Book Review: Party by Tom Leveen

So, as you've probably noticed, this is my first book review in...a very long time. Wanna hear my excuse? Good, cos here it it: I had finals to deal with, I lost textbooks to hand in, I had end-of-year parties to attend...I've been busy. But the last day of school was two days ago and I am ready to rick roll!

Title: Party

Author: Tom Leveen

Pages: 228

Received from: Author

Summary:

Eleven kids go to a party. Eleven different kids go to the same party. Eleven different kids go to the same party and have different experiences that at some point during the night become the same experience. Each person is there for their own reasons, and you're about to find out what those reasons are and how this night will play out.

Cheryl and Amber of Just Your Typical Book Blog got it right when they compared Party to a 90's teen movie. It brings together this rag-tag group of misfits, these people who (in their high school days) would never, ever be seen together, for the sake of drinking and fucking and just generally getting as stupid as possible before they all left for bigger things, most likely never to cross paths again. At least, that's what I thought about it. It has all these layers and different stories and different people about it, but Party really is just a bunch of kids heading off to college, yearning for one last night to say all they wanted to say.

Or something.

Okay, so they're are eleven narators. Loner Beckett, ice queen Morrigan, everyguy Tommy, skater Brent, etc. Pretty much every possible sub-group was covered in Tom's debut and at least five of them (I thought) were realistically protrayed. Of course everyone occasionally fell a bit too neatly into their label which, on one hand, can get reallysupergoddamn obnoxious, but on the other is sorta understandable considering that whoever wrote this is probably one too many months out of high school and has already become a tad diluded with pop culture atrocities concerning the teenage years...but I digress.

I think the real highlight of Party is that, yeah, some of the characters are bitchy and whiny and annoying (I'm looking at you, Morrigan), but then...yay! New chapter! We never have to concern ourselves with that bish again! Lemme tell you, the main concern I have with books these days is a) the characters are irritating as hell and b) none of the other characters are fleshed out. That was never truly an issue here.

So, Party provides this really interesting outlook on a lot of the sort of people we tend to overlook in high school...the loner chick with no friends (not that I needed help with that one...yeah...my sisters that chick...o.O), the group of meatheads who are kind of inseperable, the cold bitch who gives you dirty looks in english class (GAH DIE MORRIGAN DIE). Say what you will about the prose (simplistic), the dialogue (over the top) and the characters (MORRIGAN!), but if ya'll can only think of ONE good thing about Party, it is that you couldn't put it down.

Rating: 7

Also: Would anyone be interested in swapping something for a Lauren Myracle book? I'm really craving something less...intense? OOOOH or maybe one of those us-against-the-world on-the-run books? Hit me up bitches.