The Spectacular Now
by
Tim Tharp
This National Book Award
Finalist is now a major motion picture -- one of the most buzzed-about
films at Sundance 2013, starring Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller.
SUTTER KEELY. HE’S the guy you want at your party. He’ll get everyone dancing. He’ ll get everyone in your parents’ pool. Okay, so he’s not exactly a shining academic star. He has no plans for college and will probably end up folding men’s shirts for a living. But there are plenty of ladies in town, and with the help of Dean Martin and Seagram’s V.O., life’s pretty fabuloso, actually.
Until the morning he wakes up on a random front lawn, and he meets Aimee. Aimee’s clueless. Aimee is a social disaster. Aimee needs help, and it’s up to the Sutterman to show Aimee a splendiferous time and then let her go forth and prosper. But Aimee’s not like other girls, and before long he’s in way over his head. For the first time in his life, he has the power to make a difference in someone else’s life—or ruin it forever.
SUTTER KEELY. HE’S the guy you want at your party. He’ll get everyone dancing. He’ ll get everyone in your parents’ pool. Okay, so he’s not exactly a shining academic star. He has no plans for college and will probably end up folding men’s shirts for a living. But there are plenty of ladies in town, and with the help of Dean Martin and Seagram’s V.O., life’s pretty fabuloso, actually.
Until the morning he wakes up on a random front lawn, and he meets Aimee. Aimee’s clueless. Aimee is a social disaster. Aimee needs help, and it’s up to the Sutterman to show Aimee a splendiferous time and then let her go forth and prosper. But Aimee’s not like other girls, and before long he’s in way over his head. For the first time in his life, he has the power to make a difference in someone else’s life—or ruin it forever.
(summary from goodreads.com)
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This book made me wonder what standards are used to consider a book a "National Book Award Finalist"? Really? It's like they found the edgiest, "coolest" book, the one that was so far from the standards of a normal YA book, and picked it. I had to check the spine several times while reading it to verify it was still considered YA. It is about a charming teenage alcoholic who drags down a wholesome girl and then lets her go when he realizes he is ruining her life. (Um, sorry for the spoiler.) Rife with casual alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and teen sex. And of course it's been lauded because it's so "realistic" - meaning at the end of the book, our charming teenage alcoholic is STILL a teenage alcoholic, just less charming. I like reading fiction because it's not real. I like people bettering themselves and working hard and having fairy tale endings. This is not that book.
Mom note: As
a mother of readers, I also
want to make a note to myself (and others if they care)
why I would or
would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I
forget. This is a YA book, so everything is within YA strictures.
Violence: mild; Profanity: yes; Sex: yes
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