Review: An Excellent Book
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 16, 2013
I've never read a book by this author before, but I am thrilled to have discovered Jim Stevens and definitely going to look for more of his now. He appears to be one of the funniest authors, and, at the same time, he is insightful, witty, and down-to-earth.Set in L.A. (the descriptions and comments on the area are right on the money, by the way), Whupped tells the story of Jake and Alyssa, two people from very different demographics, who are in love--or is it lust--and getting married. Jake's best friends, Gideon and Conrad, are certain that Alyssa cannot possibly make Jake happy. They first try to conventionally persuade him to think the wedding over, but when he refuses, they kidnap him and force him to listen to their reasons.The characters in the book were fascinating, layered, and well thought out. Mr. Stevens managed to fully describe their personalities as well as their minds--Jake, a dreaming, loyal, and honest diamond in the rough; Gideon, an unpredictable, bad-boy porn director who would go to extreme lengths to protect a friend; Conrad, a calm, laid-back, smart, and wealthy plastic surgeon; Alyssa, a gorgeous, haughty, and manipulative ex-model unable to care for anyone but herself; and Kay, a struggling, single-mom porn star with a heart of gold. Not only was I able to visualize the characters, I was emotionally connected to and immersed in every one of them; even the vibrant supporting cast touched my heart and gave me a few good laughs.I truly enjoyed the way the book was written: each chapter was an entry from a different member of the wedding party. I did not find it confusing at all; on the contrary, it helped me to see the events from different perspectives and made the characters more human.Whupped is entertaining, unforgettable, funny, affecting, and even sad in places. It is not serious literature by any means, but it is not absurd and mindless, either. I read it in one sitting and was glued to my Kindle the entire time.  It got me engaged and made me think--about friendship, about love, and about life itself. One warning, though:  Whupped is blunt and outrageous, and it contains crude language (especially Gideon's entries) and sex scenes. If it bothers you to read such a book, I'd say give this a miss. Otherwise, I highly recommend it.