The Haters by Jesse Andrews

Going on a road trip before the school year begins? Follow along with this band!

The Haters by Jesse Andrews is a stand-along young adult contemporary.

Synopsis:

” From Jesse Andrews, author of the New York Times bestselling Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and screenwriter of the Sundance award–winning motion picture of the same name, comes a groundbreaking young adult novel about music, love, friendship, and freedom as three young musicians follow a quest to escape the law long enough to play the amazing show they hope (but also doubt) they have in them.

Inspired by the years he spent playing bass in a band himself, The Haters is Jesse Andrews’s road trip adventure about a trio of jazz-camp escapees who, against every realistic expectation, become a band.

For Wes and his best friend, Corey, jazz camp turns out to be lame. It’s pretty much all dudes talking in Jazz Voice. But then they jam with Ash, a charismatic girl with an unusual sound, and the three just click. It’s three and a half hours of pure musical magic, and Ash makes a decision: They need to hit the road. Because the road, not summer camp, is where bands get good. Before Wes and Corey know it, they’re in Ash’s SUV heading south, and The Haters Summer of Hate Tour has begun.

In his second novel, Andrews again brings his brilliant and distinctive voice to YA, in the perfect book for music lovers, fans of The Commitments and High Fidelity, or anyone who has ever loved—and hated—a song or a band. This witty, funny coming-of-age novel is contemporary fiction at its best.“

My Review:

Especially in the YA realm, there are very few books written fully from the male perspective. We mostly read about the strong heroine or the love-struck girl, but this book is NOT one of those. There are many aspects of this book that give it the unique touch.

For one, two out of the three main characters are teen guys following the point-of-view of Wes who is the more reserved of the two.

The writing is very realistic in terms of who our main character is. If you don’t like to read a lot of cuss words/profanity, this may not be the book for you because the dialogue is FULL of it. They definitely do not hold back anything. Also, most of the dialogue is formatted in a list. The author loved to put lists all over the place which was fun to read.

As most teenage guys like to cuss, thy also like to talk/think about girls. So naturally, this book is no different. This is by far, a guy’s book. Not to say that a girl wouldn’t like it, but there is a lot of “guy talk” and a lot of talk about sex (and yes, there is a sex scene). So with these two things in mind, this may be a book for more of the older YA readers.

The plot was very fast-paced. I recommend this if you need a book for any sort of trip. I gave The Haters 3 out of 5 stars. The story was a quick, entertaining read, but I didn’t overly enjoy it.

About halfway through, the plot becomes just a teeny bit repetitive. Not to where we get bored, but it just seemed to be road trip, something drastic happens, road trip, something drastic happens, etc. It might have just been a nit-picky thing that I caught on to.

Overall, The Haters was a nice contemporary. I loved getting to see a story from a male perspective that seemed real. We also get a musical perspective with the aspect of a newly formed band.

If you are looking for something new to read or just a fast and easy contemporary, this is your next read!

More Book Information:

Published: 5 April 2016

Publisher: Amulet Books

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Pages: 352

How I Read It: Hardcover from Publisher at BEA 2016

**Disclaimer: I did receive this book while at BEA 2016. Nothing in this post was asked of me. It is all my opinion only.**

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