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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “This was an interesting account of a group of young people growing up in the 1980s. I liked that it jumped between New York City and Vermont. I also think I learned a little about the straight-edge movement.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Henderson’s fierce, elegiac novel, her first, follows a group of friends, lovers, parents and children through the straight-edge music scene and the early days of the AIDS epidemic. By delving deeply into the lives of her characters, tracing their long relationships not only to one another but also to various substances, Henderson catches something of the dark, apocalyptic quality of the ’80s. ”
yolanda cordero wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Started off slow, but then I really liked it. 2 misfits best friends and what happens when one dies and the other is left to figure out his life. Teddy, Jude, Johnny. The parent figures definitely give new perspective to parenting!”
Shelley S wrote this review Sunday, March 31, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“There's a lot of late eighties teenage shenanigans starting off this novel, a charged up kind of punk erudition, the urbane in-your-face stride of an anarchist. The tone and mood fit the era well, and the particular crowd that the reader is thrust into is intransigent, forceful, rough. A sizzling clash of cultures between the hippies and what we now know as Gen-X-ers ensues, as well as between hardcore and "straight-edge" (drug and sex-free) punk, a clash that is eventually sanded smoother as an understanding is reached between both countercultures, and hypocrisies are penetrated.
Melvina Raschke wrote this review Monday, February 18, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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“In the roiling, electrified streets of New York City in the 1980s, Eliza, Jude, and Johnny each show up wanting a place to hide \u2014 from everything that has gone wrong, big and small, in their short lives. These three, thrown together by their parents\u2019 mistakes and their own, and by the accidental death of a teenage boy, find their...
judy w wrote this review Wednesday, February 6, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
”“Great characters and great storytelling. The story is set in mid/late 80s and has a lot of elements that will appeal to Gen-X and younger folks.”
Rick Walsh wrote this review Friday, February 1, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Henderson takes you through New York City in the 1980's by way of three teenagers, Jude, Johnny, and Eliza. The characters are complex and realistic. It took me a little while to get into the book, but once I did I finished it in two days. Henderson develops the 3 main characters through life obstacles such as relationships, family, drugs, music, sex, and AIDS. ”
Brittany A wrote this review Sunday, August 12, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Read immediately following Irving's newest (interesting that I keep thinking of him as Updike), and found the treatment of homosexuality, AIDS, the 80s, and being 15 infinitely more credible. All the characters, while flawed, are compassionate, and Henderson avoids easy answers, both in plot and in character. ”
Kate Woodworth wrote this review Tuesday, May 29, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“This book just didn't click with me: too much explanation when none was needed and not enough when it was. I was satisfied with the end when they all grew up and became mature, but I got lost at times along the way. ”
Adam L2 wrote this review Thursday, May 24, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Good but not riveting.”
Linda Brungardt wrote this review Saturday, April 28, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“A different sort of story for me. Follows two young boys who are into drugs. Every sort of bad parent is represented. One makes bongs, one abandons her son, another grows weed in his home, ... Strange assortment of characters. Story includes stories of death by OD, teen pregnancy from one encounter, growing up as an adopted child, loss of a best friend, gay teens hiding their sexuality, AIDS, Hari Krishna, hard-core rock music club scenes....Yeah...this one was different...LOL But it kept my interest.”
Alice F wrote this review Thursday, April 19, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
