Auf Umwegen

by Andrew Smith

Other authorsHans-Ulrich Möhring (Translator)

Hardcover, 2015

Status

Available

Call number

Genres

Young Adult

All Topics

Fiction

Collections

Gelesen 2016, GGG

Publication

Hamburg : Königskinder-Verlag, 2015. Gebunden, 331 S.

Description

Finn Easton, sixteen and epileptic, struggles to feel like more than just a character in his father's cult-classic novels with the help of his best friend, Cade Hernandez, and first love, Julia, until Julia moves away.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Cherylk

I saw an ad for this book and some other people raving about this book. So I was than intrigued to check it out. Ok, so maybe this book is good but I will never know. I found the crude language in this book to be a giant turn off for me. I am not a prude but to keep going on about "having a boner"

for no reason at all other than to maybe see how many times the author can get away with having someone say it is pointless. Also, I found Cade to be a real "asshole". So to combine the crude language with a jerk of a character, is not a book that I want to waste anymore of my time reading. Plus, I was kind of shocked that the author would write like this for a teen book. Maybe he thought this was funny and this age group would relate. Also, I think it kind of down grades this age group as not all teens are like this.

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LibraryThing member RebelPrintz

SARAH: Andrew Smith's SECOND Printz contender of the year. Seems very faintly formulaic in the wake of Grasshopper Jungle: Main character + girl(friend?) + vaguely sexually ambiguous best friend = well, a really freaking good book, actually. If I had to pick one, I'd go with Grasshopper Jungle, but

this one's a very strong contender. Plus, it's longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. Recommended.

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LibraryThing member sleahey

I love the irreverent and earnest voice of this narrator Finn, a high school junior whose father has written an extremely popular science fiction novel with a main character named Finn. Along with his best friend, a wild and crazy guy who doesn't hesitate to get into trouble, Finn seems completely

believable in spite of the unusual accident of a horse landing on him and his mom when he was 7 and killing his mother. The epilepsy caused by that accident partly defines Finn, as does his wish to always be "fine" and normal, but when Julia moves nearby new possibilities come into play.

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LibraryThing member kimpiddington

I genuinely liked the narrator and his "sidekick" Cade. And the plot was humorous and kept me turning the pages. But for me- the flaws that made this realistic fiction unbelievable were: the epileptic main character is having major seizures almost daily-yet there is discussion about treatment.

Also, the love interest admits she's been raped-and recently. Yet there seem to be no after affects for her- in fact she seems eager to be physical with the main character. These characters are facing serious issues that I would have liked to seen addressed in some way.

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LibraryThing member thoughtbox

A classic coming-of-age tale of aliens, boners and pizza. It's mire than slightly weird and a little bit wound too tightly around itself, but any minor flaws are more than made up for with the most entertaining sidekick this side of a Marvel comic.

You'll get some of the standard stuff (love,

relationships, teenagers being unreasonably angry) along with a heaping helping of Weird (time measured in distance the Earth has travelled in the universe, a horse falling off a bridge, etc.). Recommended for anyone who's not offended by swearing and has a sneaking suspicion they live inside a book.

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LibraryThing member Robertowiz

This book should of been called "The Wild Adventures of Finn and Cade" because the whole book was an adventure. It was very interesting when the author brought in the miles traveled. It threw me in a few spots so it took me a long time to read. Really good book. I would recommend this book to all

my family and friends.

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LibraryThing member kgriffith

Had a lot of potential but didn't really deliver. Much like The Age of Miracles: the unique approach would have been better in someone else's hands, or maybe just when this author has some more experience under his belt.

LibraryThing member benuathanasia

*headdesk* *headdesk* *headdesk* Painful. Absolutely painful. As a sci-fi/fantasy fan, I can usually take solace in the knowledge that truly horrific and intolerable characters will either die by the end of the series or be tortured in such a way that the reader's bloodlust is appeased. In this

case, sadly, Cade does not die. I have met MANY people like Cade, assholes who someone professes is impossible to dislike - trust me, most people dislike them. They just tolerate them because homicide is frowned upon in polite society. Throughout the book, the main character alludes to a truly ridiculous science fiction book his father wrote. It sounds like a far better read than this shit. At least it would ask the reader to think every few chapters. My brain was on autopilot this entire novel because there was nothing to ponder (except why I couldn't personally murder Cade) - no intriguing plot, descriptive settings, intelligent prose. It just sucks so bad.

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LibraryThing member SEliz

I really enjoyed the dry sense of humor found in this. I listened to it on audio and laughed out loud a few times throughout. I'll definitely have to check out more of Andrew Smith's work after this one. I also enjoyed the different perspective of time he used. The characters were done well and the

overall storyline was interesting.

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LibraryThing member bookwyrmm

Somewhat realistic story, but with some of that magic that is just part of the teenage brain.

LibraryThing member readingbeader

Finn doesn't remember much of his early childhood. His mom was killed and his back was broken when they were hit by a falling horse. I know it sounds weird, but Finn explains it rather well. He looks at the world through miles rather than minutes and this colors this whole story. I enjoyed it and

had some laugh out loud moments, but there were also times when I got bogged down by Finn's need to fill us in with what seem like extraneous history lessons, or excessive trivia. These inserts fit in well with the story and others may like them better than I did. It's a good book in a sea of dystopians right now. I'd give it 3.5 stars actually.

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