The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle
Tim Federle does an amazing job of displaying the struggles of losing a loved one and the way it affects more than just one aspect of your life. In this novel, Quinn loses his sister to a car accident that was caused by her texting and driving. The worst part of everything for Quinn is that he was the one she was texting when she crashed and the conversation that they were having while she was texting him. (I'll leave it for everyone to read the book to figure out the conversation) Quinn's whole life gets turned upside down. He finds love, learns secrets, and goes through the struggle of restarting his life after six months of never leaving his house. Quinn also gain the confidence to talk about this sister and to go back to doing what he loves best which is writing screenplays.
This book is an easy read and would be perfect for a read outside of the classroom and in personal free time or for a lesson on the consequences of texting and driving. The struggles Quinn goes through are relatable and they also give insight on how to deal with the struggles and what the importance of friends are. Besides the loss of his sister he also is gay and throughout the book he gains the confidence to tell his friends and his mother. At the end of the book Quinn has learned self acceptance and what he wants his life to be and not what he thinks life should be. He learns life isn't a screenplay and you can't write out your future.
Pros: fast & easy read, relatable, comical, great lessons, and heartbreaking (in a good way).
Cons: not for everyone & was uninteresting at some points.
This book was a 5/10 for me. I liked it, but it would be on my top list of books to recommend to family or friends.
Below is link for a summary of the book:
Below is a link for more about this author and other books he has wrote.
"The lifeguard tells us to knock it "the heck" off, but it's a goof moment, which is all you can hope for, I think. Tiny little good moments that you catch like a firefly, and just like fireflies, you have to release them, because the whole point is that they're tiny and little and need to be with other fireflies. They aren't a pet. They aren't yours to keep. They're just moments. They're just fireflies."
This book could be a way to raise awareness of why we shouldn't text and drive. Its not the most nice way to say it but its a reality check point. We never know what can happen in seconds while texting and driving and guilt is a very bad feeling. I think this can be a book for teens in high school. Good job!
ReplyDelete