The Gospel According to Larry

Rating:
Summary: A good book; Check it out!
Review: The book "The Gospel According to Larry" is a great philisophical novel about a very intelligent boy; Josh/larry; who starts a website about anti-consumerism(www.thegospelaccordingtolarry). This book sucked me in and didn't let go until I finised it. In the book Josh only owns seventy-five items and whenever he wants anything he thinks over it for days until he decides he really wants it. I notice myself thinking really hard about an item before I buy it. This started to happen after I read this book. I will pass this on to my friends because some of my friends pay ridiculous prices from plain shrits. The message I got from this story is to think for yourself and don't follow the masses. Follow the beat of your own drum! Be unique and be yourself. The language for this book goes right with the story. The book was not too long or too short it was just enough to finish with a well fed mind. The good thing about this book is that it is a true story about a real person who actually came up with these ideas and sermons for the website and the book. The little story before the book about how Josh had to track down Janet Tashjain to publish this book is very interesting. This would make a great book to read in classrooms and discuss because consumerism is a part of every day life. Quoted in one of larry's sermons " Slip on your Gap jeans, your Nike T-shirt, your Reeboks- or maybe even your Cons if you think that makes you cool in a Kurt Cobain kind of way etc." This makes you realize how advertizing companies are invading our daily lives. The book was profound and a great read; so if your into anti-consumerism and want to enjoy a good book read "The Gospel According To Larry".

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Summary: .
Review: The book: The Gospel According to Larry was very interesting because I could relate to the character a lot. (Only I'm 12) The "Journey" (as some like to call it) that Josh takes through-out this book is very meta-morphic, you can see this character change although (ironically) it may be blinded by your intrest in the actual story. I have read this book about 8 times now and it never seems to fail to give me something new. Josh's non-materialistic anti-corporate america attitude keeps a reader going, especially when that reader is a non-materialistic anti-corporate america pro-world kind of person. I highly recommend this book, and don't loose it!

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: The Gospel According To Larry by Janet Tashjian is a very uplifting novel about a boy named Josh who rights internet sermons under the name of Larry about anti-consumerism, and gains a huge following with still no one knowing who he is. The novel is written extremely well and brings the reader in.
There are many strengths in this novel. It is written in the first person and seems like you are actually in the book with Josh, getting the big picture by using descriptive writing, An example of this is a quote about how he is in love with his best friend, Beth. "Good old Beth. I wanted to tell her she was the only person who truly comforted me when my mother died. But from my emotional straightjacket, all I said instead was Thanks. I shuffled off to my next class with my heart aching." The quote shows exactly how it feels and gives you a feeling of being there with him.
I would highly recommend this book to children and adults of any age. The story is very fun to read and hard to put down. I give the book 5 out of 5 stars, it is one of the best books I have read in awhile.


Rating:
Summary: Awesome book, The Gospel According to Larry
Review: The Gospel According to Larry is a very moving book. It's definately for teens. When i picked it up in my local library, i thought it was going to be a book about religious punks or something, looking at the cover of it. But when i started reading it, i realized that every word Josh spoke, was absolutely true. He speaks from his heart, and i hope that anyone who reads this book, will feel the same way Josh and I do.

Rating:
Summary: Best Book Ever
Review: The Gospel According to Larry was one of the best books I have ever read. This book showed me some different perspectives or opinions people can have about life. Suspense in this story was great because it kept me intrigued in the book. I couldn't put it down, yet I wasn't scared out of my mind like in class when the teacher is reading a book to you, then stops right when the main character is risking death. The novel helps me realize how much commercialism is in the world today. I was baffled in this story because at many parts because I couldn't tell whether it was fact or fiction. Janet Tashjian makes The Gospel According to Larry in a class of its own. I would recommend this book to kids that are 12 or older that don't enjoy reading and of course the kids that love to read will like it.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: The story line is a bit on the seemingly impossible side, but isn't that what fiction is all about? I loved this book and that point is the only bad one i have, except having to pull up a dictionary every once in a wile to look up a word. I loved the vocabulary. To bad it's not really this easy to turn against big business and be our own person. This book prompted me to call nearly every Borders within 10 miles trying to get a copy of Vote for Larry, the astounding sequel. I loved the character depth so much as well.

Rating:
Summary: "The Gospel According to Larry," According to Me
Review: This book is absolutely fabulous- I loved it! It is a very accurate, refreshing, and often depressing take on the impact that advertising and consumerism have over our lives and what we can do to change it, one person at a time. "The Gospel According to Larry" is so well written that as I read it I could view the story being told as if I were Josh Swensen, the narrator, myself. This a truly entertaining and meaningful read, and I highly reccomend this to all literate people willing to help change the world.

Rating:
Summary: The Gospel According to ME
Review: This BOOK IS AMAZING! Josh Swenson is not at all like all the other seventeen year old boys in Boston Massachusetts. Unlike most teens he is not at all materialistic. In fact he only has seventy-five items in his possession, and that includes his clothing. Josh wants to make a contribution to the world but he doesn't know how, or if he can. Not until he does something that creates a LOT of commotion. So he donates to the world one sermon at a time. Read The Gospel According to Larry to find out what Josh does and how he helps the world become a better place.

I rate this book 5 stars because It is a GREAT book. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: This book was awful
Review: This book is the tale of a delusional, selfish, jerk, with a messiah conflict, who ruins his step father who took care of him, and gets annoyed at a friend of his who's a girl because she isn't going out with him, and acting how he thinks she should. Josh toutures one of his teachers for kicks, trys to boss around a friend through his website, searches through his step dads stuff, and gets all high and mighty about "how his step dad needs to respect his opinions" after he ruins his bussiness. And this is all aside from the purly awful "anti-materialsim" junk which Josh centers his life about. After thinking about this book a bit, I thought the authore might have put some deep morales in about what you SHOULD NOT do. Then I listened to the author at my school, and I realised that she just wrote this book to rage against society, and condem anyone who dose not agree with her, through this "perfect" little teen. The only way she is able at all to make anyone connect with josh is by making him into a martyer from the amount of trouble he gets in. In addition Josh is the most unrealistic character I have ever heard of. More than that the book is very slight, and about an hours read. ...

Rating:
Summary: The Gospel According to Larry
Review: This book made me very sad because it validates the attitude of a number of non admirable political conservatives. Rauch Limbaugh thinks that it is fine for him to be the spokesman for family values while he goes through yet another divorce. It's OK for him to rant and rave about drug addicts while he breaks the law to get his own drugs. Bill O'Reilly presents himself as the moral authority while sexually harassing an employee. And, in this book, the Larry character tramples on the people in his life. According to the author, that's acceptable because Larry is really smart and he is against consumerism. Say what?

Generally we see a character grow as he deals with a crisis. In this book, Larry lies to the people who love him by omitting to tell them the truth. He steals from his stepfather and endangers the man's career. To resolve the ensuing problems, Larry stages the biggest lie of all. My! Hasn't he grown! This big lie will leave the people who love him with a lifetime of guilt. However, it's all OK because Larry is against consumerism! Bull.