Rating: 
Summary: Go Ask Brendan
Review: The editorial review on this website states that this book doesn't have much of a conclusion. I think that's funny. Neither does life, at least not until you die. In real life, our problems don't often end with everything being resolved and dramatic music playing in the background. If we were to really spend a day inside the mind of a 16 year old boy, his thoughts might seem disjointed and rambling and meaningless at times. If he suddenly got a startling revelation about life, it might not seem like a "startling revelation." It might be as simple as talking to someone and finding that there's more to life than drugs and parties. Maybe he knew that all along. Maybe he needed to hear it anyway. This book has a lot to say, you just have to look for it, because it's not going to preach at you.First, this book isn't going to scream at you and tell you not to use drugs. It's going to show you what happens when you use drugs, what it feels like to trip on acid, and how it doesn't let you escape your problems. It's going to show you that when you come down off the high, life is still there. You can't escape it. You have to find a reason to live, something that will remain when the drugs wear off. So the book rambles a lot. So many of the thoughts seem unrelated to the story. If we're honest woith ourselves, that's what it's like inside our heads sometimes. In real life, we're not always likeable. Things aren't always black and white. We don't always do what's good for us. And some people who use drugs don't die. That's how they can look back on their lives now, and reach out to people who may not want to be preached at. I think the best argument against using drugs is not "they can kill you." Most people know that, and they use drugs anyway. I think the best argument against using drugs is that they don't really help you escape your problems. When you're coming down off the high and you're puking and you're alone, you need a reason to live, not a way to escape life. So where is the hope? Where is the revelation? At the end of the story, when the drugs are wearing off and life is still there, so is a friend. A friend who listens, who cares, and who accepts Brendan for who he is. A friend who wants to be around Brendan even though he's covered in vomit. A friend who tells him that "The boy inside wasn't mud and ... and all things crazy as far as she could see. Sure some of that was there because it always is, but it's one and the same with the good." Is he going to date this girl? Is he going to stop using drugs? We don't know. As with life, there's always more to be written. We only know that at the end, Brendan has found something that is helping him heal "slowly and evenly and with expert care. Better than drugs that don't work in the long run." And so there you have it. Redemption, there for the taking. Hey, I told you it wasn't a startling revelation. And we don't know if he'll take the redemption. But we know that there's hope, and sometimes that's everything. This book isn't for everyone, but it is for someone, and that's why I'm glad it's here.
Rating:
Summary: Go Ask Brendan
Review: The editorial review on this website states that this book doesn't have much of a conclusion. I think that's funny. Neither does life, at least not until you die. In real life, our problems don't often end with everything being resolved and dramatic music playing in the background. If we were to really spend a day inside the mind of a 16 year old boy, his thoughts might seem disjointed and rambling and meaningless at times. If he suddenly got a startling revelation about life, it might not seem like a "startling revelation." It might be as simple as talking to someone and finding that there's more to life than drugs and parties. Maybe he knew that all along. Maybe he needed to hear it anyway. This book has a lot to say, you just have to look for it, because it's not going to preach at you. First, this book isn't going to scream at you and tell you not to use drugs. It's going to show you what happens when you use drugs, what it feels like to trip on acid, and how it doesn't let you escape your problems. It's going to show you that when you come down off the high, life is still there. You can't escape it. You have to find a reason to live, something that will remain when the drugs wear off. So the book rambles a lot. So many of the thoughts seem unrelated to the story. If we're honest woith ourselves, that's what it's like inside our heads sometimes. In real life, we're not always likeable. Things aren't always black and white. We don't always do what's good for us. And some people who use drugs don't die. That's how they can look back on their lives now, and reach out to people who may not want to be preached at. I think the best argument against using drugs is not "they can kill you." Most people know that, and they use drugs anyway. I think the best argument against using drugs is that they don't really help you escape your problems. When you're coming down off the high and you're puking and you're alone, you need a reason to live, not a way to escape life. So where is the hope? Where is the revelation? At the end of the story, when the drugs are wearing off and life is still there, so is a friend. A friend who listens, who cares, and who accepts Brendan for who he is. A friend who wants to be around Brendan even though he's covered in vomit. A friend who tells him that "The boy inside wasn't mud and ... and all things crazy as far as she could see. Sure some of that was there because it always is, but it's one and the same with the good." Is he going to date this girl? Is he going to stop using drugs? We don't know. As with life, there's always more to be written. We only know that at the end, Brendan has found something that is helping him heal "slowly and evenly and with expert care. Better than drugs that don't work in the long run." And so there you have it. Redemption, there for the taking. Hey, I told you it wasn't a startling revelation. And we don't know if he'll take the redemption. But we know that there's hope, and sometimes that's everything. This book isn't for everyone, but it is for someone, and that's why I'm glad it's here.
Rating: 
Summary: Tripping with Perfection
Review: This book is a magnificent. The casual drug use and cursing makes it all the more appealing to me and probably just the type of readers Brian James would like to have. I found myself reading Pure Sunshine carefully as to keep it in good condition so I could read it over and over again because I knew it was something special. It tells the story of Brenden, a high school boy trying to find out who he wants to be and tries to find much-needed comfort in drugs, clubs, smoking, his friends that seem to be nothing but but a bunch of unsupportive teenage boys that don't care about the things that are truly important, and being one of those guys that if a mother saw walking along the road would drag her child to the other side of the street. It's definately a must-read for anybody that likes those stories that are all too true to life and disklikes those sugary books that are all too common.
Rating: 
Summary: pure disappointment
Review: This book started out so good but it ended much too abrubtly. I think Brian James got sick of writing it or something. Conflicts wre not solved. It was very disappointing. I wouldn't even bother reading it unless you want to learn more about drug culture, because it will only leave you disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: pure disappointment
Review: This book started out so good but it ended much too abrubtly. I think Brian James got sick of writing it or something. Conflicts wre not solved. It was very disappointing. I wouldn't even bother reading it unless you want to learn more about drug culture, because it will only leave you disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: What a Trip!
Review: This book was very intriguing. The thing I loved the most about it was the fact it wasn't another book about drugs trying to make you see how awful they were, and showed someone dying from them at the end. All though this book does in a way show you that drugs can mess you up. It shows you this in a whole different view. He not only tells everyone he loves his drugs, but explains what he's going through as he is doing it! To me this shows you drugs in a whole nother level.
Rating:
Summary: Sunshine
Review: This novel is an easy read that describes an extremely vivid two days in the life of Brendan, the main character and narrator. It explicitly follows him through two occasions of him dropping acid, upon which he learns more about his friends, his relationship both with them and the world around him, and himself. The novel's style allows it to flow, and the reader is drawn in. Its length also permits the reader to finish it in one sitting, which is a benefit in that one can follow Brendan from the first day to the second without losing the character's immediate feelings or state of mind. Remarks that he makes upon finally finding some clarity from the acid-induced haze he experienced the night before are strong, descriptive, and pinpoint emotions that myself as a reader could strongly both identify and identify with. The variation in vocabulary and numerous allusions attest to James's intelligence. He is obviously well learned. (Also, Brendon is extremely interested in English, my favorite subject, so I couldn't help but smile when he spoke highly of the class.) James's age contributes to the relevancy of the tale, in that he speaks and presents the matter in a contemporary tone. I look forward to seeing what else can come from James.
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