Grasshopper Jungle

February 10, 2014 ARC, Book Review 0

Grasshopper Jungle

Author: Andrew Smith
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Publication Date: Feb. 11, 2014
Pages: 388
Source: ARC from Anderson’s YA Lit Conference

About the Book: Sixteen-year-old Austin Szerba interweaves the story of his Polish legacy with the story of how he and his best friend , Robby, brought about the end of humanity and the rise of an army of unstoppable, six-foot tall praying mantises in small-town Iowa.

To make matters worse, Austin’s hormones are totally oblivious; they don’t care that the world is in utter chaos: Austin is in love with his girlfriend, Shann, but remains confused about his sexual orientation. He’s stewing in a self-professed constant state of maximum horniness, directed at both Robby and Shann. Ultimately, it’s up to Austin to save the world and propagate the species in this sci-fright journey of survival, sex, and the complex realities of the human condition.

My Thoughts: I read this book about a month ago and I’m still not sure I can adequately express my thoughts! Whenever anyone asks me about it I just tell them it was weird and wonderful and I’m still not convinced that what I think happened actually happened. It did. I’m just still processing. And I mean that in a good way. 

This is a story that is told on so many different levels. It’s a story made up of stories. I loved that. We get Austin Szerba’s tale. But his life is made up of the lives of the people who came before him. Choices made by his ancestors (and the ancestors of the people of his town) come together in a cataclysmic event that changes the world forever. As the book progresses more and more, the reader gets to see these stories from the past. And it all just works together so well to make something new and unique. 

Of the many (many!) things I adored about Grasshopper Jungle I think my favorite might be the characters in general. Andrew Smith does not sugar coat his characters.They’re not perfect. They don’t have it all together. They’re questioning and they making mistakes and this makes them more real! To understand what a feat this is you need to remember that some of these characters are six-foot tall praying mantises! What?!?!? Yeah, I know.  

The mind boggling premise of Grasshopper Jungle is successfully executed through the engaging writing style, spot on characterization, and stellar storytelling. Andrew Smith is an author you don’t want to miss.

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