"A tale of an unexpected friendship, an unlikely hero and an improbable journey, Alex's story treads the fine line between light and dark, laughter and tears. And it might just strike you as one of the funniest, most heartbreaking novels you've ever read. Alex Woods knows that he hasn't had the most conventional start in life. He knows that growing up with a single mother won't endear him to the local bullies. He also knows that even the most improbable events can happen - he's got the scars to prove it. What he doesn't know yet is that when he meets Mr Peterson, he'll make an unlikely friend. Someone who tells him that you only get one shot at life. That you have to make the best possible choices."
Rating
Review
Plot
Okay. First of all I have to say that my boyfriend bought this book because he liked the cover and I ended up reading it before him while I was waiting for The Night Circus to ship. And it's really hard for me to say that I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.
Don't get me wrong, the story is great, but I feel it was too vague and dull for the kind of lessons/matters the author deals with. And there are some parts of the plot that look a little bit out of the blue, you know. Believable and possibly real, but out of the blue. *spoilers
It also has got a very strong end but a not-so-clear beginning, you do know when everything starts but it takes too long for you to realize that it has started and when it ends you still have the feeling of "you could have done so much more". Generally speaking, the plot is good, but the author didn't seem to take much advantage of it. He had an orange and he only squeezed half of it.
Characters
Apart from the two main characters of the book, I can barely remember the rest. I know that they might not be as important, but I always like to remember the sidekicks or the "friends of" because sometimes you can make your favourite character out of those.
The descriptions of the characters are okay —not too much detail, not too little either—, but it doesn't make them shine or stand out as much as it would have to. They blend with the background and you know they're the main characters because they're the ones appearing the most, but that's it.
Mr. Peterson is the best character in my opinion. Such a great man, he's just like the grumpy grandfather or great-grandfather that we always remember with tenderness and his evolution throughout the book makes you weep for him in the end.
Alex, on the other hand, he's a really nice guy too but... I'm sorry, he's not the nerdy, bullied type of youngster that makes you think of it as real. I didn't identify with him and I didn't feel the special connection between him and me either and he is definitely not the "I've-been-through-so-much" guy, even though he genuinely has something to tell.
Writing
The writing is surprisingly inspiring. It's full of quotes about life and death and the possibilities around you, and all those things you can do and you must do before you pass away. To be honest, the writing makes it a 3 out of 5. Very revealing and quite clever, too.
It's got a quite good balance between the hilarious and the dramatic. I remember laughing a lot with Mr. Peterson, a lot. He's bonkers. I am smiling now just thinking about him. His swearing words, specially, they are priceless. With Alex, on the other side, he just looks a bit drama queen to me, but that made me laugh as well. As for the sad part, I cried just once and I cried for around fifteen minutes after turning the last page and finding out what had happened. So as for the writing, you got it right Mr. Extence.
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