Firecracker

by David Iserson

A hilarious tragicomedy from New Girl and SNL writer David Iserson! Being Astrid Krieger is absolutely all it's cracked up to be.She lives in a rocket ship in the backyard of her parents' estate.She was kicked out of the elite Bristol Academy and she's intent on her own special kind of revenge to whomever betrayed her. She only loves her grandfather, an incredibly rich politician who makes his money building nuclear warheads.It's all good until..."We think you should go to the public school," Dad said.  This was just a horrible, mean thing to say. Just hearing the words "public school" out loud made my mouth taste like urine (which, not coincidentally, is exactly how the public school smells).  Will Astrid finally meet her match in the form of public school? Will she find out who betrayed her and got her expelled from Bristol? Is Noah, the sweet and awkward boy she just met, hiding something?

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Humor, Realistic Fiction, Boarding School, Teen

337 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 16, 2013

About the author

David Iserson works as a film and television writer, most recently for Mad Men. He has also written for New Girl, Saturday Night Live, NBC's Up All Night, and Showtime's United States of Tara and has several screenplays in development. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and her terrifying collection of taxidermy. Firecracker is his first novel.

Reviews

[Aeicha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm gonna give this between 1.5 and 2 stars.

I had such high hopes for David Iserson's Firecracker. I mean, when you hear that a writer from New Girl writes a YA Contemporary, you expect a smart, laugh-a-minute-read...well, what I got was a frustrating, disappointing, only sometimes funny, read.

Astrid Krieger loves her life. And why shouldn't she? Her family has money...like, richer than God kind of money...and she has great self-confidence. In fact, Astrid thinks she's pretty darn fantastic. A self-described loner, Astrid doesn't have “friends”, she has useful allies. The only person she truly loves is her powerful politician grandfather. But when she is kicked out of her fancy boarding school for cheating (and she is sure one of her “allies” set her up), she is sent to public school. At public school Astrid finds herself, for the first time, publicly hated and mocked by her peers. But with the help of awkward Lucy and cute Noah, Astrid concocts a genius plan for revenge against the person who set her up.

I'm not sure where to begin with this review. From the other review tidbits I've seen on Goodreads, it seems I'm in the minority in not loving Firecracker, which I can totally get. I can see why others really enjoyed this book. I, myself, didn't hate everything about it, just the important stuff. For coherency and to avoid long ranting, I think I'll just break up this review into what I liked and didn't like.

What I actually liked...

Humor...while not the insanely funny read I had hoped for, Firecracker does have its smart, genuinely witty moments. Yes, some of the humor is crude, silly-stupid, or even offensive, and at times I almost felt bad for finding something funny, but Iserson does prove that he has comedy writing talent.

Supporting Characters...several of the supporting characters, particularly Lucy, Noah, and Lisbeth, are actually likable and have real depth and development. Hey Iserson, if you wanted to offer readers characters that they could relate to, then you should of focused on Lucy and Noah...just sayin' *shrugs*

What I didn't like and even hated...

Plot...or the lack of a plot. The plot kind of meanders and wanders, with no concrete direction. Towards the end, the plot gets super messy and over-the-top ridiculous.

Conflicting Tone...at times, it seems as if Iserson is being satirical in the way he describes Astrid's life and her rich peers. I mean the Krieger family gets its money from nuclear war-heads, Astrid lives in a friggin rocket-ship in her backyard, and her fancy boarding school is described in a mocking manner...this kind of tongue-in-cheek humor I can get behind. But then, at times it feels as if I, and all the other readers who are not part of the 1%, are being laughed out and talked down to, mostly because of the way Astrid views the non-rich masses.

Which brings us to my biggest issue with this book...

Astrid Krieger...I hate this character. I don't use that word often when describing book characters, but there's just no other way for me to put it. I loathe Astrid Krieger. She's spoiled, mean, rude, immature, selfish, annoying, and arrogant. She has an unbelievable sense of entitlement and a ridiculously over-inflated ego. She treats people like utter crap and has no respect for anyone. I think her “quirks” and “honesty” (like knocking a vase off her headmaster's desk because she can, telling the headmaster his head is shaped like a penis, talking down to her parents, mocking her admirer's threats of suicide, her wry, sassy observations, etc) are meant to be charming and amusing, but they aren't. I'm not a violent person, but if someone talked to me and treated me the way Astrid treats 99% of people, I would bitch slap them...HARD.

I found nothing redeemable or likable or relatable about this girl. At one point she claims that she isn't a bully, she merely bullies other bullies, which makes her a hero...umm, no. Just no. The author could have taken Astrid and given her such profound character development and depth, but he didn't. Astrid doesn't grow, she doesn't learn anything, she doesn't become a better person, and she doesn't care...Astrid. Fucking. Krieger
*gives Astrid my best “Hermione Granger Is Not Amused” glare*

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: I think there are plenty of readers who have and will enjoy Firecracker...I am not one of them. The sometimes amusing humor and not horrible supporting characters earn this book an extra half cupcake from me, but for the most part, this book is a fail. If you want to spend a few mind-numbing hours with spoiled, privileged white kids, go watch The O.C. ...at least you can fast-forward through the whiny Marissa Cooper parts.

[Briana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't remember the last time a book has made me laugh as hard and painfully as this one did.


ETA review:

Astrid Krieger is a trouble maker. And a hilarious one at that.

She's both admired and a little feared as a notorious one-woman show that loves to break the rules. Until she gets caught and thrown out of yet, another private school.

Her uber rich family then decides it would be a wise decision to give Astrid a taste of what it means to be without the privileges and independence their money gives, so they enroll her in public school. Not only is this supposed to serve as a wake-up call, but it's clear this "lesson" is meant to lead her to, well, grow up. Of course, true to the title, Astrid is a quite the firecracker and it's going to take more than switching a big fancy school out for an ordinary one to change her. Cue the Astrid-style chaos, antics and schemes of epic proportions!

This book is seriously awesome. And hilarious. Hilariously awesome. It is just filled with my kind of humor, I almost understand the not-so-stellar reviews it's gotten instead of the raving fangirl squees I think it deserves. I have an odd, almost offensive taste for the funny, and quite often, what I see as a ROTFL kind of joke isn't so much the case for others.

If you have a laid back sense of humor, and want a nice change-up from the usual YA protagonist, Firecracker is the book to pick up. I'd even recommend it to fans of Courtney Summers that love her MC voices, but want something a little (or um, A LOT) lighter and fun for summer and beach reading.

And it's especially for those, like myself, who like character driven stories. It has less... conflict, I guess you can say, than many other YA books, and your constant need to turn the pages comes from wanting to know what Astrid is going to think or say - how she's going to react - rather than wanting to see how things play out and end; it's all about the hilarious and wild journey Astrid takes you on, not the ultimate place her endeavors lead to. Basically, in total opposition to what her family is trying to teach her about life throughout the story, it's all about Astrid--she runs the show. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

[Litsplaining · Rating 4 out of 5]

I randomly got this book at the Dollar Tree on one of my snack runs a few months ago and just picked it up on a whim to read. The snarky repartee of the main character made me laugh out loud in a time when laughter was greatly need in my life.

If you're a fan of the movie,Mean Girls, or you love a flawed character who seeks redemption throughout a book while creating drama for themselves and everyone around them, this book is for you! It wasn't a perfect read by any means due to the author never tying up all the loose ends he'd created in the narrative, but the use of sarcasm and wit that David Iserson uses to write the dialogue of Astrid, the main character in this book, is darn near perfect with the way it balances comedy, meanness, and naïveté . However, the ending definitely could've been better.

[Nikhat Hetavkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious, relatable and wacky. Just the way I like my YA books to be!

[Niki · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @page 64.

I feel bad about this because this book was a gift, but I'm not going to waste my time reading 300 pages of shallow, qUiRkY teen drama, let alone keep the book in my bookcase when that gap could be filled with another, decent book.

Nope.

[Claire (Book Blog Bird) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firecracker is the story of Astrid Krieger, a seventeen year old girl who lives in a disused rocket ship on her parents' estate because she has just been expelled from her posho boarding school for breaking into the dean's office and stealing test papers. To teach her a lesson, her family decide to send her to the local public high school, where she meets Noah, a socially-awkward boy with a great line in seventies shirts, and Lucy, a hair-chewing loser. As Astrid finds her feet in her new school (that smells of urine, unlike her old school, which smelled of diamond earrings) she starts building a plan for revenge on whoever it was who set her up.

Okay, the first thing to say about Firecracker is that I really, really enjoyed it. The second thing to say is that it won't be everyone's cup of tea.

The main thing that will put some people off is the MC. Astrid is arrogant, obnoxious, power-crazed, rude, misanthropic and slightly sociopathic and yet, for me, she totally worked as a character. She has no morals whatsoever, but she does have standards. For instance, she has no problem smooshing a Twinkie between her hands and wiping it in the chief bully's hair in the middle of the school cafeteria, but she would never, ever do the same thing to the socially-inept hair-chewing loser. That's not cool.

She does grow as a character as the book progresses, and we find out a little about exactly why she's so very chippy and unpleasant, but she doesn't do a complete personality one-eighty and start wearing a hair shirt for all her past misdeeds. I was glad of this, because I think it would have weakened her as a character. Instead, she develops new ways of looking at life, whilst retaining her hilarious snarkiness.

I liked Astrid and Noah's relationship and the way she lowers her defences a teeny, tiny bit to get to know him but never gets all lovey-dovey. In fact, I just generally liked Noah. He wasn't like a Book Boyfriend or anything but he was exactly the right compliment for Astrid.

The plot isn't anything groundbreaking - it's kind of a classic tale of: loss of something important, gradual adjustment to new circumstances followed by big reveal/betrayal and then a kind of be-careful-what-you-wish-for moral, but the story is interspersed with so many great anecdotes and asides (usually about Bharani princes or shady politicians) that it actually becomes something pretty special.

Another thing that shines the plot up is the writing, which is superb. Isersen has a really cool way of writing that's slightly off-the-wall and yet descriptively spot-on and he can be truly hilarious at times. This book actually had me laughing out loud in that irritating way people do when they're reading a funny book in the company of someone else and the other person keeps asking what's so funny, and the laughing person just goes, 'Oh it's something funny in this book. But it's the context. If I say it out loud it won't sound funny.' That was me, last night, reading this book.

Now, I have to give fair warning: there's a love triangle in Firecracker. But it's such a ridiculous love triangle, that it made me laugh rather than throw the book across the room. I doubt anyone is going to be putting up a Team Pierre icon on the sidebar of their blog.

So, yeah. Firecracker was a really fun read. If you're looking for something serious and profound that rocks your world and makes you question your metaphysical existance, then it may not be the book for you. If you're looking for something to take to the beach and laugh irritatingly at, then you should pick it up.

[juliaaargh · Rating 1 out of 5]

one of the worst books I've ever read.
To me it seems that Astrid is quirky only for the sake of being quirky. because it's the thing to write about in YA books.
I kept waiting for something good, relatable, ... I don't know... some moment, where she grows as a person. At least a glimpse of something redeeming or slightely interesting.
But no. I couldn't continue.
Even her parents, her sister and friends are the stereotypes you would expect. Only her grandfather was of slight interest to me, if only for a short time. The only thing that I liked about the book was that Astrids father had a rocket ship in their garden, even though I hate the word rocket ship.
When it became too painful to read, I stopped. So I have no idea how it ended and frankly I don't care.
I'm sorry for the harsh review, but I'm also very sorry for the time I wasted trying to read this book.

[Daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot is flawed, weak, unclear at times, and the characters are flimsy. This is not a great book but some of the lines are chuckle-worthy. It's a fast read, so I finished it.

"You're a real firecracker, Astrid, aren't you? 'Firecracker' is what people in certain social circles say when what they really mean is 'asshole.'"

"Forgiveness," he said, "is for those too weak to hold a grudge."

I'm positive that I promised my parents when I was thirteen that I would never curse again. Can you believe that shit?

[Kazh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.5

(This review was originally posted at My Library in the Making.)

When I think of how to start this review, the only thing that comes to mind is 'Did I really think of skipping this book?', because yes, I did. The blurb/description/whatever-it's-called doesn't hint at even one percent of this book's awesomeness. It's only May, but I think I've read one of my top five faves this year.

Let me just say this now: the best thing about Firecracker was Astrid Krieger herself. She was obviously a spoiled, rich kid and an all-around professional asshole—there's just no better word to describe her—but instead of irritating me, I actually loved her for it. She liked exacting revenge and pranking with her group of misfits slash minions; if you've read Looking for Alaska by John Green, you'd know what I'm talking about. And I was about to say her sarcasm was hilarious, and I've just realized how wrong that is because she was rarely sarcastic but always outrageous, instead.

"How long was I out?" I asked.
"You weren't really out. You were sort of muttering."
"What did I say?"
"Ms. Sharp asked if she should call an ambulance and you said, 'Not sure, I left my medical degree in my other purse. Why don't you figure it out yourself?'"
"Sounds like me."

Astrid also thought she was great, and that everything she did was, too.

There was a boy named Jacques Durang whose father was an international assassin. Jacques Durang was pretty much evil. When I was thirteen, I kicked him so hard he had to get testicle retrieval surgery.

Yep, there was that. So watching her grow into the kind of person she'd never wanted or even thought she could be was really heartening.

The writing was smart. I found it reminiscent of The Catcher in the Rye, which I also loved not for the plot but for the character-building and the main character's insights. Firecracker had something more of a plot than Catcher, though, and that's due to how other characters were more involved. That said, I also thought Astrid was very similar to Holden Caulfield.

Although the romance wasn't a very big part of the story, I still found it nice because it stayed true to the kind of person that Astrid was: wise and cautious. It didn't overpower the other parts of the plot, but instead, it fit in nicely with them to challenge Astrid's character.

Firecracker was supposed to be a quick read—seeing as how I finished the last quarter in an hour, then it's safe to assume that I could've read the entire book in four hours—but it took me three days because of mundane life. But already I'm looking forward to reading it again in one go, because Firecracker is one of those books that I would never get tired of.

MY FAVORITE PART were the last lines:

"Take care of yourself, Astrid," he would say.
And then I would say, "I always do."

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astrid Krieger is not a good person.

Growing up with a devious grandfather with unethical world views as a mentor, Astrid learned the ways of pranks, grudges, revenge and more importantly, sarcasm.

This seventeen year old thinks not only highly of herself, but also highly of what she does, which includes mean jokes and following the ways of her unforgiving grandfather. She lived her life in the prestigious Bristol academy, cheating on tests and scaring people into respecting her...well, up until she was betrayed by a certain someone and was thus forced to leave Bristol.

Astrid Krieger lived an awesome life where she called the shots.

And then...Astrid meets public school.

A terrible, horrible place full of idiots, Astrid cannot blend into such a world and in fact, she doesn't. She no longer calls the shots, she no longer forces and uses people into respecting her and she can no longer live a life without regret and compassion. Now Astrid lives in the real world...and it is nothing at all like Bristol Academy.

But rather then gaining back her rein of power like before, in Bristol, Astrid embarks in a completely new route entirely. She decides to become a good person and do nice things for people, and she knows exactly who she'll help: Lucy "hair eater", Pierre (who's real name isn't actually Pierre but is frankly not foreign enough for Astrid's taste), and an awkward boy that goes by the name of Noah, who just so happens to be hiding a huge secret.

Astrid is determined to do three "good things" for people in order to get back into Bristol and to begin her rein again as the respected, and feared legend. But along the way she finds public school not as easy as her previous life. She also learns that she cannot have everything that she wants and that just maybe there is much more to her then she assumed before.

I have never laughed out loud so much when reading a book before. You find yourself hunched over, in the corner, dying of laughter. Yes, that was an exaggeration. This Astrid character is one I've never seen before. She is just a devious, weird girl out for revenge on anyone who has wronged her. I love it.

There is some very offensive humor in this book, so if you are a pansy then it would be best not to even start it. But if you're open minded and just looking for a good laugh this book will do its justice. I recommend it to anyone who needs a little bit of fun in their life.

Iserson brings a fantastic character to life and with a colorful plot and priceless narration you couldn't set the book down. And this is coming from someone who finished it in a day and a half.

[Anna Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

When reading this book, one can tell it is written by someone familiar with comedy. Astrid has a quick, witty narration and the reader is truly never bored.

However, this book lacked some down-and-dirty emotion that is yearned for in most YA lit.

I would recommend this book to a teen who wants a "fun read" or a "kick-ass girl protagonist". I will specify teen with someone who can deal with swearing though because there is a good amount of it in here.

[Meggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank god this was funny, cause it’d be pointless otherwise.

[Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review originally posted at: https://prettypagesblog.wordpress.com...

One of my favourite reading experiences is buying and reading a book that you know absolutely nothing about. With the internet providing us with so many ways to learn about books (blogs, Goodreads, Instagram), there are not many occasions where I find myself entering a bookshop and not buying a book I had already been planning on buying. One day I was in a bookshop, and I saw this beautiful cover staring at me. And I knew then and there that I was going to buy it. I didn’t even read the blurb to see what it was about. I literally took it for face value of its cover, and I am so glad I did because Firecracker was such a surprising read, one I immensely enjoyed.

I’m going to acknowledge now that this book is most definitely not for everyone. It has a particular kind of humour that you are either going to love or hate. If you love it, like I do, you can tolerate the main character Astrid. If you hate the humour, chances are you will hate Astrid and therefore hate this book.

Trashy white rich girl stories are some of my favourite types of books to read. Sure, the writing is never spot on, and there isn’t much plot involved, but on an enjoyment level they are perfect. I started reading books like this when I was in the seventh grade (Gossip Girl, The A List, The It Girl, The Clique, just to name a few), and even now at 20 years of age, I still have a weak spot for them.

I tried to write my own plot summary on this book, but it really didn’t sound that great. So I’m just going to put the blurb from the back of the book.

“Astrid Krieger lives in a rocket ship prototype in the backyard of her parents’ estate. Her recent expulsion from the elite Bristol Academy has won her a unique punishment: She’ll have to attend public school for the very first time…”

I know that doesn’t sound all that great based on the blurb – it literally sounds like this book just tells Astrid’s story attending pubic school for the first time. But it is so much more than that. This is a book about a girl who pushes everyone away. A girl who only truly loves one person out of everyone she knows. A girl who discovers that maybe this isn’t the best way to live her life.

Astrid is definitely not the most likeable character, and to be perfectly honest I feel like that was the way she was supposed to be. We weren’t supposed to like her, as she is a character who doesn’t care what others think of her. I feel like the readers are included in that. She has a very snarky, and blatant personality that means she comes across bitchy to everyone. I think what I connected with her the most was the fact that she didn’t feel lonely by having no friends. I’m definitely not like Astrid in that I don’t push people away, but I am perfectly content being by myself (hence why I do so much reading). I also really enjoyed her relationship with her Grandfather – the only person who she ever really loved. They had a very unique relationship. I also liked that Astrid had some growth – the idea of being a good person is explored quite extensively in this book, and it was nice to read a book with a slightly different take on that.

Like Astrid, none of the other characters were that great, nor did they leave that much of an impact on me. As we see the world through Astrid’s eyes, we are provided with a somewhat stereotypical viewpoint of the majority of the characters. In particular though is Pierre, a European boy who was one of Astrid’s allies who believes he is in love with her and calls her his girlfriend. How was Pierre stereotypical?

“If you were to ask Pierre who he is to me, the first thing he would probably say is, “my name’s not Pierre.” And while that’s true, if you saw a blond guy wearing a tracksuit talking on a neon green cell phone with a big stupid grin on his face all the time and a very phlegmy accent, I’m positive you would know who I was talking about if I called that guy Pierre.”

That should sum up that question. The entire time Pierre was around, there would be some European characteristic brought up, that made me dislike the over exaggeration. Sometimes exaggeration is good, but there is a fine line that exists that shouldn’t be crossed. I also found Pierre to be quite creepy. I mean, this kid voluntarily switches from some elite private boarding school to attend public school with the girl he claims he is in love with but who barely gives him the time of day. How stupid can you be?

The entire school population at the public school was stereotypical and way way off what public school is actually like. I attended public schools for my entire thirteen years of schooling, and sure, Australian public schools may be different than American public schools, but at the end of the day I really can’t imagine the public school being like it was described in this book. It almost infuriated me as to how wrong of a scene was painted of public schools. It was the one thing that I hated most about this book.

I think I struggled with the characters because they weren’t complex enough, and as a result they fell flat. Astrid’s Dad is just described as being stupid, her mother I can’t even remember anything about to write. Her sister is the rich girl who married a poorer guy and who doesn’t know what she wants to do with herself so she spends her time volunteering and being that nice person. Said sister’s husband works for the rich wife’s family’s company. The girl who helps Astrid at the public school chews her hair (that’s seriously all I know about her), and then the romantic love interest was nothing special that I don’t even remember him either. No one was special, unique, or written well enough to stand out and make me love them.

Something I really loved was Astrid and her Grandfather’s relationship. The Grandfather was the only person Astrid loved, and trusted, and she was so incredibly influenced by him. We are told about many “My Grandfather always says..” wisdom moments, wisdom that you can see Astrid applies in her life. Essentially her Grandfather helped shape her into the person she was. I think what I loved more though is that the Grandfather realised that his power-demanding nature that he applied to his life and when teaching Astrid throughout her entire life was probably having the wrong effect on her, and I loved that he tried to do right by her because he cared. It was very sweet, and touching, and it made me feel sad when certain events occurred later on in this book.

Firecracker does feature a romance, between Astrid and some guy (I just went and looked up his name because I couldn’t for the life of me remember. Anyway, his name is Noah). I didn’t really feel their chemistry like I do in other books, but I didn’t hate them together. I also liked that this book kind of poked fun at the typical young adult romance arc where two people meet, and fall in love within days (or just a general short period of time). For example:

“This is the part of the story where I should have told Noah something like ‘I love you. I think I’ve always loved you. I didn’t realise it until this moment, but we are made for each other.

But that part didn’t happen. Why? Because I wasn’t a stupid moron. At that point, I had known Noah for almost no time at all. And for most of that, I didn’t actually know too much about him…I was way too sensible to let myself feel something like love for someone I knew so little about. Maybe some people can’t buy a sandwich without falling in love with three people, but those people are weird.”

I did really enjoy Iserson’s writing style. It was fairly simplistic, but engaging all in one. And I definitely think the humour added to my enjoyment. Like I said earlier, this book is a certain type of humour, a dry humour that you will either love or hate. It all furthered Astrid’s personality of pushing people away and just being generally awkward around people. I also think it improved the plot somewhat, as you weren’t meant to take the events that occur seriously, and the humour shows this. Here are two random quotes I liked. One showcases the writing, the other showcases the humour.

“There’s a portrait of my whole extended family that hangs over the main fireplace from about four years ago. It’s a huddled mass of grey and blond people with red ties and tight, fake smiles.”

“He buys me a lot of flowers. I have no use for flowers. Flowers die before they do anything. If someone wants to win me over, they should give me something useful, like juice boxes or a boat.”

This book dealt with some themes and plot arcs that I did not expect to happen at all. I also thought that the way that Astrid found out about some of these events was truly sad and I would wish that on no one. A major part of the plot is Astrid trying to work out who framed her for her cheating and ultimately got her kicked out, and towards the end of the book she thinks she has it all worked out and creates a plan for revenge. I had worked out pretty much in the beginning who it was, so it was entertaining to read Astrid find out who it actually was. You know when author’s make the supposed suspect way to obvious to be the actual culprit but then go ahead with making them to be the suspect in spite of this only to have it turn out to be someone completely different? Yeah, this book does that.

One thing that continuously bugged me was the continual alluding to the death of Astrid’s younger brother. It was mentioned multiple times that he had died when she was younger, and from the way it was written you could tell it had influenced her greatly, but the reader isn’t told what happened to him until the last quarter or so of the book. It was frustrating. It wouldn’t have bothered me so much had they not mentioned it so often, and once you do find out I think it provides some clarity as to why Astrid is the way she is, but I still felt underwhelmed when I eventually found out. This is why drawing out certain plot points can be bad.

This being said, Firecracker is a completely character driven novel, and if you are someone who prefers your stories to be action packed and drama filled, than you would probably be best in giving this one a miss. You probably wouldn’t find it to your liking.

Overall, I enjoyed Firecracker much more than I was expecting to. It made me laugh, and kept me entertained. I’m giving it 4 stars, because I think it was the kind of book I read at the perfect time. I was in the mood for a not-so-serious and funny contemporary, which this book definitely delivered on.

[Sadie Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75⭐️
199/200
This book was very interesting… I’m not sure I’ve read anything like or if I ever will. I would not recommend this book, but I could tell you all about it. It was very odd, just like the MFC.

[Kadi P]

(Recommended by Laur Gluchie)

[Stefani Sloma · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can read this review and more on my blog, Caught Read Handed.

My friend Annette aka Booknerderie sent me Firecracker for Christmas because, and I quote, “It’s hilarious and dry and sarcastic and the mc is an asshole and you would love it.”Firecracker She was right.

“Astrid Krieger is such a bitch.” I love it. This book is hilarious, you guys. Ridiculously amusing. As is Astrid. She’s such an asshole and I completely love her. She’s unapologetic in her dickishness. She doesn’t care what you think about her and she does what she wants. She’s completely in love with herself. Now, if you know me at all, you can probably guess that 99.9999% of the time, I hate people like this. But in this case, it didn’t even bother me because she was just so damn funny. I was worried the book was going to feel really long because she’s such a jerk the whole time, but it didn’t. in fact, it was too short, in my opinion.

I know I’m only talking about Astrid but, really, she’s the only thing that matters – she’d probably say the same thing as well. But let me mention a few other things: this book, not just Astrid, was ridiculously amusing. There were more laugh out loud moments than I could count. I mean, David Iserson has written for SNL and New Girl. Of course he’s funny, and he does dialogue so well. The ending was perfect and wasn’t perfect. What I mean is that it wasn’t cookie cutter. It fit Astrid and her character.

To further prove it, here’s a quote:

"My legs decided that they were no longer interested in holding my body up, which is total bullshit because they have one job." – Page 55

Couldn’t stop laughing after reading that. Especially because I couldn’t stop picturing this.



The bottom line: I don’t know if I could be more obvious in my love of Firecracker. Read it. Now.

Rating: 9 – practically perfect

[Andrea Georgsson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing was mostly ok, but twinges of overwriting messed up the flow. The ending was about as uncreative and “let’s get this mess wrapped up“ anything I’ve ever read. It’s a book only a middle school reader would like. But a reader that young would probably love it.

[Chrissa Kuntz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever and sardonic!

[guille (littlebitmoody) · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was a meh book. Also, I never liked Astrid

[Estherbox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny sarcastic teen girls for the win!

Is it relatable? No. But why does it have to be? Is Astrid an outstanding human being? No! But why does she have to be? She has a damn fun narrative voice and I love a book with wit.

Ps: the ending was a disappointing mess. Knocked a star for it. I feel the author wasn’t as good an orchestrator as Astrid was so the finale fell short. Also I want to know more about what her life was like after the events and how she got a book deal and what happens with Noah. A little more closure and follow through with all the foresight she has as she’s looking onto the past.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

I bought this book with my friend, Naths. Yearly, as tradition, one of my friends and I will buy the exact same book and read it together.

This year, we chose Firecracker by David Iserson .

Boy, what a rollercoaster ride.

To begin with, I’m pretty neutral about this book. I wouldn’t say that it’s a bad book because it’s not – not by any stretch of the imagination. There were moments when it shined, moments when I couldn’t even put the book down. There were times that the book was funny, and witty, and simply amazing.

But, unfortunately, there were moments when it was just a bore, and I read because I hated not finishing a book.

I don’t expect any book to be good and fantastic beyond doubt every page. Even Harry Potter, my favorite series of all time, had its moments (although they were infrequent). Firecracker, by every sense of the word, was okay. There were parts of it that I liked, and some parts that I didn’t.

To begin with, Astrid Kreiger is probably one of the most interesting heroines I have ever encountered. She’s confident, almost to the point of being egotistical. She’s pretty, and she knows it; she thinks that she’s pretty darn fantastic, and doesn’t waste a moment not flaunting it.

And, honestly, she was just very human. I liked that about her. She’s also not the type of human that’s way too good for this world. In fact, if she were to read this, she’d probably say that she was the exact opposite. She does bad stuff, and she doesn’t always feel bad afterwards. It adds to the charm of being human, really, that sometimes the bad stuff don’t necessarily bring on bad feelings.

Astrid was impossibly imperfect. She was cynical, like many, and she thinks that money can buy everything in the world – which, essentially, it can. If there was one thing that shined through the entire novel, it was her character development. One of the best character developments I’ve ever encountered in any book.

She didn’t change overnight, she didn’t even change entirely. Through and through, she was a mean person that got into trouble and didn’t care. However, she did change. Bit by bit, she got over how cynical she was. She made friends, and she made people smile. Hell, she even made two people fall in love. She was, essentially, a good person, although not a very nice one.

Does that make sense?

I hope it did.

The best part of her character development was that it was very true to how humans actually change in real life. They don’t become good persons suddenly, forgetting their old ways, and becoming the best person they can become. There will always be a shadow of what you were then. That doesn’t mean that you can’t turn around and change whatever it is you have to, it just means that there will always be bits and pieces of you that you can’t always change. And, besides, 99% of the time, change like that doesn’t happen in a year.

Another something-something that I loved was her Grandfather . I mean, honestly, he was probably the life of the book if Astrid weren’t there. He was funny, and witty, and everything else in between. I just really liked his character. Hell, I adored him.

However, they were the only two that I did actually love wholeheartedly. Noah, Lucy, Melty, Lisbet, Vivi, Dirk were just people’s names in pages. They didn’t feel as real as Astrid or her grandfather. Regardless, I liked them.

This book was, again, simply, okay. Not exactly a masterpiece or a mistake. There’s only one thing in this book that I did really hate, but, aside from that, it’s a good read. I wouldn’t recommend that you buy it off the shelves when you have stuff like Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of the Universe (a 3.5 star rating – believe me, that’s high by my standards). But it is a fun read that you can enjoy.

For that single pet peeve… it’s the ENDING.

It’s in all-caps for emphasis. I hated the ending. I MEAN PIERRE, HONESTLY?

By all means, I didn’t think it was witty or even a fun plot twist. It tried, sure, but it didn’t work out. It was just a bad plot twist, okay? It surprised the readers, sure, but not the kind that’s like ASDFGHJKLOMGOMGASDFGHJKDYING. It’s more like WAIT WHAT kind of surprise. It’s stupid, and it’s there to just be there.

It was just really annoying, okay?

But, sigh, overall, it was an okay-kinda-good-ish read that I recommend when you have nothing else to read. Look, I’m sorry, but it just wasn’t as good as I had hoped it would be. It was a good book. It was, but it just didn’t make the cut.

[Tucker Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

...¨ Then Summer Wonder said, “Are you going to cry now?” and she said it in a way that was mock crying in case, if I was going to start crying, I would know how it was done. “No. Why would I do that?” Slumpy Shoulders said, “Because we—” “Because you said stuff about me. I would say that you were ninety percent accurate. Let me think. Nothing that wasn’t true, for the most part. I do think I’m so great. I am so rich. I did bring that spaz to the dance. And I am a bitch. I totally am.” ¨ (pg.213.)

The quote means that Astrid is prideful and that even though the Summer Wonder and other girls talk about her badly, Astrid herself actually agrees with what they said. The image of the quote could be described with Astrid appearing agreeable and confident toward Summer and the girls. The word choice of Astrid calling Noah a spaz is an example of unique word choice to the meaning of the passage.
The word Astrid describes Noah dramafied a bit of what was originally said by one of the girls earlier. This was made in order to get the point across to Summer and the girls that Astrid was not just saying that she agreed with them just to let it go and forget about it.The quote is kind of a ¨slap in the face¨ to Summer Wonder in her friends because they are trying to insult Astrid and Astrid actually agrees with what they said about her.

...¨”So make a list this week of at least three things that you did even though you didn't want to.¨ ¨ I can do it right now.¨ It was easy. I finished it in my mind almost instantly. I wrote it on his legal pad and handed him back the list. ¨Why would you draw a picture of my underwear?¨ he said. ¨I didn't want to. That's the point, right?¨ ¨ None of these things count, he said. ¨Why doesn't it count?¨ ¨”Because it's my assignment and I make the rules. I´ḿ not talking about bathroom stuff ,Astrid. I´m talking about actual things you do even though you don't want to. Nice things for other people.¨ ¨Fine.¨ ¨ Write the assignment down.¨ ¨”I'll write it on my hand.¨ I wrote DO 3 THINGS I DON'T WANT TO DO,(SOMETHING, SOMETHING). He seemed relatively satisfied, which wasn't my intention at all. (pg. 29)

This quote shows a huge amount of disrespect and rudeness that Astrid had. She shows her disrespect in the quote, ¨ ¨Why would you draw a picture of my underwear?¨ he said. ¨I didn't want to. That's the point, right?¨ ¨ Astrid shows us that she does not care at all what Dean Rein has to say. She also shows rudeness in the quote, ¨¨Fine.¨ ¨ Write the assignment down.¨ ¨”I'll write it on my hand.¨ I wrote DO 3 THINGS I DON'T WANT TO DO,(SOMETHING, SOMETHING). He seemed relatively satisfied, which wasn't my intention at all.¨ We see here that Astrid was messing with Dean Rein and that she did not take seriously the challenge that he had proposed to her.

“Then . . . ” I looked out the window and I couldn’t help but smile. “How about we bet on Bristol? If I win, I get to go back to school here.” “That’s not entirely up to me.” I knew he would say something like that, but I didn’t really buy his argument. “Yes it is. You are the dean of students and I am a prospective student, Dean.” “I’d have to convince your parents.” “I convinced my dad that the whole world travels back in time for daylight savings. Just say it in a serious voice. He’ll believe anything.” “Fine,” Dean Rein said. “Do real good things. Three of them. Write them down. Include proof where available. And if they’re acceptable, that’s certainly something we can discuss.” (pg. 107)

We see here that the rising action consists of Astrid proposing an idea to Dean Rein. This is that if Astrid oes three things she really does not want to do, and has proof, she can go back to Bristol Academy. Dean Rein does not actually agree with nor disagree with the proposition. He simply just says that he will consider it.

¨“I could’ve never done what you did to him, with the hair and everything,”Lisbet said in her bathroom. “Why not? You have to stand up for yourself.” “Oh, that’s all fine. I take kickboxing classes at the gym. That’s not what I mean. I just would never have thought about it. It’s too hard to think like you do.” “I’m not sure I know what you mean,” I said. Lisbet turned away from the mirror. “The first thing I think of with people is to forgive them. I don’t think I’m creative enough to imagine other options.” People always talk about how doing the right thing is hard, but Lisbet was the first person who I’d heard say it’s the easiest choice available.(pg. 123 and 124)

This passage in the book shows us proof that Astrid has one quality that is useful and that this is a quality that her nice sister Lisbet does not have. Not only does Astrid see Lisbet as one who is always nice and knows the right thing to do, but Lisbet herself sees a quality of Astrid that Lisbet is unable to acquire herself. This quality is to deny someone of forcing you to do something that is wrong. Or in other words, to think of other options of a response to someone for a harmful action other than forgiving them.


David Iserson has written for Fox's New Girl as well as Saturday Night Live, NBC´s Up All Night, and Showtime´s United States of Tara. David lives in Los Angeles with his wife and her terrifying collection of taxidermy. Firecracker is his first novel.

¨“I could’ve never done what you did to him, with the hair and
everything,”Lisbet said in her bathroom. “Why not? You have to stand up for yourself.” “Oh, that’s all fine. I take kickboxing classes at the gym. That’s not what I mean. I just would never have thought about it. It’s too hard to think like you do.” “I’m not sure I know what you mean,” I said. Lisbet turned away from the mirror. “The first thing I think of with people is to forgive them. I don’t think I’m creative enough to imagine other options.” People always talk about how doing the right thing is hard, but Lisbet was the first person who I’d heard say it’s the easiest choice available.¨(pg.l23 and 124) One theme in this passage may be to think about the situation and that even if you act in the proper manner, there may not always end up in forgiveness.

Another theme of the book Firecracker is to break out of your shell or comfort zone and to have determination to do things that you may not want to do. This can be seen through the following, ¨What I thought about was my sister, and how if this day didn’t end the way she wanted it to end, she wasn’t going to be happy. Lisbet wanted this wedding, and she wanted it to be with Randy. I didn’t have to understand it. I just had to make sure it happened.¨ (pg.197 and 198 )This shows us that Astrid deep down cares for her sisters happiness and well being. Even though she may not understand her sister´s actions.

¨“My grandfather used to do this thing in the navy. You put one of them in someone’s foot locker—or in this case, their house or car or sweatshirt . . . or school locker. The anemone is like ninety-nine something percent water and the rest is just shit. You anemone your enemy. The water evaporates and you’re left with a smell that never goes away.” “Excuse me?” Lucy’s mother said. I had turned her off completely. “You want to do that to everyone who didn’t show?¨ (pg.80 and 81)
We see that in this quote Astrid attempts her first try to be determined to do things she would not usually. This is that she would not normally help out someone she barely knows. However, she does seem a bit brutal in what she thinks their retaliation should be on those who did not attend the party. Nevertheless, at least Astrid is trying to do good and make a difference.

¨“I’m not going to hurt him. I’m just going to make this better.”¨ (pg.193) Astrid shows once again, her genuine heart to help make her sister Lisbet´s wedding day the best it can be. In other words, Astrid shows her love and care for Lisbet.

Astrid is a rebellious type of person who is prideful at first in the book. However, as the story goes on, she realizes how good it feels to be nice to people. Even though it may be hard sometimes, she pushed through to make things better for others. Noah is a kind thoughtful person. He is there for people who are sad or lonely, just as he was for Astrid. Noah is not a troublemaker like Astrid, and he helps out Astrid when she is acting wrong. Lisbet is Astrid´s sister who is not that smart and she is a bit dorky. She is extremely kind to everyone that she meets. She always looks for the best in people. However, she cannot really recognize the obvious in some situations.

Astrid Krieger is a teenage girl who has just gotten kicked out of her school Bristol Academy. She believes someone has set her up and reported to the school that she has been cheating on her tests. In this story, Astrid tries to find the one who set her up. Meanwhile, she is adjusting to her new life in public school and living in a prototype rocketship. She also is learning with the help of kids at her school, what it means to do random acts of kindness for people and how special it is to them.

I thought Firecracker had a great moral to the story. Although I would not recommend the book to someone under the age of 14. This is because there is a strong use of bad language throughout the book. Also because the book includes ideas, thoughts, etc. for those who are more of a mature reader. Therefore, the book seems to be directed to those who are teenagers. Other than that, the book is a great read for young adults and some adults.

[TheSuperKim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first time I heard of a book described as 'tragi-comedy', often I heard that term used to describe movies, Filipino movies to be specific, because here in the Philippines, it's not proper movie advertising unless you mention that the movie has more than one genre, no matter how stupid that sounds.

Anyway, I digress. Firecracker is a classic proud-haughty-princess-needs-to-learn-her-lesson-so-lets-send-her-to-a-public-domain story. Only here, the main character isn't a princess with a disapproving wealthy father but a white, spoiled brat, law-breaking, I-can-buy-you-your-friends-and-this-club kid with a wealthy, influential businessman-slash-politician, I-can-buy-you-your-friends-and-this-club grandfather. Kind of like Veronica Lodge meets Drunk! Anne Curtis meets Veruca Salt? (I have.no idea why I'm making so many Filipino pop culture references, trust me, even I am surprised. I don't do this often, please don't hate me).

Again, I'm sorry I digress. So, summary: Astrid Krieger, favorite granddaughter of wealthy politician, Montgomery Krieger gets expelled from the elite and prestigious Bristol Academy after evidences of her cheating surfaced. (that sounded like a newspaper headline) Thinking she was betrayed by her minions, Astrid plans revenge while her parents sent her to a public school.

The plot, in its simplest form, is kind of lame. How many times have we seen movies of that sort? But this one differs because Astrid has qualities that not all evil-turned-good spoiled brats have. No, I don't mean supernatural abilities. She has had money all her life and she knows how to use it, most rich kids in books and movies rely on their fathers/mothers/grandpa/grandma to solve their problems for them but Astrid had her ways. For example:

“Yeah. I’ll say that’s about right. What are you going to do about it?”

“I found a man with a gambling problem at the county records office. For a small fee, he’ll change the date on Won’t’s birth certificate. Then I’m going to enlist him in the army.”

Pure evil, right?

However, what bothers me is that in most stories I've read, the character grows as the story progresses but Astrid's transformation didn't take place until about the last chapter. To which, I'll say, is still better than characters from a certain saga which throughout the four books didn't mature even after getting married and having a baby, and yes, I'm looking at you, Twilight! Also, her growth was very minimal not like that of her grandfather.

Still, memorable lines and life lessons. Four out of five stars. Will read again.

PS, being a true Filipino means being weirdly yet genuinely glad to see your country mentioned in a foreign book so, as a true pinoy, here's another excerpt.

“You act like you know me. You don’t know anything about me.”
　“Again, I’m very rich. My grandfather has private investigators on retainer and the Internet is a giant pit of information. I know you work here. I know you got a scholarship to the Art Institute of Chicago but you’re not sure if you should go because you think your band might take off. It won’t. I know you got your heart broken last year by a girl named Tabitha and you don’t have a good place to express your anger. And I know your brother spent two weeks in rehab and now he’s very religious, your dad is in the navy, you lived in the Philippines for four years, and also, puntang ina mo.
　“Did you just insult my mother in Tagalog?”
　“Yeah, I only know how to curse in Tagalog. And you know what else I know—you owe me.”

PPS, I don't know if that was an intentional typo or what, but the Tagalog curse they were talking about is actually, " Put@ng ina mo! " which translated to English means, "Your mother is a wh*re!" or "Your mother is a sl*t!"

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Review from http://books-anovelidea.blogspot.com/**

I'm not sure what I was expecting from David Iserson's Firecracker. Whatever it was, I was probably expecting it to be funny- he is after all a writer for SNL and New Girl. I should also probably add that New Girl is one of my favorite shows (mostly because it leaves me laughing and squealing with feels and my roommates probably think I have problems). So I guess my expectations were high. Thank goodness they were also fulfilled.

Astrid Krieger is everything. She's rich, cunning, intimidating, hysterical, the list goes on. Astrid also got kicked out of boarding school (she's convinced she was set up) and is now being forced to attend public school. Not only that, but her parents are making her see a therapist (aka the Dean at her old boarding school), who she manipulates into letting her make a list of three good deeds (real good deeds) in order to be allowed back to boarding school. To top it all off, Astrid is determined to get revenge on whoever it was that set her up. That's the plot line. But there's really so much more.

Here's what I really liked about this book, Astrid's voice was very unique. Her character is different from a lot of stuff I've read in YA fiction, especially since she's the protagonist. She has this laissez faire attitude and she literally does not care if people like her. Actually, she'd rather them be afraid of her. This can be kind of annoying at times because you just want to shout "JUST CARE ABOUT SOMETHING!" when she's being all hard and indifferent. But she does care about something, and there's a really great scene towards the end just as you're questioning why you like her that really changes everything. It shows Astrid's human side, her vulnerability and why she hides it. A+ character development.

Also, I like how Iserson doesn't really describe Astrid- therefore, we're not focused on her looks and distracted by trying to imagine her. Yes kiddos, you get to imagine her however you like (besides the fact that she has dark hair but that in itself is pretty vague). No long winded descriptions about the color of her eyes or her features that she just doesn't like about herself (Astrid is not lacking in the self-confidence department- she thinks she kinda rocks). So that means if you're into Charles Dickens-like descriptions, this book is not for you.

Lastly, and something I really appreciated, this book was not about Astrid's search for romance. In fact, when she was little, she swore off men and wasn't expecting to want anything to do with them. This is great because everything Astrid does, she does for herself and not to make so-and-so fall in love with her/notice her/like her, whatever. Not saying there isn't any romance. She eventually falls for someone (but it's not love and she doesn't think it's going to go anywhere really), all while having love obsessed Pierre following her every move- she just doesn't care.

The only thing I wasn't a big fan of was that it might have been a teeny tiny bit predictable, plot-wise. No, I didn't know what Astrid was going to next, but there were some plot points that were obvious. That still didn't affect how much I liked the book, though.

Iserson creates a voice that people will fall in love with (even though you really don't know why you love Astrid at some points), and I secretly want it to be turned into a movie- I think that'd be cool and they could really do a lot with it (can I volunteer to audition? or is that not a thing?). I can now say that I am a fan of Iserson's television writing and his fiction writing, and I can only hope he continues to write YA books for us all to enjoy!

-Annie

[Keisya · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fun read with a crazy/quirky main character. Obviously expected more from Iserson, nevertheless reminded me why i loved YA.

Oh btw, I got this book because it is set in Bristol, turns out its based in Bristol in the US. Lmaooo

[Ophelia T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astrid Krieger is a do- what- they want kind if person with a very rich family and nobody stopping her from doingb just that, whether it's selling of a police departments name, to trying to steal artwork from the louvre. But when on of her accomplisess in cheating betrays her and gives all the evidence to the dean, Dean Rein she is gone from her pritvate academy and placed into the public school system by choice of her family setting their foot down. This could just be about worse than jail, ( which she has been to on multiple occassions) but when she meets Lucy and Noah her cadorette high experience become a little less awful. Firecracker by David Iserson is an amazing, cunningly crafted story that has many unexpected and funny twist along the way.

Astrid lives in a full size rocket prototype made by her family's company and lives in the backyard. Astrid has never not done what she wants and with the help of her grandfather that has nevee had a problem with that theory. Her grandfather came to be a senator which resulted in him getting a freebee in almost everything and showing Astrid how to do the same. Then. Then, she after being expelledfrom her academy by one of her acomplisses sold her out for cheating which they were doing too, but had it out for her to get out of the school, since she was the most powerful at the school. Not only did poot astrid keiger have to go to public school and see the phychologist from Bristol, Dean Rein, she had to do three good things she didn't want to do. As time goes by,she realizes that doing good things could be worse for her than it really is and that there was one member of the family that loved her more than she ever could've imagined. This connects to the real world and the term getting a taste of your own medicine. Astrid wasn't really a horrible person, but the thought of it is she had never really cared to do something that didn't return in power so it was hard when the turns were reverse because it then resulted in Astrid learning how to not do things for power or revenge all the time.

I think that this book was amazing in all means of the word and i would definitely read it again. This book would be great for the people who like comedy or interesting characters, because there are plenty of both. I would recommend this o these people because the character list included so many that you normally wouldn't favor but Iserson makes you love and there is a good joke about every three pages.

[laur gluchie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The world turned and flung me."

I did not want to read this book at first.

This book was given to me as a gift by my grandparents. I had no interest in reading it when I had received it. None. At all. I throught this was going to be the most boring book in the world. I let this book sit on my shelf for about a year before I picked it up.

I then realized that I was very, very wrong.

Ths book was absolutely hilarious and heart-wrenching. I love Astrid and her sassiness, Lucy and her shy-awkwardness, and Noah. Just Noah.

I love the scenes with Astrid and her Grandfather, especially the one wher he takes her to the Louvre and tells her to steal a painting because its hers. And it absolutely broke my heart when he died.

"If you were quicker," he said, "you would have had that damn painting. Astrid, never let anyone stop you from having everything you want."

"It's impossible, you know. I never could have had it."

"Impossible for everyone else, sure," he said, "Not for you and me."

Needless to say, this book will send you through a whirlwind of emotions and will leave you wanting to be as cool and badass as Astrid J. Krieger.

And maybe wanting to burn down your school's chapel.

"Fire is fierce. Fire is angry. Fire does whatever it fucking wants. I am a big fan of fire."

[Dani Coates · Rating 2 out of 5]

Firecracker by David Iserson was a book I found difficult to get through. Although I did not think the book was bad, I really didn’t find it to be very good either. The reason I chose to read it is because a review said it would be similar to John Green’s Looking for Alaska, my favorite book. That review was not even close. The only major similarity is that the main character is a sarcastic girl, but that is where the parallels end. Astrid Krieger (Firecracker’s main character) is a spoiled rich brat who has been going to boarding school her whole life. When she gets expelled from Bristol academy, she is forced to go to Cadorette public high school. The basis of the book is following Astrid’s schemes through her public school experience, and her struggle to make friends because of her obnoxious personality. In my opinion, the plot was relatively weak and unexciting, and the book seemed to rely on its humor to push the plot along...but I found that it wasn’t exactly funny enough to do that. The book is written from Astrid’s perspective, and I found her humor to be simply mean at times. Overall, this book was not my favorite, and it did not live up to the review that said it would be similar to Looking for Alaska.

[Kellinova · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoiled rich girl gets kicked out of private school and must endure public school with peasants (gross!). Sounds like the perfect set up for amazing character development right?! In the end she'll see how horrible and stuck up she's been and come out stronger in the end. Right?!

Nope.

Apart from the actual realization of how mean and manipulative she is, Astrid has absolutely zero character development. (SPOILER?: she ends up seeking her revenge in the end but in order to do so she continues to reply on manipulating people around her on order to get it done) Iserson insists that Astrid has changed by literally stating things like "old me would have said X" but follows it up by saying/doing something that's equally mean or manipulative albeit fluffed with some nice sounding words she normally wouldn't have used. But as I type this, maybe that's her development- she becomes a professional sociopath really good at hiding her manipulation.

With all this said, the snarky humor was fun but it seemed like Iverson was working too hard at making Astrid seem "quirky". The book does have some twists towards the end- Some predictable, others not so much.

[Helen Stower · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book promised to be funny and it certainly delivered. A funny book that makes you laugh-out-loud is rare so finding one has been a great surprise. The main character in this novel is Astrid Kreiger, and if you love a girl who breaks the rules, then this is the book for you. Astrid does what she wants and doesn’t care what anybody thinks of her.

We first meet Astrid when she is returning home after being expelled from her exclusive boarding school. Astrid has no morals whatsoever and she is not sorry for her misconduct just sorry that she got caught. To teach her a lesson, her family decide to send her to the local public high school. Astrid spends here time in this urine smelling hell, planning her revenge on those who double crossed her in her old school. She also makes two friends, Noah and Lucy and involves them in her schemes.

The members of Astrid’s family are quirky and also add to the humour of the novel. Of particular note is her Grandfather who is a criminal and Astrid’s role model and guru.

This is not a deep, soul searching read. Rather, it is full of mischief, wisecracks; revenge plots and is a fun page-turner that is perfect for the holidays.