YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

Sixteen-year-old Austin Szerba interweaves the story of his Polish legacy with the story of how he and his best friend , Robby, brought about the end of humanity and the rise of an army of unstoppable, six-foot tall praying mantises in small-town Iowa.

To make matters worse, Austin's hormones are totally oblivious; they don't care that the world is in utter chaos: Austin is in love with his girlfriend, Shann, but remains confused about his sexual orientation. He's stewing in a self-professed constant state of maximum horniness, directed at both Robby and Shann. Ultimately, it's up to Austin to save the world and propagate the species in this sci-fright journey of survival, sex, and the complex realities of the human condition.

Hey guys this is my first buddy read so I'm not sure how it does. Looks pretty simple. No one set any kind of schedule for it right? Should we?

Ozcose wrote: "Hey guys this is my first buddy read so I'm not sure how it does. Looks pretty simple. No one set any kind of schedule for it right? Should we?"

I'll be starting it now.
I don't actually schedule anything, 'cause I'm always counting my books for challenges, so I read as much as I can. So you just read it normally and write here your comments about what you're thiking of the story, when something important happens, etc. Like:

Chapter 3 (or whatever name it has)

<*here you hide your comment with the spoiler advertisement*>

Shann's New Old House

(view spoiler)[ Someone is full of hormones! I'm not sure what to think about it yet, let's see what happens. (hide spoiler)]

If You Ever Want To Get Shot In Ealing

(view spoiler)[ Austin, dear, I'm pretty sure you're, at least, bissexual. And obviously Robby feels something for him. I'm curious to know what is going to happen after that kiss (except for the insects invasion, which is pretty obvious that is going to happen at some point). (hide spoiler)]

Okay cool, thanks Tayane. I dug in tonight as well and am really enjoying it. I know the repetition has its place but it's kind of driving me bonkers.

Grant Wallace Murdered Me (view spoiler)[ I hope this isn't foreshadowing! (hide spoiler)]

If You Ever Want To Get Shot In Ealing, Taking Drags, and everything in between.
(view spoiler)[ Some of the scenes between Robby and Austin remind me really strongly of conversations in Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. I'm really looking forward to seeing if Austin talks with his dad and what that talk will look like. (hide spoiler)]

A Visitor Comes and Goes
(view spoiler)[ If the reason the plagued people and insects don't go after Robbie is because they activated using his blood, that is a really ingenious weapon they created, though I wonder why it includes Austin too... proximity seems an imprecise reason. (hide spoiler)]

Finished part 1

(view spoiler)[This is so weird so far. Hope it turns into a good weird. And now that that thing is out (can't say the name properly, I'm not reading in English) stuff is surely about to happen.
About the characters: Austin is irritating me a bit. I like Robby, he's a good friend. I don't know much about him yet, but I can say that I wish he was the narrator. (hide spoiler)]

@ Tayane Why does Austin irritate you?

Ozcose wrote: "@ Tayane Why does Austin irritate you?"

Because I don't really like characters that get horny for anything. I know he's a teen and he's full of hormones, but being in his head is a bit too much. Mostly because of the narrative, probably. I really like his conflict about his sexuality, though, it's something that leaves me curious to know how things will turn out.

Taking Drags
(view spoiler)[ This was interesting. I like that Austin opened himself to Robby, telling him his conflicts.
In the other hand, the book is kind of boring me a bit, I can't keep reading it for long periods. I'll try to finish it 'til tomorrow, though. (hide spoiler)]

He is sex obsessed I can see where you're coming from. (view spoiler)[ And I'm not bored with it but I'm definitely skipping over reading the same names of the same people and same places on every single page. I would be interested in getting a Robby or Shann pov to see what's it's like in their heads. I also like that he had that conversation with Robby and that it was so casual. I wonder where the three of them are going to end up. (hide spoiler)]

Finished!
It was a struggle to go through this book. I know I could've liked it, but the narrative didn't let me enjoy it. I like weird stories, but this one was too much. And I didn't even like the main character.