Published November 5, 2013
Format: Novel
Genre And Theme: Young Adult, Comedy, High School
Length: 258 pages, ebook
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Ebook SBN13: 9780316232937
Characters: Carson Phillips
Carson Phillips’ mission in life is to graduate, get the hell out of his small town and be able to attend Northwestern and he will do everything, including blackmailing his high school ‘peers’…err the people at his school – to achieve these goals.
Chris Colfer’s writing here is wickedly funny, unapologetically sarcastic and just full of feels! His main character kind of reminds me of his character in Glee. Carson is basically Kurt – just replace the fashion and the singing with Journalism.
One thing that struck me the most about this book though is how negative Carson is. His superiority complex is almost disconcerting at times. I get that he’s superior attitude towards everyone (almost) is just a mask to cover his insecurities but I find it a bit too much. It’s a good thing that the other characters are way worse for me to like them.
What I loved about him is his relationship with his grandma and his sidekick/assistant/bff Malerie. It shows his soft side – the “real” Carson if I may say without his cynical views about everything.
I could definitely see a bit of myself in him when I was a teenager and an eager to please president of our high school student body government so there’s that. I’d like to think that if I’ve read this when I was a teenager, this would definitely be a big hit for me but since I am no longer a teenager, I was unable to really relate to Carson and his plight.
The ending also doesn’t sit well with me. His epiphany was somehow redeeming but I thought he could actually use a break after all of his sufferings. Alas, the book wanted to make a statement and it was a rather bold statement. It was still enjoyable. ‘Had a really good laugh with it and will definitely recommend it as a good young adult read.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
About The Author
Chris Colfer is an Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actor best-known for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the FOX television series “Glee”.
He is also a New York Times bestselling author whose books include the first three novels in the “Land of Stories” series (“The Wishing Spell”, “The Enchantress Returns” and “A Grimm Warning”) as well as “Struck By Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal” which is a novelization based on the script he wrote for the film “Struck By Lighting” (Colfer also co-produced and starred in that movie)
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