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Nothing Special
Nothing Special
Nothing Special
Ebook299 pages3 hours

Nothing Special

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this ebook

A Stupid Number of Awards for Geoff Herbach's Stupid Fast

  • ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection
  • YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults
  • 2011 Cybils Award Winner, Young Adult Fiction
  • Junior library Guild Selection
  • ABA Best Books

Hey Aleah,

I miss you. Because there's some serious donkey crap going on right now. I'm supposed to be at football camp, but noooo ... Andrew had to go missing! So because of my stupid little brother, I'll probably lose my chance at a scholarship and end up being nothing special.

I'm pretty sure Andrew ran away to Florida, and now Gus and I have to drive cross-country to get him. Did you know Gus used to think

Miss Piggy was hot? Anyway, Andrew once told me I needed to get my head out of my butt. So that's what I'm trying to do. How about a kiss for luck?

Felton

"Readers looking for a genuinely memorable first-person narrator—in the vein of Sherman Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian or Pete Hautman's Godless— should really catch up to Stupid Fast."—StarTribune

LanguageEnglish
PublisherSourcebooks
Release dateMay 1, 2012
ISBN9781402265082
Nothing Special
Author

Geoff Herbach

Geoff Herbach is the author of Hooper and the award-winning Stupid Fast series, as well as Fat Boy vs. the Cheerleaders. His books have been given the Cybils Award for Best Young Adult Fiction and the Minnesota Book Award, selected for the Junior Library Guild, and listed among the year’s best by the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association, and many state library associations. In the past, he produced radio comedy shows and toured rock clubs telling weird stories. Geoff teaches creative writing at Minnesota State University, Mankato. He lives in a log cabin with a tall wife. You can find him online at www.geoffherbach.com.

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Reviews for Nothing Special

Rating: 3.79999999 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Felton Reinstein returns in this sequel to Stupid Fast. His younger brother, Andrew, has run away, and Felton takes it upon himself to find him and bring him home. In the process, he meets with family he hasn't seen since his father's suicide 12 years earlier.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a continuation of Stupid Fast. You can read this book alone, but there is information from the last book that will help you understand this one. Once again, Felton is on his way to find himself. After discovering secrets, Felton is on a new mission to save his brother. I loved that this plot line feels real. With emotions that rock the reader, Felton learns to sacrafice everything for the one he loves. I loved that with each chapter Felton is so real. He doesn't sugarcoat things but says things they way that they are. Even when he knows he is being correct himself, he is humble enough to recongnise his mistakes and own up to it. The misson on finding his brother is a good one. Felton is left with clues and figures every single one out. He lies to his mom and friends, just to save his brother. The love and bond between these two is amazing. Throughout their fights, the reader see two amazing brothers fighting for what they have left. I just adored the story all together. Many family secrets and family drama occur. Yet all the characters rise stronger then before. Nothing Special is a great comtemp that charms the reader from the first page. The cool humor along with the adreline rush of the secrets coming at the reader, urges the reader to read on. Nothing Special is great!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    elton Reinstein is the center of his own universe. He's very talented in the athletic department and it has made his ego swell to epic proportions. His brother, Andrew, has always been a big supporter of Felton. That is until Felton's in-sensitivities gets the better of him. With hurt feelings, Andrew runs away. Felton is then forced to take a hard look at him self. He implores the help of his ex-best friend to drive him across the country to help brother.This story is written in a journal type that's actually a letter to Felton's girlfriend, Aleah. It's told completely from Felton's point of view. It gives you insight into Felton's head. He's completely clueless to everything around him. He's let down his best friend, he's upset his girlfriend, and he's been a jerk to his brother. However Felton doesn't see what he's done wrong. His character can be very frustrating but you can understand a bit where he is coming from. Nothing Special also deals with the tough subject of suicide. Felton and Andrew's father committed suicide when they were both young. This book shows the devastating, long term impact suicide can have on a family.Felton goes through an intense emotional journey through Nothing Special. He has a lot to figure out and also to deal with. He has to find a way to make amends to the people he's hurt. Geoff Herbach wrote a deep story about what it is to be a teen who has suffered a great loss. The characters and the way they reacted and interacted with each other felt very real. Overall I thought this was a good story. It has a lot of depth to it. The story line flows easy and the characters are believable. I also think there's a little of Felton in each of us.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This novel is a companion to Stupid Fast, but it can be read as a standalone without any confusion. This is one of those very character driven stories; when the reader is completely emerged in the main character's head. There is definitely a plot, but the real story revolves around Felton's transformation from track star, to football star, to without a sport, and from self-involved and mean to caring. What is unique about this story is that it does not take place completely chronologically. The book is told from Felton's letters, or "journalling" as he calls it, to his girl friend (ex?) he hasn't heard from in a while during her stay in Germany. It switches between Felton's journey to find his little brother and memories and events which lead up to where he is at that time. The language is completely relaxed, the reader begins to feel like he/she knows Felton since he often referees to "you". My criticism would be that Felton often seemed mopey and like he didn't care. I get that such a state of being was needed for his transformation, and that athletes do get really depressed when no longer being able to play, but even when he was playing (something that should have made him happy) he showed a lack of emotion.Overall, it a sweet and entertaining read, but not completely unputdownable.

Book preview

Nothing Special - Geoff Herbach

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