Destroy All Cars by Blake Nelson

Borders.com:

James Hoff likes to rant against America's consumerist culture. He also likes to rant against his ex-girlfriend, Sadie, who he feels isn't doing enough to change the world. But just like he can't avoid buying things, he also can't avoid Sadie.

Ok, this book totally rocked my world. I kept cracking up over and over again. I loved being inside of 11th grader James Hoff's world, listening to his rants and watching him pine over several girls. His observations about the world were just too good. This was definitely my kind of book. I felt like I was sort of laughing at how extreme he was but at the same time kind of got him. While he was obviously a lot of talk and not a lot of action I loved where he was coming from and would love to have a friend like that.

While I loved James rants and sort of easier said than done thoughts about the world I could see how he might get on other people's nerves. I really liked the way the book was written, how it was a mix of James rants, journal entries, and conversations with other people. There is an especially insightful essay about nature towards the end of the book which I really liked. I also liked the different relationships he explores with a few girls throughout the book. It was definitely harder for him to be Mr. Tough Guy when he was around Sadie his ex-girlfriend.

It was nice to see how James kind of mellowed out and found a place where he belonged towards the end of the book instead of trying to stand out from everyone as much as he could towards the beginning of the book. I'll definitely be checking out some of author Blake Nelson's other work!

Destroy All Cars is released on May 1st.

4.5/ 5 Stars
ARC received from publisher