Firecracker: First Edition

Ich habe dieses Buch abgebrochen. Und das mache ich eigentlich fast nie.Aber Astrid Krieger, die Hauptfigur, hat keinerlei rettende Eigenschaften und es war für mich einfach nur mühsam dieses Buch zu lesen.Der Autor, David Iserson, ist auch Texter bei der Serie New Girl, was mich schon ein bisschen warnen hätte müssen... aber da diese Serie so eine Art guilty pleasure für mich ist, habe ich mir gedacht, ich probier das Buch einfach mal...aber...für mich schaut es so aus, als ob Astrid Krieger, die Hauptfigur, einfach nur quirky ist, weils eben gerade modern ist in YA Büchern über quirky Heldinnen zu schreiben.Ich habe lange auf irgendetwas gutes, für die Geschichte oder Heldin rehabilitierendes gesucht, ein Moment wo sie als Person wächst, irgendetwas interessantes oder auch nur ein flüchtiger Blick darauf... aber nein. Nix da.Auch ihre Eltern, ihre Schwester und Freunde sind die Stereotypen, die man erwartet (was ja an sich nichts Schlechtes ist. Klischees gibt es ja schließlich, weil sie in gewissem Rahmen gut funktionieren). Nur die Figur ihres Großvaters hatte kurz einen gewissen Reiz, zumindest für kurze Zeit.Das einzige, was ich an diesem Buch gut fand, war, dass Astrids Vater eine Rakete in ihrem Garten aufgestellt hatte.Als es mir einfach zu blöd war, weiterzulesen, habe ich aufgehört. Also habe ich keine Ahnung, wie das Buch endet. Aber eigentlich ist mir das auch egal.Diese Bewertung tut mir etwas leid, weil Autoren sich ja prinzipiell Mühe geben, wenn sie etwas schreiben, aber ebenso leid tut es mir wegen der Zeit, die ich verloren habe, als ich dieses Buch gelesen habe.

After reading the novel--aside from it being full of fantastic one-liners and hilariously vivid characters--I found it to be a particularly interesting character study.Astrid Krieger lives an incredible life--saying and doing things most people wouldn't (and probably shouldn't). With a shallow reading of the novel, you might dismiss her as being nasty without cause--but that would be ignoring all the great work the author does to build out this character's history/context. Growing up in a family of virtually unlimited wealth and power, free from consequence and undeniably precocious, Astrid is a product of her surroundings (even if she'd never admit it). With that in mind, her journey and subsequent interactions with supporting characters read as a struggle between a lifetime of learned behavior and strange, new challenges to her sense of self--a challenge to which anyone can relate.Deeper analysis aside, it's just an entertaining read! Astrid has an acerbic wit and I thoroughly enjoyed getting wrapped up in her twisted perspective on friendship, family and society-at-large. With Firecracker, Iserson has not only proven his comedic chops, he's written something fresh--cutting through a deluge of YA fiction that is all-too-often insipid and toothless.

I found Astrid hilarious, interesting, and unique. Iserson has the technique of developing a main character who you love to hate and hate to love. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who has both fond and hideous experiences/memories of high school. Whatever age the reader is, it is total entertainment as the story of these quirky characters unfold .

Just when it seemed like so many YA books were becoming plagued with over-wrought, maudlin backstories that anesthetized characters from being truly flawed and therefore AMAZING, along comes Astrid Krieger. What a breath of fresh air. She's brash. She's impulsive. She's unapologetic. She's a superhero without a cape, avenging any and all wrongs, no matter how small. And what fun it is to watch her go. The thing that really worked for me about the book and what ultimately grounded it was that I could see her immaturity behind the facade. And when she does start to grow and change, she doesn't become some saccarine, Disney-fied version of herself, she just becomes stronger. A tour de force of one-liners. I will be buying copies for all my ladies. This is a must read.

I cannot remember the last time I enjoyed reading a book as much as I enjoyed Firecracker. Astrid is a pitch perfect character unlike any other I've ever encountered, and her story is delightfully complicated from start to finish. I am a chronic skimmer of all things printed, but with this I was afraid to miss one word.