this might be amazing (the author certainly has received some nice reviews) but I don't care to piece together a mystery (what the heck is going on) in the first few pages, and it didn't hook me enough to keep reading. ( )

Wifey brought this home, amongst a huge pile of other books, from the YA Literature festival. I've ignored it since then until, at a loose end for a light read, I googled some of the titles and this one was described as the "Kurt Vonnegut of YA". That was me interested...

Initially this appeared to be just a puerile string of loosely connected masturbation jokes (some of which were admittedly excellent). But by the time I'd finished it I discovered that I really cared about the characters and was quite moved by it all.

Somewhat surreal and very wanky, it's quite an enjoyable book. On the downside there are no decent female characters and certainly none with any depth (though it is set in a boys camp) and, whilst not openly sexist it doesn't really have anything positive to say about women. It's all a bit "boys being boys" banter which I was tempted to give up on a few times before my curiosity overcame me and then enough stuff happened that I started to care. ( )

As a child I voraciously consumed the original Twilight Zone. Loved every episode where expectations were shattered under the hammer of a twist ending. There was one however, that as a small child I always felt I was missing something. That episode, FIVE CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN EXIT, was about five people in various costumes (soldier, ballerina, etc) who find themselves in a cylindrical room with no memories and no doors. What I didn’t know then was that it was inspired by SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR (Pirandello) and NO EXIT (Sartre). Knowing this now gives the episode greater texture but as a kid I only knew that there was something deeper there that I couldn’t grasp yet. And I like that feeling—finding myself in depths I don’t quite understand.

I would not normally approach a young adult novel like THE ALEX CROW with expectations of depth, but as I began the novel it teased me to hope. The thought process of the main character and how his approach to the world was shaped by the atrocities that he lived through is very well presented. His interaction with authority, fellow refugees and newly adopted family all engaging and as often funny as tender. Rooted in paranoia of clandestine government research into technological terrors, the novel sports some nifty sci-fi creations (especially the title creation). The narrative has a nice pull—you want to keep reading. Seems to be all about surviving the process—refugee camp—summer camp—road trip—childhood. But as the book draws to a conclusion, the pull ends. There seemed to be nothing at the end of the rope that had been pulling me along and despite all the movement, I felt like I had never left the shallow end of the pool.

Considerable quality time is given to the main character’s back story with seemingly little direct payoff. Reminded me of coming to the end of Stephen King’s IT—the most disappointed I have ever been at the ending of a book. (Really, a giant ****** from outer space!) At least with IT, however, the build up of the characters was so strong that even after the ending ****** me off, I found myself coming back to the characters—their joys and fears and how they leaned on each other to get through it all. The draw of THE CROW was not nearly as strong so I was left with SEVERAL CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN ENDING. Would still recommend it for younger readers who might be satisfied by the journey. I didn’t end up anywhere I hadn’t already been. ( )

This was definitely an interesting book, to say the least. I have to admit though that, if I hadn't of been reading it for my book club, I probably wouldn't have finished it at first. I was completely confused for the longest time as to what was actually going on, other than boys being at a camp and old journal entries from a ship that had sank previously. I just didn't see any of the connections for the longest time and it felt overwhelmingly disconnected, which I hated. But then towards the end, every thing connected well and made complete sense. So it gets three stars from me, which is good. ( )

This was definitely an interesting book, to say the least. I have to admit though that, if I hadn't of been reading it for my book club, I probably wouldn't have finished it at first. I was completely confused for the longest time as to what was actually going on, other than boys being at a camp and old journal entries from a ship that had sank previously. I just didn't see any of the connections for the longest time and it felt overwhelmingly disconnected, which I hated. But then towards the end, every thing connected well and made complete sense. So it gets three stars from me, which is good. ( )