The modern troubled teen... brilliant and scary Grow Up by Ben Brooks Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated Heaven help me I couldn’t put this book down. Jasper Wolf is a wayward teenager – way, way wayward. He’s living in an average suburban home in 21 st century England, struggling with his A-levels, clever in his observations while rather mindlessly abusing alcohol, drugs, and the people around him. His mom and stepdad (the latter whom Jasper believes is a murderer, a plotline portrayed in hilarious fashion) try to help in their bumbling way, hiring a shrink and forcing a “schedule” on Jasper, but they don’t ever seem to actually invest any time in him. Jasper’s moral compass is a bit like Jack Sparrow’s – instead of showing him how to stay true to his course, it always points at his hearts’ immediate desire. And he never, ever denies himself whatever fancy comes to mind. His one redeeming quality is his clumsy affection for his best friend, a somewhat mor...
The inmates of my cottage, all at rest, Have left me to that solitude, which suits... Abstruser musings ~Samuel Coleridge