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patchworkbunny's review against another edition
3.0
Guy Langman joins the school Forensics Squad shortly after his father dies. It's only because his best friend has talked him into it...that and the fact that the girl he fancies is going to be there too. He soon learns that his father had been keeping secrets. Can he use his new found skills to discover the truth?
Guy is an awkward boy, he tries to be funny but doesn't quite make it. He knows that and so do those around him. It can be a bit annoying but he is a much more realistic portrayal of a teenage boy than some in young adult fiction. He's not going to sweep anyone off their feet but he's good deep down. Under the apathy he has for life.
If you're wary of a teenage crime-fighter, don't worry, this is not that book. He isn't going to be taking over from the police any time soon. It is much more about him coming to terms with the loss of his father as well as learning that purpose in life isn't such a bad thing. Neither is it a book to be taken too seriously. Some of the characters are a little stereotypical and I think it will appeal much more to a teen reader than an adult.
Guy is an awkward boy, he tries to be funny but doesn't quite make it. He knows that and so do those around him. It can be a bit annoying but he is a much more realistic portrayal of a teenage boy than some in young adult fiction. He's not going to sweep anyone off their feet but he's good deep down. Under the apathy he has for life.
If you're wary of a teenage crime-fighter, don't worry, this is not that book. He isn't going to be taking over from the police any time soon. It is much more about him coming to terms with the loss of his father as well as learning that purpose in life isn't such a bad thing. Neither is it a book to be taken too seriously. Some of the characters are a little stereotypical and I think it will appeal much more to a teen reader than an adult.
jenniepicky's review against another edition
2.0
I expected more crime scene/forensics and less "silly" humour. Overall, it was ok. A super quick read with very little to think about (and a mystery that I solved before it happened).
I would recommend primarily for reluctant reader boys in their early teens.
I would recommend primarily for reluctant reader boys in their early teens.
islamclarin's review against another edition
2.0
Not for me, I love a mystery but this books plot was fairly lackluster and I didn't find myslef wanting to know more nor was i satisfied with the end results.
The main issue though was the narrator, Guy is written like a stereotypical teenage boy but in a bad way, talking about girls in a gross way and also saying things I can't imagine any teenager genuinely saying like JK and cracking terrible jokes that noone would think were funny.
The main issue though was the narrator, Guy is written like a stereotypical teenage boy but in a bad way, talking about girls in a gross way and also saying things I can't imagine any teenager genuinely saying like JK and cracking terrible jokes that noone would think were funny.
barbarianlibarian's review against another edition
2.0
meh, kinda flat and overly stereotypical at times. I listed to the audio, and the reader wasn't that great either.
badassbookbestie's review against another edition
4.0
Kept me laughing! A bit predictable, but it did not distract too much from the funny forensics story line.
kt01's review against another edition
1.0
Poorly written.
Contradicting details, weird pacing - the ‘murder’ doesn’t happen till 3/4 way through the book, red herring doesn’t even feel believable, main character tries to be funny but isn’t, and is super lazy, yet he’s supposed to be one of the top of his class - overall just comes across as annoying, the murder ends up being a suicide. There’s a large stretch made from coins being stolen (which the main character told the thief about anyway when he later says that he never tells people about it) to the thief being a blood crazed murderer hunting down the main character who then turns out to not be the thief and is actually the main characters brother and supposedly the nicest guy in NY, the actual thief just gives coins back and doesn’t face any consequences and as already said the red herring was laughable. And for a forensics squad it seems that all they learn about is how to take a fingerprint...that’s it...
If it’s supposed to be a coming of age/contemporary story, don’t market it as a mystery...
This book annoyed me, that’s the best way to sum it up. The only good thing about it is that I finished it, but I think that says more about me than it does about the book...
Plot/pacing = poor
Characters = poor
Humour = poor
Romance = poor
Detecting skills/mystery = poor
L **(1f but more frequency)
M *
S ** (vulgar jokes)
Contradicting details, weird pacing - the ‘murder’ doesn’t happen till 3/4 way through the book, red herring doesn’t even feel believable, main character tries to be funny but isn’t, and is super lazy, yet he’s supposed to be one of the top of his class - overall just comes across as annoying, the murder ends up being a suicide. There’s a large stretch made from coins being stolen (which the main character told the thief about anyway when he later says that he never tells people about it) to the thief being a blood crazed murderer hunting down the main character who then turns out to not be the thief and is actually the main characters brother and supposedly the nicest guy in NY, the actual thief just gives coins back and doesn’t face any consequences and as already said the red herring was laughable. And for a forensics squad it seems that all they learn about is how to take a fingerprint...that’s it...
If it’s supposed to be a coming of age/contemporary story, don’t market it as a mystery...
This book annoyed me, that’s the best way to sum it up. The only good thing about it is that I finished it, but I think that says more about me than it does about the book...
Plot/pacing = poor
Characters = poor
Humour = poor
Romance = poor
Detecting skills/mystery = poor
L **(1f but more frequency)
M *
S ** (vulgar jokes)
rebeccawolfe's review against another edition
5.0
"Some day this unpleasantness will just be an ant fart in the hurricane of history." Favorite quote from the book. Love this one! Funny funny funny. Unfortunately, not useful for booktalks because of the pervasive teen boy humor(your mother jokes, penis jokes, etc.). Not much of a mystery, but a great "regular guy" story. Kind of a John Green book that's not so self-consciously hip.
suzannedix's review against another edition
3.0
Was expecting something different. By the fifth chapter I was tired of the "boy" humor and what seemed to be a melodramatic plot. Summer is too short to stick with something I'm not enjoying.
boleary30's review against another edition
2.0
Good ending, bad book, tries way to hard to be a stream of consciousness book instead of just telling the story through his eyes
nerfherder86's review against another edition
4.0
Hilarious story of a slacker guy just trying to do as little as possible, and get over the loss of his dad at the same time. Guy joins his high school's CSI/Forensics Club but only because his best friend Anoop assures him it will help them impress the hot girls in the club. Guy's like, whatever dude. But he *is* interested in a cute girl in the club, so maybe...Guy's also hurting from the recent death of his dad, a man who was older than his mom and was married before. Guy discovers some things about his dad's past that surprise him, and when a student in a rival forensics club is found dead, Guy begins to suspect that the dead kid and his own father might have something in common. So he's going to try to use his newfound forensics skills to solve an actual murder. If the murderer doesn't find him first. On the surface this book sounds like a mystery, and it is, a little, but it's primarily a very funny story of a guy coping with the loss of his father in the only way he knows how. Guy worshipped his father and he tries to write a book of wise sayings of his father's, but he also learns some unsettling things about his dad's past that change the way he views him. The humor throughout is very funny but very coarse; lots of fart jokes and "potty" humor and gags that guys will love. For a high school main character, Guy is really more of an immature middle schooler at heart, which would make this a great recommendation for middle school boys to read--IF there weren't also a lot of swear words. I kept track as I listened to this on audio, and pretty much every swear word is in it! So, fair warning, if that sort of language bothers you. But if you can overlook the very realistic guy-speak, this is a very entertaining book.