21

by Jeremy Iversen

21 drinks + 21 years ÷ 24 hours =

A New Life Plan

It's tradition in the PAK fraternity that you have to down 21 drinks on your 21st birthday. Bret's big b-day happens to be on the night of PAK's biggest blowout ever. The college is threatening to shut down their house. But the guys won't let that happen until they party like rock stars one last time.

No one sleeps until the kegs are kicked, the hot girls get hot-tubbed, the PAKs mess up some dude from Fiji, and Bret does his 21. But somewhere between the beer bong and the shot of Captain Morgan, Bret begins to wonder how he came to this school. And what he really wants out of life.

Genres: Young Adult, New Adult

261 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Tom Garback · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Critical Score: C+
Personal Score: C+
Reading Experience: 📘📘📘📘

I ended up skimming most of this, but nevertheless I kind of enjoyed it for what it is, a random little YA frat house book, which I bought from a library off a whim. Kind of weird. Sort of satirical…right? It should have been more forward with its political stance, because everyone is saying it’s offensive, but I think it’s just veering too far from preachy?

Captures the college days’ apprehension toward adult life pretty well. Maybe gets a little aimless in the second half, but otherwise a cool, unique book in the YA market. I’m surprised it’s so widely unread and poorly reviewed.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really a fascinating book that got some great reviews in the press. I picked it up in the general-literature section unsure what it was exactly. YA? Adult fiction? (The answer is somewhere between, either or both.)

Bret's a frat guy who's celebrating his 21st birthday at a subpar California college, which for the frat brothers means drinking 21 drinks over the course of the night. While we start out assuming that Bret is a standard douche, the passage of the night disabuses us of that notion through flashbacks to Bret's younger days. Amid the lyrical debauchery and brospeak, we see that Bret's trapped in his life and trying to break free.

Spoilers will be skipped here but suffice it to say nothing is as it first appears. Heroes are villains and vice-versa, and issues escalate to life-or-death stakes. The pace is quick and the book goes by fast. Definitely worth a read.

[K.L. Bernard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bret is turning twenty-one. His buddy Marty has put together a proper 21st birthday party at their sorority house. There will be twelve kegs, hard liquor, marijuana and a DJ. Since it is going to be such a huge party on the campus the boys have to make sure there will be lots of girls there too. Bret is ready to get started on his once in a lifetime party. He realizes he'll never be 21, this young and free ever again. In between all of the festivities, Bret has flashbacks to thoughts of different times and experiences in his life. It's always been about some drug, some girl or something else. He thinks about how his life would be different if he had only made different decisions. But, like most of us, we can't go back in time and alter our present. At some point Bret knows this life style, his so called friends and school will have to end and his grown up life must begin. Iversen has created a world college age readers could relate to more so than the under 18 audience that most YA novels appeal to. Iversens vivid world incorporates drugs, alcohol, sex and an environment not good for young readers no matter what their age. Parents should be fore warned before buying this book for their young adult reader.

[Jake Madl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this was a good book, if you are the type of person who likes college or partying scenarios. Although I liked this book, it was

very repetitive. The author portrays the main character Bret and his friends doing a lot of the same things throughout the book; they

drink, they party, and they mess things up. Bret's father is disappointed because he didn't apply to an Ivy League college.

This book also shows how Bret goes through college and deals with his problems. I would recommend this book to any person, boy or girl, in high school. I would give 21, by Jeremy Iversen, 3 stars out of 5.

[Bobby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bret's story is a rather stereotypical, unrealistic look at the life of a fraternity boy living up the frat life. While many of the events that take place in the book may be accurate to real-life fraternities, his progressive and cohesive thought as he becomes more and more intoxicated discredits the story. It may be appealing to teens for the subject matter, but the message may be a little too preachy to keep them interested.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I might have enjoyed this book... I like books in that pace and that end that way, but I didn't know what the hell he was talking about. All the slang! I had never heard any of it before. I am 24.... not tooo tooo old for understanding slang. I felt like he was making it up.

[Soobie is expired · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well... I don't know. I don't know what the author wanted to accomplished with this book and I don't know what happened after the 21 shots or whatever it was.

I found it difficult to read for its vocab.

[Tami · Rating 3 out of 5]

very interesting ending, almost fear and loathing in las vegas like. rest of the story was interesting with flashbacks and present time.

[Marissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like the main character Bret. The ending was dumb. It just left everything unsolved and hanging.