#blake nelson

Characters:

James Hoff, a junior in high school and a hater of all things America. Sure he lives in society, has friends, goes to school, and consumes, but James hates it. Refusing to get a car or think about college, James writes mediocre essays in AP English, telling Mr. Cogwiller all the things going wrong in the world, and how there is nothing they can do. Pessimistic and a realist, I think James is the kind of person you either like or hate. He is whiny, he does think he's better than his peers and is content with watching the world burn and not doing anything about it. Thus I love how Nelson gave us Sadie and tied her to James for being his ex-girlfriend, and something James cares about. Sadie is a do-gooder, she tries her best, is involved in everything, and believes that she can make a difference. Both are strong characters who are self-assured in their abilities to do something (Sadie) or do nothing (James). They are well-developed enough characters, in the sense that Nelson wrote them as true teenagers - self-absorbed, no real idea of consequences, and kind of just going through life. Sadie wanting to feel her “freedom”, and James feeling like “no one understands him”, and more classic teenage ideologically that after a time does get boring. 

Plot and Writing:

The plot in this novel is not consistent, as there is really nothing going on, no big event, not one conversation that gives this novel its climax. Nelson truly just gave readers a glimpse into James’s life, and what he is going through in middle America. Divided into six parts, what I absolutely love is how fast-paced Nelson kept the novel with barely a page per chapter. Starting from January with the first essay on destroying all cars, Nelson takes readers into early June with James, with each day almost being like a diary entry from James as he just seems to talk to the readers about life, thoughts, and his conflicted feelings towards Sadie. Not that I would call this novel a romance, but that is a part of the plot, same with how James is an environmentalist, and this novel, I think, is just a realistic take on society in a pessimistic way.   

Conclusion: