The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (November 2008)
304 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $4.99)
Book Rating: 3 Stars
Content Note: Includes Swearing and Sexual Situations
Sutter is an alcoholic high-schooler who’s focus is on the here and now, his life is one big party, and he has a series of girlfriends that thought he was fun for a while but eventually moved on to someone else, when they realized how little direction his life has. Aimee stumbles upon him one early morning on her paper route, finding him passed out on someone’s front lawn, and though they seem to have nothing in common at first, Sutter decides to make it his mission to draw out this shy girl and give her some confidence. In the beginning, I’m not sure if Sutter’s influence on Aimee is a good thing or a bad thing, but by the end I think it has been positive overall. This story in tone and as a coming-of-age story, reminded me a lot of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I would say this story and the ending in particular were just a bit too realistic for me, and though I understand Sutter’s noble reasoning for what he did in the end, I was hoping for something a little more optimistic. I will say the movie gave me the ending I was looking for.
Movie Adaptations:
The Spectacular Now (2013)
Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Kyle Chandler
Movie Rating: R
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