The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith

What the Hell’s an Alex Crow?

The Alex Crow: unbridled imagination, inspired (and inspiring) storytelling. Andrew Smith’s tale isn’t for the faint of heart or narrow of mind. It’s a story filled with wonderful and unforgettable characters. But it’s also a commentary on life in the modern world, where technology and complacency and self-absorption and lack of shame and lack of empathy and surrendering to the temptation to meddle in others’ lives have blurred the boundaries between what’s possible and what’s right. How many times have we found out, decades later, that someone in authority has lured or coerced or forced an unwitting subject into an “experiment”? Or simply involved that person without disclosure?

Original (and Quirky)!

It’s a wholly original story. But if I were a wine expert giving The Alex Crow 2015 vintage a review, I’d say it has notes of Slaughterhouse Five. The Lord of the Flies. Holes. In the Kingdom of Ice. Feed. Frankenstein. And–dare I say it–Epitaph Road. And A Clockwork Orange, and The Body and its movie adaptation Stand By Me. But as I said, it’s an original, created, I believe, out of some alien grape found growing on the side of a sun-drenched hill where a huge meteor hit and disintegrated long ago. The impact, I’m pretty sure, laid down a layer of space dust and nutrients and strange Planet X grape seeds.

Read to Enjoy, Read to Learn.

If you’re a writer of YA, read it to see what imagination and talent and hard work can produce. If you’re a reader (see above regarding faint of heart or narrow of mind) who enjoys exceptional stories–YA, adult, whatever–skip the NY Times bestseller list for now. Grab yourself a book that deserves to be read.

(Review on Goodreads)