Tim Tharp

In the last months of high school, eighteen-year-old Sutter Keely lives in the present, staying drunk or high most of the time, but that could change when he starts working to boost the self-confidence of a classmate, Aimee.

The Spectacular Now

In the last months of high school, charismatic eighteen-year-old Sutter Keely lives in the present, staying drunk or high most of the time, but that could change when starts working to boost the self-confidence of a classmate, Aimee.

Jeannette Ordas

This is unlike any other YA book I've ever read. Dealing with broken homes, alcoholism and teen romance, this isn't an "after school special" kind of book. There is no happy ending, no loose ends get tied up, and Sutter, the main character, is as flawed as they come (but also super likable). A different kind of read and very enjoyable.

Alyssa Huffman

the one singular circumstance where the movie is better than the book

Alex

This is one of those books where you really, truly hate how it ends, but it's what makes the book even better.
Tim Tharp gave me a character that I rooted for; a character that despite the bad top layer, you could see the good deep in his soul. Sutter Keely is the type of teenager who is in denial, who doesn't see the good in himself, nor the consequences to his free spirited, living in the spectacular now type actions. I hoped and pleaded and prayed that Sutter would discover that he has a deeper self, and that he is capable of holding on to life. But the thing is, he doesn't, and that's what makes the difficult but true message to this story.

Shannon Arputharaj

It seems young Holden Caulfield grew up and wrote himself into another adventure. This book was embarrassingly predictable but beautifully and surprisingly profound nonetheless. I could picture the screenplay rolling out in front of me as I flipped through the novel's pages and this made it seem more alive and attainable. 

The concept of a spectacular now to live in is wonderful and adventurous, though I'm glad it didn't stop there. I'm glad it explained that Sutter's type of free spirit can be seen as wildly, selfishly irresponsible and only some people are born into that mindset. And I'm glad it explores the hardships that come with dealing and falling in love with someone like that.

I also appreciated the insight to a guy's mind. It made me ditch the whole, "well, guys are just dumb" mentality because clearly they're able to pick up on mannerisms and vibes. It was beautiful to delve into a boy's mind in how they notice and appreciate a girl's being.

A US National Book Award Finalist and now a major motion picture -- one of the most buzzed-about films at Sundance 2013, starring Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller. Sutter Keeley's the guy you want at your party. He'll get everyone dancing. He' ll get everyone in your parents' pool. Okay, so he's not exactly a shining academic star. He has no plans for college and will probably end up folding men's shirts for a living. Aimee's clueless. Aimee is a social disaster. Aimee needs help, and it's up to the Sutterman to show Aimee a splendiferous time and then let her go forth and prosper. But Aimee's not like other girls, and before long he's in way over his head. For the first time in his life, he has the power to make a difference in someone else's life - or ruin it forever.

Sophie Hutchings

This book gave me a lot of feelings. Sutter was such a interesting character that you kind of hated but wanted him to so badly sort his life out. 

Can I just say that I actually visualised him as miles teller (who played him in the movie) I enjoyed his book on holiday and I enjoyed the film just as much :)

Julie D.

Georgia Carr

I wanted this book to be good. It wasn't. I didn't connect to Sutter or Aimee at all, I felt nothing for them. Tim Tharp created a strong narrative voice for sure, but he ignored any form of character progression in Sutter which annoyed me. I could never really figure him out. There were lots of things that went unexplained, like Sutter's drinking. It was a big part of the novel but it was never questioned nor discussed in depth. Granted, it's not the worst book I've read by a long shot but I just didn't feel like it went anywhere.

Isabella Brouwer

3 stars, but I'll probably change that later, or maybe not. I'm just so confused right now, about this book and its ending. I mean, seriously, I don't know how I feel about this book and that's so frustrating! I loved the story, I loved Sutter, I loved Aimee (although she was a bit too naive for my taste, but well). But I just don't know, ugh, frustration!

shelby

This book was as equally beautiful as it was frustrating. Of course, it was frustratingly brilliant. The characters were just so well crafted. I particularly enjoyed the narrative voice of Sutter, who has completely won my heart. The ending was so realistic that I almost shed a few tears, because it did have that meaningful factor to it, and because it was just such a lovely way to close the story of Sutter. This is a lovely read if you're not looking for anything *too* heavy as such, it's a very well rounded YA novel. Very much reminded me of a less antsy perks of being a wallflower. 100% worthy of a quick read.

Kayla 

Sophie Elaina 

I really didn't like this book. I absolutely hated the characters. And not in a love to hate kind of way, the protagonist takes annoying to a whole new level and it got boring real quick. I only managed to finish it because I kept thinking that something had to happen, I just couldn't believe that it could be this bad. I feel like the writing was really quirky and could’ve been enjoyable, but the story and characters were unbearable to read about which ruined any possible enjoyment. And I like a good unlikable character; but this was insufferable and even unlikable characters need some sort of sufficient development to keep a reader interested. This didn’t work for me at all.

Ana Ignat

Daniela V.

I picked up The spectacular now without knowing what it was about. Honestly, I wanted to give it a try before seen the movie. I was caught by its title, so I started to wonder why it was called like that and yes, I figured it out before I read it.

First thing you have to know if you're thinking of reading this book is that it's another book about an outsider, a boy who is quite lost in this immense universe, and merely has a plot. Don't get me wrong, I like the spontaneity of this kind of stories, the vagueness of the ideas and the complex and well-built characters that this type of prose allows to present.

But I guess I expected some twist in the story after all because the movie would be so boring if it weren't. Why bother making a movie about this? But it never came.

What I really liked was the construction of the main character, Sutter. I learned to hate this boy immediately, he is everything you want to get away from. I really like the challenge of getting through a book with a disgusting main character. That's probably the primary reason why I liked the book.

I also liked the story of Sutter's father (view spoiler)[and how it correlates with his son's life: they both have no clue about the future. They only care about them in the spectacular now. They really are bastards. (hide spoiler)]

I think I'm off to see the movie now!

Lexi Yerton

** spoiler alert **
           I really did enjoy this book, I would give it 4.5 stars, there are loose ends that weren't tied at the end, and I would've liked to see how Aimee turns out, but overall it was a great book.

Elad Schulman

I don't know what to feel about this book. I didn't enjoy Sutter as a character, and Aimee was interesting, until she was influenced into drinking. After that, she seemed like such a bland character. The plot didn't really go anywhere, and the ending really displeased me. I watched the movie adaptation, and although I didn't enjoy the movie anymore than I liked the book, the ending of the movie made more sense.

Jessica 

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It's not that The Spectacular Now is, at its core, an awful novel. It's not awful, it's just not my cup of tea. I think I waited too long to read this book and, in a way, this caused a major rift for me and The Spectacular Now. I really failed to connect with it as an adult. But there was this something about it that made me feel like had I read it as a teenager, I'd have enjoyed it much more. 

That being said: this book wasn't for me. The pacing was off-putting. I felt like there was a lot to the story that could have been done well, that the general premise was great, but the execution was not. There were moments in The Spectacular Now that just left me feeling like there was not enough development. 

Even... though a lot changes from the beginning to the end. 

I did really like Amiee as a character. This was, sadly, the only character I liked and the only bright spot of the novel as a whole. I'd read a book about her, and only her, in a heartbeat. Tim Tharp, make it happen. 

In short: I don't hate The Spectacular Now or Tim Tharp. The book just isn't for me.

Milana Marie Waller

john green/ned vezinni?? (ik thats misspelled sorry)
but 3.5
not bad 
kinda repetitive and slow ig idk but good message overall and characters were memorable

The Spectacular Now

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