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The Gospel According to Larry
The Gospel According to Larry
Author: Janet Tashjian
After creating a controversial and hugely popular website, teenager Josh Swensen becomes trapped inside his brilliant creation and must find a way to remain anonymous. — I am lying on my bed doing my homework in Greek and Latin roots for Advanced English. 'Ped' for foot, 'homo' for man, 'nym' for name. I sit with the dictionary in front of m...  more »

I stare at the word for a good long time. Homicide, suicide, genocide: these are words you can find in the newspaper every day. But pseudocide . . . now here was something different. My mind wanders from my homework to the blue cotton threads of my bedspread. Pseudocide. A way to start again as someone completely new, a way to burn the old self and try on a new one.

Josh Swensen isn't your average teenager - when he observes America, he sees a powerhouse of consumerism and waste. He's even tried to do something about it, with his start-up controversial website. But when Josh rises to messiah status of the internet world, he discovers that greed and superficiality are not easily escaped. Trapped inside his own creation, Josh feels his only way out is to stage his death and be free of his internet alter-ego, "Larry." But this plan comes with danger, and soon Josh finds himself cut off from the world, with no one to turn to for help. In this suspenseful young adult novel, Janet Tashjian has written a probing tour-de-force.
ISBN-13: 9780805063783
ISBN-10: 0805063781
Publication Date: 10/1/2001
Pages: 192
Reading Level: Young Adult
Rating:
  • Currently 4.6/5 Stars.
 10

4.6 stars, based on 10 ratings
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

GeniusJen avatar reviewed The Gospel According to Larry on + 5322 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Taylor Rector for TeensReadToo.com

Josh is a bored seventeen-year-old genius. That is just a recipe for disaster!

Just for something to do, he creates a website where he posts all of his rants about our celebrity-obsessed culture, anti-communism, and any other random thing that he thinks of. Josh names his site "The Gospel According To Larry" because that is the most unreligious name he could possibly think of. He's getting two or three hits a day, until some kids from his school find the page and he's soon getting a few hundred visitors a day to his website.

Then Bono, the lead singer of U2, finds Josh's site. And he mentions the site on national television.

Josh instantly begins getting millions of hits a day and everyone wants to know who Larry is.

Then betagold, a fan of Larry's, begins leaving comments on Josh's site about how he should just come out and tell everyone who Larry really is.

As things begin to spin out of control, Josh goes crazy! What will he do to save himself? Will he ever reveal that he's "Larry"?

This is a really funny book, because I can totally imagine something like this actually happening! Sometimes the middle is a little slow, but overall the book is a really great read!
tannermreed avatar reviewed The Gospel According to Larry on
Helpful Score: 1
This is one of my favorite books, a dramatization what some teens have going through their mind about the United States, how they can change it, and what could happen.

Josh Swensen will forever be one of my heroes. 175 items, website discussing his views, having a concert festival dedicated to him. I would probably do anything to trade places with this boy.

The book has so many twist, Josh's personality is so thick with wit, and so are the other protagonists. After the first few pages, I stayed inside that summer to finish it. Just couldn't put it down.

The next two installments in the Larry series are just as good. I suggest you read all of them!
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ToniG avatar reviewed The Gospel According to Larry on + 163 more book reviews
Larry is the alter ego of Josh a 17yr genious .Together they work on making the world a better place! Nice story
reviewed The Gospel According to Larry on + 12 more book reviews
Lovely story.
sarahinme avatar reviewed The Gospel According to Larry on + 58 more book reviews
After a friend of mine in high school read 'Larry', it spread like wildfire through our group of friends and acquaintances. Although I have not read it in years, the basic ideals that Larry lays out in his online philosophy are still seeds in the philosophy that I myself have. Whenever I buy an item that replaces another similar item, I ask myself to remember Larry's 175 item rule, and this usually leads me to a trip to Goodwill to drop off a carfull of stuff. Afterall, who wants to be participating in the society of gluttony and greed? Not I.

Read Larry when you are a teenager or an adult, you will not be disappointed.


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