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Desperate
Eighteen-year-old Buddy McNeal has always finished last in the eyes of his parents. His mother deserted the family, divorcing his dad when Buddy was eleven. Buddy’s father, a wealthy real estate investor, is a big-time womanizer who no longer has time for him. As an all-state wide receiver, Buddy earns a college football scholarship and intends to prove to himself and his parents that he is somebody by becoming an all-America player in college, and eventually a million-dollar star in pro-football—recognized, admired, and loved by everyone. In ninth grade, Buddy had a brief sexual encounter with the beautiful but mysterious Crystal Crowe, who promptly disappeared, only to return as a senior. They meet up again, and Buddy falls in love with her, but he quickly becomes embroiled in her unstable home life, including a lesbian love triangle. He follows Crystal down a path that leads them both into a horrific world of mayhem, and eventually Buddy’s dreams for the future destroyed, his life forever changed.
238 pages, Paperback
Published August 17, 2017
About the author
Jon Ripslinger
18 books24 followersAfter Jon Ripslinger retired as a public high school English teacher, he began a career as an author. He has published many young adult novels and truly enjoys writing books for teens. He has also published numerous short stories in Woman’s World magazine.
Jon and his wife, Colette, live in Iowa. They are the proud parents of six children, and they have thirteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
When not working writing, Jon enjoys the outdoors, especially fishing. He waits patiently for the next “big one” to strike.
Jon and his wife, Colette, live in Iowa. They are the proud parents of six children, and they have thirteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
When not working writing, Jon enjoys the outdoors, especially fishing. He waits patiently for the next “big one” to strike.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 30, 2017
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.
Warning: This is probably gonna be a really angry rant because the more I talk about this book the more shit I see and the angrier I get. So if you're into that sort of thing buckle up folks, you're in a for a wild ride where I may or may not make sense but one thing is for sure; I'm pissed.
I seem to be in the minority with this book. Not that there's a whole lot of reviews here to read.
Okay look, was this book compelling? Yes.
Did it make some good points? Yeah, sure.
Did I want to find out what happened? Yes.
I'm a sucker for a book where it opens with the MC chatting to police about something that happened and we get to find out alongside them. It's been used many times to tell a story and I love it every time. But this book had so much problematic shit I was drowning in it.
Let's take once problematic thing at a time.
Homophobia/biphobia: This book had me feeling conflicted for so long because here's the thing;
There is a difference between a character that's problematic and an author that's problematic. In order for characters to feel realistic they need to have flaws. A lot of homophobic and biphobic shit was said in this book and although I felt there were a few comments where the author tried to distance his beliefs and thoughts from that of his characters, he failed. And if you're going to include homophobic behavior that you don't agree with you should probably have it be challenged in the book but that didn't really happen here either like there was the throw away "She's bi, not that there's anything wrong with that" which is honestly such a bullshit way of saying "I don't agree with this" because it's the kind of wording used by homophobic people who are trying desperately to appear to not be homophobic trash. If the author's intention was to challenge homophobia then he did a shit job and if you're gay I'd advise against reading this book. Seriously, run for the fucking hills it's not worth it.
D*** is used multiple times which I mean, it's just not nice, especially when written by an old white dude. No Offense™ but old white dudes need to stop. It's just offensive as the word F**. Don't use it. You're not being edgy or "down with the kids". You just look like an asshole.
The romantic interest is bisexual which would be great if it wasn't for the fact that so many authors make characters bi to be trendy. it felt like a cheap ploy to add an extra layer to the book and don't get me started on the fact that it hella played into the trope of "bi-slut". Newsflash. Bi girls aren't necessarily sluts just because they like boys and girls. I'm sure the vast majority don't date/hook-up with three people at the same time either. Like I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure that's a very dangerous and offensive stereotype you're playing into there.
Also why is it that for a girl to be bi or gay she has to have been treated horribly by the men in her life? Like I get that it may be true for a lot of people but it seems to be the only way straight dude's can rationalize a girl not wanting to bone them.
Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Oh yes we got that as well. Crystal Crowe, if that isn't a manic pixie dream girl name if I ever saw one, is the main love interest for this book. Our lead Buddy meets her by a creek and she gives him a blow job (or was it a hand job?) in exchange for a pack of smokes and then they skinny dip in his pool only for her to just leave his life for 6 years and come back in the final semester of school before they graduate. Her life is shit. Her mum's never been a very good mum, her step brother beat her around, her step-father beat her mum around and threatened to kill her littler brother (we never really did hear what happened to him) This girl has a lot of problems. I'm not gonna say it's unrealistic because honestly I've met people who have faced more and worse but it just plays into this stereotype soooooo much. What annoys me is that Buddy tries so desperately to fix her while also trying to fuck her. The author tries to hide this fact by having him constantly say that that's not what he plans to do to everyone who asks but that doesn't change the fact that it's clear as fucking day that he wants to have sex with her and she screams fucking femme fatale.
Her fucked upness serves as a character arc for Buddy. She exists purely to teach him a lesson in life. She's there to show us how nice buddy is. How good he actually has it.
Honestly this book seems to be very much a case self-insertion.
By the end I felt very much like I had read this before and I pretty much had. It's every YA contemporary written by a middle-aged-to-old straight white guy. This is nothing new.
There was also a continuity error where the character refers to being told something by the police which makes him think a certain way about something but he hadn't spoken to the police before this situation because he's telling them the story of this after it's all already happened so that bothered me.
I will give this book some credit. It does deliver on the message that you're parents can royally fuck you up and that they play a big part in how much of a chance a kid has in life. I don't know if that was the main message but if it was than Ripslinger succeeded in that, if not much else.
—
Initials thoughts and feelings: I'm feeling very conflicted about this book.
___
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Warning: This is probably gonna be a really angry rant because the more I talk about this book the more shit I see and the angrier I get. So if you're into that sort of thing buckle up folks, you're in a for a wild ride where I may or may not make sense but one thing is for sure; I'm pissed.
I seem to be in the minority with this book. Not that there's a whole lot of reviews here to read.
Okay look, was this book compelling? Yes.
Did it make some good points? Yeah, sure.
Did I want to find out what happened? Yes.
I'm a sucker for a book where it opens with the MC chatting to police about something that happened and we get to find out alongside them. It's been used many times to tell a story and I love it every time. But this book had so much problematic shit I was drowning in it.
Let's take once problematic thing at a time.
Homophobia/biphobia: This book had me feeling conflicted for so long because here's the thing;
There is a difference between a character that's problematic and an author that's problematic. In order for characters to feel realistic they need to have flaws. A lot of homophobic and biphobic shit was said in this book and although I felt there were a few comments where the author tried to distance his beliefs and thoughts from that of his characters, he failed. And if you're going to include homophobic behavior that you don't agree with you should probably have it be challenged in the book but that didn't really happen here either like there was the throw away "She's bi, not that there's anything wrong with that" which is honestly such a bullshit way of saying "I don't agree with this" because it's the kind of wording used by homophobic people who are trying desperately to appear to not be homophobic trash. If the author's intention was to challenge homophobia then he did a shit job and if you're gay I'd advise against reading this book. Seriously, run for the fucking hills it's not worth it.
D*** is used multiple times which I mean, it's just not nice, especially when written by an old white dude. No Offense™ but old white dudes need to stop. It's just offensive as the word F**. Don't use it. You're not being edgy or "down with the kids". You just look like an asshole.
The romantic interest is bisexual which would be great if it wasn't for the fact that so many authors make characters bi to be trendy. it felt like a cheap ploy to add an extra layer to the book and don't get me started on the fact that it hella played into the trope of "bi-slut". Newsflash. Bi girls aren't necessarily sluts just because they like boys and girls. I'm sure the vast majority don't date/hook-up with three people at the same time either. Like I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure that's a very dangerous and offensive stereotype you're playing into there.
Also why is it that for a girl to be bi or gay she has to have been treated horribly by the men in her life? Like I get that it may be true for a lot of people but it seems to be the only way straight dude's can rationalize a girl not wanting to bone them.
Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Oh yes we got that as well. Crystal Crowe, if that isn't a manic pixie dream girl name if I ever saw one, is the main love interest for this book. Our lead Buddy meets her by a creek and she gives him a blow job (or was it a hand job?) in exchange for a pack of smokes and then they skinny dip in his pool only for her to just leave his life for 6 years and come back in the final semester of school before they graduate. Her life is shit. Her mum's never been a very good mum, her step brother beat her around, her step-father beat her mum around and threatened to kill her littler brother (we never really did hear what happened to him) This girl has a lot of problems. I'm not gonna say it's unrealistic because honestly I've met people who have faced more and worse but it just plays into this stereotype soooooo much. What annoys me is that Buddy tries so desperately to fix her while also trying to fuck her. The author tries to hide this fact by having him constantly say that that's not what he plans to do to everyone who asks but that doesn't change the fact that it's clear as fucking day that he wants to have sex with her and she screams fucking femme fatale.
Her fucked upness serves as a character arc for Buddy. She exists purely to teach him a lesson in life. She's there to show us how nice buddy is. How good he actually has it.
Honestly this book seems to be very much a case self-insertion.
By the end I felt very much like I had read this before and I pretty much had. It's every YA contemporary written by a middle-aged-to-old straight white guy. This is nothing new.
There was also a continuity error where the character refers to being told something by the police which makes him think a certain way about something but he hadn't spoken to the police before this situation because he's telling them the story of this after it's all already happened so that bothered me.
I will give this book some credit. It does deliver on the message that you're parents can royally fuck you up and that they play a big part in how much of a chance a kid has in life. I don't know if that was the main message but if it was than Ripslinger succeeded in that, if not much else.
—
Initials thoughts and feelings: I'm feeling very conflicted about this book.
___
│Blog│Instagram│Twitter│Tumblr│
August 10, 2017
This is a marvelous and well-written coming of age tale wrapped in edge-of-your-seat suspense. Told in a series of flashbacks as the main character is interrogated by police, it evokes all the great moments of a classic Perry Mason mystery, revealing one shocking detail after another and keeping the reader hooked until the very end.
FULL REVIEW: http://thetbrpile.weebly.com/reviews/...
FULL REVIEW: http://thetbrpile.weebly.com/reviews/...
August 15, 2017
Thanks for another great read, Jon Ripslinger.
September 7, 2017
Buddy McNeal is not unlike many ninth graders - he is still trying to find his own way of pushing the boundaries, of figuring out how to punish his parents for their lack of attention and affection. After a brief encounter with a strange teenager named Crystal Crowe, Buddy decides that it is up to him to make his future a happy one.
Four years later, Buddy appears to be a success story. He has a girlfriend and has secured a football scholarship to college for the next year, yet he is not happy. When Crystal reappears in his life, with problems that Buddy hopes to solve, will he travel down a destructive path?
I found some of Desperate to be very compelling, but the many side plots ended up stealing the focus from the main story. In an attempt to reach a wider YA audience, the author tried too hard to include all of the issues that are at the forefront of teenager reality. Buddy's struggles with his parent's divorce and the immense pressure from others to push Crystal away were enough to drive the story, so the addition of LBGT issues, violence, and infidelity were just not needed. I also was not a fan of the format of Desperate, with Buddy telling the story of what happened. This did not allow the plot to unfold naturally and seemed forced.
As a fan of YA realistic fiction, I thought that, overall, Desperate had a good characters and was a quick read. Teenage readers will be able to identify with some of the issues involved and may find some of the characters to be relatable.
Four years later, Buddy appears to be a success story. He has a girlfriend and has secured a football scholarship to college for the next year, yet he is not happy. When Crystal reappears in his life, with problems that Buddy hopes to solve, will he travel down a destructive path?
I found some of Desperate to be very compelling, but the many side plots ended up stealing the focus from the main story. In an attempt to reach a wider YA audience, the author tried too hard to include all of the issues that are at the forefront of teenager reality. Buddy's struggles with his parent's divorce and the immense pressure from others to push Crystal away were enough to drive the story, so the addition of LBGT issues, violence, and infidelity were just not needed. I also was not a fan of the format of Desperate, with Buddy telling the story of what happened. This did not allow the plot to unfold naturally and seemed forced.
As a fan of YA realistic fiction, I thought that, overall, Desperate had a good characters and was a quick read. Teenage readers will be able to identify with some of the issues involved and may find some of the characters to be relatable.
September 1, 2017
Desperate is a twisted ride of murder and love. You can't help but feel for poor Buddy McNeal as he his sucked into this world of lies. All he ever wanted to do was make his father notice him, but that leads to wrong decisions.
I really loved following Buddy's story. It was nail biting as I turned into one of those girls that says things like "Don't go in the basement!" I found myself wanting him to make the right decision, but also wanting him not to because I craved the drama and mystery.
The story was a little short, leaving me a little disappointed. I think if there was more to the trial and ending it would have been better, but it still kept me entertained throughout the whole book.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
I really loved following Buddy's story. It was nail biting as I turned into one of those girls that says things like "Don't go in the basement!" I found myself wanting him to make the right decision, but also wanting him not to because I craved the drama and mystery.
The story was a little short, leaving me a little disappointed. I think if there was more to the trial and ending it would have been better, but it still kept me entertained throughout the whole book.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
August 23, 2017
Fantastic suspense with really amazing characters!
September 3, 2017
This book had me riveted throughout the entire story. I loved all of the characters and felt the author did a supreme job establishing high school aged characters. I felt the author did an amazing job with character development and storyline. I felt like I was instantly immersed in Buddy's life. The author did a wonderful job conveying accurate descriptions of relationships between parents and children. I loved how the author was able to really bring awareness to how parents actions towards their children can affect how the kids act, the things they do and who they become as adults. I aslo felt the author did a good job expressing how parents do not really know as much about what their children are really doing as they believe they know. I really enjoyed how the story was told, but the suspense of what exactly happened killed me...well maybe not me...anyways when I finally got to the chapters that reveled the whole story I was so engrossed nothing else mattered! I couldn't put this book down. I cannot believe how fast I flew through this book. Highly recommended read! Surely won't disappoint.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews