Vernon Gregory Little is a 15-year old living in the "barbecue sauce capital of Texas", accused of being an accessory to the murders committed by Jesus Navarro. As Jesus is dead, killing himself after fatally shooting 16 others in his school, VGL becomes the scapegoat. The rest of the novel is about the media circus surrounding the story, VGL's near-escapes, and his adolescent angst, told by VGL himself in either comical tone or dark cynicism but either way, it seemed forced.

The story attempts at satire, but midway, it falls apart. It becomes very artificial. Every possible misfortune befalls our young hero. Sadly, he is unable to speak for himself and nobody takes up the cudgel for him. Moreoever, a bigger group of morons could not have populated an entire town the way they did in that place. To top it all, there is a death row TV reality show thrown in. Just how bad can a Booker winner get? ( )

Depending on how you look at it this book could be either funny, sad, or scary...or all three at the same time. I think this book comes so highly praised because it has so many layers. ( )

Vernon Little is 15 when his friend Jesus opens fire on a group of classmates, killing 16 including himself. As one of the few survivors, Vernon becomes the town's scapegoat and is almost immediately charged as an accessory to the crime. This book, told from Vernon's point of view, describes the nightmare of his life in the months following the shooting. Surprisingly, it does so with considerable humor and irony. Vernon lives with his mother; his father disappeared some time before. They have very little money and his mother clearly has emotional issues. Vernon steadfastly maintains his innocence relative to the shootings, but the townspeople are looking for a way to release their anger and grief. Unfortunately Vernon has no idea how to work the legal system, and his mother is pretty useless as well. He befriends a news reporter who appears to be on his side, but turns out to be a conniving jerk, using Vernon's story to his own advantage and fanning the flames of anger in the town. Vernon does several stupid things that increase the authorities' suspicions, and these desperate acts only serve to get him further tangled up in the case.

Vernon God Little is completely different from another in the "school shooting genre," We Need to Talk about Kevin, which was published about the same time. The latter is intense and emotional. Vernon God Little is filled with the wry wit and sexual obsessions of a 15-year-old boy. It's almost funny in parts. About two-thirds of the way through the book the storyline became a bit unbelievable, but the last 30 pages or so resolve things in a fairly satisfying way. Not a bad read. ( )

Gripping novel combining satire (on media, justice system, family) with a well thought out coming of age story. ( )

The back cover of the copy I read was blurb after blurb about how funny this book is (all from UK publications). I hadn't picked up the book looking for a comedy, I picked it up because the Booker list leads me to great reads. But there was a giant disconnect between the blurbs and the book. I just didn't find the subject very funny. I was moved and frustrated by Vernon, but left cold by the leaps of logic that are usually acceptable in a comedy. Call me humourless. ( )