North

by Alan Zweibel, Alex Tiani (Illustrator)

North, a nine-year-old boy dissatisfied with his parents, travels around the world in search of the perfect parents, but all of them seem to have flaws.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens

118 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book because recently on a sick day from work I was feeling nostalgic and watched an old campy favorite from the 90's - North, starring Elijah Wood (back when he was a cutie patootie kid actor 😍). Anyway... I noticed in the credits that the movie was based on a book so I was curious and decided to give it a read. Here is a rare instance of liking the movie better than the book.

The premise of North is that this kid, named North, is sick of being ignored by his own parents when everyone else (kids and adults alike) sees that he's a great kid (academically, extra-curricular, etc.). So, he emancipates himself and sets off to meet some new "folks" from all over the country. Each new set of folks has their own baggage they want to dump on North so he always decides not to stay. Meanwhile, this other kid, Winchell, and an attorney, Arthur Belt, help North on his way but then lead a revolution of kids against adults. Kids win and are in charge of the country, that is until North's return to his parents after realizing (of course) that they're not so bad after all.

The writing is filled with hyperbole, old pop culture references, and jokes in bad taste, including lots of stereotypes of different types of "folks." Published in 1984, I don't think this book aged well. I give the movie props for picking out some of the best parts, but even in the movie, you can see the stereotypes and aged gags (and some are worth a good eye roll...) All in all, watch the movie, if you want... I wouldn't recommend reading this book.

[🐴 🍖]

for the concept to work, the kid would have to be charismatic, or the parents rly repugnant, or both. in the absence of either this was p tough sledding. also wow what did the ppl of hawaii ever do to alan zweibel?

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because I really enjoyed the movie and I wanted to know what the book was like. I always felt like the movie had an incredibly abrupt ending--which it did, as it lopped off half of the book. The book is definitely more kid centric than the movie too, and I think I like the book better.
But maybe I should watch the movie again. Just in case.

[Guilherme Semionato · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, just baffling. One bizarre narrative choice after the other. A one-of-a-kind mess. Can't say it was worth reading, though.

[Nathan Forester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just curious to see if anything from the book is in the movie or vice versa...and yeah it's there, singing Dan Aykroyd cowboy and all.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

A thin quick read that should've taken me all but a week or two to read at the rate of reading a chapter a day. However what starts off as an interesting funny book hits a long dry road in Chapter 6. Not sure exactly what or why it is but it just drags. It is the longest chapter and the one that I would continually stop reading and put down to read something else. Once I finally got past chapter 6 the rest was easy to breeze through. Chapter 6 is a significant chapter but perhaps its too much in one. I understand the reason and the logic of it and I don't disagree. But I do know that I'd read a page or two in this chapter and then feel like ok that's enough for today and not pick it up again for a week.

Perhaps it's just me but as much as this book is funny and smart it's not enough to hold me. I'm more happy about finally finishing it than reading it.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little young adult book that I picked up at the Friends of the Library bookstore. The premise is interesting, The main character is a nine year old boy who is so unhappy with his parents that they give him "heart attacks." So he sues to become a free agent and wins. Since he's an exceptional kid, he knows someone will want him, and he travels around to visit potential parents. It starts off well and then gets ridiculous, humorless, confusing and convoluted. But it was worth a try. It was made into a movie in 1994, but is only available in VHS. That should say something.

[Kyler Place · Rating 3 out of 5]

Normally I like to write a short summary of the book, but the title pretty much says it all. North, after repeatedly risking heart attacks at the sight of his parent, decides to seek his freedom. Never mind that he is only nine-years-old. Along the way he learns a few things, but will they be enough to help him?

This book is, at times, quite humorous. The ending was a tad slow, but still enjoyable. I enjoyed the author's occasional interjections, but he does not use the consistently enough; either use them or don't use them, but be consistent.

[Shenai Alonge · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a waste of my life. I can never get that time back. The plot is a cute idea that's full of potential, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Trite, cheesy, bad current events jokes/references that are no longer current (and not particularly clever when they were current), unlikeable characters, this list could go on and on. Even the title character, the hero!, is not just not likeable, he is unlikeable. This was a miserable reading experience for me.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember liking this - as a kid feeling trapped. Can't say I would still like it and the horrible movie reviews at IMDB have me wondering . . .

[Rebecca Dehart Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because I really like the movie. The book was good. I found it amusing and enjoyed it.

[Δx Δp ≥ ½ ħ · Rating 2 out of 5]

premis awalnya lucu dan menarik: anak umur 9 tahun yg bercerai dr orang tua yg gak acuh untuk mencari orang tua baru yg perhatian. Namun semakin maju ke halaman berikutnya... groookkk...

[Shirley]

As an author, I've been advised not to rate other author's books.

[Andréa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting premise, but the result is not very funny, rather strange, and just generally not very appealing.

[Gospodyina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why I kept this on the shelf for so long; perhaps to have something under Z? I only remember it being very, very slow.

[Grade 4 Recommendations- Hausauer]

I recently read the book North. North is a 9 year old kid. “North’ is deaf but he can read lips. This story takes place in “North's” house in Texas. North is still a normal kid well just he is deaf.I think so.Sinse North could started reading lips his parents would start talking when they smiled so North could not read their lips. When they talk and North did not like it so he went to court and and he won it only took 12 seconds. I think the judge thought the kid was sick of being treated badly at all. So that's what I thought how the judge what thought. Then he went to Texas and found a couple that liked him. North always thought they were speaking really mean but it was just how they spoke. North got used to it and they moved where North used to live. After baseball he would usually go to his quiet spot in a store and sit on a couch but his new parents sat with him. Overall I enjoyed this book.

I think would recommend This book to a friend Because a lot of my friends like a book about adventure excitement. Personally i really liked this book North. I gave this book this book five stars. I think other kids and adults will like it .My favorites parts are when he goes to his quiet spot and relaxes there for the rest of the the day. His parents don't even care that he was gone. Well i like when he went to Texas to that was pretty cool i thought anyway finds a couple That spoke kinda with a texas accent. I would recommend this book to because i like how North is depth and he reads lips. This book was pretty challenging for me. I even asked my mom for help for some words. You guys should read it to. The cast North and Diesel grettum the writer and reader.

-DG