Kim D. (Craftykimmy) -
Helpful Score: 1
I just finished reading this book and I don't know why it isn't more popular. It was as good as "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher which is waaay more well-known and has over 200 wishers atm. I highly recommend this book! I don't know much about graphic novels or comics and I still loved this book, so don't let that scare you off. It's one of those YA novels that bring you back to the gritty reality of high school and how hard it is, and yet how things can change in an instant as well. The sequel sounds great too: "Goth Girl Rising."
Karissa E. (ophelia99) reviewed The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl on + 2527 more book reviews
I have been wanting to read this book for a while. When I got "Goth Girl Rising" through the Amazon Vine program; I decided that that was the perfect excuse to go ahead and buy this book. It was a very good book. I enjoyed it and had trouble putting it down.
Fanboy is having a rough year. His mom is pregnant with his step-dad's kid, his step-dad doesn't understand him, he only has one friend, and everyone at school picks on him. There is one thing that he lives for and that is a graphic novel he is working on called Schemata. He meets Goth Girl, aka Kyra, and in her finds a kindred comic book spirit. Kyra has troubles of her own though.
This was a great book. I loved the comic book references. Mainly this book is about finding your place in life and becoming who you want to be, never-mind what the rest of the world thinks about that. This book accurately catches the feelings and troubles of high school; with real characters that you are rooting for and really like. Fanboy challenges the American perception that being smart is uncool and being a hard headed jock is awesome. He also deals with how smart jocks moderate their behavior to fit in with both types of high school crowds.
I liked Fanboy and thought he was a believable and interesting character. As Fanboy tries to get his graphic novel noticed you are holding your breath and waiting for what will happen next. Goth girl came off as a bit annoying and brash; but I think that was the point. The plot was well done; my only complaint would be the open ending. I guess the ending was a bit too "real life" for me; that is we don't really know what happens with anything. I am hoping some of that is resolved in "Goth Girl Rising".
A great book all around. This should appeal to a large audience; especially young adults or people who want to re-visit high school trauma. Comic book geeks or smart people in general will find a lot to relate with in Fanboy.
Fanboy is having a rough year. His mom is pregnant with his step-dad's kid, his step-dad doesn't understand him, he only has one friend, and everyone at school picks on him. There is one thing that he lives for and that is a graphic novel he is working on called Schemata. He meets Goth Girl, aka Kyra, and in her finds a kindred comic book spirit. Kyra has troubles of her own though.
This was a great book. I loved the comic book references. Mainly this book is about finding your place in life and becoming who you want to be, never-mind what the rest of the world thinks about that. This book accurately catches the feelings and troubles of high school; with real characters that you are rooting for and really like. Fanboy challenges the American perception that being smart is uncool and being a hard headed jock is awesome. He also deals with how smart jocks moderate their behavior to fit in with both types of high school crowds.
I liked Fanboy and thought he was a believable and interesting character. As Fanboy tries to get his graphic novel noticed you are holding your breath and waiting for what will happen next. Goth girl came off as a bit annoying and brash; but I think that was the point. The plot was well done; my only complaint would be the open ending. I guess the ending was a bit too "real life" for me; that is we don't really know what happens with anything. I am hoping some of that is resolved in "Goth Girl Rising".
A great book all around. This should appeal to a large audience; especially young adults or people who want to re-visit high school trauma. Comic book geeks or smart people in general will find a lot to relate with in Fanboy.
Chris R. (Cantnever) reviewed The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl on + 161 more book reviews
This was a fascinating book for me. Not my usual choice, but riveting. I was interested in it because of the author who I had read about in our local paper. The topic being bullying. Fresh (to me) and I couldn't put it down. Recommend. Obviously not all readers will love this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed the characters. Not for young children, although children of todays public schools may find this old news and hardly shocking.
Jennifer M. (Kaydence) reviewed The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl on + 380 more book reviews
I had put off reading this book for awhile for no particular reason. I'm upset that I did that. I guess I was going through a phase where I didn't want to think about how big of a geek that I am. Anyways, Lyga spins a tale combining the lives of two teenagers. Fanboy is a stereotypical comic book nerd. He has been working on a comic forever and is planning on handing it off to his hero at a comic book convention. Before the convention, he ends up becoming friends with Goth Girl. He is intrigued with her and probably has a bit of a crush. She ends up finding out about his work and finds it very well done. At the convention, the two clash with fanboy's hero and craziness ensues.
The relationship between the two characters is nice. They never seem to be overly comfortable with one another, but it is portrayed as a real high school type relationship. In high school, we all found that our friendships and relationship were so deep, but they really weren't. This is a pretty true testament to that, which is a relief compared to other YA books that place so much emphasis on a new relationship that will be happily ever after or a best friend that you have had all of your life. The plot was believable and you are rooting for the comic to take off and Fanboy to get famous. However, this is realistic and you can only imagine what happens.
Overall, I would recommend this to older middle school and high school students, especially those that are interested in comics. There are a lot of comic references that I got a kick out of because I was so familiar with them. Perhaps Neil Gaiman should get a cut of the profits because his name appears in the novel so often. What can we ladies say, he's a favorite!
The relationship between the two characters is nice. They never seem to be overly comfortable with one another, but it is portrayed as a real high school type relationship. In high school, we all found that our friendships and relationship were so deep, but they really weren't. This is a pretty true testament to that, which is a relief compared to other YA books that place so much emphasis on a new relationship that will be happily ever after or a best friend that you have had all of your life. The plot was believable and you are rooting for the comic to take off and Fanboy to get famous. However, this is realistic and you can only imagine what happens.
Overall, I would recommend this to older middle school and high school students, especially those that are interested in comics. There are a lot of comic references that I got a kick out of because I was so familiar with them. Perhaps Neil Gaiman should get a cut of the profits because his name appears in the novel so often. What can we ladies say, he's a favorite!
Stephen K. (havan) reviewed The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl on + 138 more book reviews
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl is primarily a look inside the life and thoughts of a 15 year-old testosterone fueled, lust addled, teen geek with no friends and less self confidence. Like any hormonally overloaded guy of that age he's girl crazed and amazed. He's used to being smart and having things he wants to know come easy to him. But when it comes to girls, he's got no clue.
The tumultuous inner monologue of a nerdy pubescent teen as he thinks about girls, and things sexual, and the comic he's writing and the goth girl that throws his world further out of kilter is funny and nostalgic to those of us with enough emotional distance from it to have gained perspective. Hearing this material for the first time as an audio book made those crazed ramblings even better.
Some teen male readers will identify, others will just NOT understand the appeal of a book like this. However if you're up for a roller coaster ride of emo emotions inside the head of a not at all self confident high-schooler in what might be his first boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, you'll probably enjoy this book a lot. Not sure how it would play in print though, be sure and try the audio-book.
The tumultuous inner monologue of a nerdy pubescent teen as he thinks about girls, and things sexual, and the comic he's writing and the goth girl that throws his world further out of kilter is funny and nostalgic to those of us with enough emotional distance from it to have gained perspective. Hearing this material for the first time as an audio book made those crazed ramblings even better.
Some teen male readers will identify, others will just NOT understand the appeal of a book like this. However if you're up for a roller coaster ride of emo emotions inside the head of a not at all self confident high-schooler in what might be his first boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, you'll probably enjoy this book a lot. Not sure how it would play in print though, be sure and try the audio-book.
Jennifer W. (GeniusJen) reviewed The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl on + 5322 more book reviews
Reviewed by Karin Perry for TeensReadToo.com
Barry Lyga explodes into the teen literature world with his unique debut novel. THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OF FANBOY AND GOTH GIRL is a novel about one young man's journey through confidence development.
Fanboy, a sophomore in high school, floats through life hoping to remain invisible since he has, more than once, fallen victim to bullies. His life is a lonely life. His parents have been divorced for six years, his mother is remarried and pregnant, visits with his father are becoming less frequent due to his father's increased social life, and he doesn't relate to his stepfather at all.
Fanboy has been compiling a list for quite some time. The list includes people that have "pissed" him off for no particular reason. Once you are on the list, you never get off. This includes the jock jerks and girls from the cliques that seem to dismiss him as if he has no business even attending school with them.
One bright spot in Fanboy's day is visiting with his friend Cal. Cal is a jock jerk, but also has a passion for comic books, and the two often debate, in depth, about different issues in the comic book universe. The problem with being friends with Cal is, since he is a jock jerk, he doesn't act like much of a friend at school. Fanboy knows to back off when Cal's teammates approach them at school. Most of their conversations take place on the weekends or at night through instant messages.
Fanboy's life begins to change when he receives an instant message from an unknown person. Fearing it is another trick to humiliate him, he doesn't respond. After several messages and an email, he learns that it is a girl from his gym class. Kyra has been witnessing his torment the entire year. She has taken pictures of a bully hitting him in the arm while the teachers do nothing. After this initial contact through instant messaging, they agree to meet and Fanboy's life will never be the same.
The biggest secret in Fanboy's life, which he hasn't even shared with Cal, is the graphic novel he is creating. Schemata takes up all of his free time and he can't stop himself from sharing it with Kyra. She becomes a huge supporter and inspiration for the graphic novel. Fanboy is planning to attend a comic book convention where Michael Bendis himself is going to be signing autographs. Fanboy intends to show Bendis his work and truly believes it will be the break he needs to get Schemata published. Surprising and disastrous events at the convention lead Fanboy to worry about Kyra's well-being. While things don't work out exactly as he plans, Fanboy realizes confidence is the key to his problems. After many uncharacteristic behaviors, he manages to come to terms with some of the issues in his life and makes plans for the future. He even takes someone off "the list."
THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OF FANBOY AND GOTH GIRL will be enjoyed by readers who enjoy teenage problem novels. Comic book fans will enjoy the graphic novel references, especially the cameo appearance by Michael Bendis. While the ending left me slightly unsatisfied, it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of this novel. This will be a great addition to any collection.
Barry Lyga explodes into the teen literature world with his unique debut novel. THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OF FANBOY AND GOTH GIRL is a novel about one young man's journey through confidence development.
Fanboy, a sophomore in high school, floats through life hoping to remain invisible since he has, more than once, fallen victim to bullies. His life is a lonely life. His parents have been divorced for six years, his mother is remarried and pregnant, visits with his father are becoming less frequent due to his father's increased social life, and he doesn't relate to his stepfather at all.
Fanboy has been compiling a list for quite some time. The list includes people that have "pissed" him off for no particular reason. Once you are on the list, you never get off. This includes the jock jerks and girls from the cliques that seem to dismiss him as if he has no business even attending school with them.
One bright spot in Fanboy's day is visiting with his friend Cal. Cal is a jock jerk, but also has a passion for comic books, and the two often debate, in depth, about different issues in the comic book universe. The problem with being friends with Cal is, since he is a jock jerk, he doesn't act like much of a friend at school. Fanboy knows to back off when Cal's teammates approach them at school. Most of their conversations take place on the weekends or at night through instant messages.
Fanboy's life begins to change when he receives an instant message from an unknown person. Fearing it is another trick to humiliate him, he doesn't respond. After several messages and an email, he learns that it is a girl from his gym class. Kyra has been witnessing his torment the entire year. She has taken pictures of a bully hitting him in the arm while the teachers do nothing. After this initial contact through instant messaging, they agree to meet and Fanboy's life will never be the same.
The biggest secret in Fanboy's life, which he hasn't even shared with Cal, is the graphic novel he is creating. Schemata takes up all of his free time and he can't stop himself from sharing it with Kyra. She becomes a huge supporter and inspiration for the graphic novel. Fanboy is planning to attend a comic book convention where Michael Bendis himself is going to be signing autographs. Fanboy intends to show Bendis his work and truly believes it will be the break he needs to get Schemata published. Surprising and disastrous events at the convention lead Fanboy to worry about Kyra's well-being. While things don't work out exactly as he plans, Fanboy realizes confidence is the key to his problems. After many uncharacteristic behaviors, he manages to come to terms with some of the issues in his life and makes plans for the future. He even takes someone off "the list."
THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OF FANBOY AND GOTH GIRL will be enjoyed by readers who enjoy teenage problem novels. Comic book fans will enjoy the graphic novel references, especially the cameo appearance by Michael Bendis. While the ending left me slightly unsatisfied, it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of this novel. This will be a great addition to any collection.
