Thursday, November 18, 2010

Destroy All Cars by Blake Nelson


James Hoff likes to rant against America's consumerist culture. He also likes to rant against his ex-girlfriend, Sadie, who he feels isn't doing enough to change the world. But just like he can't avoid buying things, he also can't avoid Sadie for long. This is a fantastic, funny, sexy, cool masterpiece from one of the best YA writers at work today, an anti-consumerist love story that's all about idealism, in both James's relationship with the world and his relationships with the people around him.


Destroy All Cars is an enthralling book about James Hoff, who wants nothing more than to destroy all cars and get his girlfriend back. I went into this book, not expecting a lot. I hadn’t heard much about it* and I only had a rough idea of what the book was about.
I started reading Destroy All Cars while I was in the middle of my reading slump. This book is what got me out of the slump. All I wanted to do was read it. It challenges our way of thinking about the environment and how we plan to “save” it. I loved that the story switched off being told from James’ point of view, James’ AP English essays, and dialogue written like a screenplay.
Blake Nelson wrote an A-plus book that captures the emotions of teens perfectly. His characters were real, as were their actions.
I couldn’t stop reading this and I hope you read it. This book gets into your head and it never let’s go.


*Last December the editor of the book and my favorite author, David Levithan mentioned it at a book signing he was doing.

FTC- Library.

1 comment:

Caroline said...

I haven't heard of this book before. From your reviews, it sounds great. Another book added to my TBR pile :)