[.ca] Project X: A Novel (ISBN 1400033489)

Very well done, couldn't put it down:
I picked up PROJECT X based on the subject matter and could not put it down. I've read books that attempt to approximate the real language of adolescents, but this one was seamless; the author is really talented to be able to do it so flawlessly. It was very accessible, at times funny and heartbreaking, and I really wanted to see what happened. Edwin's affection for his kid brother, and his ambivalence toward everything, was touching. So many times, he wanted to reach out, but this really shows the situation he was mired in. I read it all in one sitting and really enjoyed it. The only thing I wasn't sure I liked was the ending, but I could understand the point of it - I can live with it. To be able to pull this off, the author is clearly very talented. It was the first book of his I've read, but I'll check out the others.

Riveting, frightening:
Shepard's novel is more frightening in its depiction of the normal, every day life of two terribly alienated teens, rather than its depiction of a Columbinelike school massacre. Yes, we know going into the book that the two main characters are sliding inevitably toward a school shooting. But what truly captures our attention is their listless, violent lives and their failed attempts to either connect with peers or even see any hopes of ever doing so. We see painful glimpses of what the narrator's life could be if he could simply pull himself out of his downward spiral - he does well in an art project and in English class. Yet the constant bullying, and his own angry reaction to it are making him a virtual puppet for his less-worthy and far more dangerous best friend, Flake. The novel simply cannot be put down, and is best read on a dark night while you're lying alone on the sofa. Shepard gets into the mindset of these lost characters, and his prose is haunting. Ironically, I'm saving the book for my two boys. I want them to read it when they become teens so they can see the terrible costs of alienation, and how easy it is to slip down the wrong path. Pick up Project X. You won't put it down till you're done.

Let the Shepard Guide Us:
To Richie the Reviewer: Project X is not Young Adult Fiction. It is a work of literary fiction about young adults, and with all due respect, there is a big difference. After reading your review, I question whether or not you've ever been a teenager (and whether you really read this book). Is it surprising that the teenage narrator of this book continually feels misunderstood by the adults in his life? And does it really shock you that some schools have Draconian disciplinary policies? I was a junior in public high school when Columbine happened, and believe me, everything changed: Students were constantly monitored, dissent was not tolerated, suspensions and expulsions were handed out for seemingly insignificant things (junior high students who pointed their index finger like it was a gun, high school girls who carried Tylenol in their purses). Project X takes a chance that other school shooting stories don't: It shows the two perpetrators as human-- as loving and terrified and confused children. And that, I believe, is what makes this story so compelling and ultimately rewarding.

Horrible but completely realistic:
Constantly tormented by their peers, and getting little or no help from their parents and teachers, Edwin and Flick feel tortured and misunderstood. Their only friends each other, they are picked on, beaten up, bullied, and stolen from. Finally, in desperation, Flick comes up with a plan to take his father's guns to school and use them- and Edwin joins him. This book, although very mature (there is swearing on almost every page, and the subject matter itself isn't a light topic), grabs your attention immediately. It puts you into the minds of two students who decided to fight back in the only way they knew how, even if it cost them their future.

A compelling and disturbing tale:
I don't think it is revealing much to say that this work deals with a pair of grade eight students who are planning a school shooting. Knowing this from the beginning, the real depth of the book comes from its careful examination of the daily lives of the protagonist and his only "friend", aptly named Flake. Each tiny insult, misunderstood comment, rejected overture, failed attempt by parents and teachers alike to reach out to the kids is horrifying, since the accumulation of events is weighing so heavily on the boys and we can guess at the most likely outcome. Anyone who remembers the confusing times of their teen years will immediately identify with what happens in this book, and while they may have emerged relatively unscathed, it is all to easy to see how a tiny minority of kids just can't deal with the confusion and pressure of "young adulthood". While reading I kept wishing that I could just sit the kids down and say "hey, what is happening may seem soul destroying and never ending, but once you get through this phase you'll realize how little impact any of what is happening to you now will have on the rest of your life". The author has done an excellent job of pulling you into the story and has created a book that is almost impossible to put down. Days later I still feel disturbed, but I still highly recommend the book. Should be on the reading list of all grade eight kids, accompanied by a thorough discussion afterwards.