Mini Review: Stupid Fast

Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pub. Date: June 1st, 2011
Pages: 320
Age Level: 14+
Source: For review from publisher.

Synopsis via Goodreads
Fifteen-year-old Felton Reinstein has always been on the smallish side, but in his sophomore year he starts growing...and growing.

During gym one day he smokes the football jocks in a 600-yard race. Felton has never been interested in sports, but there's no doubt-he is "stupid fast." As he juggles his newfound athletic prowess, his mom's sudden depression, an annoying little brother, and his first love, he discovers a shocking secret about his past which explains why he's turning out the way he is.

Review
Every now and again I come across a book that I have a great feeling about automatically, a book that I just truly believe is going to be one I'm going to adore. Maybe even love. And on rare occasion, I find myself let down by said book. This, for me, is what happened with Stupid Fast.

When I started Stupid Fast the first thing that came to my immediate notice was the writing style. For me it was odd and different but not exactly in a good way. At times it went from being funny to just silly, the ideas felt disjointed, and occasionally it felt the author was just trying too hard to have a unique writing style. After I was half way through the book, I grew to enjoy the writing more but that's the problem, it took me over half the book. I had a difficult time connecting with the characters as well, not just the writing. Felton came across as a real and raw protagonist with great humor part of the time and at other times, his character felt somewhat ridiculous and exaggerated. His relationships with his mother and brother were bizarre and hard to grasp hold of emotionally. The younger brother, Andrew, who's thirteen, always came off as either way to young or even a little too old for his age. Then Aleah, while there were things I liked about her, still didn't leave much of an impression. Looking back, all of these characters were relatively well-rounded and developed, but for whatever reason, I found it took me a while to fully immerse myself in their world and problems. The plot was more satisfying though I confess I'm a little disappointed that there wasn't more involvement between Felton and the sports aspect. That being said, Stupid Fast presented some relatable and important issues and gave us a taste of a variety of relationships from family, to friends, to romantic interests. Even when other things about the book frustrated me, Stupid Fast did have a compelling quality that kept me curious about what would happen next. Though I had my issues, once I got past the first half, the story did start picking up for me and I was able to really start liking the book at that point. The ending, though maybe a bit happy for some, felt appropriate to me and I thought it drew the book to a close quite nicely.

All in all, Stupid Fast was not what I'd hoped it would be but once I got so far in, while I didn't love it, I was able to like it fairly well. This was not a great review quality wise, I'm aware of that. It has been a month and a half since I read Stupid Fast so this is just going on what I remember thinking about it. Also please note, though critical, my opinion of Stupid Fast is highly uncommon as I have noticed the hugest majority of people really enjoyed this story. So who knows, if it sounds like something you'd like based on the synopsis, I'd say give it a shot. I still found it a worthwhile read and believe that chances are you'll like it even better than I did.

Grade
Characters: C
Writing: C
Plot: C+
Ending: B-
Enjoyment/Likability: C
Recommendable: C+

Overall: C/C+

Cover: B