The great American whatever / Tim Federle.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781481404099
- ISBN: 1481404091
- ISBN: 9781481404105
- ISBN: 1481404105
- Physical Description: 278 pages ; 22 cm.
- Publisher: New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016.
Content descriptions
Target Audience Note: | 860 Lexile. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Screenwriters > Fiction. Grief in adolescence > Fiction. Gay teenagers > Fiction. |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Town of Hanover Libraries.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Holds
0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Howe Library | YA FIC FED
Gift:
|
31254003705429 | Teens - Lower level | Available | - |
New York Times Review
The Great American Whatever
New York Times
June 3, 2016
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company
THE HERO APPEARS unremarkable: a bespectacled orphan who lives beneath a staircase, maybe, or a farmer unaware he's destined to be a Jedi knight. Or perhaps, as in Tim Federle's bighearted young adult debut, he's a skinny, wise-cracking almost-17-year-old dropout who lives on Hot Pockets, longs to get naked with another boy, and smells as if he hasn't "had a shower in a month-ish." Students of Storytelling 101 know what follows: Our hero is called to adventure. He refuses the call, but ultimately decides to go ("because: whatever"). He meets a mentor and fights battles with the help of trusty sidekicks. Eventually, he slays a monster and returns home reborn. This, of course, is the "hero's journey," a plot device employed by many an aspiring screenwriter. For Quinn Roberts, the endearing and self-deprecating protagonist of "The Great American Whatever," it isn't mere literary structure. It's his life guide. Federle is the author of two acclaimed middle-grade novels, "Better Nate Than Ever" and "Five, Six, Seven, Nate!" While his latest book takes us into darker, more mature territory, it shares similarities with his earlier works: an effortless voice, a Pittsburgh setting and a character who's imperfect and deeply lovable. Quinn has longed to write films since, at 10 years old, he met Ricky Devlin, a handsome 20-something screenwriter who taught Quinn the time-tested secret of the hero's journey. Quinn and his older sister, Annabeth, formed Q & A Productions, aspiring to be like the Coen brothers. But the film of Quinn's life, a "fairly standard coming-of-age L.G.B.T. genre film," turned toward the macabre when Annabeth died after crashing her car while texting Quinn. "That was the night," Quinn explains, "I gave up on becoming a screenwriter, or an anythingwriter, or an anything." After all, he agonizes, "what is a Q without an A?" Since Annabeth's death, Quinn has seldom left the house. His primary scene partner has been his mother, adrift in her own grief. Enter Geoff - a friendly sidekick who names his own farts and wears neon yellow flip-flops. Geoff is determined to get Quinn out of the house. Naturally, he refuses the call, but by night's end, they are at a party where Quinn meets Amir, a dashing college student. Until now, Quinn's romantic life didn't even rate as PG-13. Geoff and his sister are determined to change that, arranging dates, delivering messages and gifts. While this isn't the utopia of David Levithan's "Boy Meets Boy" - homophobia lurks in the form of leering "bro-types" -- it's refreshing to read a story in which coming out to one's friends is a nonissue. Although he's abandoned his craft, Quinn is still a screenwriter at heart. He narrates his own life with an inner monologue that's both frenetic and comical. The book unfolds with a cinematic feel, too. There are roller coaster dates, passionate kisses beneath a riot of fireworks, intriguing promises of lost virginity, the return of the near-mythic Ricky Devlin, betrayals and secrets revealed. Yet as the boundary between script and reality grows increasingly blurry, none of these moments play out as Quinn would write them. Geoff, it turns out, isn't merely a fashion-backward sidekick; he's been starring in a secret story of his own. Annabeth, too, appears to have had her own tale - one in which Quinn's role might veer toward the villainous. It's in this revelation - not only has Quinn lost Annabeth forever, he also failed to know her while she was here - that the novel is most tender and poignant. In the end, there's no monster to be slain - only a boy alone with excruciating grief. Ricky Devlin once advised Quinn to "write dialogue fast, fast, fast, because people don't think before they talk." I suspect Federle does this himself, as the book has a rare vitality. On a few occasions, though, information seems haphazardly revealed. Annabeth and Quinn's final fight - rooted in Annabeth's decision to prioritize college applications over Quinn's unfinished film - would have more urgency if the reader already knew nobody in their family had finished college. Also, Quinn's nonstop commentary sometimes distracts from otherwise powerful moments. These are small quibbles, though, and the rewards for setting them aside are great. Like the mythic heroes of Quinn's screenwriting guide, Federle has triumphed. He's written a moving tale about grief that's also laugh-out-loud funny. ALI BENJAMIN is the author of "The Thing About Jellyfish."
The Horn Book Review
The Great American Whatever
The Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Sixteen-year-old Quinns life is static: less than a year after his sisters fatal car crash in front of their school and his fathers subsequent departure, his screenwriting ambitions have been put on hold, his social life has evaporated, and he and his grieving mother stay mostly confined to their house. When his best friend Geoff (who is straight) manages to drag him to a party, Quinn meets college-guy Amir and reemerges from his shell as they develop a mutual attraction. Fearing being seen as a pitiable figure defined only by tragedy, Quinn avoids sharing details of his personal life with Amir, but as the story progresses and he is pushed toward honesty, he begins to reveal his perspective on his sisters accident, and in doing so learns that it might not be the whole story. Although Quinn describes his life as a fairly standard coming-of-age LGBT genre film, with a somewhat macabre horror twist, the narrative focus is less on coming out (It just seems like such a hassle to come out. I want to just be out) than it is equal parts romance and friendship, humor and healing. Quinns relationships with his mom and Geoff are particularly well developed, but the entire cast is well rounded, flawed, funny, and human. Humorous, heartbreaking, and heartwarming, Federles (Better Nate Than Ever) YA debut takes its place in the lineage of Stephen Chboskys The Perks of Being a Wallflower and John Greens coming-of-age tales. kazia berkley-cramer (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly Review
The Great American Whatever
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Annabeth and Quinn were sibling filmmakers-she the director, he the screenwriter-and Quinn, 16, dreamed that they would become famous collaborators like the Wachowskis, Ephrons, or Coens. Then Annabeth died on an icy road. Six months later, Quinn's mother is still grief-stricken, and Quinn has holed up in his bedroom. Into this stasis arrives best friend Geoff, who prods him to take a needed shower and get out of the house. Quinn tells part of his rebound story in screenplay form, but the key plot element is his flirtation with Amir, a college guy he meets at a party: the possibility of love (and sex and romance) makes him realize that there's still a future to look forward to. Federle's first venture into YA shares the same wry sensibility and theatrical underpinnings of his middle-grade books, while freeing him up to make some edgier jokes (" `A little less tongue,' he slurs, which was precisely the note I was going to give him"). The mix of vulnerability, effervescence, and quick wit in Quinn's narration will instantly endear him to readers. Ages 14-up. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
School Library Journal Review
The Great American Whatever
School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Gr 9 Up-Aspiring screenwriter Quinn Roberts is practically Hollywood-bound until a car accident takes the life of his sister, soul mate, and creative partner, Annabeth. In his grief and disorientation, Quinn is forced to reexamine everything he thought he knew about his craft, his family, and his heart's desire. A voice-driven story that is sad, funny, endearing, and ultimately uplifting. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The Great American Whatever
Kirkus Reviews
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Sixteen-year-old Quinn Roberts is officially hiding from the world. Six months after the death of his beloved sister, Annabeth, Quinn's house remains preserved as a shrine to the father who walked out on his family voluntarily and the daughter whose exit was anything but. "Without the vision and silent encouragement of [his] sister," Quinn is ready to renounce his dreams of writing screenplays, yet he cannot help but view the world cinematically. The juxtaposition of Quinn's scripted version of events with what actually occurs enables readers to experience the flawed goofiness of the real world while enjoying Quinn's ideal of how it should be. In his first novel for teens, Federle (Better Nate Than Ever, 2013, etc.) crafts a poignant and thoroughly convincing portrait of a teenager who is acerbic and self-deprecating, astute enough to write piercing observations about his own life yet too self-involved to discern obvious truths about those closest to him. Quinn's supporting cast of characters, both minor and major, are wonderfully flawed and nuanced, from Amir, the college boy upon whom Quinn has a crush, to Mrs. Roberts, who cannot bear to throw away her deceased daughter's favorite junk food. Quinn's epiphanies about his sister and himself are distinctively less cinematic than he would like them to be. The journey he takes to arrive at them, however, is hauntingly authentic and consummately page-turning. A Holden Caulfield for a new generation. (Fiction. 15 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
BookList Review
The Great American Whatever
Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
*Starred Review* Sixteen-year-old Quinn is suffering from both the second week of record-high temperatures and the sixth straight month of record-breaking lows. The temperature is due to meteorology; the lows to the death of his older sister in an automobile accident the day before Christmas break. As a result, a devastated Quinn has sequestered himself inside his increasingly messy bedroom until, that is, his best friend Geoff persuades him to go to a party, and there he meets the guy, and his life begins to turn around. One thing, though: the guy, Amir, is older a college student. Can anything good come of that? And will film buff Quinn resume writing screenplays, a practice he ditched in the wake of his collaborator sister's death? Federle's (Better Nate than Ever, 2013) first foray into YA is an accomplished effort, dramatic and distinguished by carefully developed, appealing characters. It is cleverly plotted and smoothly written with many scenes presented in screenplay style. More important, while it has its serious aspects, it is whimsical, wry, and unfailingly funny a refreshing change from the often dour nature of much LGBTQ literature. Bright as a button, this is a treat from start to finish.--Cart, Michael Copyright 2015 Booklist