Review: Freakin'. Hilarious.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 27, 2012
"Have you ever had one of those life-changing days?'Oh, definitely,' you say.You're thinking: the night you got to second base;your first sip of Natty Light in that musty cornerof your next-door neighbor's basement;that time at Taco Bell they gave you a chalupa instead of a gorditaand you had a revelation about the menu that felt wise and universal--It's. All. The. Same. S***."--Iva-Marie Palmer, The End of the World as We Know ItOh. My. Gosh. This book was so great! Obviously as you read from the description above, this book is about 4 teenagers who couldn't be any more different from one another. All from different levels of the high school social hierarchy. But, after their town is attacked by aliens they are forced to work together to survive and ultimately save the world.First off, this book was hilarious! If you take anything away from this review know this. This book will you have legit laughing out loud...I know I was and it was slightly embarrassing and creepy to realize I was cackling out loud in an empty house...oh well. The witty banter of dialogue and the honest inner monologues of each character was so right on and perfect. They had normal teenage fears and worries even in the midst of a massive alien invasion. I just felt like the normal teenage actions the characters had was exactly how real life teenagers in the same situations would act like. It was very honest and real which is another thing I loved! Palmer had sporadic interludes of italicized text that had the narrator speaking directly to the reader and they were amazingly timed! They emphasized a critique a reader might have while experiencing their story and gave insight into the character's actions. Such as, why were these kids worrying about what their crush thought of them while it could be their last day on Earth?...Um, because they're teenagers and are driven by hormones and just want to be loved!! Funny yet completely real and honest.Each of the main four protagonists was so uniquely characterized and each brought something special to the table. These weren't cookie cutter teenagers that blended together, they were complex and deep and had a lot of stuff going on under the surface. Each chapter is from a different person's perspective which really kept the story going. I couldn't wait to see who I got to read about next. I loved them all...well one dragged behind in the love department a little but they eventually grew on me :). Sarabeth was fierce. Scared of her own damned shadow but watching her grow into herself and become confident and assertive was a fantastic character arc. Evan was similar. Completely unsure of himself and stepson of a preacher man, he had a lot working against him in the popularity department but watching him develop as a character was just as satisfying for me as a reader. Teena was the standard popular girl with a snide remark for everything but beneath that icy exterior she also had a good amount of substance. Leo...oh, Leo. Love love love. Brilliant but token underachiever; Witty but such a typical horndog teenager; Concert cellist but full-time pot smoker; Resident cool guy but obsessive with UFO and alien theories...read: Geek. He was my hands down favorite. He always had a quick wit line to throw out laced with dirty undertones, he had me lol'ing more than most. He had so much more going on underneath than what people around him saw. I loved this about him. Can't judge a book by its cover, right?Their journey to save the world was fast paced and always kept me on my toes. The novel didn't leave unanswered questions which I also loved, there were no plot holes or guessing as to what in the world was going on. The writing style was quick and the plot line of the characters' actions were believable. Trying to figure out how to take the aliens down was one of my favorite parts...along with both shopping sprees :) This book was filled with kick-ass teenagers trying to save the world. Were they able to overcome the daunting task of destroying the aliens and saving the world?...Well, you'll just have to read to find out!I truly enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who loves a little sci-fi with a lot of laughter! So. Frickin'. Good.