The Alex Crow

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 show more 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. show less

THE ALEX CROW by Andrew Smith is a bizarre young adult novel that skillfully weaves together multiple storylines into a strangely powerful statement about society, extinction, and life.

What do a brutal war, a summer boys’ camp, a nineteenth century arctic expedition, and a schizophrenic bomber have in common? It sounds like a bad joke, but it’s actually the outlandish collection of situations that make Andrew Smith such as popular YA author. Like Grasshopper Jungle, the witty situations in THE ALEX CROW feel real but are actually set in an alternative version of our world where a depressed ex-extinct bionic crow seems possible.

Designed for science fiction readers 14 and up, Smith’s conversational writing style along with his show more unique balance of serious and goofy situations make this fact-paced book fly by. The reoccurring themes of extinction, life, and the “stories we carry” provide a new level of depth for Smith.

Fans of Andrew Smith will be pleased with his latest weird work and new readers will want to go back and read his earlier YA novels. While his books are perfect for reluctant readers, librarians should keep in mind that Smith’s works aren’t for everyone. They’re filled with masturbation jokes, disturbing teen violence, and gruesome, dystopian subplots.

Look for THE ALEX CROW on the best-seller lists for 2015.

To learn more about the author and his works, go to http://www.authorandrewsmith.com/.

Published by Dutton Book on March 10, 2015. show less

Andrew Smith knows how to write a weird novel. The Alex Crow tells the story of Ariel, a war refugee who's been adopted by a West Virginian family, a doomed 19th century expedition to the Arctic, and a crazy man driving around the country in a radioactive Uhaul. See? Weird. Putting aside the weirdness for a moment, I'd like to examine what worked in the novel, and what didn't. I think Ariel's characterization was solid. His narrative was engaging and he was a sympathetic character. The crazy man's story was disturbing, but certainly engaging. The themes of violence, self-destruction, and hubris were presented well. Here's what didn't work, the Arctic expedition story was completely unnecessary. It did little to serve the plot. The few show more pieces of exposition it provided could easily have been supplied in other ways. The tonal shift of these chapters was very distracting, and messed with the flow of the novel. To be honest, I'm not sure the crazy man's narrative was necessary either as its resolution was decidedly underwhelming. show less

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 show more 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. show less

Wow- even though I personally did not like this book, I was compelled to keep reading until the end. Definitely a well-written book. Unusual and very, very out there!

A disturbing read! Undoubtedly well written, but so disturbing, and sometimes confusing with the several different strands running through the book.

Ariel is the only person to survive an attack on his village. He is taken in by a friendly American soldier, and ends up living with a very strange family in America.

All is not as it seems, and some events seem too far fetched and a bit too sci-fi for comfort.

An interesting read, but not for the faint hearted

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.