The Spectacular Now

Sutter Keely is not your normal YA novel teen: he's friendly, smart (-alecky), funny, articulate, adventurous, and an alcoholic. At turns, achingly self-aware and then obtuse, 'The Sutterman' stumbles through his senior year, learning a bit about his long-absent, deadbeat dad, befriending a "loser" girl, Aimee, and --most of all-- having a good time. The reader not only sees the bad choices he makes but cares enough to feel sad about them. But this is no After-School Special: Sutter is still "God's Own Drunk" at the end of the book.

The voice is authentic; the actions ring true = a more harrowing look at the dangers of drinking than any MADD pamphlet.

A really good book with a really unlikeable narrator. I know I'm supposed to love Sutter--he's the life of the party! He's popular! He's friendly!--but he's also kind of an asshole, I thought, even aside from his alcohol problem--he's just so outgoing and everything's-a-joke that he really got on my nerves.

I enjoyed the book and I wouldn't be surprised if it lands on the Printz shortlist--but Sutter is not someone I'd want to spend any more time with than I already did.

Oh my God! Where has this book been all my life?! Why am I just now reading it?!? This is hands down the most honest look at teenage "romance." There aren't knights in shining armor. People have flaws, there is no perfect relationship. There is no happy ending, this is a real look at how many guys are... not perfect! Instead of the usual girl meets perfect boy (ie knight in shining armor) this is the story of a boy who isn't perfect. He's a funny likable guy and girls love him, but he's not a good guy and he knows it. The whole time you root for bad boy Sutter to turn his life around and be the boyfriend that Aimee loves and deserves. But life isn't always that cut and dry! People have real flaws to work with! Sutter is a high school show more student who drinks from sun up to sun down, he's always the life of the party. Girls love him, guys want to be him. He's so at ease with everything and takes nothing seriously. He has no life ambitions and just lives from day to day. Then comes Aimee a shy, quiet nerd, Sutter thinks that she can be his charity case and he'll give her the skills and confidence that she so desperately needs. But of course that's not how it works does it? They start to fall in love with each other. She brings out a new side in Sutter that he's not sure he likes.

Soo funny, witty, honest, and heartbreaking. I loved this book and the movie adaptation of it. Miles Teller was THE PERFECT choice to portray Sutter. A definite must read and a must see! show less

The main character is as smooth as his trademark whiskey and 7UP. I really enjoyed reading this. It was written in a teenager's language, only more poetic and flowing. Very realistic and honest.

The only downside is that Sutter never faced consequences for any of his bad decisions. He was very likable, however, could potentially set a bad example for younger or more influence-able readers. I am a teenager, and I can testify that this main character made me want to go out and have fun like he does. He makes partying and get wasted seem like great fun with no risks. That is my only qualm about this book.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

“The Spectacular Now” by Tim Tharp is a highly entertaining and surprisingly insightful story of a teenage alcoholic. A high school senior Sutter Keely is exactly a person you want to have at your party - he is hilarious, spontaneous and charming. Although an algebra teacher is giving him a hard time, his girlfriend wants to break up and his relationships with his parents are far away from perfect, nothing can bring Sutter down because he and his best friend whiskey don’t worry about the past or the future, they live in the spectacular now. One morning after one of such spectacular nows Sutter wakes up on the lawn in an unfamiliar neighborhood. That’s where he meets Aimee, a mousy nerd whose self-confidence is show more practically nonexistent. But fear not, Sutterman with his spiked 7UP is here to change Aimee for better… or for worse.

MY THOUGHTS:

1) On the story:

“The Spectacular Now” is hilarious and fast-moving. The whole story is told from Sutter’s perspective and it feels like you are actually in his head. I was also pleasantly surprised by the depth of this book because I was kind of expecting something like “A Walk to Remember” by Nicholas Sparks (you know, one of those unlikely romances with a heartbreaking ending). The ending is indeed heartbreaking, but absolutely not what I was predicting. I didn’t really like the ending though because it is quite depressing and hopeless. However, it is actually the ending that makes this book so good, partly because it is so heartrending and partly because it is so realistic.

Relatable and multidimensional characters are another reason why the whole story is so deeply moving. I could really understand all personages and their motives. For example, I really cared about Sutter and found myself rooting for him rather than judging him. Just like in real life, in this story nothing is simply black or white, there are no absolute heroes nor villains.

2) On writing:

Tharp’s writing is incredibly engaging and flows effortlessly. None of the dialogues feel forced, none of the language, which is packed with teen slang, sounds artificial. Although the story is told from the first person’s perspective, other characters are very well developed. Finally, the message is loud and clear but the author doesn’t judge or preach; he just invites us to Sutter’s world and leaves us here to explore, think and feel on our own.

VERDICT: 4 out of 5

The story reads like a breeze, but the message is harrowing and it will haunt you long after you finish the book. It’s a great read for both teens and adults! show less

Sutter Keely is the life of the party at his high school: he never really gets into any big trouble, and he's not one to think to hard about consequences before jumping in and loving life. Yeah, maybe he carries a flask of whisky, but he's not an actual drunk. When he and his girlfriend Cassidy break up, his life takes a spin and he suddenly meets Aimee Finecky, who is so not his type.

The book dates itself with references to email and MySpace, but it captures the feeling of high school perfectly which makes it perfect and maddening at the same time. Much like its main character. Though Sutter most assuredly has his problems and is not the most reliable of narrators, I really liked him and rooted for him all the way.

Okay... so I've been putting off this review because I was unsure about my rating. My initial reaction was FIVE STARS!! FIVE STARS!! but then I got to thinking about my dislike for the ending and thought maybe I should round it down to four... and then I was like "but is my problem with the ending because it was bad - or because it didn't go the way I wanted it to?"... so I eventually kept my five stars because I am so completely in love with the amazingly complicated and wonderful character that is Sutter Keely. He is complex, multi-dimensional, so vibrant and full of life that it's hard to accept that he isn't real and about to jump off the page.

[a:Tim Tharp|321382|Tim Tharp|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1283812611p2/321382.jpg] show more has written a very funny, sad, thoughtful book that creates such an in-depth picture of a boy who is simultaneously lovable and exhausting. I am friends with the female equivalent of Sutter Keely, a person who you always want at your parties because you know they'll bring every social situation to life, a person who is kind and means well but is very hard to deal with in any more than small doses, a person who is nearly always just a little drunk. How many times have I rolled my eyes and thought "okay, give it a rest now"? I think I can appreciate the world through their eyes a little bit more after reading [b:The Spectacular Now|3798703|The Spectacular Now|Tim Tharp|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320493552s/3798703.jpg|3842894].

Sutter is the kind of multi-layered character I love to read about. On the surface he's a warm-hearted, over-the-top drunk, the kind of guy who's popular in high school but will probably never end up achieving his potential because his aspirations don't extend further than locating his next alcohol fix. Underneath all this he is troubled and sad and lonely, people often think that a drinker's problem is the alcohol, but nine times out of ten it runs far deeper than this. His dad is nowhere to be seen, his mum and stepdad seem to have forgotten he exists except for when they pause to threaten him with military school, his best friend no longer wants to hang around with him, he's just been dumped... and then along comes Aimee. The one person in the world who has ever seemed to need him, truly need him, to get her life back in order, to gain confidence and to sort out her future. Can Sutter finally make a difference beyond the small realm of his booze-fuelled spectacular now?

I'm still not sure how I feel about that ending. Do I like the fact that this book doesn't carry the message that we were all hoping for and expecting? Not really. But is this a representation of real life in all its fucked up, messy, sad, sometimes funny glory? Probably... yeah, probably. I guess in real life not everyone gets saved and perhaps that was what [a:Tim Tharp|321382|Tim Tharp|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1283812611p2/321382.jpg] was trying to say. show less