BOOK REVIEW 'The Spectacular Now'

The Spectacular Now
By Tim Thrap
Let me introduce you to Sutter Keely. Sutter is an 18 year old in his final semester of high school who, like a good percentage of other people his age, is partying like a rock star because, who needs school as of this point in his life.  He is perfectly happy and in love with his girlfriend, Cassidy, though the two of them fight more times then what I would consider to be a healthy relationship, but to each his own. That is until that one fight that turns into one too many for Cassidy and she breaks up with him. Without going into the gory details, Sutter is devastated and basically spends the entire novel trying to win her back.
(This is normally the part when I would say “That is until Amiee Finecky come along” though his obsession with Cassidy doesn’t even stop then, so let’s reword that a bit) Even when Amiee Finecky comes along, Sutter still can’t stop thinking about Cassidy. Amiee is the complete polar opposite of Sutter in that she is a good student, is a bit socially awkward and unconfident which probably spawns from her not quite fabulous home life.  To get his mind off of Cassidy and the fact that winning her back is slowly spiraling out of his grasp, Sutter decides that the most fitting thing for him to do would be to take Amiee under his wing and help her gain a little self-confidence and the ability to stand up for herself. And by that he actually means, make her an overconfident witch who alternates her time either being drunk or clinging to Sutter’s side like sticky tack. Sutter sees this transformation as being what’s best for Amiee and won’t listen to a word anyone else says on the situation. Well, either that or he is too busy hating himself and thinking about how much better Amiee would be without him to notice.
Have you ever read a book where the main characters do something just so completely mind numbingly stupid that you have to put the book down for a minute and catch your breath or pull your hair out that you debate on whether or not you will even finish the story because of what they did? I spent a good half of this book wanting to just put it down and walk away completely, but I made myself finish it with the hopes that the author had some trick up his sleeve that will redeem the characters in my mind, but that redemption never came. I walked away just as frustrated at the character development as I was before and it’s a wonder I even decided it was worth my time to watch the movie.
Shortly after finishing the book I wasn’t doing anything on a Friday night and decided maybe The Spectacular Now movie would offer me a bit of closure. Honestly I enjoyed the movie much more than the book and that doesn’t exactly happen often. The movie takes just enough of the character traits that the book used that the character are still recognizable, but not too much to the point where you held no sympathy for them at all. The story was definitely still there and the movie was a very good adaption in that sense and it was also very well made and acted so I would suggest it to anyone who now thinks the book sounds unappealing.
Pages: 304
Read In: 3 Weeks
Rating: 6/10
Ages: 16 + Up
Four Categories: Romance, High School Problems