The Spectacular Now

by Tim Tharp

Book Overview

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST!

SUTTER KEELY. HE'S the guy you want at your party. He'll get everyone dancing. He' ll get everyone in your parents' pool. Okay, so he's not exactly a shining academic star. He has no plans for college and will probably end up folding men's shirts for a living. But there are plenty of ladies in town, and with the help of Dean Martin and Seagram's V.O., life's pretty fabuloso, actually.

Until the morning...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385754302
• ISBN13: 9780385754309
• Release Date: July 2013
• Publisher: Ember
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher

Customer Reviews

Great read

I feel like you can usually see where the book is going and with this book I had no idea where it was gonna land. Good read. 10/10 would recommend

spectacular

A realistic story; I love the authors’ writing style. This story makes me feel as though I have a love-hate relationship with Sutter myself lol. The author does a spectacular job of letting you understand Sutter and his character. This is a book I’d definitely recommend.

Spectacular!

I loved this book, it was relatable in terms of the reality that normal people suffer. Whether they are suffering from mental illness or alcoholism, or financial issues.

A real story

Summary: It's senior year, and Sutter Keely is living large with a beautiful girlfriend and an endless supply of whiskey. His girlfriend wants him to do something he can't quite remember, but why worry about that when you can live in the now? Review: Sutter's charm is simultaneously entertaining and heartbreaking. You get the feeling that it's a front for something, which of course it is. This is not a feel-good story, but it is a real story. A real snapshot into the life of a young man who drinks morning, noon, and night. Because if he drinks, he can be the life of the party and live in the moment. And if he can live in the moment, he doesn't have to think about his past or his future.

Awesome Book!

I heard this was a finalist for the National Book Award in teen fiction. Well deserved! The book is real and raw and the main character so likable. An awesome read!

Sutter is the new Holden

I am a huge fan of CATCHER IN THE RYE and not since Holden Caulfield have I read such a real, tragic, funny, unforgettable character. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. One of the best books I've read.

A spectacular novel

I can see why this was nominated for the National Book Award. The main character is likeable and funny and both unique and realistic. What a terrific voice! This is a portrait of a young, kind alcoholic who helps others improve their lives while his own life goes downhill. It's an enjoyable, entertaining read, but devastating and heartbreaking too. The compelling main character and original voice will stay with me a long time.

Richie's Picks: THE SPECTACULAR NOW

"Well, darkness has a hunger that's insatiable" -- Emily Saliers "Forget the dark things. Take a drink and let time wash them away to wherever time washes things away to." -- Sutter Keely THE SPECTACULAR NOW is such an achingly humor-filled, intensely sad story, that it has taken me a couple of days of processing the emotions it stirred up before being able to talk about Sutter Keely. Having previously included KNIGHTS OF THE HILL COUNTRY (Tharp's previous book for teens) on my Best of 2006 list, I was well aware of the author's abilities, but this second book is Something Else. It is one that absolutely should be added to high school collections and to required reading lists for YA Lit students. High school senior Sutter Keely is great friends with a long line of ex-girlfriends. He has a superb sense of humor, plays well with his peers, is forever the life of the party, and professes his affinity for embracing the weird. But as his latest relationship crumbles, he asks himself, "Why is it that girls like me so much but never love me." And, of course, as we come to learn, it is the damaged young alcoholic himself, and not the girls, who has the real problem. Or a number of real problems. But then he has a chance pre-dawn meeting with a girl he's never noticed who is so unlike his partying crowd: "She jerks back, startled to see me move. 'You're alive,' she says. 'I thought maybe you were dead.' "I'm like, 'I don't think I'm dead.' But right now I can't exactly be sure of anything. 'Where the hell am I?' "'You're in the middle of the yard,' she says. 'Do you know someone who lives here?' "I sit up and look at the house -- an ugly, little, pink brick one with a window air-conditioner unit. 'No, I never saw it before.' "'Were you in a wreck or something?' "'Not that I know of, Why? Where's my car?' "'Is it one of those?' She points toward the street where two cars are parked along the curb on our side and a junky white pickup is parked on the other side. The pickup's engine is idling so I guess it must be hers. "'No, I drive a Mitsubishi,' I say. 'Jesus, I must have gone to sleep.' I look around, trying to gather my wits a little. A scraggly elm tree hangs over us and you can just see the moon through the branches. There's a rickety lawn chair stationed in the middle of the yard, and two beer cans lie in the grass a couple of feet away. I vaguely remember sitting in that lawn chair at some point, but I don't remember how I got there. "'So,' she asks. 'You don't know where you left your car?' "'Let me think for a second," I say, but my head's not really up for thinking. 'No, it's no good. I don't remember where it is. Maybe I parked it at home and just went out for a walk. "She shakes her head. 'No, I don't think you live in this neighborhood, Sutter.' "That surprises the hell out of me right there. 'How did you know my name? Were we talking a while ago or something?' "'We go to the same high school,' she says, but she doesn't say it like I