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A California Childhood
An actor treads the line between reality and fiction every time he plays a part, and for James Franco, that exploration isn’t limited to the screen—he’s also a visual artist with several exhibitions under his belt as well as the author of the widely praised story collection Palo Alto. In A California Childhood he plays with the concept of memoir through personal snapshots, sketches, paintings, poems, and stories. “I was born in 1978 at Stanford Hospital and spent my first eighteen years in a single house at the end of a cul-de-sac in Palo Alto,” Franco writes in his introduction. Steve Jobs’s daughter and the grandson of one of the Hewlett-Packard founders may have both been in his graduating class, but just across the freeway from his home turf lay East Palo Alto, which in 1992 had the highest murder rate per capita in the country. For Franco, the terrain of his upbringing is fraught with the complication of a city divided. But within that diversity, universal aspects of adolescence rise to the surface, and those are the subjects at the heart of Franco’s work. Ultimately this is a portrait of a childhood brightened by California sunshine, but with trouble waiting in the shadows. At turns funny, dark, and emotional, the journey of this book delivers an undeniable immediacy. And at the end, the reader is left wondering just where the boundary lies between Franco’s art and his true life.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published April 9, 2013
18 people are currently reading
1051 people want to read
About the author
James Franco
49 books985 followersJames Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, film producer, author, and painter. He began acting during the late 1990s, appearing on the short-lived television series Freaks and Geeks and starring in several teen films. In 2001 he played the title role in Mark Rydell's television biographical film James Dean, which earned him a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film.
Franco achieved international fame with his portrayal of Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man trilogy. Since then, his films have included the war film The Great Raid (2005), the 2006 romantic drama Tristan & Isolde, and Justin Lin's drama Annapolis (2006). In 2008, Franco starred in the comedy stoner film Pineapple Express and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. He played a prominent role in the 2008 biographical film Milk. In 2010, he played the lead role in Howl as Allen Ginsberg, and 127 Hours, a film about Aron Ralston, an American mountaineer who cut off his own arm to free himself after he was trapped beneath a boulder. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance.
In 2010, Franco published a collection of short stories called Palo Alto. The book is named after the California city where Franco grew up and is dedicated to many of the writers he worked with at Brooklyn College. The book has received mixed reviews; Los Angeles Times called it "the work of an ambitious young man who clearly loves to read, who has a good eye for detail, but who has spent way too much time on style and virtually none on substance". The Guardian said that "The Hollywood star's foray into the literary world may be met with cynicism in some quarters, but this is a promising debut from a most unlikely source."
Franco achieved international fame with his portrayal of Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man trilogy. Since then, his films have included the war film The Great Raid (2005), the 2006 romantic drama Tristan & Isolde, and Justin Lin's drama Annapolis (2006). In 2008, Franco starred in the comedy stoner film Pineapple Express and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. He played a prominent role in the 2008 biographical film Milk. In 2010, he played the lead role in Howl as Allen Ginsberg, and 127 Hours, a film about Aron Ralston, an American mountaineer who cut off his own arm to free himself after he was trapped beneath a boulder. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance.
In 2010, Franco published a collection of short stories called Palo Alto. The book is named after the California city where Franco grew up and is dedicated to many of the writers he worked with at Brooklyn College. The book has received mixed reviews; Los Angeles Times called it "the work of an ambitious young man who clearly loves to read, who has a good eye for detail, but who has spent way too much time on style and virtually none on substance". The Guardian said that "The Hollywood star's foray into the literary world may be met with cynicism in some quarters, but this is a promising debut from a most unlikely source."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
August 16, 2014
Rating: 3.9* of five
The Publisher Says: In A California Childhood Franco plays with the concept of memoir through personal snapshots, sketches, paintings, poems, and stories. "I was born in 1978 at Stanford Hospital and spent my first eighteen years in a single house at the end of a cul-de-sac in Palo Alto,” Franco writes in his introduction. Steve Jobs’s daughter and the grandson of one of the Hewlett-Packard founders may have both been in his graduating class, but just across the freeway from his home turf lay East Palo Alto, which in 1992 had the highest murder rate per capita in the country. For Franco, the terrain of his upbringing is fraught with the complication of a city divided. But within that diversity, universal aspects of adolescence rise to the surface, and those are the subjects at the heart of Franco’s work.
Ultimately this is a portrait of a childhood brightened by California sunshine, but with trouble awaiting in the shadows. At turns funny, dark, and emotional, the journey of this book delivers an undeniable immediacy. And at the end the reader is left wondering just where the line of Franco’s art ends and where his true life begins.
My Review: I reviewed Franco's debut collection of short stories, Palo Alto, last year, and gave it some good props. I liked Franco's storytelling, and I liked the take he brought to being a kid in a place and at a time of great change.
Back we go to the same well, childhood in Palo Alto, for this more multimedia experience of being young and beautiful in Paradise. Photos, photos, gawd did this kid have photos taken of him! For this many to have made it past his own, his editor's, and the book designer's critical eyes, there must be heaps the size of minor Himalayas in boxes on his mom's garage floor. It's no surprise, I guess, since the aforementioned beauty is much in evidence.
So what does this memoir offer that a troll through the Googleverse doesn't? Gorgeous production values, for one, the Chinese have outdone themselves printing this book. The four-color images are lush to the point of humidity, and the black-and-whites are process printed, too. This wasn't a slapped-together job. Thought and care went into making these images ready for the page. The author's paintings are to one's taste or not, I'm on the lukewarm side, but they're very very well presented in design placement, separation, and printing. The choice to use endsheets printed with the author's journaling (his handwriting looks *exactly* like I'd expect it to) was wise, it sets a tone the rest of the book delivers on; the dustjacket is almost obscene it's so luxurious, let me just say Savonarola would reserve a special bonfire for it; but one of the nicest touches, and one most buyers won't ever pay attention to, is the printed, matte-coated casewrap. It's a detail from one of Franco's paintings. It's beautiful. The book qua book is sumptuous and delightful.
Part I is the photo-album-esque visual record of growing up slightly off in a world of identities that don't quite fit. Smiles and happy faces, brothers loved and mothers adored, fathers who look like movie stars, friends of a kid who is marked out in some weird way and so is more, better, extra. Notes and jottings from the middle-aged man that kid is now. (Yeah, 35 is middle age, sorry.) Flip through and sigh. Open up and study the random image you land on. What comes across? What, in this medium of optical illusion presenting the highly mediated imagery of a past you can't know, is your place in the text? Reader, viewer, voyeur, stalker.
But you have permission.
Then it gets personal in Part II. The stories that Franco writes are not stylistically adventurous, thank goodness, but they aren't wimpy-simpy Look Ma I'm A Writer bores. They're Sherwood Anderson-y pieces about people you know that you know. "Friend of the Devil" should resonate with the under-40s. I found it touching, and I remember it...but I would, I'm the old guy who remembers people on his block by the cars they drive. Makes others crazy. "Oh, the orange Rubicon guy." "She's the RAV4 in the ugly house."
They're stories, that is to say explicitly fiction. Part I, well, make up your own mind, and I suspect Franco is still making up his. Maybe about all of it. He's got depth, this man, and he's got smarts, and he's been educated.
But I still like him. I expect one day to run into him at the Strand, shopping for something in the biographies. If I can work up the nerve (beautiful men make me shaky), I'll fetch a copy of my soul-mate book (Islandia) and by it and thrust it into his basket. "Here," is probably about as eloquent as I'll manage to be. Then stump away before I make a fool of myself by blushing or having a stroke or something.
Then I can imagine Franco not throwing it away, taking it home, bumfuzzled by the weird old guy who dropped a book on him...opening it, browsing it, getting sucked in to its nineteenth-century pace and its gorgeously egalitarian Utopia...and thinking maybe old weird guys are just as young as they ever were, if they can love like this.
"I'd make the claim that this is fiction, but what isn't nowadays?" asks Franco in the Introduction.
Yes.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The Publisher Says: In A California Childhood Franco plays with the concept of memoir through personal snapshots, sketches, paintings, poems, and stories. "I was born in 1978 at Stanford Hospital and spent my first eighteen years in a single house at the end of a cul-de-sac in Palo Alto,” Franco writes in his introduction. Steve Jobs’s daughter and the grandson of one of the Hewlett-Packard founders may have both been in his graduating class, but just across the freeway from his home turf lay East Palo Alto, which in 1992 had the highest murder rate per capita in the country. For Franco, the terrain of his upbringing is fraught with the complication of a city divided. But within that diversity, universal aspects of adolescence rise to the surface, and those are the subjects at the heart of Franco’s work.
Ultimately this is a portrait of a childhood brightened by California sunshine, but with trouble awaiting in the shadows. At turns funny, dark, and emotional, the journey of this book delivers an undeniable immediacy. And at the end the reader is left wondering just where the line of Franco’s art ends and where his true life begins.
My Review: I reviewed Franco's debut collection of short stories, Palo Alto, last year, and gave it some good props. I liked Franco's storytelling, and I liked the take he brought to being a kid in a place and at a time of great change.
Back we go to the same well, childhood in Palo Alto, for this more multimedia experience of being young and beautiful in Paradise. Photos, photos, gawd did this kid have photos taken of him! For this many to have made it past his own, his editor's, and the book designer's critical eyes, there must be heaps the size of minor Himalayas in boxes on his mom's garage floor. It's no surprise, I guess, since the aforementioned beauty is much in evidence.
So what does this memoir offer that a troll through the Googleverse doesn't? Gorgeous production values, for one, the Chinese have outdone themselves printing this book. The four-color images are lush to the point of humidity, and the black-and-whites are process printed, too. This wasn't a slapped-together job. Thought and care went into making these images ready for the page. The author's paintings are to one's taste or not, I'm on the lukewarm side, but they're very very well presented in design placement, separation, and printing. The choice to use endsheets printed with the author's journaling (his handwriting looks *exactly* like I'd expect it to) was wise, it sets a tone the rest of the book delivers on; the dustjacket is almost obscene it's so luxurious, let me just say Savonarola would reserve a special bonfire for it; but one of the nicest touches, and one most buyers won't ever pay attention to, is the printed, matte-coated casewrap. It's a detail from one of Franco's paintings. It's beautiful. The book qua book is sumptuous and delightful.
Part I is the photo-album-esque visual record of growing up slightly off in a world of identities that don't quite fit. Smiles and happy faces, brothers loved and mothers adored, fathers who look like movie stars, friends of a kid who is marked out in some weird way and so is more, better, extra. Notes and jottings from the middle-aged man that kid is now. (Yeah, 35 is middle age, sorry.) Flip through and sigh. Open up and study the random image you land on. What comes across? What, in this medium of optical illusion presenting the highly mediated imagery of a past you can't know, is your place in the text? Reader, viewer, voyeur, stalker.
But you have permission.
Then it gets personal in Part II. The stories that Franco writes are not stylistically adventurous, thank goodness, but they aren't wimpy-simpy Look Ma I'm A Writer bores. They're Sherwood Anderson-y pieces about people you know that you know. "Friend of the Devil" should resonate with the under-40s. I found it touching, and I remember it...but I would, I'm the old guy who remembers people on his block by the cars they drive. Makes others crazy. "Oh, the orange Rubicon guy." "She's the RAV4 in the ugly house."
They're stories, that is to say explicitly fiction. Part I, well, make up your own mind, and I suspect Franco is still making up his. Maybe about all of it. He's got depth, this man, and he's got smarts, and he's been educated.
But I still like him. I expect one day to run into him at the Strand, shopping for something in the biographies. If I can work up the nerve (beautiful men make me shaky), I'll fetch a copy of my soul-mate book (Islandia) and by it and thrust it into his basket. "Here," is probably about as eloquent as I'll manage to be. Then stump away before I make a fool of myself by blushing or having a stroke or something.
Then I can imagine Franco not throwing it away, taking it home, bumfuzzled by the weird old guy who dropped a book on him...opening it, browsing it, getting sucked in to its nineteenth-century pace and its gorgeously egalitarian Utopia...and thinking maybe old weird guys are just as young as they ever were, if they can love like this.
"I'd make the claim that this is fiction, but what isn't nowadays?" asks Franco in the Introduction.
Yes.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
December 21, 2014
This barely even qualifies as a "book." Scraped together in under two weeks? Seems like it.
What's inside:
+ photos of tiny blond (!) Franco with his little brothers, mom and dad
+ assorted sketches and paintings from childhood
+ poems about kindergarten, first and second grade
+ poems about soccer, wrestling and football
+ photos from middle and high school (of Franco, friends and classmates)
+ shirtless (!) photos of teen hottie Franco
+ high school transcript with mediocre grades
+ college application essay (handwritten in Franco's messy -- practically illegible --writing)
+ various short stories, some of which will be redundant if you've already read Palo Alto
What's missing:
+ effort
+ effort
+ effort
+ organization
+ in-depth exploration of what it means to have a "California childhood" (the itty bitty blurb of an intro is ineffective)
* * *
Still gets two stars because of cute mom with son(s) photos, and of course, topless J. Franco.
What's inside:
+ photos of tiny blond (!) Franco with his little brothers, mom and dad
+ assorted sketches and paintings from childhood
+ poems about kindergarten, first and second grade
+ poems about soccer, wrestling and football
+ photos from middle and high school (of Franco, friends and classmates)
+ shirtless (!) photos of teen hottie Franco
+ high school transcript with mediocre grades
+ college application essay (handwritten in Franco's messy -- practically illegible --writing)
+ various short stories, some of which will be redundant if you've already read Palo Alto
What's missing:
+ effort
+ effort
+ effort
+ organization
+ in-depth exploration of what it means to have a "California childhood" (the itty bitty blurb of an intro is ineffective)
* * *
Still gets two stars because of cute mom with son(s) photos, and of course, topless J. Franco.
May 23, 2024
loved the multigenre elements: poems, collage, prints, drawings, photos, etc.
March 6, 2016
Like Palo Alto and Directing Herbert White, I don't understand why this memoir has such a low rating. I admit that I don't watch James Franco movies and am unaware of his acting life. To me Franco is a writer and I judge him based solely on his creative talent as one.
And he has it. He didn't need to go into great detail with his explanation of "A California Childhood" because it is right there in the snapshots, the poems, the short stories, and yes, even the college application.
Even though it is about Franco and California, it is strangely relatable. His attention to detail, his sly wit, his cleverness, his lyrical prose is all quite marvelous. I saw Palo Alto through Franco's eyes while being forced to re-examine my own childhood home and life. I never once felt this memoir was an appeal to "Let Us Now Praise James Franco" but it has a more universal leaning.
All in all, I recomnend highly.
And he has it. He didn't need to go into great detail with his explanation of "A California Childhood" because it is right there in the snapshots, the poems, the short stories, and yes, even the college application.
Even though it is about Franco and California, it is strangely relatable. His attention to detail, his sly wit, his cleverness, his lyrical prose is all quite marvelous. I saw Palo Alto through Franco's eyes while being forced to re-examine my own childhood home and life. I never once felt this memoir was an appeal to "Let Us Now Praise James Franco" but it has a more universal leaning.
All in all, I recomnend highly.
August 30, 2015
Painfully pretentious and self-indulgent. Ashamed to say I bought the book. I ended up giving it to some half-witted selfie obsessed girl with about just as much creative talent as Franco. I should have left a razor blade sorry note in it.
January 6, 2016
Impressive of a picture story book than anything.
October 23, 2020
Borrowed this one from my brother. I’m familiar with James Franco’s acting work and have read Palo Alto, so thought I’d give this one a go.
Part 1 is full of childhood photos of the Franco brothers, summer trips and school memories. The poems and art were very interesting to look at.
Part 2 is more of a collection of short stories - fictional but are based on Franco’s teen years. The writing is very self-indulgent and paints Franco in a bad light, which was to be expected, however a couple of the stories will be relatable to some readers.
Part 1 is full of childhood photos of the Franco brothers, summer trips and school memories. The poems and art were very interesting to look at.
Part 2 is more of a collection of short stories - fictional but are based on Franco’s teen years. The writing is very self-indulgent and paints Franco in a bad light, which was to be expected, however a couple of the stories will be relatable to some readers.
December 1, 2019
I grew up in the same area - my dad went to Paly - I like James Franco as an actor - so the book was an interesting peek into his creative brain and walk back into my youth and stomping grounds... A visual creative memoir introspective of youth spent in a place that is truly overrun with wealth...I could relate.
February 27, 2024
Well produced book that contains some awesome illustrations and fun pictures. The poems and short stories are nothing amazing, but Franco’s charm easily compensates for that. A pleasant and amusing experience.
March 1, 2025
I enjoyed the multi genre format and I think it could’ve been really cool if the writing were good. Like at all. I thought the reviews I saw before reading were unforgiving because of his reputation, but his writing is actually atrocious.
October 22, 2018
A personal look into James' childhood with lots of photographs, paintings, poems and stories. I rate it low only because of homophobic language used in the short stories. Not cool.
August 25, 2023
Wish there was more about his life
June 30, 2016
I'll be the first to admit that I like James Franco. I like some of his movies. I like that he acted in Broadway's version of Steinbeck's Mice and Men. I like that he narrated one of my favorite books -- SlaughterHouse Five. I liked the job that he did in the HULU series 11/22/63 based on Steven King's book.
With everything that I like about Franco I felt that his books couldn't be as bad as the reviews suggest. No way. Obviously his books are being unfairly discriminated against by a gang of internet trolls with a vendetta against Franco.
Nope.
This book was bad -- and that's bad meaning bad, not bad meaning good. Real bad. Surprisingly bad. In fact, the most impressive aspect about this "book" is the fact that it was actually published.
The "book" is a handful of pictures, poems, and short stories about high school that all read and look like they were created from an uninspired high schooler whose sole mission was to quickly slop together some last minute shit for a high school assignment.
The second most surprising aspect about the book is the fact that Franco actually wanted the book to bear his name like a scarlet letter for everyone to see (*insert embarrassed look on man's face after getting out of really cold water wearing Speedos*).
With everything that I like about Franco I felt that his books couldn't be as bad as the reviews suggest. No way. Obviously his books are being unfairly discriminated against by a gang of internet trolls with a vendetta against Franco.
Nope.
This book was bad -- and that's bad meaning bad, not bad meaning good. Real bad. Surprisingly bad. In fact, the most impressive aspect about this "book" is the fact that it was actually published.
The "book" is a handful of pictures, poems, and short stories about high school that all read and look like they were created from an uninspired high schooler whose sole mission was to quickly slop together some last minute shit for a high school assignment.
The second most surprising aspect about the book is the fact that Franco actually wanted the book to bear his name like a scarlet letter for everyone to see (*insert embarrassed look on man's face after getting out of really cold water wearing Speedos*).
October 9, 2015
Unfortunately, the interest-quality of the photographs, and the stories in this book, aren't enough to make one want to finish reading it, let alone buy it. It's the sort of thing someone would have privately printed & distributed perhaps amongst his best friends & family, to share memories & interesting times. Are the stories true or not? Who knows; & it doesn't matter anyway.
American movies (apart from "Rushmore") had already left me with an extremely negative view of that country's high schools, & glad I never had to attend one. Franco's stories of high school life & high jinks all tell a uniformly awful tale of horrible people & mindlessly stupid activities. If you want your prejudices about American kids & teens confirmed, just read "A California Childhood". Wish there was something (real) about Franco's parents--especially his mother--not just those photographs. She looks interesting in them. It was the 1970s!
If you want a fascinating story of a (famous) life through photographs, there's John Mills "Still Memories: An Autobiography in Photographs". It's fascinating.
American movies (apart from "Rushmore") had already left me with an extremely negative view of that country's high schools, & glad I never had to attend one. Franco's stories of high school life & high jinks all tell a uniformly awful tale of horrible people & mindlessly stupid activities. If you want your prejudices about American kids & teens confirmed, just read "A California Childhood". Wish there was something (real) about Franco's parents--especially his mother--not just those photographs. She looks interesting in them. It was the 1970s!
If you want a fascinating story of a (famous) life through photographs, there's John Mills "Still Memories: An Autobiography in Photographs". It's fascinating.
January 8, 2014
In A California Childhood by James Franco, he talks about his life when growing up. He lived in Palo Alto California, his mother was an writer and actor and his father was a owner of a Silicon Valley business, he has two younger siblings, Dave and Tom. He grew up as kind of a trouble-maker, he got into trouble with the law for several things, like graffiti, stealing perfumes and underage drinking but he received a second chance from the judge. He just talks about stories through out his high school life. He talks about camps he went on and things he's done with his friends, whether they were bad or good. He later went to UCLA to pursue a career in English, but later dropped out because he realized he wanting to become an actor. His parents didn't support him so he got a job at McDonalds and practiced on his accents with his customers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2013
I still maintain the same impression as my status update:
The 1st half of this is like a yearbook or scrapbook of James Franco's childhood which I enjoyed. Cute/charming kid who protects his brothers. 5 stars. The 2nd half is "fiction". I would NOT like him as a teen. Comes off as a popular privileged guy who joins in the bullying with bland thoughts/writing style. Struggling to find interest in this. 27 pages left: should I abandon this or not? TBD
I didn't abandon this, but I forced myself thru it. In the story where James Franco is driving an out-of-control car, I like the line about his seatbelt cutting a smile into his neck and later the dent with wrinkles all around, looking like a brain. Two of the best images but besides that, hmmmmmmmmmmmm
The 1st half of this is like a yearbook or scrapbook of James Franco's childhood which I enjoyed. Cute/charming kid who protects his brothers. 5 stars. The 2nd half is "fiction". I would NOT like him as a teen. Comes off as a popular privileged guy who joins in the bullying with bland thoughts/writing style. Struggling to find interest in this. 27 pages left: should I abandon this or not? TBD
I didn't abandon this, but I forced myself thru it. In the story where James Franco is driving an out-of-control car, I like the line about his seatbelt cutting a smile into his neck and later the dent with wrinkles all around, looking like a brain. Two of the best images but besides that, hmmmmmmmmmmmm
December 30, 2016
Artsy. Lots of old family photos. The poems were digestible and funny. Being a teacher, I cringed while reading some of the school ones. Yikes! I better be extra pleasant to those budding poets in my classroom, so if I ever have to read a poem entitled Third Grade someday it will be favorable. Short stories were interesting, but I couldn't relate to most. What I liked most about this book is how it is assembled. The photographs, artwork, and artifacts intermingled with the written work was appealing. I only wish that it didn't have so many curse words so I could use it as a mentor text for organizational options of a finished writing piece with my students. Quick, an hour or less to read.
July 17, 2013
An interesting look into the actor, artist, renaissance man. The book contains personal photos and stories from his childhood, also has his artwork displayed in a few pages, and then short fiction stories that leave you still trying to figure the enigma that James Franco is.
I was surprised at the intimate family photos, his abstract art, but what really stunned me were his stories. I read them as easy as if the written word was being spoken and found a depth and profoundness to them that left this reader sinking deeper into meanings and what was the tale truly about.
This would compliment any personal library.
I was surprised at the intimate family photos, his abstract art, but what really stunned me were his stories. I read them as easy as if the written word was being spoken and found a depth and profoundness to them that left this reader sinking deeper into meanings and what was the tale truly about.
This would compliment any personal library.
January 3, 2017
I was honestly surprised by this book as I really never pictured James Franco as such a versitle artist. This is mostly a collection of James Franco's various artwork. The book starts out with family pictures and his mother's journal entries. The book progresses from paintings, personal writings, short stories and some pictures through his youth. I thought it was very brave of him to share these things because I find a lot of my early writing and attempts at art rather embarassing. I feel the reader really gets to know Franco on a personal level from this book.
June 10, 2015
A California Childhood by James Franco is a unique, little book. Part I consists mainly of photos and paintings with just enough text to explain; whereas, part II consists of six short stories that Mr. Franco "claims" as fictional. The book is visually appealing, interesting, and very well curated -- almost a mini, coffee-table book. I particularly enjoyed the author's decision to include his high school transcript and college admission essay.
January 19, 2017
A California Childhood is a very interesting collection of short stories and poems. I liked reading them and the writing wasn't terrible but sense it was out of my typical reading genre I cannot judge or compare it to other books I have read like it, but it is well written and was very interesting. I enjoyed reading it, and had little criticism when reading the book. All and all, I gave this book 4 stars because it was well written and a good read.
March 25, 2013
Welp...all I can say is that I enjoy most of Franco's works in movies (some I could totally leave) but Freaks and Geeks was epicness.
This book just re-states the fact that no matter where you grow up, everyone has a messed up childhood and it's just how you survive it that makes you who you are today.
This book just re-states the fact that no matter where you grow up, everyone has a messed up childhood and it's just how you survive it that makes you who you are today.
January 4, 2014
4 rating purely for the story "Yosemite." I prefer Franco's fiction far more than the trove of articles he's written for the likes of VICE, NYT, etc. Stark, repeating themes. I can dig it. (But I have a huge Franco bias, so there's that.)
July 14, 2013
man, I just really really like this guy's short stories. I can't wait to read something by him that is not teen-centric.
ok but this book is not all short stories. the first part is kind of like a James Franco baby book. I don't know, I read it in one sitting, out in my hammock. it was enjoyable
ok but this book is not all short stories. the first part is kind of like a James Franco baby book. I don't know, I read it in one sitting, out in my hammock. it was enjoyable
August 28, 2013
This book was different than I expected! It switched from James Franco talking about his childhood to short stories that were about other people. I liked it nevertheless and James Franco is my favourite actor so I'm glad I read it and I plan to read "Palo Alto" at some point.
March 9, 2014
Pros: Like all of the childhood/teenage photos.
Cons: Not thrilled it included Palo Alto repeat story when I paid for both books. HATED/ skipped a story where Franco typed the "f" word followed by God's name. Story or not, I didn't like that at all.
Cons: Not thrilled it included Palo Alto repeat story when I paid for both books. HATED/ skipped a story where Franco typed the "f" word followed by God's name. Story or not, I didn't like that at all.
June 5, 2014
James Franco is a man of many talents. In this book, I enjoyed looking at the photos and reading the poetry, but his short stories seemed more as random thoughts from a scattered mind. He shouldn't have saved them to last; it was a struggle to get through.
September 15, 2014
Those drawings are stuck in my brain forever dude!
A lovely job that I will always remember.I loved it and I have already read it a couple times.I found one of my favourite Palo Alto stories in this book and I was so thrilled!
A lovely job that I will always remember.I loved it and I have already read it a couple times.I found one of my favourite Palo Alto stories in this book and I was so thrilled!
March 28, 2013
Very interesting. His best so far. I like the art as well as the short stories/poems.
April 5, 2013
4.5 but I gave it a 5 on GR! Video review coming soon!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews