Rating: 
Summary: Riveting, frightening
Review: Shepard's novel is more frightening in its depiction of the normal, every day life of two terribly alienated teens, rather than its depiction of a Columbinelike school massacre. Yes, we know going into the book that the two main characters are sliding inevitably toward a school shooting. But what truly captures our attention is their listless, violent lives and their failed attempts to either connect with peers or even see any hopes of ever doing so. We see painful glimpses of what the narrator's life could be if he could simply pull himself out of his downward spiral - he does well in an art project and in English class. Yet the constant bullying, and his own angry reaction to it are making him a virtual puppet for his less-worthy and far more dangerous best friend, Flake. The novel simply cannot be put down, and is best read on a dark night while you're lying alone on the sofa. Shepard gets into the mindset of these lost characters, and his prose is haunting. Ironically, I'm saving the book for my two boys. I want them to read it when they become teens so they can see the terrible costs of alienation, and how easy it is to slip down the wrong path. Pick up Project X. You won't put it down till you're done.
Rating: 
Summary: Tediuous, repetitive, and altogether poorly written
Review: Sheppard's attempt to capture the "American youth angst" failed miserably. Instead what he created was a novel that felt more like a chore to get through. I never developed any connection or understanding of the characters. Each chapter seemed to stumble into the next, with the end as predictable as the next expletive Sheppard was going to use to give his protagonists a hard edge. You'd do better saving your money, driving to the nearest mall, and find the kid in the Anarchy T-shirt looking sullen, because it appears that is all Sheppard did in this work. Phew Stinker-rooney!
Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking But (And) A Must Read
Review: This compact novel is page-turning, accessible and engaging, but beautifully and subtly written. Although a recent book on a similar subject, Vernon God Little, had flashes of brilliance, Project X seems to be more carefully crafted and true. In exploring the heartbreaking sorrow and loneliness of adolescence, Shepard does not look for or propose easy answers. We are all part of the problem.
Rating: 
Summary: Project X
Review: This is the story of two eighth grade boys and their disaffected lives. They have no friends other than each other and seem to hate everyone else. This lack of friends has become such a defining characteristic for the two that when people try to reach out and befriend them they are blind to it. Eventually, they decide to get revenge by planning a Columbine-style shootout. Shepherd does an amazing job of depicting the delicate psyche of adolescents and how minor slights can escalate into a terrible tragedy. He spares nothing here and presents a far more accurate and revealing depiction of disturbed youth than I have ever read. Unlike the terrible Booker winner of last year, this is an important and substantive book on a disturbing topic.
Rating:
Summary: Scar-ry!
Review: This little book is all kinds of scary: 1) Jim Shepard's effortless ability to crawl inside the head of a middle-school boy... second only to, 2) the jarring -- and awfully sad -- ending of Project X. I can't say for sure that humanizing a Columbine-esque tragedy (and extending the tragedy not only to the victims, but to those holding the guns as well) is an entirely admirable goal in writing a novel. But I can say that the book made me think, and then it think yet more; and perhaps coming away with a measure of discomfort is just the point.
Rating:
Summary: Let the Shepard Guide Us
Review: To Richie the Reviewer: Project X is not Young Adult Fiction. It is a work of literary fiction about young adults, and with all due respect, there is a big difference. After reading your review, I question whether or not you've ever been a teenager (and whether you really read this book). Is it surprising that the teenage narrator of this book continually feels misunderstood by the adults in his life? And does it really shock you that some schools have Draconian disciplinary policies? I was a junior in public high school when Columbine happened, and believe me, everything changed: Students were constantly monitored, dissent was not tolerated, suspensions and expulsions were handed out for seemingly insignificant things (junior high students who pointed their index finger like it was a gun, high school girls who carried Tylenol in their purses).Project X takes a chance that other school shooting stories don't: It shows the two perpetrators as human-- as loving and terrified and confused children. And that, I believe, is what makes this story so compelling and ultimately rewarding.
|
