Welcome to my stop on the Grasshopper Jungle Tour!!
Release Date: February 11, 2014
Published by: Dutton Juvenile
Length: 388 pages
Review Copy: eARC, provided for tour
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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. He is stewing in a self-professed constant state of maximum horniness, directed at both Robby and Shann.Ultimately, it is 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.
I have never picked up a book by Andrew Smith before this one and I was shocked. This book was like nothing I have ever read before. The writing and layout were so completely different and shocking that I did not know what to think to start. However, once I got into the groove of his unique style of telling this story, I really enjoyed it. I will admit that it did take me a bit to truly appreciate how unique and amazing the writing was, finishing it and reflecting gave me a huge appreciation for Smith, and his ability to weave such detail into what could have been a bland and straight cut tale. All of the details and bits that I didn't appreciate to start
You live this story and walk alongside Austin in his awkward march toward the end of the world as we know it. The story takes you through from the start to the finish by his horny side. This is not a book for prudes. I imagine that, though not all teen boys are as fixated on sex and sexual confusion, but there are those out there that may deal with this and I imagine Smith is fairly right on. The teenage years are awkward to start with, never mind not having someone that you believe you can actually talk to. Austin was not a rude or inconsiderate character, he quite simply was what he was supposed to be to perfection. He was a horny teen that loved his girlfriend and best friend deeply, questioned his attractions and had a thing for accurate and detailed history.
What I loved was that Austin was not the "cool" kid. He was not the teen that had everything figured out, but the teen that wanted some guidance and had nowhere to go for it. He felt bad for loving Robby the way he did, unsure if it was right or wrong. This is the sad and honest truth of society and some families, there is a right and wrong way to "feel" and often people are raised to feel bad about being anything but "normal". Andrew Smith crafted Austin and his wants, needs and confusion perfectly, giving me the ability to both feel for him and laugh at some of his more awkward moments. This is a character that may not have been able to relate to on a person basis but he was someone that you could gather emotion for and hope for.
Though Robby and Shann played their part in this story, I think honestly everyone played their part in history. Austin and his graphic yet extremely detailed account of everything that happened leading up to the end, was well... detailed. The town he lived in carried a large variety of characters and they were each woven into the important historical recording of the end.
I appreciate Andrew Smith's ability to use forward and true to themselves characters. These are not people crafted into superheroes that will save the world, but everyday people that live through the end of the world. Knowing how unique and mind altering this book is, I am now eager to start something else by him that resides on my shelves. I am not sure what I could say this resembles and relate it to it because this is so mind blowing and different. I do believe that to fully appreciate it, there should be a certain level of maturity and appreciation for authors that write bold and freely! Pick this up if you want something different and fit the above description.
You live this story and walk alongside Austin in his awkward march toward the end of the world as we know it. The story takes you through from the start to the finish by his horny side. This is not a book for prudes. I imagine that, though not all teen boys are as fixated on sex and sexual confusion, but there are those out there that may deal with this and I imagine Smith is fairly right on. The teenage years are awkward to start with, never mind not having someone that you believe you can actually talk to. Austin was not a rude or inconsiderate character, he quite simply was what he was supposed to be to perfection. He was a horny teen that loved his girlfriend and best friend deeply, questioned his attractions and had a thing for accurate and detailed history.
What I loved was that Austin was not the "cool" kid. He was not the teen that had everything figured out, but the teen that wanted some guidance and had nowhere to go for it. He felt bad for loving Robby the way he did, unsure if it was right or wrong. This is the sad and honest truth of society and some families, there is a right and wrong way to "feel" and often people are raised to feel bad about being anything but "normal". Andrew Smith crafted Austin and his wants, needs and confusion perfectly, giving me the ability to both feel for him and laugh at some of his more awkward moments. This is a character that may not have been able to relate to on a person basis but he was someone that you could gather emotion for and hope for.
Though Robby and Shann played their part in this story, I think honestly everyone played their part in history. Austin and his graphic yet extremely detailed account of everything that happened leading up to the end, was well... detailed. The town he lived in carried a large variety of characters and they were each woven into the important historical recording of the end.
I appreciate Andrew Smith's ability to use forward and true to themselves characters. These are not people crafted into superheroes that will save the world, but everyday people that live through the end of the world. Knowing how unique and mind altering this book is, I am now eager to start something else by him that resides on my shelves. I am not sure what I could say this resembles and relate it to it because this is so mind blowing and different. I do believe that to fully appreciate it, there should be a certain level of maturity and appreciation for authors that write bold and freely! Pick this up if you want something different and fit the above description.
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This is the truth. This is history. It’s the end of the world. And nobody knows anything about it. You know what I mean.
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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 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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Thank you so much for posting and for the fantastic review. I am so glad that Smith has won you over. I can't wait for you to read more of his novels so we can discuss. Thanks again, doll. You rock. xx
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I have heard nothing but praise of this author . I can't wait to read winger , grasshopper jungle and other books by him .tnx for the review
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