The Tracey Fragments (The Spider Line Series) (ISBN 0887846246)

neat way to tell a story, but..:
perhaps my expectations for this book was a little high, since it has been called a "Catcher in the Rye" for the 90's. However, the book didn't live up to those expectations. there are similarities between "catcher" and "tracey fragments": both protagonists are young, lost, misunderstood, and lonely teenagers, and nothing really physically happens in the book. But while Holden Caulfield was a most likeable hero for me (i love you holden caulfield), i find Tracey Berkowitz to be much too whiny. I had little sympathy for her. I realized Tracey's mind games as I read further along in the book, and felt almost betrayed. In the end, Medved's unique way of telling the story (which makes the reader feel as if he/she was in tracey's mind) kept the book fresh and urged me to read on. An ok read; it is short so it's worth picking up if you are into depressing/angst stories.

Too self involved to be universal...:
I agree with the previous reviewer. Although the reader is very involved with Tracey's character, little empathy is formed. Whereas the character of Holden Caulfield gives people strength while identifying with his isolation- ( which is conveyed so effectively, it feels almost physical)- I found the character of Tracey too irritating to identify with. There was a lot of whining and very little insight. Like the preverbial bedwetting whale in a blanket... Initially disturbing but ultimately unchallenging. I was initially drawn to the monologue style but eventually became irritated by the interruption of pauses that seemed to be artificially dramatic.The beauty and sincerity of expression in Salinger's work is missing here.

Great read for a "late teenager":
i really liked this book. i never read much before this but this book sparked something in me. I never understood how people could get involved with a book but while reading this i wanted to actually jump in it and save tracey from her life. Its a very sad story but i could relate to it and it seemed a little too real. Everyone, especially just out of high school and starting college, should read it.

Good:
I like this book but I had to read it 2 times to understand everything going on. I would recomend reading this to anyone. Great book over all.

Dysfunctional.......:
.... is what best describes "The Tracey Fragments"! Tracey Berkowitz's life is confusing, yet very interesting! The book is Tracey's mind racing from story to story, situation to situation, all the fragments of her so called life! The book is full crazy rants and unforgettable prose, these two were my favorites- "When a horse falls, foam comes out of its mouth. When it falls, the legs of the horse thrash and the horse is no good, so somebody shoots the horse. The horse turns into glue. A machine puts the glue into bottles. Some of the bottles have nipples and children squeeze the nipples to get the glue out and stick bits of paper onto cards. Glue gets on the children's hands and the children eat the glue. The children become the horse" "I don't like the country. Creeps me out. In the country, dead bodies lie in swamps, ditches, shallow graves. A man dumps the body of a girl in a ditch. The body rots and melts into slime. Flowers pop up where the body lies. Seeds fly out of the flowers. A bee sucks the flowers and makes honey. The family of the girl buys the honey from the store. The family eats the girl." Quick and short book, very easy to read, the dvd is out now, the movie should explain things a little better then the book!