Destroy All Cars

I swore I would never start a book review by saying, "Such and such, the main character in such and such's young adult novel, is a latter-day Holden Caulfield." But, you know, if the shoe fits. So...

James Hoff, the main character in Blake Nelson's young adult novel, is a latter-day Holden Caulfield. (Well, I didn't actually start off the review that way; this is already the second paragraph.) He hates cars because they pollute, hates materialistic modern life because it's destroying the planet, and hates most people for not caring enough about either. James is a major pain in the ass, and doesn't really do much to actually advance his cause, except bitch (which doesn't, incidentally, make him any less right about what he's saying). He's show more also still hung up on his old girlfriend, Sophie, who actually goes out and works for change instead of just bitching about it.

Destroy All Cars is so hilarious at times that it's another one I was embarrassed to read on the subway because I kept laughing out loud (a lady was actually staring at me for a while, trying to figure out whether I was laughing at the book or was just crazy, I guess). For example, when James goes with his friend to the New Technologies Convention:

"The worst was a Chevy Avalanche they had right in the middle of the convention center. For those who don't know what a Chevy Avalanche is, it is a Deluxe Luxury Pickup Truck built in the shape of a penis. I think one could safely say it is one of the stupidest vehicles ever invented."

Riding to the mall in his best friend's mother's SUV:

"We took the Ford Expedition, all of us spaced far apart and strapped in so we could withstand impacts from other Sports Utility Vehicles. If anything smaller than an SUV crashed into us, well, that's too bad for them. Those people should buy bigger cars if they want to survive collisions. God knows we needed a big car -- we're buying bath towels."

Fun book, with good characterizations, and highly recommended. show less

High school junior James Hoff hates Consumer America. He is against gas-guzzling, exhaust-emitting cars; malls; colleges; and pointless food-drive-running, fundraising do-gooders like his ex-girlfriend Sadie Kinnell, whom he still unfortunately has feelings for.

James exercises his feelings through his writing, but what happens when that’s not enough? When his life crosses paths with Sadie’s once more, and this time in a fight to save a local pond from development, James can no longer hang on to his pessimistic attitude if he intends of growing up and giving himself a purpose in life.

Told in English essays, screenplay dialogue exchanges, and diary-like entries, DESTROY ALL CARS is a unique approach to the development of a young and show more interesting pessimist. This book’s strengths lie in its writing and its protagonist. The variety of writing formats perfectly yet uniquely captures the confused, angsty, and passionate mind of a teenage boy and makes for great reading.

To avoid falling into the pit of believing that the supporting characters are underdeveloped in this novel, it’s important to keep in mind that DESTROY ALL CARS closely follows the thoughts and beliefs of its protagonist, James. We see the world as James see it—see it in all of its screwed-up, apathetic, apocalyptic anti-glory. James cannot fully understand the motivations and actions of the people in his life, and thus, neither can we. And that is perfectly okay.

James is far from being the most attractive or likable protagonist ever. He doesn’t hesitate to criticize others’ charitable acts as useless, yet fails to do anything productive himself. It is his hypocrisy, however, that makes him appeal to me: the world is full of well-intentioned hypocrites, not perfect knights in shining armor. James’ flaws make him a realistic, believable, and, ultimately, enjoyable protagonist.

DESTROY ALL CARS is not for the light-hearted; it challenges you to think about universal environmental issues and the sense of uncertainty and inadequacy one experiences in adolescence. Nevertheless, it is a great read, a far cry from other, often vapid or painfully awkward novels that try to give you glimpse into a teenage boy’s mind. show less

Ok, this book totally rocked my world. I kept cracking up over and over again. I loved being inside of 11th grader James Hoff's world, listening to his rants and watching him pine over several girls. His observations about the world were just too good. This was definitely my kind of book. I felt like I was sort of laughing at how extreme he was but at the same time kind of got him. While he was obviously a lot of talk and not a lot of action I loved where he was coming from and would love to have a friend like that.

While I loved James rants and sort of easier said than done thoughts about the world I could see how he might get on other people's nerves. I really liked the way the book was written, how it was a mix of James rants, journal show more entries, and conversations with other people. There is an especially insightful essay about nature towards the end of the book which I really liked. I also liked the different relationships he explores with a few girls throughout the book. It was definitely harder for him to be Mr. Tough Guy when he was around Sadie his ex-girlfriend.

It was nice to see how James kind of mellowed out and found a place where he belonged towards the end of the book instead of trying to stand out from everyone as much as he could towards the beginning of the book. I'll definitely be checking out some of author Blake Nelson's other work! show less

Brilliant first half. I haven't read anything as funny or as truly 17-year-old boy in a long time, if ever. The protagonist's voice is 100% pure. The reproductions of James' essays are priceless. That being said, it didn't go anywhere- I didn't feel like he learned much over the course of the book, and the ending petered out into serious randomness. Recommended provided you can overlook that sort of thing- it really is hilarious and worth a look.

James Hoff is not your average teen. The high school junior doesn't want a car, isn't sure he wants to go to college and loathes American Consumerism. In fact, he hates it so much that his life and AP English essays are dedicated to railing on the topic. He is a typical teenager in his desire for a relationship with a girl, but the problem is that he can't seem to get his old girlfriend Sadie off of his mind, making it hard to pursue another girl. There are sexual comments and a scene in which the main character loses his virginity so the book needs to be read by mature students. The format is unique as much of the story is told via essays for his AP English class. The author, Blake Nelson, has captured the voice of a sarcastic teen in show more a way I've never seen before. show less

There's a lot about this book I really, really like, and a lot of stuff that bugs me.

James Hoff is a self-righteous, pessimistic seventeen year old who believes Americans consume too much. Cars, in particular, make him angry, but the entirety of consumer culture sends him ranting. Being a hormonal seventeen year old boy, vain outsider or not, he's still interested in girls. In particular there's his obsession with Sadie, his ex-girlfriend of the previous year, a do-gooder who is politically active where James is all talk. James' bile-filled tirades against Sadie ring false because they are, and when he's finally finished floundering around manages to rekindle their affair briefly before they both decide to move on with their new "adult" show more lives.

Throughout the book, James includes journal entries and essays for his English teacher that cover his views on the world as well as his personal life. When he isn't ranting about the destruction of the planet, he's talking about nature, about what it means to be a teen, about friends and family, about the superiority of Oslo, all from the same ill-informed place that most of his adolescent brooding comes from. A classic smart-mouthed dumb ass.

Stories like this told in first person – where the reader has to read a little between the lines to get what the main character is really saying – require a deft use of character voice. The tone and pitch have to be perfect, otherwise the spell is broken and the reader becomes frustrated or disillusioned or just plain bored. I don't really like this character of James up front, then just as I start to see what his game is and like him a little I begin to feel a little bored with him. It takes a little too long for the love stories to fall into place, and James' essays tend to belabor their point beyond their intended humor. It feels like if it could just be tightened up a wee bit it would be perfect. Maybe about forty pages too long. And a few more teeth in its bite.

Another thing that sort of ruins it for me is the environmental angle being played for humor without any conviction. The kids in the story who are attempting to make a difference or finding effective ways to protest "larger issues" are derided by James and shown to be less deserving success than our disingenuous cynical narrator. Teens probably know the types, and laugh, but what are they laughing at exactly? The shallow big mouth loner kid gets the girl (a few, actually), and he eventually has a last-chapter awakening that lends his previous posturing credence, which seems to suggest that the kids doing things in earnest somehow don't deserve the same thing.

Almost a little like a conservative writing a farce about liberals that liberals laugh at without realizing they're being skewered. Only it's teens and their causes and their sex lives being lampooned, and they're probably laughing at themselves without realizing it.

For those who care, there's sex involved. Talked about, engaged in, and I don't really have a problem with it... except here I do. I know James and his friends are seventeen, and that real seventeen year olds are engaged in sex, but the characters involved here all feel too young. And by young I mean immature. It's the opposite of the problem TV shows and movies have where they use 25 year olds to play teens; here these characters read, talk and behave like they're years younger then they are. The dialog is genuine, it reads authentically, but it reads like smart seventh graders and not average eleventh graders.

Destroy All Cars is a teen romance aimed at boys that deftly uses a pro-environment message as a delivery device. The heart on the cover should be the giveaway, but for boys that don't catch that they might find themselves enjoying the little slice of romantic confusion that Nelson has put together. show less

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

A junior in high school without the burning desire to possess and drive his own car? Yep, that's James Hoff.

He believes cars are part of what is wrong in this world focused on consumerism and material wealth. He'll walk to the mall and bike to school, and he doesn't understand how everyone else can't see how they are contributing to the destruction of the planet.

James is a bit of an outcast. He shuns consumer goods as much as possible, choosing to wear old clothes, worn-out tennis shoes, even going so far as to cut the elbows out of his sweater to make it look even older and more worn. True, this earns him the odd comment or casual sneer from his classmates, but James does show more have friends who appreciate his different opinions, and he even had Sadie as his girlfriend for a while.

Sadie has her own set of "causes," like saving the whales and running the canned food drives for the hungry. Unfortunately, she left James for Will, but rumor has it that she's broken up with Will recently, making James reconsider his feelings for her. She seems interested in renewing their friendship, but James is sort of hoping for more.

Problems on the girlfriend front are just the tip of the iceberg for James. Parental pressure has been increasing recently, as well. He's never really cared much for his father, and when the man left a few years back it seemed that maybe he and his mother would be better off without him. Unfortunately, he returned.

Now that James is a junior, his father is asking the college questions. Where do you want to go? What do you want to do? James has been thinking maybe college isn't for him, at least not right now. His father definitely has other plans.

In an effort to convince James college is the path to choose, his father offers to buy him a car as soon as he applies to a college. How can his father know so little about his oldest son? Why would someone who believes in the destruction of all cars actually want one?

Blake Nelson works his literary magic as he creates the perfect picture of teenage turmoil. Using dialogue, journal entries, and Junior AP essay assignments, he reveals the world of James Hoff. Clever, witty, sarcastic, moody, love-struck, and confused are just a few of the adjectives that will come to mind as readers enter his world.

DESTROY ALL CARS offers an unforgettable roller-coaster ride through one teen's junior year. show less