The Gospel According to Larry

Josh and his best friend (and secret love interest) Beth are obsessed with a mysterious online prophet who calls himself Larry. Little does Beth know that Josh is the mastermind behind the website. When "Larry" explodes in popularity, Josh will find that making a difference in the world isn't as easy as he'd thought.

I really, really enjoyed this audiobook. It's expertly narrated by an actor who sounds a little bit like John Green (*swoon*). If it hadn't been a bit overproduced (didn't need those sound effects) and if Janet Tashjian was a more talented narrator for the prologue and epilogue (apologies, Janet; you're a wonderful author, but stay away from the mic), it would have been near perfect. Highly recommended for Nerdfighters show more everywhere. Just keep listening through the prologue. I swear it gets better quickly. show less

The website www.thegospelaccordingtolarry.com has set the world afire. "Larry" posts sermons commenting on anti-consumerism, commercialism, simple living, and making the world a better place. Now folks are beating the bushes trying to discover the real "Larry." Josh is the brains behind "Larry." He's a 17-year-old who wants to make a difference in the world and is awed by the reaction "Larry" is getting. But after a "Larryfest" concert and his subsequent outing by a reporter, Josh decides to drop out of sight with a psuedocide and take a step back from his ambitious desire to change the world.

I remember reading this book when I was much younger--it was, in fact, one of the first YA books I ever read. I was, however, too young to really understand much of what had happened, and although I had a vague recollection of how the book went, over the years, I found that my recollection was significantly off. The concept behind this book is a fascinatingly unique one, but the characterization is pulled off so wonderfully that Josh's situation ends up feeling entirely realistic. It's written in a way that the reader can relate to this utterly unrelatable, unintentionally personable character. While reading this, I realized what a great choice Tashjian had made when she'd chosen the point of view, whether she'd given any thought to it show more or not. It would have been a different story entirely if told by one of Larry's fans or something. I'm wondering what on earth the sequels could contain, since there are two of those if I'm not mistaken. Everything was tied up so neatly, so I'm hoping the sequels aren't too destructive to the original. I would have liked to have seen more than some vague hints about Beth and others close to Larry at the conclusion, and I hope the sequels elaborate on them. One final thing I noticed that definitely flew past my younger self's attention is the elaborate biblical parallel evident throughout the story--see if you can catch it, it's amazing how well it's interwoven in the story. Great read, I can't wait to hear more from snarky young Larry.

Rating: 4/5 show less

What would your life be if you lived like a monk, only kept the possessions you truly needed? This is the plot of The Gospel According to Larry, along with a lot more. Larry decides to start his own website about his philosophies on life and it becomes way more popular than he ever thought it would.

Reviewed by Taylor Rector for TeensReadToo.com

Josh is a bored seventeen-year-old genius. That is just a recipe for disaster!

Just for something to do, he creates a website where he posts all of his rants about our celebrity-obsessed culture, anti-communism, and any other random thing that he thinks of. Josh names his site "The Gospel According To Larry" because that is the most unreligious name he could possibly think of. He's getting two or three hits a day, until some kids from his school find the page and he's soon getting a few hundred visitors a day to his website.

Then Bono, the lead singer of U2, finds Josh's site. And he mentions the site on national television.

Josh instantly begins getting millions of hits a day and everyone show more wants to know who Larry is.

Then betagold, a fan of Larry's, begins leaving comments on Josh's site about how he should just come out and tell everyone who Larry really is.

As things begin to spin out of control, Josh goes crazy! What will he do to save himself? Will he ever reveal that he's "Larry"?

This is a really funny book, because I can totally imagine something like this actually happening! Sometimes the middle is a little slow, but overall the book is a really great read! show less

Josh (aka Larry) begins a website where he shares his opinions on the consumer and advertising driven lifestyle in America, and slowly gives clues to his real identity by posting pictures of his 75 possession. As Josh posts as Larry he has to keep his identity secret from his stepfather and best friend Beth. While Josh is a well developed character, and Beth and his stepfather have personalities the majority of the other characters are too minor and are not well developed. The plot is a bit slow at first, but picks up towards the middle of the book and races to the end. This is the first book in a series and would be great for teens who like books about going after the things that you feel passionately about.

Josh is easily board and loves a good project. But when a pet project makes it big, it is much more than he bargained for. He starts an anti-consumerism website where he posts sermons under the name of Larry. As Larry's fame grows, so do those who demand that he reveal who is writing these messages including a particularly adamant reader named betagold. Josh preaches about his beliefs while he deals with the death of his mother and pines for his crush who also happens to be his best friend.