I can't believe it's the middle of April! I bought a lot of books this month too (I'll never learn) and I can't wait to read ALL of them!!

Here is the list:

Away We Go - Emil Ostrovski 

Into the Dim - Janet B. Taylor 

Paper Princess: A Novel (The Royals) - Erin Watt 

Reign of Shadows - Sophie Jordan 

When We Collided - Emery Lord 

The Haters - Jesse Andrews 

Every Heart a Doorway - Seanan McGuire 

 

Also, I finished "The forbidden wish" by Jessica Khoury the other day and as I really liked Jessica's style, I went ahead and bought a trilogy series she wrote with a dystopian theme:

Origin - Jessica Khoury 

Vitro - Jessica Khoury 

Kalahari  - Jessica Khoury 

I received an ARC of this novel.

This is a beautifully written book. Well done inner monologue. While there were a few plot points I was uncomfortable with (kidnapping a baby, getting drunk while watching said baby), overall I liked the story. At times humorous, other times heartfelt, the writing is a wonderful twist of poetic language and teenage foolishness.

“Wo ein bisschen Zeit ist…” von Emil Ostrovski hat mich mit dem tollen Cover und der vielversprechenden Inhaltsangabe sehr neugierig gemacht – leider aber vielleicht ein wenig zu neugierig.

An seinem 18. Geburtstag möchte sich Jack eigentlich fast umbringen. Doch dann ruft ihn seine Ex-Freundin Jess an. Sie liegt im Krankenhaus in den Wehen – mit seinem Kind. Das Baby soll zur Adoption freigegeben, denn was könnten die Jugendlichen dem Jungen schon bieten?

Doch als Jack auf seinen Sohn trifft, beschließt er, dass er ihn noch nicht hergeben kann. So lange Jacks Großmutter sich an ihn erinnern kann, soll sie Sokrates – so nennt Jack seinen Sohn – kennen lernen. Und so entführt Jack kurzerhand das Kind und macht sich gemeinsam mit Tommy und Jess auf einen etwas sehr verrückten und chaotischen Roadtrip.

Eigentlich kann man sagen, dass der Klappentext des Romans bereits die gesamte Handlung beschreibt bzw. sogar verrät. Viel mehr passiert nämlich leider nicht mehr wirklich. Vor allem der Anfang gestaltet sich sehr langatmig und, für meinen Geschmack, ein wenig zu uninteressant. Ich hatte auf Grund des Klappentextes wohl etwas zu hohe Erwartungen, denn erwartet habe ich mehr Witz, Unterhaltung und vor allem überhaupt mehr an Handlung, Taten. Dabei philosophiert Jack die meiste Zeit, denkt viel über die Menschen und die Welt nach, führt gedanklich Gespräche mit Sokrates. Einige seiner Gedanken fand ich tatsächlich auch interessant, aber die meiste Zeit über haben sie mich leider eher gelangweilt.

Von den Charakteren war mir lediglich Tommy einigermaßen sympathisch, da er die philosophische Stimmung immer mal wieder mit seinen Sprüchen aufgelockert hat und ein bisschen Unterhaltung in die Handlung eingebracht hat. Jess gegenüber hatte ich relativ neutrale Gefühle – sie ist eben eine durchschnittliche junge Frau, die im College eigentlich nur ihren Spaß haben will, die aber genug Verantwortungsbewusstsein besitzt, um zu erkennen, dass sie ihrem Kind nichts zu bieten hat. Der Protagonist, Jack, war mir im Großen und Ganzen doch leider eher unsympathisch, ich konnte mich einfach nicht mit seinen Gedankengängen anfreunden. Zwar gab es während der gesamten Handlung durchaus positive Momente, die auch einigermaßen unterhaltsam waren, aber im Grunde waren meine Erwartungen an das Buch gänzlich anders als der tatsächliche Inhalt.

Was sich nach einem coolen, witzigen und interessanten Roadtrip anhört, war für mich persönlich leider eine langatmige, philosophische und chaotische Reise. Die Grundidee finde ich eigentlich super, aber der Autor hätte – meiner Meinung nach – viel mehr draus machen können. Schade!

There is something terrifying yet absolutely comforting about coming across a character that seems to be of equal mind to mine. Or maybe it's the author's thoughts that might as well have been pulled out of my very own mind. Not that I could have written this tale but the voice! That voice was like echoes of my own. Not to say either that I would ever think of kidnapping a baby (even if it were my own) to travel cross-country, so that my grandmother might meet this baby. I think this premise did make for a rather far-fetched plot but in the interest of the book, I decided to stretch my suspension of disbelief a little more than I usually do. In doing so, I think I really came to appreciate what The Paradox of Vertical Flight is about.

The Paradox of Vertical Flight itself is a fairly short book. 256 pages at 1.5 line spacing, so it’s easy to fly through the book. Yet, I’d say to fully appreciate it, it’d be best to sit in a quiet corner with more than a couple of hours to spare when reading it. This way there’s time to let all the words wash over you and the space to let your mind wander. That is because I find that what made this book so great for me is that it made me think about my own life and the things that should matter more and the things that should matter less.

The father of the baby came to name the baby Socrates. It didn’t matter to him if others would accept the name. All that mattered was that he could call him Socrates. If that name choice is any indication, the narrative bordered on the philosophical for a good part of the book. Those who enjoy philosophy will recognize a lot of the theories weaved into the book. Yet it did not become so inaccessible that anyone who has never learned any philosophy will not understand the musings of the main character.

What I liked best about The Paradox of Vertical Flight is that it gives a lot of credit to the reader. It expects an intellectual involvement that exceeds many YA books. Instead of a plain retelling of events, there is also a great focus on the things a teenager thinks about. Sure, boys will be boys and all that but despite all the stupid things teenagers do (like getting his ex-girlfriend pregnant in this case), they do have more mature thoughts than many adults like to believe. I wasn’t surprised then when I found out that the author himself is only in his early twenties. I think that allowed him to encapsulate the thoughts, emotions and actions of this 18-year-old so perfectly.

 

This review is also available at dudettereads.com.

Ostrovski’s first novel “for teens” is misleading in its claim to tell the “epic” story of Jack’s 18th birthday. With mentions of Kafka, Daedalus, the Matrix, and jumping out of dorm windows in the first 8 pages it seems like maybe the book could deliver a quirky teen read that might appeal to fans of John Green, Rainbow Rowell, and Cory Doctorow. That is not the case.

First of all, it is very unclear whether Jack is a senior in a private high school or a freshman in a private college. This distinction is important, but it isn’t made soon enough. Second, the story follows Jack as he kidnaps his newborn son from the hospital and basically goes on a joyride with the infant, which he named Socrates, somehow thinking that he won’t be caught. He wanted the mother to have an abortion, but once he holds the newborn in his arms Jack realizes that maybe he does want to keep this smelly little bundle of human that has his nose—oh, how cute! Right? Wrong. Jack proceeds to take a cab to Walmart, where he asks the cabbie: What do babies eat? Clearly Jack has no idea what he is doing. And this is not good for the story. Not good at all.

Throughout his “epic” escapades Jack must try to keep the baby safe, healthy, and fed, while running from his ex-girlfriend and the police. At one point he does end up in college, with a cool roommate named Tommy. Him and Tommy end up in jail. They get out of jail. Jack grows up and tries to still see his kid. The story bookends with a prologue and epilogue that feature Jack out at a diner with his now teenage son. We aren’t told whether the kid is actually named Socrates. I sure hope not.

I would not recommend this book to teens, ever.