Review : Narrative Loserdom : From Journal One by Ryan Collins

Title : Narrative Loserdom: From Journal One
Author : Ryan Collins
Published December 1st 2011 by CreateSpace



From Goodreads: Justin Taggart doesn’t know anything (about being a loser). He likes girls and plays sports and has some friends. Unfortunately his fear of rejection outweighs his ability to deal with these well. Mostly there’s Sterling, the girl of his dreams who knows how to stop his heart by not knowing he likes her. Another thing is trying to get money with Adam, who’s rich anyway so it’s more about hanging out. As for Justin, he makes ends meet by mowing people’s yards with Adam, and sometimes by breaking into vending machines and selling late-night cable programming to peers (also with Adam). But it’s not like he doesn’t feel bad about it, since Jesus died for his sins. School is pretty terrible with all the work and practice, but there are a few people there worth mentioning. Anyone who picks up his journal will be in for something, if they feel like getting through a lot of grammar and spelling problems. They’ll probably end up seeing that they shouldn’t have looked at it anyway, because this is someone’s private anthem of girls, grass, and loserdom.




*e-book courtesy of the author

*****

I'm surprised how much I enjoyed reading Narrative Loserdom. After a few chapters, or I should say journal entries since the book is written in the form of a diary, I realized it didn't really have a plot. That didn't stop me from being engrossed in the book. I thought it was an entertaining and light read.



I've always loved reading a book with diary entries and this one was no different. I think the author did an excellent job going inside the mind of a teenage boy. I don't consider myself an expert but the author seemed to have nailed the thoughts, the emotions and the interests of a boy : girls, money, sports, friends... Narrative Loserdom is well-written and the journal entries resemble how you'd think a teenage boy would think and write.



I couldn't wait to find out what trouble Justin and his friend Adam were going to get in next. Some parts were pretty funny. I loved reading about their different jobs : mowing the lawn, selling late night tv programs, stealing cable and breaking vending machines. Never a dull moment in the everyday life of sixteen-year-old Justin Taggart!

 

 

4 out of 5 stars!!