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Styrofoam Throne (2013)

by David Bone(Favorite Author)

3.33 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0989415201 (ISBN13: 9780989415200)

languge

English

genre

Young Adult Fiction

publisher

Jawbreaker Books

review 1: Very rarely am I hooked on a book by the first paragraph. This is one of those very rare occasions. David Bone’s Styrofoam Throne was a brilliant mirror into my own extremely awkward, horror movie filled, agonizingly morose, lonely and misunderstood teen years. Some of the parallels between Donovan I were so precise, it was almost frightening.“My legs were out in the aisles because they wouldn’t fit under the desk. But really, nothing about me fit in at school. Surrounded by red-blooded, all-American assholes, I was a horror-obsessed loner.” Yep, that’s me to the T. At Donovan’s, our dark hero’s age my favorite films were The Exorcist and Night of the Living Dead (The 1968, of course) and I was a gnarly 6’4” giving me this over whelming Lenny from Of Mice... more and Men quality, I had actual physical growing pains; not that dumb “Mike Seaver” after school special emotional bullshit. Okay, so maybe I was a little more popular then Donovan was, and little happier to be alive, I wasn’t raised by a single mother, and no one ever picked on the giant roaming the halls of the school. But at my darkest, most sullen times, I felt just as alone as he was. Which I think is why this book is so universal. Everyone has been Donovan at one point or another to some degree; every teen felt alone, and scared of whatever life might lay in front of them. Only now, ten years passed my graduation from high school, do I see how silly it was for us all to be so miserable and to not have admitted it to each other. But that would have been totally lame, right?I’m sure not everyone has hung out for hours, even spent a couple nights in a graveyard, like my friends and I did. Or worked in a haunted house, like I did. I’m sure some people did not have a pot smoking, wise talking, scheming, tough acting Renaldo there to help us brake out of our shell; just like I did. But this story will bring any adult reader back to a time where there life was filled with plagues of acne, awkward locker rooms, and just pure unadulterated self-loathing. But I don’t view this a book for adults. Nor, based on language, drug use, and sex, would I recommend this for all teenagers; just the cool ones, the loners, the freaks… you know who they are. The ones who swear, party, and have a serious axe to grind. It’s a story of Firsts; first love, first real friend, first job, first loss, first “time”, first beer, first joint, first fake ID and the ultimate first major disappointment which is always the first step into adulthood. To call this a coming of age story doesn’t do it justice. To me it’s an ending of age story. Which brings those last days of adolescence to a violent halt; as you get out, slam the door and stumble, drunkenly through adulthood. If you were a Donovan, knew a Donovan, or currently know a Donovan, get this book. It’s only 200 or so pages, and how friggin’ busy could you possibly be? That’s what I thought.
review 2: This was a really fun read! Even though it was set in the 80s, this story could have been taken place recently. It's a really funny coming of age story about a 16 year old "weird" boy who wants to be accepted within this "cult" of Castle Dunes summer horror house.The story only takes place in the summer, but a lot is packed into these 3 months. A lot of the characters are crass and self indulgent, but that makes for some good dialogue.One major problem I have with the book is the relationship between Donovan and his mother Janice. In the beginning, there's a lot of mention of Janice and how she feels/acts towards Donovan. She is completely forgotten in the middle of the story, until the end. I would have loved to learn more about her and their relationship through out the story rather than just the beginning and end.But overall, a good quick, funny read. There are a lot of swear words, sex, and drugs in this books. So if you're ok with that, then definitely pick this up! less

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