The Loser in the Static

by Thom Young

"I found out there's nothing really wrong with myself but me." -Peyton Pieters
Fans of 'The Outsiders and the Catcher in the Rye' will love this modern take on high school romance gone wrong. A coming of age tale of teenage rebellion.

With the death of his older brother still haunting him Peyton Pieters rebels against a society that rejects individuality. When he sets off to find the only girl he has ever loved things spiral downward into a self imposed existential crisis. Obsessed with crush Amber, Peyton begins a journey that hearkens back to Kerouac’s ‘On the Road’ and Salinger’s ‘the Catcher in the Rye’ which leads to self loathing and destruction. After skipping his high school graduation, Peyton questions the meaning of life only to discover there’s nothing wrong with being yourself. The novel for the new lost Generation Z that explores issues teenagers are often afraid to talk about. the Loser in the Static.

While some of his followers clearly understand it's satire, many others seem not to. -(PBS Newshour
)Poet Thom Young bristles at the popularity of Instapoets, posting satirical verse on the web to prove his point. -The Wall Street Journal
"the Loser in the Static is a dark and beautiful journey of teenage self discovery. Young has written his masterpiece." -Scott Laudati (author of Play The Devil, Kuboa Press)

222 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 1, 2020

About the author

Thom Young is a writer from Texas. His work has been in PBS Newshour, The Wall Street Journal, The Oxford Review, and over a hundred literary journals. A 2008 Million Writers Award and 2016 Pushcart Prize nominee. His work was recently featured in the Friction Series in over 700 Barnes and Noble locations.



@tyypoet Instagram

@thomyoung17 Twitter

Reviews

[Indie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but I found the character so unlikable and so arrogant. I couldn’t find any redeeming qualities in him, if there were, or if he turned a new leaf in the end, this book would’ve been much better.
A list of people and groups he thinks he is better than or smarter than:
-women
-Christians
-fat people
-everyone in his literature class
-guys who play guitars
-hipsters
-people who go to high school parties
-....I know I’m missing more in this list

He also forces himself on 2 girls? He wakes up hungover and has vague memories of forcing himself on a girl, she presses charges, drops them, then he claims women are liars?? The other girl keeps pushing him away when he comes onto her, but then eventually “let’s him” make out with her.

I like the authors poetry, so this was a disappointment to me. The writing style of the book was alright. I’m drawn to a direct style approach to storytelling, so I did appreciate that.

[Kayla Markel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holden is that you?

Catcher in the Rye was one of the few books I enjoyed being forced to read in school. This modern version was a great surprise to stumble upon. I always enjoy characters that are so simple yet so complex. Definitely took me back to high school and makes me want to experience more characters like Peyton and Holden.

[Britt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A darkly compelling tale of a boy at odds with his world. I'm glad I read it because I feel like it gives me more insight into what is going on inside my boys' heads.

[Tranese · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope.

First book to be read by Thom Young. I would not say this is a dark high school romance. Honestly not even a romance. I wouldn't even say this is story being told, more like essay that's being read by the person themselves. This book in my opinion ( or at least the synopsis gives me that feeling) is suppose to be about a guy liking a girl and doing whatever it takes to get the girl to notice him. This book is not about that at all.

[Scott Laudati · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of the Loser in the Static and I couldn't put it down. I think it's because I was the main character (Peyton Pieters) or maybe I still am. Anyway it's lots of life advice but also feelings you've always felt but never quite put into words. Loved it.

[Megan Oettinger · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 Star.

The Good:
• I didn't really like this book

The Bad:
• The Rambling
• How the story didn't seem to have a point
• The writing style

The Book:
I really didn't like this book, it did remind me a lot of Catcher in the Rye like everyone is mentioning but I wasn't a dan of that book either. It just seemed to go on & on & on without a point. Peyton just kept rambling & it's told in such a way that I'm bored. He basically rambles by saying I went here, I saw this, here is another point & go off on some tangent that was somehow related to the beginning point. Peyton didn't seem very interesting either, just pointlessly wandering. Overall I'm not a fan of the way this story was told & I really struggled to get through this book.

[Originalninja · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book that I would have normally gone for. Although, I do love The Outsiders along with most all of S.E. Hinton's books. The reason I am bringing that up is because the author of this book was correct in saying that if you enjoyed The Outsiders you would enjoy this book. I very much enjoyed this book. It was an in depth look into the life of a young man throughout a years time. It covered his emotions, thoughts, opinions, struggles, and general feelings of things that were going on in his life. The writing style itself made it hard to put the book down. The book is very relatable, I would definitely recommend this book.

[Holly Trumble · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's my catcher in the rye. i always wanted to sleep with holden caulfield but i figured i missed my chance. now i want the main character of this book. i love him.

[Obe Moby · Rating 5 out of 5]

dayuhm that shit was dope

[Mr. Man · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, a book totally opposite to anything published in the last ten years

[Big Tank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book bad dudes bad bitches

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf the writing is so bad no Ro and didn't get to pr the writing is in first person the wholesome

With no dialogue.

[ᥫ᭡ Halloween Ghostie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trigger warnings

Not for the faint of heart. More like for teens, but as an adult… I find this a bit traumatic.

[Ashlight Grayson]

Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.

Check out my explanation on The Storygraph:

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews...

[Whitney]

DNF
The writing is meh and it’s from 1st person perspective and just their rambling and too many thoughts and 1/2 of it doesn’t even matter to make the story. It just irks me so I’m not going to finish…I bought the 2nd book too 🤦‍♀️