High School Pick: The Great American Whatever

The Great American Whatever
by Tim Federle
Simon & Schuster
2016
274 pages
ISBN: 9781481404099

Reviews:

"The Great American Whatever knocked me out. Tim Federle writes with a rare voice — original, authentic, engaging." (Rob Thomas, author of Rats Saw God and creator of Veronica Mars)

"A raw nerve of a book—so perfectly tender and funny and true. My heart now belongs to The Great American Whatever. Officially. Completely." (Becky Albertalli, author of Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda)

*"Federle’s first foray into YA is an accomplished effort, dramatic and distinguished by carefully developed, appealing characters... whimsical, wry, and unfailingly funny." (Booklist, starred review)

*"A Holden Caulfield for a new generation." (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

"The mix of vulnerability, effervescence, and quick wit in Quinn’s narration will instantly endear him to readers." (Publishers Weekly)

*“Even under the weight of grief, Quinn’s conversational and charming narrative voice effervesces, mixing humor and vulnerability in typical Federle style." (School Library Journal, starred review)

"Recommended for mature teens who want to be inspired." (VOYA)

"Federle’s YA debut takes its place in the lineage of Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower and John Green’s coming-of-age tales." (Horn Book Magazine)

*"What sets this fantastic novel apart is Quinn's brilliantly realized, often hilarious first-person voice, from laugh-out-loud asides to heart-wrenching admissions...Charming and imaginative." (Shelf Awareness, starred review)

“Federle has triumphed. He’s written a moving tale about grief that’s also laugh-out-loud funny.” (The New York Times Book Review)

 

My Review:

 

Laugh out loud, rolling on the floor funny, comic, hysterical, laughter ensues, if I had just drank chocolate milk I would probably shoot it out my nose, side-splitting, slap yo mama funny! Tim Federle is the real deal. He can write comedy if he ever needs a side job, but that's not going to happen anytime soon.

 

The Great American Whatever is the perfect teen angst book of 2016 and Quinn the perfect "every" boy. When Quinn's beloved older sister dies in a horrific (is there any other kind?) car accident, Quinn takes grief and self blame to a whole new level. He stays in his room, not moving, not eating, not bathing, not reading or watching television, not doing anything. For months. His mother tries to rouse him, but with her own failure as both a mother and wife, she is wallowing in self pity herself. The world as they both know it has changed in an instant. Lucky for Quinn, he has a great friend who won't take no for an answer. Geoff literally drags Quinn out the door and to a party.

 

Quinn meets a cute boy and is excited when the boy gives him a note with his phone number on it. Too bad Quinn can't find his cell phone. He has not seen it in months. Since that terrible night when he got his last text from his sister, right before she died. The book is full of grief, but Federle makes grief hysterically funny.

 

Quinn goes on a date with cute boy Amir and gets drunk. The next day, Quinn says, "This is the kind of hangover people write horror movies about, movies that are never funded because they're too graphic....a hangover feels like...a sledgehammer eloped with a swing set and they honeymooned in your head."   

 

Once he is able to tell his story out loud to Amir, Quinn is able to forgive himself and move on. He will always feel a void where his sister/film maker/director used to be, but when he discovers that his dream was not her dream, it is an a-ha moment.  Quinn sees life through the script of a movie. It has been his dream to write and produce films and he now has the chance to go to film school. Another quirk that sets Quinn apart is his love of movies--all types of movies from old black and white, to spaghetti westerns, to horror. He gives teen readers ideas on what movies to be sure and see. Hopefully they will take notice.

 

If Hollywood can get the right writers (Tim Federle, maybe?) The Great American Whatever would be a fantastic teen movie or even a comic sit-com.

 

Highly, highly recommended grade 9-up. Mature situations, profanity.

 

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.   

Cover Reveal, Book Giveaway and Jeff Strand's FIVE Best Zombie Movies

You can follow the reveal @JeffStrand and @SourcebooksFire #GreatestZombieMovieEver

From Sourcebooks Fire:

 

THE GREATEST ZOMBIE MOVIE EVER Cover Reveal and Sneak Peek 

The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever 

Author: Jeff Strand 

Release Date: March 1, 2016 

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire 

Jeff Strand gives readers a sneak peek at his latest novel The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever, and shares his five favorite zombie movies: 

Jeff Strand’s Five Favorite Zombie Movies: 

My five favorite zombie movies are very similar to many other people’s five favorite zombie movies. I could’ve gone the condescending click-bait route and written about “The Five Best Zombie Movies You’ve Never Seen!” but, no, I’m going with my five real favorites…. 

 #5: DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004 version). I was one of the many people bellowing, “You can’t remake DAWN OF THE DEAD! This is blasphemy! Blasphemy!!!” But somehow this remake to a sequel (but not a sequel to the remake) turned out to be awesome. Not quite as good as the original (SPOILER ALERT: That’s #3 on this list) but one of my all-time favorites.  

 #4: RE-ANIMATOR. I’ve now seen plenty of movies that are more over-the-top insane than RE-ANIMATOR, but this was the first movie where I simply couldn’t believe what I was watching. It was hard to believe that a movie so dark and gruesome could be so funny.  

 #3: DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978 version). Shameful confession: When I first saw this in high school I thought it was stupid and boring. Fortunately, I matured and accepted that it’s one of the high points of zombie cinema. It’s the reason I know to duck before walking toward spinning helicopter blades.  

 #2: RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD. Fast zombies long before 28 DAYS LATER! The first time zombies ate brains! It doesn’t often get the credit it deserves, but this is one of the most influential zombie movies ever. 

 #1: SHAUN OF THE DEAD. The greatest zombie comedy ever. The greatest zombie movie ever. The greatest MOVIE ever.  

About THE GREATEST ZOMBIE MOVIE EVER: 

After producing three horror movies that went mostly ignored on YouTube, Justin and his filmmaking buddies decide it’s time they create something noteworthy, something epic. They’re going to film the Greatest Zombie Movie Ever. They may not have money or a script, but they have passion. And, after a rash text message, they also have the beautiful Alicia Howtz—Justin’s crush—as the lead.  

  

With only one month to complete their movie, a script that can’t possibly get worse, and the hopes and dreams of Alicia on the line, Justin is feeling the pressure. Add to that a cast of uncooperative extras and incompetent production assistants, and Justin must face the sad, sad truth. He may actually be producing The Worst Zombie Movie Ever… 

  

About Jeff Strand: 

Jeff Strand has written more than twenty books, and is a four-time nominee (and four-time non-winner) of the Bram Stoker Award. Two of his young adult novels, A Bad Day For Voodoo and I Have A Bad Feeling About This, were Junior Library Guild picks. Publishers Weekly called his work “wickedly funny.” He lives in Tampa, Florida.  

Website 

@JeffStrand 

  

Excerpt from The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever: 

The vampire, whose fangs were too big for his mouth, turned to the camera and hissed. 

"Don't look at the camera," said Justin Hollow, the director. 

"I keep poking my lip on these things," said Harold, spitting the plastic fangs out onto the ground. He hadn't been a very frightening example of the undead before, and he was even less scary with no fangs and a thick line of drool running down his chin. 

"Cut!" shouted Justin, loud enough to be sure that the command was heard by his production crew of two. "C'mon, Harold. Stay in character. We're three hours behind schedule." 

"I don't care. I hate this. You promised that I'd get all the girls I wanted. So where are all of the girls I want?" 

Justin let out his thirty-ninth exasperated sigh of the night. "The movie has to come out first." 

"It's not even a real movie." 

Justin bristled. It was a full body bristle, head to toe, which he hadn't even realized was physically possible. Bobby, who handled sound recording, and Gabe, who handled everything else, both stepped back a couple of feet. Neither of them truly believed that they were about to witness a murder, but they wanted to get out of the splash zone, just in case. 

Had this been one of Justin's movies, he would have very slowly lowered his camera, stared directly into Harold's eyes with a steel gaze, and then after an extremely dramatic pause asked "What...did...you...just...say?" 

His actual response, delivered in a squeakier voice than he would have allowed from his actors, was: "Huh?" 

"I said it's not a real movie." Harold started to wipe the fake blood off his mouth. It didn't come off, and probably wouldn't for several days. Justin had planned to feel guilty about this later, but now he wouldn't bother. "Nobody's ever going to see it. You probably won't even finish it." 

"I finished my last three movies!" Justin insisted. "I got hundreds of hits on YouTube!" 

That statement was technically accurate, though it was the lowest possible number of hits you could get and still use "hundred" in its plural form. The only comment anybody posted about his latest film had been "This twelve year-old filmmaker sort of shows promise," which really frustrated Justin since he was fifteen. 

Harold shrugged. "This is a waste of time. I've got better things to do on a Friday night." 

"Nobody ever said this was going to be easy," said Justin, who had indeed said that it was going to be easy when luring Harold into the role. "You can quit now, but what are you going to think about your decision ten years from now?" 

"I'm going to think, wow, it sure is nice to be such a well-paid dentist." 

Harold walked off the set. It wasn't an actual set, but rather a small park near Justin's home, where they were filming without a permit. Justin knew he should shout something after his ex-actor. Something vicious. Something devastating. He thought about shouting "You'll never work in this town again!" but, no, it had to be something that Harold would consider a bad thing. 

"Fine!" Justin shouted. "But when we record the audio commentary track for the Blu-Ray, I'm going to talk about how you abandoned us, and how much happier everybody was with the new actor who took your role, and how we all agreed that he should have been cast in the first place, and how he had so many girlfriends that he couldn't even keep track of them, and how they all found out about each other and had a great big awesome catfight in his front yard! And I'll pronounce your name wrong!" 

Harold continued walking, apparently not heartbroken. 

  

Pre-Order The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever: 

Amazon  

Apple  

Barnes & Noble  

  

Enter to Win an Advance Copy of The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever: 

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YA and Technology Trends: A Student from Australia Interviews Me!

Australian student Stella C. asked me my thoughts on a project she is working towards. She is (in her own words): "... a 12 year student in Sydney, Australia, working towards my HSC major work for society and culture." Her area of study is this topic:

 "What will be the impact on YA literature with the increasing reliance on technology and how must authors change to accommodate to new diverse margins of society."

 She asked me questions and I answered her as thoughtfully as I could. With her permission, I am publishing this interview. I think her questions are well thought out and insightful and help us to understand what teens are thinking about YA literature and social media  not only here in the U.S. but in Australia as well. Stella, thank you for asking me these important and timely questions and allowing me to publish them here.

Interview:

1.    What are your thoughts on young adult fiction as a popular culture?

 

YA fiction has become a part of pop culture as it moves from books and content on the Internet into movies and mainstream Hollywood. Actors who star in YA movies, think "Twilight" and "Divergent" go on to act in feature films; for example, Jennifer Lawrence gained the teen audience  in "The Hunger Games" yet went on to win an Oscar for her performance in "Silver Linings Playbooks" and was nominated for "American Hustle." She has become one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood.

 

2.    What do you think young adult fiction targets for their audience?

 

 If it is a great book the target is to entertain, to say something necessary, to bring to life characters who are amazing in some way yet seriously flawed in others, to set up events that impact the main character, to have the character face obstacles and overcome them in some way, and to have the character somehow changed by his/her journey. The reader should come away from the book feeling satisfied. Even if a main character dies, the reader should still feel good about reading the book. A great book impacts the reader; the reader will think about that book for a great long while, think To Kill a Mockingbird.

 

3.      Do you think this genre of novels is growing? And if so, why is there a dramatic change?

 

 It has been taking over the publishing market since Harry Potter. It will continue to grow as fan fiction is growing online. Many twelve year old readers are becoming writers as we speak. The next decade looks promising for publishing and fiction.

 

4.      Do you think that literature and novels will be a short-lived life?

 

 

 

 Literature will never be short lived. That's like asking if music will be short lived. Notes never go away. Words never go away. A new musician or writer will think of a new way of using them.

 

5.      Do you think easy access to movies and fan fiction ultimately persuades you to avoid written work?
 

 Absolutely not! I attend the Texas Teen Book Festival each year in Austin, Texas, which has grown to include over 150 authors per year. Thousands of readers flock to see the books and authors. I am happy to say that readers were buying tons of books in print. This is not to say that Ebooks and digital reading are not accessible. Many readers find that they like the heft and feel of the printed book. It totes well. You don't have to worry about wires or connectivity or getting it wet. You can read in almost any light source.

 

6.      What are your personal thoughts on eBooks, kindles and other source of technology which enhances the reading experience?

 

 I'm not sure this technology "enhances" the reading experience. It makes it possible to read in a variety of ways. It may help some people to learn to read. The technology makes it possible for all sorts of learners to be able to enjoy a book.

 

7.      Why is there such a stigma attached to adults who read young adult fiction?

 

 Is there a stigma? Really? The Hunger Games, Twilight and even The Diary of a Wimpy Kid did not get to the New York Times bestseller list by teens who read them. Certainly hundreds of thousands if not millions of adults read them. Fans of dystopian fiction read both YA dystopian fiction and adult dystopian fiction. In fact, there is no line in the sand between the two. I think this "stigma" is imagined--I have not seen anyone in the U.S. say that adults should not read YA. In fact, it's just the opposite. You should read what you want.

 

8.    How does social media and technology help promote young adult fiction?

 

 You are asking a blogger! The epitome of what I do is promote new and exciting titles in YA fiction. Technology makes that possible.

 

9.    How does the film industry present young adult adaptation? Why isn’t the film not targeted to a specific age group? How do you think they break the age barrier?

 Hollywood takes a book and brings it to life with film magic. A real reader does that for herself or himself. A reader imagines the "scenes" in the book and sees the action. Films make it possible for those who don't read to enjoy the stories. I think Hollywood does justice to YA novels for the most part.

 

10. Do you think the film acknowledged the author’s true ambitions of the novels’ themes?

 

It depends if the author is involved with the screen writing or not. In the case of several YA novels into films, the authors have had a say in screenplay and on the set. If the author has no say, the writers, directors and producers have a free for all if they want.

 

11. What do you think will be the next step for these authors and young adult fiction for the upcoming generations?

To continue to offer the best stories with the most compelling characters. I have heard several authors comment that writing for the YA crowd is a lot harder than writing for adults. Kids will catch all your mistakes and call you on them. Kids are less forgiving than the adult reader. And kids will call you out on social media.

 

Is there any other thoughts/opinions on young adult fiction and technology’s impact on this popular culture?

 

 I think Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media are a great tool for authors to embrace. They have up to the minute details on how their novel/work is perceived. A smart author will be a tech savvy guru.

 

My closing thoughts: Authors, you are going to have to up your game to keep up with today's YA readers. Good luck! Pamela

 

Making Short Movies using Zimmer Twins

I used a new website called Zimmer Twins to create a cool, kid-friendly movie announcing my blog. You can join for free and make your animations! Pretty easy to use and kids will love creating movies! Make an animated movie in minutes. Easy for kids to use and no training necessary!

Click on Zimmer Twins