Cover Love:
Meh. Don't love it, don't hate it.
Why I Wanted to Read This:
This one has been on my TBR forever. I noticed the movie was on NetFlix and wanted to watch it, but it is my general rule to only watch movies made from books after I read the book. So, I read the book-finally! Here's the synopsis from GoodReads:
Troy Billings is seventeen, 296 pounds, friendless, utterly miserable, and about to step off a New York subway platform in front of an oncoming train. Until he meets Curt MacCrae, an emaciated, semi-homeless, high school dropout guitar genius, the stuff of which Lower East Side punk rock legends are made. Never mind that Troy's dad thinks Curt's a drug addict and Troy's brother thinks Troy's the biggest (literally) loser in Manhattan. Soon, Curt's recruited Troy as his new drummer--even though Troy can't play the drums. Together, Curt and Troy will change the world of punk, and Troy's own life, forever.
Romance?: No, in fact there are no female characters in the whole book.
My Thoughts:
Most of these thoughts I wrote as I was reading the book. There is nothing spoilerish but I wanted to remember a few things as I was going along.
I love how Troy's dad gets it. When we first meet him he seems like he will be such a hard ass, but he isn't. He is a really good guy--he knows that he isn't doing the best by Troy and recognizes that his son needs something like this to help him become more. He also really wants to help Curt, he's just not sure how much he should do.
The most heartbreaking relationship to me is Troy & Dayle's. When Troy is talking about taking Dayle on the subway when they were little and how Dayle looked up to him as a big brother it brought tears to my eyes. When do those kind of relationships change so much?
I love Curt so much it's not even funny! Everyone needs someone like Curt in their life. Maybe not a homeless, ADHD, local rock legend, but someone who will push you out of your comfort zone, who will challenge you to try something new, who doesn't easily take no for an answer, but will back down when you need them to.
It is heartbreaking to see Troy try and navigate this friendship--his first "grown-up" friendship. It's like seeing a girl twist herself into knots over a boy because she constantly think that he will leave her.
I just have to say again, I love Troy's dad. He's a retired Marine who lost his wife and has no clue how to raise two boys. BUT, he is trying and he is not bad at it and he wants the best for Troy, whatever that may be, even if it is punk rock and Curt.
It hit me about 3/4 of the way through that this book has no female characters in it. Well, a few very, very minor ones, but really, it's an all male book. An all male YA book. That is next to unheard of in YA lit!
Okay, now that I am done I have to say I loved it! This is a coming of age book. There were no magic fixes, no make overs for Troy or Curt, just people headed with hope in the right direction. Nailed it!
To Sum Up: This is just a very engrossing read that I want to shove in the hands of both female and make young adults. Excellent stuff!
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