Drew Perry

Kid These Days by Drew Perry is a book I received through LibraryThing Early Reviewers. The part of the storyline about a couple of "wishy-washy" 30 year olds who can't decide whether they really want the baby they are about to have got really boring to me. Perhaps it wouldn't be to someone younger. The best storyline in Kids These Days was actually the subplot about the brother in law, who was a scheming, wacky Florida character. If Drew Perry wasn't a really good writer, I would not have show more been able to finish this book! show less

Kids These Days is a subtly humorous story of lives unraveling. The financial crisis leaves the protagonist, Walter, out of a job right around the time his wife becomes pregnant. With no income and a child on the way, they take one of the few options open to them by moving to Florida to occupy the house of a recently deceased relative. There, Walter works under the employ of his brother-in-law, Mid, whose life also seems to be unraveling.

What I enjoyed most about the book is it's ability to show more remain funny and lighthearted while perfectly conveying the mind of a person who has realized they are not as in control of their life as they once believed. The dialogue is quick and witty, the emotions painfully relatable, and the plot increasingly unpredictable. My only real gripe is that the ending comes too soon, but that just speaks to how much I enjoyed the time I spent in Walter's head.

I received a free copy for LibraryThing for the purpose of review. show less

The author, Drew Perry, takes the reader on a wild ride through the wackiness of a part of Florida it is sometimes difficult to imagine really exists. Nic, the narrator, is trying to get his head around becoming a first time father, running scared much of the time, but also wanting to act like this is something he can handle especially in front of his pregnant wife Alice. It is hard for him to believe that he can handle fatherhood or even handle his own life after he takes a job offered by show more Mid, Alice's brother-in-law. As Nic tries to learn the nature of this job, what he discovers is just how out of his depth he is when Mid's business dealings prove to be shady enough to get him entangled with the police and various unsavory characters. At the same time Mid's business dealings are falling apart Mid's family seems to be on a melt down course and Nic is further afraid of the choices he will be required to make when his own kid is caught up in some of the same kinds of situations.

The author is skillful in portraying both Nic's ambivalence towards becoming a father, and Alice's fears when the pregnancy does not go smoothly, and her frustration with Nic's hesitation. Mid's life is another matter. At times the reader can imagine his business and family dealings being real and at other times Mid's escapades are just a little too bizarre. It was a fun read for the most part albeit with a substantial suspension of belief. show less

Your enjoyment of a book often depends on how much you like the protagonist. In this case, I very much enjoyed Jack, the owner of a mulch store, whose wife has left him and moved in with his -- now former -- best friend. Jack is left alone to contend with their seven-year-old autistic son, Hendrick. Jack's struggles to be a good father, and his efforts to win his wife back -- while trying to figure out why she left -- make for very compelling reading. The Publishers Weekly review listed here show more says it's never fully clear why Jack's wife, Beth, left him. That shocked me. The books makes abundantly clear why the wife walked out -- she's frustrated with Jack because he starts things, like tearing up their kitchen and buying an identical house across the street, without finishing these projects or understanding why he's taken them on. She's also burnt out from the challenges of raising their son. There are wonderful secondary characters here -- the crew who work at the mulch store, including Jack's right hand man, who gets things done but whose macho, jingoistic worldview doesn't allow for much senstitivity towards women and minorities, and the Mexican man who's managing to teach Hendrick Spanish. Best of all is the best friend's ex-girlfriend, Rena, who hooks up with Jack and gives him a small and brief taste of being with an iconoclastic woman who doesn't become enraged by his crazy schemes. You'll feel a lot of compassion for Jack, while admiring the way he nobly stumbles through the challenges life is throwing at him. show less