I expected to like this book, having read a number of four-star and five-star reviews. For some reason, it never really grabbed me. I guess it was hard for me to believe that guns, alcohol, pot, sex, and vandalism are more or less matter-of-course in a suburban teen's life. It was also difficult to really like Ted (Teddy, Theodore, "the boy") although I could see how he was caught between his mother, the law, and his various "friends". Not a complete waste of time, but I'm not inspired to read more by LaMarche. ( )

Taut writing and believable male characterization makes this difficult subject worth reading. Debut novelist. ( )

American Youth was a very enticing piece of literature to read. LaMarche wasted no time getting the reader hooked and wanting to read more. American Youth was full of very unlikely characters and they were all tied together by the accidental shooting that happened in Teddy’s house. I enjoyed reading this book because it was so different than anything else I had read so far.
The group of kids known as American Youth were terrorizing kids who had no tolerance for kids using alcohol or drugs. I found their group very interesting to watch throughout the book because of the way they carried themselves. When I first started reading about them, I thought that it was pretty awesome that they had a group that was against teen substance use. As the book progressed however, you find out that they are so strong as to their beliefs that they will stop at nothing to get one kid busted for doing marijuana. I don’t think that the actual group themselves knew that they were taking it too far. The American Youth even tried to kill one kid who quit the group because he no longer believed in their morals.
American Youth was willing to go places where all previous books I had read never went to. I think that it was a great book to read because you learn from it as you read it. This book will actually teach you to become more tolerant of other people, even if they don’t necessarily share the same morals or values as you. However, it also shows you how incredibly insane some people are with their views. The main lesson from this book would be that you have to accept that some people have such radical views and beliefs even if they may not accept you for who you are. American Youth would be a good book for teenagers to read because it gives them a dose of reality and how the real world is. Our world is not a fantasy land and people will not always be nice, but that doesn’t mean you need to cause any harm.

American Youth isn't so much a book about guns as it is one about cultural conflict and change.

(Read the full review at Fourth-Rate Reader.) ( )

This adult novel easily could have been published as a young adult novel. It's gripping and an easy read. The only thing that bugged me was that the narrator referred to the main character as "the boy" and he lived with "the mother" and "the father." I know there probably is a philosophical reason for the author to do this, but I just found it annoying. I also thought the detailed description of field dressing a deer was thrown in the book to gross city people out.
His name is Theodore. Teddy has quite the dysfunctional family, although you don't realize that at first. His mother deserves to be tortured. His father leaves them alone to get a new job 8 hours away and doesn't seem like too much of a dad. Teddy shows two brothers a gun, leaves it loaded, and walks away. Next thing you know, one boy is dead and it's the brother's fault. Teddy's mother tells him to lie about loading it. And thus begins the problems. Teddy falls in with the American Youth, a militant do-gooding Republican/almost Nazi group of kids who treat him poorly. He has a dysfunctional relationship with Colleen, his first girl, and is accused of raping her. His great uncle shoots himself. Teddy burns his own arm and contemplates suicide. He drinks. He smokes pot. He does everything to hide his problem. Finally, he talks to the dead boy's mother, admits the truth about loading the gun, and starts to handle himself. Wow. There is a scene at the end that makes me want to keep the mother locked in her bedroom for good. ( )