Rating: 
Summary: I wish there were more than five stars!
Review: I can't remember the last time I so enjoyed a book. The story, about a group of friends who kidnap one of their crowd to get him off drugs, was gripping, and the fact that the friend was a movie star just added some fun complications along the way. Each of the characters here reminded me of one of my friends, and the author is to be commended for truly isolating the various quirks, fears, and personalities that are so prevalent in our generation (I'm forty-one, but I think i still qualify). The story is told by Ben, who is both ironic and sincere, somewhat depressed, but hysterically funny as he tries to make sense of his failures at age thirty and come up with a new plan (hence the title) to make his life more meaningful.Many of the reviews here talk about how this will definitely be a movie. I can see their point, but I don't think a movie can capture the compelling tone of the narrative, which is what really holds this whole story together. All in all, a fun, light read that you will absolutely enjoy and not soon forget.
Rating:
Summary: a fun read!
Review: A friend of mine got me this book for m 30th birthday, and I couldn't put it down. I can't believe how accurate it was. So many of Ben's feelings about turning 30 mirror my own - disappointment at the fact that you aren't where you thought you would be at this age; fear of drifting apart from your dearest friends, etc. This book deals with all of those issues and more. I was also very touched by the passages with Ben and Jeremy, the nine year old who has just lost his father. How often do you read about a single guy interacting with and caring about a young boy he's not related to? Tropper got a lot of other points right as well, right down to the passage about office toys and toys in general. Yes, it is unbecoming for a 30-year-old to buy a Darth Vader mask, but that's hard to remember when you keep forgetting you're 30. I found the references to Star Wars and 80's music to be quite natural and not jarring or overabundant at all. These are common points of reference for our generation and they definitely fit in here. The bottom line is that now that I have finished reading the book, the thing I remember the most is that wistful feeling that drove the book. I can't remember the last time I felt such empathy towards a male character, and I felt it because Ben's experience as a 30 newbie is universal.
Rating:
Summary: Our generation's brat pack!
Review: This is one of the most fabulous books I have read in a long time. Truly a fusion of a great Friend's episode and the St. Elmo's Fire of the late 1990's. You will see yourself in Tropper's characters. I have given this book to many of my friends and everyone has loved it! I can't wait for Tropper's next book!
Rating: 
Summary: Funny and entertaining
Review: Plan B is a novel about friendship. It's about five 30-something friends struggling with work, romance and life. But the story focuses more on Jack, a famous Hollywood actor and cocaine addict. Ben (the narrator), Lindsey, Chuck and Alison try to help Jack face his demon by way of intervention. In denial, Jack refuses to get help. Desperate, the friends try Plan B: imprisoning Jack in a house in the country until the period of withdrawal passes. While they try to help their friend, they face their own demons and try to improve their lives. The narration is nicely done and the comic timing is precise. I think that Jonathan Tropper could turn this into a movie (this book begs for a script). A nice read.
Rating:
Summary: I can't wait for the movie!
Review: Hollywood should definitely be checking out Plan B. It would make a great movie, which doesn't mean it isn't a great read. I picked this up on a whim and found it to be a funny, touching story about five college friends turning thirty and dealing with the disappointments life has served up. The action is fast-paced and laced with wit, irony, and Generation X pop culture. If you grew up with the Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire and Less Than Zero, then this book will definitely resonate with you. Tropper's narrator is alternately funny and sad, ironic and earnest, occassionally clueless but always honest. This book does not aspire to be "deep" literature, but to be an entertaining and thoughtful account of what it feels like to grow up and realize thst life is not an exact science. Whether you want to be touched, or just laugh out loud, you cannot go wrong with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Tropper Gets it Right...A terrific and breezy read
Review: A lot of reviews of have mentioned how much this book talks aboutpop culture...some see it as a positive and others as a negative. I was drawn to this book for two reasons. 1) The cover says "Thirty ..." (which is funny) 2)The back of the book which speaks of, well, all the pop culture references. I'm sucker for that stuff I guess. Everything from Three's Company to Billy Joel (whose lyrics play a role--a first in a novel I've seen)is in there. The more astute among you may find parts formulaic. Yet, that really didn't bother me. Look at what sells in this genre of fiction today--all these books about plucky single ladies from London. If you are touched by a book, isn't that all that matters? Tropper gets the details right. I'm closing in on 30 and share many of the feelings as our narrator, Ben. Trouble letting go of the past, fear of the future, etc. The music of 1980s, Star Wars, Seinfeld...these things were part of our lives and Tropper doesn't put them in to be cute. He puts them in because people actually look at life through the prism of these things. Tropper mentions an idea that I had discussed with my own friends (isn't it cool when you see your ideas validated by a good writer?)--the idea that Gen X is unified by it's pop culture. Many of us were. I cared deeply about these characters and found myself reading 200 pages in one day just to see what happened. The plot, as Booklist says, is a bit like The Big Chill. And the Jack-Alison relationship bears an uncanny resemblance to the Rob Lowe-Mare Winningham relationship in St. Elmo's Fire. Except that the Alison character is far more appealing than the Mare Winnigham character (and Jack more appealing than Rob Lowe--in anything). Some of the events in the book do fit together a bit too perfectly, but it is fiction. And in the big picture, it was a book that gets it right. In fact, Tropper writes a great first novel. Now, why I can't meet a Lindsey?
Rating:
Summary: Ben Beats Bridget By A Long Shot
Review: I stumbled across Plan B at Borders and picked it up, expecting to read about yet another woman who's 29 going on 30 and living the single life in New York City. Well the only resemblance this book has to the slew of others out there about 20somethings and 30somethings is that Ben is a writer (most of the woman in the other books work in publishing). Thankfully this book is so much more substantial. I loved reading about Ben, Chuck, Lindsey and Allison. All of the characters and their emotions were so real as were the settings. Tropper has a wonderful ability to convey atmosphere. Haven't finished yet... I'm enjoying it so much I don't want it to end.
Rating:
Summary: At least a B-plus
Review: Jonathan Tropper is a new name in fiction with a ton of potential, apparently. I began to read this book, thinking...A bunch of whining 30 yr. olds? Can a forty-something boomer relate to this at all? The truth is, you don't have to be thirty to say s**t! It happens again at forty, and I suppose, anytime you hit a milestone. Tropper captures authentic emotions and likable characters, with a couple of caricatures thrown in for laughs. Ben, the protaganist, and his four college friends, hatch a half-baked and misguided plan to save their Hollywood friend from himself and cocaine. What results is a madcapcaper with some serious and thought-provoking moments, esp. where they all admit to their real motivations behind their participation in the plan. Chuck, the skirt chasing statutory rapist and resident physician, gets to make the wiittiest comments and even a great "guy"joke that even my husband appreciated.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a 'How To' but fun nevertheless
Review: This book narrates an individual's coping with the insecurity and realization of the inevitability that comes at 30. I expected more of an impersonal observation; kind of a generalization of the insecurities and the ways to cope with it. However, at the end my realization is the same, and not so profound or unique; that everyone copes with it in his own way, by understanding what is most dear and desirable, by coming into terms with one's limits. The book is funny and involving. I wish the writer wrote with more confidence in himself, in a more normal language. The colloquials capture his time and surroundings but somehow diminishes his acumen.
Rating:
Summary: Quit Whining!
Review: I picked up the paperback version of this book based on the sentiment conveyed on the front cover. Since I had this same sentiment about turning 30, I decided to give this book a read and see if I could relate to anything else in it. I found that the five friends in this book had actually accomplished quite a bit by their 30th birthdays and shouldn't be complaining. However, we are our own worst critics and at some time during our 30's, we start looking back instead of forward. This book taught me to look forward and try to improve my current situation rather than looking back and whining about how good the good old days were. This book is a predictable no-brainer, but it was still fun to read. The references to the 80's were also fun and brought back some memories for me.
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