Youth In Revolt: The Journals Of Nick Twisp (1996) - Plot & Excerpts
If there is one thing--ONE THING--that you can take away from this book, it is this:BOYS WILL LITERALLY GO TO ANY LENGTHS TO GET IN YOUR PANTS.We are talking federal laws here, people.And I loved every second of it.We first get a glimpse of Nick's dry, at times wicked humor, from the opening sentence:WEDNESDAY, July 18--My name is Nick. Someday, if I grow up to be a gangster, perhaps I will be known as Nick the Prick. This may cause some embarrassment to my family, but when your don gives you your mafia sobriquet you don't ask questions.Assuming that that paragraph alone did not convince you to go out and purchase Youth in Revolt, I shall continue.Nick introduces himself quiet plainly, leaving nothing sacred, unabashedly saying what every other boy in the world is thinking--he hates his name, he hates his family, and he is obsessed with sex.Now, I'm going to get it out there right now. Youth in Revolt is not for everyone--in fact, most people will find it a revolting (excuse the pun), raunchy, Judd Apatow-movie gone awry collection of paper and words that doesn't deserve the title of 'book'. Most people will grimace and toss it into the fireplace and try to erase it from their virgin minds. Some. Not all. So, if you have no been frightened off, let's continue.This begins with typical teen ranting--it is a diary, after all--with Nick generally introducing himself, his family, and his interests. It's hilarious right from the starts, from Nick coming home from his father's house to find his mother has painted his bedroom pink to help "calm" him--"she said she had read this color was widely used in hospitals to help calm mental patients. I told her I wasn't mentally ill, I was just a teenager"--to his vocal disdain for Jerry, his obese step father. Youth in Revolt is basically the extreme side of white trash, told through the eyes of a kid destined for greater things.Nick is positive that he will remain a virgin forever, until an unexpected trip to a trailer park up in Lakeport sends him head-first into the Greater Then Thou Sheeni Saunders. Beautiful, intellegent and a tad mamnipulative, she takes Nick's heart in a deadly chokehold and refuses to let go. While it's hard to imagine as you get deeper into the novel, she really is the reason Nick does anything. He has literally broken near every law in the country beside first degree murder (notice I don't say murder--I say first degree murder) just to get some. While some would argue that this cannot suffice as a plot, it most certainly can. And it does. So, as Nick leaves with Sheeni's promise of you-know-what still fresh in his mind, he resolves to bring her to him and lose his ever-loving virginity before his freshman year is up. So, without giving anything away, I will just declare my undivided love of YOUTH IN REVOLT and how GODDAMN HILARIOUS IT IS.The writing, as I can describe it, is the way I'd imagine a hyper-intellegent, hyper-sexual, and hyper-neurotic teenager would write. Big words rule the day in this satirical look on modern youth as Nick attempts to understand why the fuck everyone is SO DAMN CRAZY and how he managed to be counted among them.In a period of six months, Nick goes from a meak, bookish virgin to a crossdressing stud with a bit of a complex. Hell yes.Nick is not a hero--he's an anti-hero. He's a bit of a jerk, crude, just plain nasty at times, but you there's a feeling of devotion to him that few authors could pull off--you HAVE to cheer for him, you HAVE to sympathize with him, you HAVE to wish him well, because there is simply no one else to root for. He is literally the only boat of sanity in a crazy, mixed up world and, no matter how he reacts to the world around him, he is simply the only one we, the reader, can root for because he's the one telling the story. As for the other characters, they're all described basically as morons--except for Sheeni--and this may be a sign of an unreliable narrator. That's another thing--we don't know if this is true, we don't know if Nick's telling the truth about anything, or just lying to convince himself there's a legit reason he ends up where he is. We just have to trust him.Mr. Payne does a perfect job in dramatizing modern youth and making fun of the lengths some boys will go too to get what they want. He lightens up what could be a heavy situation, pokes fun very discreetly at modern youth and sex, and just flat-out rocks my world. A must-read for anyone with a sense of humor.
Not your average coming of age novel, C.D. Payne's trilogy of short novels about the travails of young journaler Nick Twisp has a comic wit and intricate plot twists that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.This boy meets girl plot centers on Nick, a bookish, sex-crazed 14-year-old, and Sheeni Saunders, a Francophile sociopath who juggles men and has a taste for expensive clothing and jewelry. Keeping them apart are Sheeni's ultra-religious parents and four hundred miles of California coast line, both of which Nick is desperate to trump by any means necessary. Though it is true that Nick and his "One and Only Love" Sheeni are both fairly unsympathetic characters, you'll still find yourself caught up in their love affair, which Nick keeps aflame by the careful use of several split personalities and multiple criminal actions.The real gem of these books, however, are the minor characters: Sheeni's semiomniscient brother Paul, always two steps ahead of Nick's schemes; Nick's revolting (yet strangely sweet) roommate Dwayne; the painfully shy trucker Wally Rumpkin, who possesses an eidetic memory; and a trio of identical dogs named after existentialist French writers. Even more than Plot A, these little touches around the sides are what makes this novel charming and a cut above average YA fiction. There have been several sequels and I'm definitely putting them on my to-read list.
What do You think about Youth In Revolt: The Journals Of Nick Twisp (1996)?
This is really a peculiar read.It's the journal of Nick Twisp, a manipulative, cynical, sex-obsessed youth whose erstwhile (I'm using that word because the author likes it so much) good behavior is succombing to the adolescent prime imperative of losing one's virginity. He hones in on his new amour Shinee, who is willing, experienced and cooperative, though enigmatically distant and drifting. Things get in the way, obstacles made of arbitrary parental actions and decisions, space, timing, his constrictive teen existence, his lack of economic freedom.I found this book very funny. Nick's über-logical approach to things make him undertake courses of action that made me cringe and squirm and giggle (think fellatio with his best male friend), and it occurred to me that, had I read this book as an actual teen I would have been rather shocked. I myself was as rational a teen as Nick is, but I wasn't one to brave borders and stand up to adults. Much. Well, maybe a little, but not in any way as much as Nick. But Nick has no real respect for adults, he's an adult trapped in an adolescent body and in an adolescent's life. As such, being a virgin at his ripe old age of 14 seems to him egregious, and the end will justify all means at his disposal (and then some).It seems that this is less a believable account of a 14-year-old than the attempt of the same character at 40 to rewrite his past. That would illuminate the latent understanding of adult intentions and levers, the self-deprecating humor, and the candid avowal of the utter simplicity of what he wants: sexual congress, as soon as possible.
—René
This is a highly entertaining book about a teenage guy maned Nick Twisp. This book is in the form of journal entries. The plot revolves around how much he loves a girl he met over vacation named Sheeni Saunders. Sounds simple, but is much more complex. He ends up breaking the law three times just to maker her like him (again). I find it amazing about all the different things Nick is willing to do.My favorite aspect of this book is when he calls himself Francois. Like many teenage guys, there are periods of time when he doesn't think and just does when his gut tells him to do. When he does this, he calls himself Francois. I was able to relate fairly well to that part of the book.I could go on and on about different aspects of this book, but I don't want to give to much away. This book does have some holes, meaning smaller plots that are highly entertaining that C.D. Payne never returns to, but on the whole this book kept me reading, so it deserves five stars
—Patrick Spike
A modern day Confederacy of Dunces, and equally worthy of praise. Nick Twisp is a younger, leaner, sex-addicted Ignatius J. Reilly. The book is composed of Twisp's highly-literate (especially for a 14 year-old) journal entries, only Twisp uses all of his cunning linguistics (pun intended) to espouse on masturbation and the pursuit of intercourse - and what a pursuit it is. Considering the quest to conquer virginity pretty much sums up the subject matter, you would think that Youth in Revolt might be a tad self-indulgent at 500 pages. You would be correct. However, it's fitting, as "Self-Indulgent" might as well be our protagonist's middle name. Not to mention that the book is laugh-out-loud hilarious on every page, as Twisp's adventures become increasingly outlandish with each journal entry. Loved it.P.S. There's a movie adaptation due out soon, starring Hollywood's "IT BOY 2007-?" Michael Cera. Apparently studio execs decided that every character from age 16-25 must be incredibly introverted and awkward at all times, or a sparkling androgynous vampire. I hate to say it, but it kind of makes me miss Corey Feldman.
—Wcpalmergmail.com
