Sprout

Okay, I think this is book 21 on the list- Sprout by David Peck. The front cover shows a kid with green hair, so that's where the name comes from.

So. This is YA, which you can kind of-sort of tell. It's about a kid in high school who, like everybody, is figuring himself out amidst a ton of baggage. The author's voice is incredibly unique, which was entertaining. He writes exactly like a teenager.

Now, maybe because I read this during naptime at work, or maybe because I'm reading too many books, or maybe because I'm just lame... I thought it was a memoir at first, and I thought it was annoying. Peck wrote so much like a sixteen year old, that it wasn't until I figured out the name difference (duh) that I realized that he had just transformed himself into this character, and had done a remarkable job at it. Here are two examples:

"Since an essay to him was what a hike up Mt. Everest would be to a blindfolded paraplegic with acrophobia and asthma, he wanted revenge (p 35)."

"I'd've though I'd've flinched (there's a lot of apostrophes in that sentence , by the way; sorry)(p203-204)..."

See? Writes like a high school student. It was really engaging, and mostly funny, if not a little offputting at times. Also, the kid, Sprout, is preparing for a high school essay writing contest, which is my favorite kind of contest, so that part of the plot was so fun! I didn't love all of the plotlines, but hey, it's his life, not mine.

So here's the bad news: I don't recommend it. Honestly, without giving too much away, I didn't feel like the plot was resolved. I know I tend to want an ending, even though a cliffhanger ending sometimes is more poetic... but still. I felt like several things were up in the air at the end, and I wanted to feel like even ONE of them had some finality. No dice.

Overall? Even though the author's voice was engaging and interesting, I really didn't like the book enough to recommend it. So sorry, Mr. Peck. Your thoughts? Have you read it? What do you think about cliffhanger endings?