even the most outlandish events had me laughing out loud and shocked in horror.
The dialogue between characters is, I think, where the book really shines. While they're all reflected from a past-journalistic perspective, I often found Nick's internal rebuttals related closely to my own. You know, when you have that great comeback ten minutes after the final word? Nick is just quick, clever, and of course, has to watch his smart mouth.
The characters are quite clever themselves and they're fully realized in their complex relationships and individual personalities. Despite all the different locales, I liked how everyone was somehow able to mingle with one another and be interwoven in all the chaos. I found myself getting angry at Nick for some of the oversights he had, or the misplaced trust he put in certain people. But, that's also how 14-year old lives go. Kids grow up stabbing each other in the back in some competition to climb a social hierarchy. Or just to survive school.
Nick's various alter egos are funny as well and his internal debates with Francois and Carlotta are great. He gives himself up to the danger of Francois, but gets in touch with his feminist side with Carlotta and explores a more... sensitive(?) side. He's thinks things out more and has to spend more time reflecting on his appearance and keeping up his facade, while I think Francois just happens to be that reckless devil on your shoulder saying everything without a filter.
Having grown up in rough proximity to the Bay Area and visualizing the setting, I felt like I was in that world and often tried to put Nick's actions into modern context. While obviously absurd, I found the ancillary characters in the towns to be almost ripped from reality and pasted on the page. The political humor, references to early 90s pop culture, and the climate of that era all worked well together and I could understand how Nick's mind worked in that time period. It was perfect.
I could talk about this book forever and I don't want to ramble. But I just want to note that, while I don't remember what was absent from the newer version I read, I think I made the right choice in reading the first edition this time around. Whatever was censored and taken out, and I sure found some "cringey" parts, should have remained included, I think. I really can't praise this book enough. I read the other four books in this series after I finished the first, but I can't remember them as well as this book. I'm now anxious to return to reread those and also finish out the series since the Twisp saga is now into its 11th installment.
The journey forward is long, but I know it will be full of laughs and thrills along the way.
I had read the movie tie-in cover edition before that film was released and I fell in love immediately. How had a book so strongly resembled my own feelings at that age, yet it wasn't on any librarians radar for "contemporary young adult fiction." Even from that first reading, I knew I had my hands on one of my favorite books of all time.
Now, many years later, I had come into possession of not one, but TWO first editions. One was purchased from eBay and was autographed to some stranger, and the second was a mix up order, yet signed to myself from the author. While maybe not rare in the strictest sense, but both copies are among my most prized possessions.
The book surrounds about six months of the life of Nick Twisp. I can relate with a lot of his emotions and musings, but definitely not his vocabulary or his tastes in hobbies and music. So why had the book resonated with me so much? Well, I think it has to do with his passion for writing and Nick's commentary on the world around him. His friends seemed similar to those that I grew up with and the conversations were very similar to my own.
The humor flows throughout the book and there are so many great jokes that I was overwhelmed with trying to find my favorite. Many of the situations are obviously unreal and over the top, but I'm not exactly expecting realism here. But even the most outlandish events had me laughing out loud and shocked in horror.
The dialogue between characters is, I think, where the book really shines. While they're all reflected from a past-journalistic perspective, I often found Nick's internal rebuttals related closely to my own. You know, when you have that great comeback ten minutes after the final word? Nick is just quick, clever, and of course, has to watch his smart mouth.
The characters are quite clever themselves and they're fully realized in their complex relationships and individual personalities. Despite all the different locales, I liked how everyone was somehow able to mingle with one another and be interwoven in all the chaos. I found myself getting angry at Nick for some of the oversights he had, or the misplaced trust he put in certain people. But, that's also how 14-year old lives go. Kids grow up stabbing each other in the back in some competition to climb a social hierarchy. Or just to survive school.
Nick's various alter egos are funny as well and his internal debates with Francois and Carlotta are great. He gives himself up to the danger of Francois, but gets in touch with his feminist side with Carlotta and explores a more... sensitive(?) side. He's thinks things out more and has to spend more time reflecting on his appearance and keeping up his facade, while I think Francois just happens to be that reckless devil on your shoulder saying everything without a filter.
Having grown up in rough proximity to the Bay Area and visualizing the setting, I felt like I was in that world and often tried to put Nick's actions into modern context. While obviously absurd, I found the ancillary characters in the towns to be almost ripped from reality and pasted on the page. The political humor, references to early 90s pop culture, and the climate of that era all worked well together and I could understand how Nick's mind worked in that time period. It was perfect.
I could talk about this book forever and I don't want to ramble. But I just want to note that, while I don't remember what was absent from the newer version I read, I think I made the right choice in reading the first edition this time around. Whatever was censored and taken out, and I sure found some "cringey" parts, should have remained included, I think. I really can't praise this book enough. I read the other four books in this series after I finished the first, but I can't remember them as well as this book. I'm now anxious to return to reread those and also finish out the series since the Twisp saga is now into its 11th installment.
The journey forward is long, but I know it will be full of laughs and thrills along the way.
Read
April 12, 2024torrid
July 21, 2008
"Youth In Revolt" consists of three fictional books, "Youth In Revolt," "Youth In Bondage," and "Youth In Exhale," though I don't believe they were ever published separately. There were, I'm informed, some sections trimmed from each book, however (available in a separate volume), and thank Christ for THAT. The first hundred, hundred-fifty--OK, first BOOK--is rather enjoyable, entertaining, and very clever. But for me, it became very repetitive and unentertaining after that point.
Part of the problem--a huge part of it--is the unlikeable nature of the main character, Nick Twisp. The entire five-hundred-page book is made up of journals taken from a time period of about six months, July to New Year's. He's funny, to be certain, and the satire and social insights in C.D. Payne's writing are not lost on me, but his routine gets tiring rather quickly.
Nick's focus is on a girl he meets at the beginning of the story, Sheeni Saunders, who is actually even more obnoxious and unlikeable than Nick, which is no small feat. Nick's attempts at winning Sheeni over are met with all sorts of whacky opposition, including his parents and other relatives, one-note and occasionally annoying friends, the FBI, the police, various teachers, etc. Don't get me wrong, there are some really good scenes in this book, and as I said, the first third is rather good; it just all gets very tiring after a while.
I'm sure it's possible to write a novel with an unlikeable kid such as Nick Twisp as the main character, but there was nothing particulary compelling about the story or any of the other characters, and certainly not in the writing style itself, that would provide something else of interest.
Of course, everybody and their brother seems to love this book, and Michael Cera and Steve Buscemi are starring in a film version, so maybe I'm just completely off on this one. Either way, I wish they'd put each "Book" out on its own. And if they had, I'd have picked up the first one, enjoyed it, and likely never read the others.
Part of the problem--a huge part of it--is the unlikeable nature of the main character, Nick Twisp. The entire five-hundred-page book is made up of journals taken from a time period of about six months, July to New Year's. He's funny, to be certain, and the satire and social insights in C.D. Payne's writing are not lost on me, but his routine gets tiring rather quickly.
Nick's focus is on a girl he meets at the beginning of the story, Sheeni Saunders, who is actually even more obnoxious and unlikeable than Nick, which is no small feat. Nick's attempts at winning Sheeni over are met with all sorts of whacky opposition, including his parents and other relatives, one-note and occasionally annoying friends, the FBI, the police, various teachers, etc. Don't get me wrong, there are some really good scenes in this book, and as I said, the first third is rather good; it just all gets very tiring after a while.
I'm sure it's possible to write a novel with an unlikeable kid such as Nick Twisp as the main character, but there was nothing particulary compelling about the story or any of the other characters, and certainly not in the writing style itself, that would provide something else of interest.
Of course, everybody and their brother seems to love this book, and Michael Cera and Steve Buscemi are starring in a film version, so maybe I'm just completely off on this one. Either way, I wish they'd put each "Book" out on its own. And if they had, I'd have picked up the first one, enjoyed it, and likely never read the others.
January 23, 2007
This is laugh-out-loud funny at times, but after a while the plot begins to wear you out.
January 26, 2007
the story of nick twisp is a ridiculous homage to a confederacy of dunces. it works, but it would work better if it were a few hundred pages shorter. the doughnut descriptions are to die for.
July 29, 2010
Very clever in a snotty way. I don't like the ending, but there's a lot to like.
April 21, 2012
This had me in stitches the whole time. Great book and really well written.
January 10, 2013
I thnik its a great book in many diffrent ways and i look forward to reading the sequel
March 5, 2013
I laughed all the way trough reading. One of the most if not the most hilarious book I've ever read.
April 3, 2015
Ahh youth. Ahh revolt. Pleasurable read. Probably would have enjoyed it more and certainly would have far better benefited from its wisdom had I read it 20-25 years ago.
February 21, 2019
Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this series
December 7, 2023
Nostalgic because I first came across this book when I was 13 and only just got around to re-reading it.
Unlikable protagonist with an amusing prose does absurd things. Mostly enjoyable.
Unlikable protagonist with an amusing prose does absurd things. Mostly enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews