Killing the Math

by Joey Truman

It's hard to be sixteen. It's even harder to be sixteen in Worland Wyoming when everywhere you look is just beautifully boring. How can you even stand it? This is the tale of a young man caught up in all the beauty while being eaten alive by the boredom. Is it possible to strike a balance? Joey Truman makes an attempt in his second novel Killing The Math.

Genres: Young Adult

158 pages, Paperback

Published June 20, 2016

Reviews

[Natalie S]

A good coming of age story.

[Ambzmorris · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s a slice of life/coming-of-age story about a teen boy from my hometown (which is why I picked it up to begin with). This personal connection biased me in favor of the writer, but even so, this short work was difficult to slog through. The main character is an angry, horny teenager who never develops his character. The plot was nearly non-existent and I had to force myself to read the last 25 pages out of principal. Skip this and read “Cooking Cockroach” by the same writer, it’s much more enjoyable.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't persevere with this book. Aside from the bad language used constantly the writing style was terrible. Every sentence was less than 10 words long and bore no description or feelings of the protagonist.

I even skipped ahead to see if it got better. It didn't. More teenagers getting high and swearing constantly instead of engaging brain to widen their vocabulary and worst of all more of the short sentence writing.

Boring as hell, ironic really.

[Randi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. It's a portrayal of teenage boyhood in rural Wyoming that while totally foreign to my teenagehood felt relatable and tragic in it's familiarity. I loved re-visiting areas of the country where I've been as a tourist through the eyes of a resentful local kid. It's a quick read and I recommend it!

[Miette Gillette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would not have published this book were it not brilliant.