Twelve

Rating:
Summary: Twelve: A Novel (Of Epic Proportions)
Review: It is 1:32 in the morning (eastern time) and I finally put down Nick McDonell's first-rate Twelve. It is exhilarating, thoughtful, and an incredibly fine asset to anyone's home library. You don't need me to tell you what the book is about because I'm sure if you're reading this you want to know how it was. Take the fairly recent movie GO. Inject its multiple-characters-with-entwining-storylines format with enough steroids to kill a small elephant, and you can understand what it is like to read (conquer) Twelve. I read an article in Entertainment Weekly admitting the promise that the now-18 year old McDonell shows as an author, and the magazine was undeniably true-to-reality. He writes with a passion and an engaging prose not normally found in books of this type, and I eagerly await any future projects he might tackle.

Rating:
Summary: Skip It
Review: I love reading a good book and was really excited when I picked this one up....what a disappointment. This is not a good book. It is poorly written and very boring. Save your money and buy something else.

Rating:
Summary: a waste of paper and ink
Review: 1st off, whether McDonell intended to blend the characters together or not isn't the real issue (if he did do it on purpose it was either because of sheer laziness or imaturity as a writer). The bottom line is that their is no character developement of anyone throughout the book. I suppose you would like this "story" if you were a spoiled rich kid because you'd be able to identify with all the shallowness, but there's nothing real artful about that. The book is a quick read, I'll give it that, but that's about it. And if this is the voice of the upcoming generation, they certainly don't have much to say for themselves (mowing the main characters down in the end with a machine gun? That's just so amatuerish...so 3rd grader fantasy/violence stuff).

As far as book companies printing books that are no good, they do it all the time, and then they use their PR muscle to hype them to get them sold. Same as Hollywood. Ever see a movie that was so bad your head starts spinning when you wonder how the heck it got made? And the reviews stated it was "Brilliant!" "An edge of you seat Thriller!" Well that's what happens when a director/writer who is well contected in the industry gets some favors called in. And movies cost much more to release than books.

McDonell has admitted it's not even his dream to become a writer. He said in an interview that wants to direct movies. So it looks like we've got a lot more head spinning to come.

Rating:
Summary: mediocrity manifested as a book
Review: First of all, the physical book itself has problems--like typos. Quite a few of them. Not on every page, but far more than are forgivable from big-hype major release from a prominent publishing house.

Now to the novel: the plot is embarassing, and there are so many lapses and suspensions of disbelief required that it's just appalling. For example, a 17 year old kid gets taken to a NYC prison--and he thinks it's 'not so bad.' Yeah RIGHT. Please! First of all, the other prisoners would eat him for breakfast, or at least be threatening to. Other things: There is a drug trip (conveniently the author neglects to describe which drug) which is so unconvincing it's laughable. How could Hunter Thompson soil his reputation by putting his name on this book?

The weakest part of all is the ending. What does every novice writer do to their characters at the end of the story when they don't know how to wrap things up? Well, that's exactly what happens here. This book didn't even deserve to be published. (Could it have something to do with the fact that the author's godfather is president of Grove Atlantic, which published the novel?) The quality of the writing is just wretched.

Rating:
Summary: It's all about the Benjamins
Review: In this case, the book in question is a pretentious, boring, affected, self-indulgent novella bloated to nearly 250 pages. Its themes are passe, its plot familiar, its characters DOA, its dialogue laughable. I'm 16 years old, and I'm all for celebrating young talent... but this isn't it.

Rating:
Summary: Get used to it
Review: McDonell is the voice of a generation and Twelve is its novel. Searing, hollow, utterly bored and self-absorbed, Twelve is inhabited by characters who reflect much of American society today.

The story centers around White Mike, who doesn't get high, is quite self-disciplined and makes money dealing. White Mike is a loner who pities his customers' mania for drugs at the very same time he sells them the stuff. He too is bored but in the existentialist world of Twelve there isn't a damn thing he can do about it.

McDonell has a keen sense of dialogue, especially street jive, which jumps off the pages with credibility and life.

His characters are drawn fairly well, although that isn't difficult since most of them lack discernible dimension. There are a lot of characters in the book, perhaps a few too many, but maybe he needed them all in order to prepare for Twelve's foretold yet shocking climax.

Rating:
Summary: unfair reviews
Review: Granted, this book does cover things we've seen before, I still think they're shown in a different light. That the characters meld together so much is quite interesting. The fact is, all of these characters ARE one in the same in description, dialogue, etc., but what's so ironic is that they are also the same in real life... it's a statement, not a mistake -- whether McDonell made it purposely or not is an open question.
Considering he was only seventeen when he wrote it, I think the book is quite an accomplishment. The fact that these reviews are so focussed on how he got the book printed misses the point. The fact of the matter is that, yes, he had connections at the press company. BUT - that can only get you so far. So maybe it got his book read by them, but companies are in this for the money. What kind of publishing company is going to print thousands of copies of a book as a favor? That's not realistic. The company must have seen something worthwhile, and so do I. It's a quick read -- great for the summer when you don't want to delve too deeply. But it still leads the reader through all the sex, drugs, and wealth of "city kids."
Look, everyone says write what you know. He's seventeen, he did that. Of course there are remnants of other stories -- he's got some growing to do. None of this means that the book isn't worth a quick summer's read.

Rating:
Summary: Beyond the expected
Review: A brilliantly scathing reflection of today's youth societies, McDonell captures many different views and expectations in a solid debut novel. As McDonell will admit, the characters do tend to blend together without his intention to have them do so, but it works well for the story. The ending, while one can see it coming, is delivered in such a style that it still shocks you and beyond the outward apocalyptic end, a deeper view will show this to be more than just a cop-out of an ending--instead it is a rather dramatic view of the survival of a generation, with only those who are not just the naive children of money left.

Rating:
Summary: Astonished to hear writers age
Review: The writing is mature and the narrative skilled. THe relationship between the youngsters and the adults/parents almost painfully realised. A wonderful piece of work.

Overreactions do seem to abound because of the subject matter. Given the nature of the novel clearly some people should avoid. Particularly those confused with the timeline between Hamlet and Monte Cristo!

Rating:
Summary: Unbelievably trite
Review: Been there, done that so many times that it almost doesn't warrant mention. Young, jaded, wealthy Manhattanites who binge on sex, drugs, and violence. The young author has been swept up in a maelstrom of hype already showered on the likes of Bret Easton Ellis and Jay McInerney -- authors already proven to be as ridiculous as the subjects they allegedly "capture with so much gritty realism."

Skip this. Mr. McDonell isn't the great hope of the literary community -- no matter what the gossip pages say. He is a barely mediocre talent who benefits from spin, privilege, and exceptional breeding.