Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
Publication Date: February 11, 2014
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Buy it at: Amazon / Barnes and Noble
*ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review *
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Summary (from Goodreads):
So I have to start by saying that this book was ALL KINDS OF CRAZY!!! I have to admit that, though the book was jaw dropping in a beautiful way, the story itself did not entirely satisfy me. I had a hard time getting into the story in the beginning and it took me a few chapters to realize the true artistic beauty of it.
That being said, there were definitely a few things that I did like about the book. For one, I really liked the relationship between Robby and Austin. The author did a great job at showing their true friendship, but also highlighting the "attraction" between them. Bouncing off of that note, I also loved that this book talked a lot of about homosexual feelings and bisexuality. I feel like the author gave the readers a look inside the mind of a real "confused" teenage boy, unsure of where his heart lies. Austin's feelings and thoughts about his feelings felt very believable and I think we need to read more stories on that topic.
The number one thing that I just did not like, aside from the overall weirdness, is the fact that all Austin can manage to talk about is how horny he is. I mean, I get that teenage boys are horny all the time but he just talked about it waaayyyy too much. Also, Austin came off as extremely selfish. At one point, even Robby points how selfish he really is.
Overall, I think this is one of those books where one opinion will never matter. People read and see things as they want and what one person believes about a book could be totally off for another person. So that being said, go out there and READ THIS BOOK!
Andrew Smith is the award-winning author of several Young Adult novels, including the critically acclaimed Winger (Starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist, and Shelf Awareness - an Amazon "Best of the Year") and The Marbury Lens (A YALSA BFYA, and Starred reviews and Best of the Year in both Publishers Weekly and Booklist). He is a native-born Californian who spent most of his formative years traveling the world. His university studies focused on Political Science, Journalism, and Literature. He has also published numerous short stories and articles. Grasshopper Jungle, coming February 11, 2014, is his seventh novel. He lives in Southern California.
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Sixteen-year-old Austin Szerba interweaves the story of his Polish legacy with the story of how he and his best friend, Robby, brought about the end of humanity and the rise of an army of unstoppable, six-foot tall praying mantises in small-town Iowa.
To make matters worse, Austin’s hormones are totally oblivious; they don’t care that the world is in utter chaos: Austin is in love with his girlfriend, Shann, but remains confused about his sexual orientation. Hes stewing in a self-professed constant state of maximum horniness, directed at both Robby and Shann. Ultimately, it’s up to Austin to save the world and propagate the species in this sci-fright journey of survival, sex, and the complex realities of the human condition.
So I have to start by saying that this book was ALL KINDS OF CRAZY!!! I have to admit that, though the book was jaw dropping in a beautiful way, the story itself did not entirely satisfy me. I had a hard time getting into the story in the beginning and it took me a few chapters to realize the true artistic beauty of it.
That being said, there were definitely a few things that I did like about the book. For one, I really liked the relationship between Robby and Austin. The author did a great job at showing their true friendship, but also highlighting the "attraction" between them. Bouncing off of that note, I also loved that this book talked a lot of about homosexual feelings and bisexuality. I feel like the author gave the readers a look inside the mind of a real "confused" teenage boy, unsure of where his heart lies. Austin's feelings and thoughts about his feelings felt very believable and I think we need to read more stories on that topic.
The number one thing that I just did not like, aside from the overall weirdness, is the fact that all Austin can manage to talk about is how horny he is. I mean, I get that teenage boys are horny all the time but he just talked about it waaayyyy too much. Also, Austin came off as extremely selfish. At one point, even Robby points how selfish he really is.
Overall, I think this is one of those books where one opinion will never matter. People read and see things as they want and what one person believes about a book could be totally off for another person. So that being said, go out there and READ THIS BOOK!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Andrew Smith is the award-winning author of several Young Adult novels, including the critically acclaimed Winger (Starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist, and Shelf Awareness - an Amazon "Best of the Year") and The Marbury Lens (A YALSA BFYA, and Starred reviews and Best of the Year in both Publishers Weekly and Booklist). He is a native-born Californian who spent most of his formative years traveling the world. His university studies focused on Political Science, Journalism, and Literature. He has also published numerous short stories and articles. Grasshopper Jungle, coming February 11, 2014, is his seventh novel. He lives in Southern California.
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GIVEAWAY:
Thanks to the awesome folks over at Penguin Teen, one lucky winner will receive a finished copy of GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE and an #UNSTOPPABLECORN T-SHIRT
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Note: Lexi Swoons is not responsible for items lost or stolen in the mail.
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You know, I'm very conflicted about this book. Everywhere I go, I see people who sort warn other readers of this book. So I think I would rather wait to prepare myself for this review. Great way of explaining your reasoning for your likes and dislikes of it, Lexi.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenn! This was a really hard book to get into...for me! But there were some people out there that actually really enjoyed it. So I think it's one of those things where you're gonna see that people either love it or hate it, No in between lol. Not sure if you have it already, but if you're interested in reading the ARC I'll lend it to you :)
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