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hikool101's review against another edition
2.0
It was interesting, but I'm not fond of the execution, as it felt dull and uninspired, plus the twist was incredibly cliché on top of that. However, I wasn't bored and it was easy to read, but ultimately just okay. 6/10
stephaniereads9b0f8's review against another edition
3.0
Sad story of a boy hallucinating a friend...
shonaningyo's review against another edition
4.0
(I've decided to write a small review in light of the fact I chose to re-read this book for my English class's literature circle).
Doug is a socially awkward, literal-minded middle school student who is basically ignored by everyone but a super popular kid in his own grade named Andy. Doug asserts himself when he says that he and Andy are like this --(crosses fingers)---....close, I mean... Ahem.
But there's more to Doug's relationship with Andy than meets the eye, and as your read on, you'll find that there's something dark and sinister and potentially lethal he's hidden so far away within himself that even he has forgotten, forgotten about the "Tuttle Incident"....
His father screams like a maniac; I hate people like that, people who think that JUST BECAUSE YOU SHOUT LIKE THIS YOUR SIDE OF THE ARGUMENT IS AUTOMATICALLY RIGHT!!!!! RAWR!!!! Ahem, Doug's dad never "rawred", I just added that for the funsies :D
Anyways, his mother is scatterbrained, and Doug himself is an obsessive little mite by himself. Plus he doesn't take his medication! Idiot child! You don't ever stop taking your medication! Even if it does more harm than good--in your stupid, child's opinion. Have you done at least 10 years of research and training to be able to perscribe people medication for their problems? No? Then don't stop taking them. I don't care if they make you super sleepy like horse tranquilizers, take them, wait until the next appointment, and then say, "Hey quack, these things are shit, fo' realz yo. I need me something a little lighter, kno' what I'm sayin'?" WARNING: Do not say this. Results are 1/10000 that the psychiatrist will actually take you seriously, let alone give you different medication
So the kid's an idiot, and probably a little loopy, but this is a good book overall. I highly recommend for literature circles that focus on "Mental Illness" as the theme.
It reminds me of this guy, Louis Wain, who descended into schizophrenia. He was an artist and loved to paint kitties. This link will show you his descent into madness, and how his artwork reflects the corruption of his senses...
crazy ass kitties
Doug is a socially awkward, literal-minded middle school student who is basically ignored by everyone but a super popular kid in his own grade named Andy. Doug asserts himself when he says that he and Andy are like this --(crosses fingers)---....close, I mean... Ahem.
But there's more to Doug's relationship with Andy than meets the eye, and as your read on, you'll find that there's something dark and sinister and potentially lethal he's hidden so far away within himself that even he has forgotten, forgotten about the "Tuttle Incident"....
Spoiler
Personally, I thought that perhaps Doug was an Aspie, that is, someone with Asperger's Syndrome, because of his inability to communicate with his classmates, his rants on his favorite subjects--basically trains, train models, and the Golden Gate Bridge he's making a miniature model of--as well as his straight, to the point, and literal minded way of looking at things. I also thought that what people saw as symptoms of schizophrenia (him more than likely seeing Andy as a hallucination) was to me just a case of PTSD from the Tuttle incident, his mind's way of coping with the fact that Andy is dead and gone from his life, or simply just an illusion that Doug sees everyday without having warning bells go off in his head like say, veterans with PTSD would have. But to each his own.. I think this is my own idea, I doubt anyone has interpreted Doug's undeniable mental illness as him being autistic with a dash of PTSD, but this sort of diagnostic thing isn't my forte, plus stuff like this overlaps, doesn't it? It's really guessing in my opinion, but whatevers!His father screams like a maniac; I hate people like that, people who think that JUST BECAUSE YOU SHOUT LIKE THIS YOUR SIDE OF THE ARGUMENT IS AUTOMATICALLY RIGHT!!!!! RAWR!!!! Ahem, Doug's dad never "rawred", I just added that for the funsies :D
Anyways, his mother is scatterbrained, and Doug himself is an obsessive little mite by himself. Plus he doesn't take his medication! Idiot child! You don't ever stop taking your medication! Even if it does more harm than good--in your stupid, child's opinion. Have you done at least 10 years of research and training to be able to perscribe people medication for their problems? No? Then don't stop taking them. I don't care if they make you super sleepy like horse tranquilizers, take them, wait until the next appointment, and then say, "Hey quack, these things are shit, fo' realz yo. I need me something a little lighter, kno' what I'm sayin'?" WARNING: Do not say this. Results are 1/10000 that the psychiatrist will actually take you seriously, let alone give you different medication
So the kid's an idiot, and probably a little loopy, but this is a good book overall. I highly recommend for literature circles that focus on "Mental Illness" as the theme.
Spoiler
And did you guys see how Doug's sigil transformed and morphed as he slowly went more and more insane? When I look at the very last one for too long I feel queasy and my eyes go funny.. I can friggin SEE and FEEL the mental illness Doug is basically oozing out of his pores... my eyes are screaming "look away, or you'll go crazy too!!"It reminds me of this guy, Louis Wain, who descended into schizophrenia. He was an artist and loved to paint kitties. This link will show you his descent into madness, and how his artwork reflects the corruption of his senses...
crazy ass kitties
alifromkc1907's review against another edition
3.0
Read more at http://rainbowreviews.wix.com/reading free or on Instagram @RainbowReviewsKC
Gut Instinct Rating - 3
Story Line - 3
Writing Style - 3
Characters - 4
Excitement Factor - 2.5
Believability for type and topics - 3
Similarity to other books - 5
Cover art - 5
Title Relevance - 5
You may like this book if you like the following sub-genres:
YA Fiction
Mental Illness
Everything about this book was average, and there's not much I can say about a book with only 150 pages without ruining the entire book. So I'll briefly expand on my score for each category.
Gut Instinct (3) - This book was boring. It seemingly had no point until the book was basically over. (And even then, I'm not entirely sure what the point was.) I'm being generous in giving this such a high mark.
Characters (4) - The characters in this book are what make the book. I won't say anything more about it. But, Andy was written seamlessly into Doug's life, and Doug was seamlessly written into Andy's. The two don't exist without the other. (Unhealthy as that may be, it's the way it was.)
Believability (3) - Meh. It's believable, sure, but when there's only 150 pages to discuss what's happening, believability takes a back seat... and by back seat, I mean the nosebleeds.
Similarity (5) - I'll give the author this much - it wasn't what I thought it was in the beginning, and it definitely wasn't what I thought it was at the end (maybe I'm oblivious to the entire plot, or maybe the author was just that good).
Writing Style (3) - There was nothing special about the way in which the author wrote. If anything, I found it annoying to have chapters averaging 3 pages. And each chapter had a title, that didn't always mesh well or make any sense to the title itself. I didn't hate it, but there was room for improvement.
Excitement Factor (2.5) - Yeah, it was that boring. As I stated earlier, and without ruining anything, the ending was the most exciting part of this entire book. And that's saying something... yes, yes, I know I've said this already, but it was only 150 pages. I expect jam-packed action. Or at least something that says "read me in one sitting!" (Seriously, I had to break it into two parts.)
Story Line (3) - It was fine. I don't know how this ended up on my TBR, honestly. It did. And maybe I should've second guessed myself, or maybe I did and I didn't listen. This was just not something I would ever read again. I think it's fine for other people who like this sort of thing, but, it wasn't for me. If you don't like trains, or model towns, or building... or counting. This might not be for you.
Cover Art & Title (10) - Both of these were perfect for the book. Yeah, finally... something's perfect. But when you remove these two items, the book goes from 3.72 stars to 3.36 stars... that's not a compliment to anything else the author did.
Gut Instinct Rating - 3
Story Line - 3
Writing Style - 3
Characters - 4
Excitement Factor - 2.5
Believability for type and topics - 3
Similarity to other books - 5
Cover art - 5
Title Relevance - 5
You may like this book if you like the following sub-genres:
YA Fiction
Mental Illness
Everything about this book was average, and there's not much I can say about a book with only 150 pages without ruining the entire book. So I'll briefly expand on my score for each category.
Gut Instinct (3) - This book was boring. It seemingly had no point until the book was basically over. (And even then, I'm not entirely sure what the point was.) I'm being generous in giving this such a high mark.
Characters (4) - The characters in this book are what make the book. I won't say anything more about it. But, Andy was written seamlessly into Doug's life, and Doug was seamlessly written into Andy's. The two don't exist without the other. (Unhealthy as that may be, it's the way it was.)
Believability (3) - Meh. It's believable, sure, but when there's only 150 pages to discuss what's happening, believability takes a back seat... and by back seat, I mean the nosebleeds.
Similarity (5) - I'll give the author this much - it wasn't what I thought it was in the beginning, and it definitely wasn't what I thought it was at the end (maybe I'm oblivious to the entire plot, or maybe the author was just that good).
Writing Style (3) - There was nothing special about the way in which the author wrote. If anything, I found it annoying to have chapters averaging 3 pages. And each chapter had a title, that didn't always mesh well or make any sense to the title itself. I didn't hate it, but there was room for improvement.
Excitement Factor (2.5) - Yeah, it was that boring. As I stated earlier, and without ruining anything, the ending was the most exciting part of this entire book. And that's saying something... yes, yes, I know I've said this already, but it was only 150 pages. I expect jam-packed action. Or at least something that says "read me in one sitting!" (Seriously, I had to break it into two parts.)
Story Line (3) - It was fine. I don't know how this ended up on my TBR, honestly. It did. And maybe I should've second guessed myself, or maybe I did and I didn't listen. This was just not something I would ever read again. I think it's fine for other people who like this sort of thing, but, it wasn't for me. If you don't like trains, or model towns, or building... or counting. This might not be for you.
Cover Art & Title (10) - Both of these were perfect for the book. Yeah, finally... something's perfect. But when you remove these two items, the book goes from 3.72 stars to 3.36 stars... that's not a compliment to anything else the author did.
vinitad's review against another edition
5.0
The book itself is misleading in its simplicity. You go into it waiting for the other shoe to drop the entire time before realizing that is not the point of this story. It gives such an honest and heart-wrenching depiction of mental illness in a young teenager and leaves you feeling so emotionally connected to the main character. It's a short read but its impact lasts a long time. I've read this book at least a dozen times now, and the ending still hits and hurts the same.
boleary30's review against another edition
4.0
Well told story about a boy and his issues as he grows up, then at the end you learn why he has all of the problems that he has. Very well constructed writing.
crabbygirl's review against another edition
3.0
this was good.
the author teases you with hints about a terrible event and then shocks you with the truth. i only guessed the real story a page or two before it was revealed, and my guess was still not spot-on.
the author teases you with hints about a terrible event and then shocks you with the truth. i only guessed the real story a page or two before it was revealed, and my guess was still not spot-on.
kombennett's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
My son recently read this in his 8th grade class and asked me to read it too. It was a very quick read and I found it to be really sad. Shows how tragedy and loss have a profound effect on us.