Author: Jesse Andrews
Page Count: 352
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Bands
Rating: 2.5 Stars... maybe 3...
Source: NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way impacted my rating of this book.
Synopsis: From Jesse Andrews, author of the New York Times bestselling Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and screenwriter of the Sundance award–winning motion picture of the same name, comes a groundbreaking young adult novel about music, love, friendship, and freedom as three young musicians follow a quest to escape the law long enough to play the amazing show they hope (but also doubt) they have in them.
Inspired by the years he spent playing bass in a band himself, The Haters is Jesse Andrews’s road trip adventure about a trio of jazz-camp escapees who, against every realistic expectation, become a band.
For Wes and his best friend, Corey, jazz camp turns out to be lame. It’s pretty much all dudes talking in Jazz Voice. But then they jam with Ash, a charismatic girl with an unusual sound, and the three just click. It’s three and a half hours of pure musical magic, and Ash makes a decision: They need to hit the road. Because the road, not summer camp, is where bands get good. Before Wes and Corey know it, they’re in Ash’s SUV heading south, and The Haters Summer of Hate Tour has begun.
In his second novel, Andrews again brings his brilliant and distinctive voice to YA, in the perfect book for music lovers, fans of The Commitments and High Fidelity, or anyone who has ever loved—and hated—a song or a band. This witty, funny coming-of-age novel is contemporary fiction at its best.
Review:
This review is almost impossible for me to write because I am just so utterly... disappointed. I actually quite enjoyed the vast majority of the book... but I don't feel it really went anywhere. It did go a many of places, but it felt like a jumbled mess.
Now, I love Jesse Andrews writing, and his humor. I think its phenomenal, and it's something we need in YA today, funny and enjoyable, yet realistic with deep undertones. I think he captured this essence perfectly. But I think part of this is, this book was not for me. I began to groan at the overuse of the immature humor that these characters have... it was funny... at first... and it continued and I would find myself chuckling along... but their comes a point where it no longer has the intended effect, and it just feels wrong.
I love his writing, but this just lacked in other areas for me.
The characters... our three main character, Ash, Corey, and Wes... are a diverse cast of unique characters and they were all very different. This follows the same formula as Me & Earl with the character dynamics, so as much as I liked it, it didn't feel quite right for these characters. The characters, on their own, had interesting backstories that I would have loved to delve into a little more. Ash was especially strong.
Corey reminded me of Earl, in his straightforward way of telling Wes how it is.
And Wes reminded me of Greg... but only in their voices, the way they talked felt so similar. That may be why I am disappointed in this book.
The storyline was interesting and I loved all the band names and how the story progressed until the 90% mark was intriguing then it fell flat... and I can't excuse that.
Anyways, I think this is a case of me and not the book... but it may be the book as well but I definitely still think people should check it out anyways!
I'll leave the linky links here:
Goodreads
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
The Book Depository
Cody @ Roecker Reviews
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