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sngick's review against another edition
5.0
Andrew Smith slays me & never ceases to pull me into the story...no matter how distressing or unusual. The mash up of characters & plot lines for The Alex Crow was genius. Pure genius.
roseannmvp's review against another edition
3.0
Ok, so far, not my favorite Andrew Smith book. Loved 100 Sideways Miles much better.
Once again, this is a buddy- book and has lots of graphic descriptions of child abuse and a bit of a cliff-hanger!
Very unique concept, but a little too weird for me.
Once again, this is a buddy- book and has lots of graphic descriptions of child abuse and a bit of a cliff-hanger!
Very unique concept, but a little too weird for me.
sidneyellwood's review against another edition
4.0
there was a moment, while reading this, where i realized that this book's themes went much, much, deeper than teenage boys and euphemisms for masturbation. all i can say is andrew smith is really good at writing books that seem to be bawdy and hilarious, and then turn on you with a punch in the gut.
all in all, a very good book.
all in all, a very good book.
barbarianlibarian's review against another edition
2.0
Ummmmm, so I read Grasshopper Jungle by this author and thus knew he wrote weird stuff, but this was weird AND boring.
forsakenfates's review against another edition
4.0
Initial Thoughts:So good! Really made me think and I loved all the dark topics that were discussed.
Review:
By now everyone should know how much I appreciate Andrew Smith and his writing. I love the humor, the wittiness, and even the absolute absurdity of his books. The Alex Crow is no exception to this. For me the writing technique was very similar to Grasshopper Jungle. The story is all intertwined between these 3 different perspectives we follow throughout the book. We have Ariel both in the present and in the past, we have Lenny and his bombing journey, and finally we have the arctic expedition in 1880. At first all these stories seemed so different but they all came together somehow.
And I know you are probably thinking that is not that weird, but once you learn about the experiments being done by the Alex Division things start to become really strange. The bionic pet Crow the Burgesses have is such a strange character and he is also somewhat central to the bizarre things that the company has been researching and conducting. The shining moments of humor in this book are the boys at summer camp. That is when we see the crazy things they get up as they piece together just what the Alex Department does.
The difference for me and this book was just how series the topics were. You had Ariel who is a refugee living with a new family in America. We learn all about the horrors that Ariel dealt with before moving to Sunday. And this story is woven into the narrative and story about the research and science experiments. I really appreciate how Andrew Smith discussed these topics while also staying weird. This book starts off in a really dark place with the attack on Ariel’s village and from there we continue on this journey.
This book was not at all a disappointment. It lived up to my expectations for an Andrew Smith novel. It was weird but also intrigued me with its moral questions about just how far humans are willing to go in their thirst for knowledge. And that reincarnated bionic crow was a favorite character for me. We did not get a lot of scenes with him, but he was integral to the stories all tying together.
Review:
By now everyone should know how much I appreciate Andrew Smith and his writing. I love the humor, the wittiness, and even the absolute absurdity of his books. The Alex Crow is no exception to this. For me the writing technique was very similar to Grasshopper Jungle. The story is all intertwined between these 3 different perspectives we follow throughout the book. We have Ariel both in the present and in the past, we have Lenny and his bombing journey, and finally we have the arctic expedition in 1880. At first all these stories seemed so different but they all came together somehow.
And I know you are probably thinking that is not that weird, but once you learn about the experiments being done by the Alex Division things start to become really strange. The bionic pet Crow the Burgesses have is such a strange character and he is also somewhat central to the bizarre things that the company has been researching and conducting. The shining moments of humor in this book are the boys at summer camp. That is when we see the crazy things they get up as they piece together just what the Alex Department does.
The difference for me and this book was just how series the topics were. You had Ariel who is a refugee living with a new family in America. We learn all about the horrors that Ariel dealt with before moving to Sunday. And this story is woven into the narrative and story about the research and science experiments. I really appreciate how Andrew Smith discussed these topics while also staying weird. This book starts off in a really dark place with the attack on Ariel’s village and from there we continue on this journey.
This book was not at all a disappointment. It lived up to my expectations for an Andrew Smith novel. It was weird but also intrigued me with its moral questions about just how far humans are willing to go in their thirst for knowledge. And that reincarnated bionic crow was a favorite character for me. We did not get a lot of scenes with him, but he was integral to the stories all tying together.
whatanerdgirlsays's review
5.0
How do I even write a review for this book besides just writing in all caps, size 72 Font: I LOVED IT. Seriously. How on earth am I actually supposed to review this book....
cmp381's review
4.0
Heartbreaking!
Ariel's story will touch you. He is like a cat with nine lives. The first part of the book was very confusing, but the ending is worth it!
Ariel's story will touch you. He is like a cat with nine lives. The first part of the book was very confusing, but the ending is worth it!
lorimanning's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It's weird, but not so weird that it is hard to understand.
kurtwombat's review against another edition
3.0
As a child I voraciously consumed the original Twilight Zone. Loved every episode where expectations were shattered under the hammer of a twist ending. There was one however, that as a small child I always felt I was missing something. That episode, FIVE CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN EXIT, was about five people in various costumes (soldier, ballerina, etc) who find themselves in a cylindrical room with no memories and no doors. What I didn’t know then was that it was inspired by SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR (Pirandello) and NO EXIT (Sartre). Knowing this now gives the episode greater texture but as a kid I only knew that there was something deeper there that I couldn’t grasp yet. And I like that feeling—finding myself in depths I don’t quite understand.
I would not normally approach a young adult novel like THE ALEX CROW with expectations of depth, but as I began the novel it teased me to hope. The thought process of the main character and how his approach to the world was shaped by the atrocities that he lived through is very well presented. His interaction with authority, fellow refugees and newly adopted family all engaging and as often funny as tender. Rooted in paranoia of clandestine government research into technological terrors, the novel sports some nifty sci-fi creations (especially the title creation). The narrative has a nice pull—you want to keep reading. Seems to be all about surviving the process—refugee camp—summer camp—road trip—childhood. But as the book draws to a conclusion, the pull ends. There seemed to be nothing at the end of the rope that had been pulling me along and despite all the movement, I felt like I had never left the shallow end of the pool.
Considerable quality time is given to the main character’s back story with seemingly little direct payoff. Reminded me of coming to the end of Stephen King’s IT—the most disappointed I have ever been at the ending of a book. (Really, a giant ****** from outer space!) At least with IT, however, the build up of the characters was so strong that even after the ending ****** me off, I found myself coming back to the characters—their joys and fears and how they leaned on each other to get through it all. The draw of THE CROW was not nearly as strong so I was left with SEVERAL CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN ENDING. Would still recommend it for younger readers who might be satisfied by the journey. I didn’t end up anywhere I hadn’t already been.
I would not normally approach a young adult novel like THE ALEX CROW with expectations of depth, but as I began the novel it teased me to hope. The thought process of the main character and how his approach to the world was shaped by the atrocities that he lived through is very well presented. His interaction with authority, fellow refugees and newly adopted family all engaging and as often funny as tender. Rooted in paranoia of clandestine government research into technological terrors, the novel sports some nifty sci-fi creations (especially the title creation). The narrative has a nice pull—you want to keep reading. Seems to be all about surviving the process—refugee camp—summer camp—road trip—childhood. But as the book draws to a conclusion, the pull ends. There seemed to be nothing at the end of the rope that had been pulling me along and despite all the movement, I felt like I had never left the shallow end of the pool.
Considerable quality time is given to the main character’s back story with seemingly little direct payoff. Reminded me of coming to the end of Stephen King’s IT—the most disappointed I have ever been at the ending of a book. (Really, a giant ****** from outer space!) At least with IT, however, the build up of the characters was so strong that even after the ending ****** me off, I found myself coming back to the characters—their joys and fears and how they leaned on each other to get through it all. The draw of THE CROW was not nearly as strong so I was left with SEVERAL CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN ENDING. Would still recommend it for younger readers who might be satisfied by the journey. I didn’t end up anywhere I hadn’t already been.