Blogger Post: Okay, okay, I am so sorry for that almost year hiatus that I took. School was stressful friends were scarce and work was hell. I turned 18! I got tattoos lol, I barely have time to read and I barely had time to review, I've read a couple books before this one but this one was so amazing and it made me realize a lot about myself and I honestly think it was the push I needed to get through the rest of my
insignificant life (inside book joke). I also met the author and got to hear him speak! (The only reason I read this book was that he personally gave it to me FOR FREE! and signed it for me)... okay now on to the review!
Summary: From the author of The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley comes a brand-new novel about a teenage boy who must decide whether or not the world is worth saving.Henry Denton has spent years being periodically abducted by aliens. Then the aliens give him an ultimatum: The world will end in 144 days, and all Henry has to do to stop it is pushing a big red button.
Only he isn’t sure he wants to.
After all, life hasn’t been great for Henry. His mom is a struggling waitress held together by a thin layer of cigarette smoke. His brother is a jobless dropout who just knocked someone up. His grandmother is slowly losing herself to Alzheimer’s. And Henry is still dealing with the grief of his boyfriend’s suicide last year.
Wiping the slate clean sounds like a pretty good choice for him.
But Henry is a scientist first, and facing the question thoroughly and logically, he begins to look for pros and cons: in the bully who is his perpetual one-night stand, in the best friend who betrayed him, in the brilliant and mysterious boy who walked into the wrong class. Weighing the pain and the joy that surrounds him, Henry is left with the ultimate choice: push the button and save the planet and everyone on it…or let the world—and his pain—be destroyed forever.
Review: Shaun Hutchinson had me with this book on the first line "Life is bullshit", what many like my friends thought was going to be a ridiculous novel about a horny teenage boy being abducted by aliens and not wanting to push a bottom to save the world because he simply hates his life, turned into a wild ride filled with heavy topics like depression, Alzheimer's
, suicide, and bullying, as well as science, family, love and friendship, a combination that works perfectly.
I live in Florida, pretty close to where the story is set so I could 100% relate to Henry and the characters because they felt so real like they were actually people living right down the street from me, The characters, oh man the characters I really love how no character is a throw away character or a "back ground" character theyre all the main characters all dealing with the world in their own way, some more better than others, from Henry's mom the wanna be chef, who smokes and drinks wayy to much, Nana henrys grandmother whose Alzheimers is robbing her of her memories one penny at a time, Jesse whom we never meet because he committed suicide before the novel begins but is still a major major character in the story. Charlie and his girlfriend Zooey, at the beginning of the novel I hated Charlie he was an inconsiderate asshole telling Henry that their father left and it was all Henry's fault.
Charlie goes through the most dramatic change then any of the characters he grows up, after dropping out of college to support his pregnant girlfriend he surprisingly becomes the most stable character in the novel. Then their Audrey, Jesse's friend,
Marcus the school's golden boy who is secretly hooking up with Henry. I really wanted to like Marcus we saw him break and realized he truly loved Henry and was willing to be "not-Jesse" for Henry because that's what Henry needed "Phone home space boy, and if no one answers, I will." Marcus...........but then he fucked up again.
And Finally, Deigo Vega..... first let me tell you when this boy was introduced and told the class he was a "Nudeist" I knew I was going to love him.
Deigo was there for Henry, there was a lot of confusing whether or not he was "swinging" that way through but eventually, we found out "I'm interested in people, not the parts they have... well I do like the parts" - Deigo
WAIT
I can't believe I almost forget my favorite character, the science teacher Ms. Faraci, I think I love her so much because my freshman year of high school I had a science teacher EXACTLY like her she was crazy and she made science fun because she was so passionate about it even though the students didn't give a fuck about her class. Ms. Faraci was really important to the development of Henry she made him understand that yea, the bullying, and teasing sucks ass right now but after you graduate and go on with your life the people who are hurting you now are going to all go away and their not going to matter nor will they ever be able to hurt you again, that scene really touched home to me.
Henry Denton's narrative is so compelling, nihilistic and hilarious. He's a smart, witty and very funny human being, prone to one tragic misfortune after another. The way he portrays and explores the world around him is excellent, showing us intricate family bonds, friendships, love and all the wonder and horror of the world we live in. It's the kind of truly smart and insightful book that doesn't come along too often. And it left my mind spinning with thoughts long after I finished the last page.
I had so many favorite quotes from this book but here are a FEW!
"Maybe we don't matter to the universe, Jesse Franklin, but you mattered to me"
"If you knew the world was going to end, but you had the power to stop it would you?"
"Yes"
"Why"
"Because Jesse believed that life wasn't worth living and I refuse to prove him right."
"If a kid looks like he doesn't give a shit, it's not because he doesn't believe in himself its because no one else believes in him."
"We are all merely pieces of a grander design, even more, insignificant then I imagined"
"When the Earth ceases to be, all those stars will shine on."
"The universe may forget us, but it cant forget us until we are gone, and we're still here our futures still unwritten."
"The universe may forget us but it doesn't matter, because we are the ants, and we'll keep marching on."
Thank you so much, Shaun Hutchinson, for the book! It was everything I expected and more It was a pleasure meeting you and hearing you speak I look forward to reading more of your books in the future, but for now
Forever blogging on Caffeine,
- Sheri :)
UPDATE: SOME ARTWORK I DID IN HONOR OF THE BOOK