Twelve

Rating:
Summary: Millennial Less Than Zero
Review: Nick McDonell thought he was being rather clever when he wrote about his generation, Gen-Y if you will, but he wrote it so terribly. He only refers to basically three music sources: Eminem, Nelly and Snopp Dogg, who are not ALL that are focused on by teenagers today, especially rich white kids, even if they are wiggas, it still doesn't work like that. There's not even a lot mentioning about life today as teen except for little drug references and the big ending, which was really out of the place and stupid, actually.

It's a story almost so identical to Bret Easton Ellis's LESS THAN ZERO that you might want to smack Nicky's face but it's also like a Millennial PLAY IT AS IT LAYS (a 60's novel), as ZERO was the Gen-X version. There's the same italics, the same short sentences, the same up-to-date lingo of the time but there's not the same jist. ZERO had a lot of pop culture and a lot of music references while TWELVE was pretty lukewarm on those issues.

THE STORY:
The story is about rich, white Manhattan-blessed mid-teenagers(with the typical stereotypes including the beauty, the tomboy, the loverboy, the wiggas, the hottie and the deep one) who are spending their Christmas vacation (another reference to ZERO) at home--partying, drinking (kind of), fighting, drugging and basically being bored. It revolves mostly around a 17-year-old drug dealer named White Mike, who doesn't take drugs and hasn't even smoked a cigarette in his life, which is pretty unbelievable if you ask me. White Mike is supposedly a Holden Caulfield for the Double-Zeros but I doubt that entirely. He's "thin and pale like smoke" as described in this so-called good book. The kids are kind of love-starved but really annoyed and really jaded, if you will, and in the end, get kind of what they deserve but pretty out of place and everything.

The dialogue's pretty good--kind of what teenagers usually talk about, the theme's a great idea because Gen-Y hasn't been focused on yet properly, but the writing is terrible and it really needed to be redone. I know Mr. McDonell's a rich brat, like his characters, and his godfather or whoever is the top notch hocho of the Grove-Atlantic, but c'mon! They should've read it before and redid it. Made it shorter. It really needed to be.

So whatever. Read the book if you want to, but I really hope you take a look at the LOOK INSIDE thing up there by Book Info to see if it sounds good because to me, it's just a imposter of two books that I really like. I recommend PLAY AS IT LAYS and LESS THAN ZERO.

Rating:
Summary: Twelve
Review: Twelve

This is a look into a different life of the urban jungles of New York City, where the expensive town houses of the rich and famous are contaminated by drugs, sex and violence. A story for any teenager wanting to see a world outside their protective and sheltered suburban homes, or for those who live the street life everyday and need it to be told through the words of a young author who tells the truth.
"White Mike is clean. He doesn't smoke, drink or use drugs." He is however the neighborhoods most well known drug dealer. Without much ambition except to survive, he lives alone in an apartment, and waits for beeps from his costumers. White Mike is known by almost everyone in the neighborhood as the person to go to for drugs. He is a dropout, but a successful and smart dealer, and known how to handle himself. He has many friends, but tends to not get attached to any of them.
The story that takes place on New York's Upper East Side, where teens come home from their private or boarding schools and all they yearn for is a party, on New Year's Eve. Full of drugs, sex and violence, Twelve, travels from townhouses to the streets of Harlem, where every character has a different story. Very influenced by pop culture, Nick McDonell's takes a chilling look of adolescence and what they really deal with in the world. Although at times, it is quite predictable, Twelve is edgy and can be relative to any teenager, no matter where they are from. From the first page, a pace is set for a shocking climax, that in the end, McDonell delivers.
A writing style very different then any other author, but yet expected by a 17 year old, is fragmented, and has minimal language to entice thought. The vocabulary is very basic and there is very little character development. The inseam of the book pretty much tells White Mike's entire life as well as his personality. The only time there is insightful descriptive narrative is when there is a scene with violence or what the characters are wearing. From FUBU to Northface, the book is filled with commercialism based descriptions which further emphasize the materialistic descriptions.
There is however an even flow to the book, as it has short chapters that captivate readers. Although there are almost 250 pages, each chapter is less then about 5 pages which helps to keep readers reading

Rating:
Summary: a bit overrated but impressive
Review: i remember when this book first came out and i was rather contemptuous of all the hype coming out about it. i finally broke down and got it a couple of days ago and must say i was rather pleasantly surprised. the writing although sometimes sparse and sometimes forced was impressive for an eighteen year old. the ending was cliched and rather weak and some things were too unbelievable but overall i think the book succeeded on the level it tried to succeed. the people who complain that the characters are stereotypical fail to realize that most of the people being described at that point in their lives with their wealth and privlege are just that one dimensional. the comparisons to ellis are not without merit but i think there are definite flashes of brilliance especially during white mike's contemplations. mcdonnell should follow up with a deeper more introverted novel if he wants to be taken seriously, because the potential is definitely there.

Rating:
Summary: Not as derivative as some might think
Review: Nearly every review of "Twelve" makes some reference to Brett Easton Ellis and his incredible debut "Less Than Zero." Although it is certainly an accurate comparison I found "Twelve" to be a lot more than an Ellis rip off. Nick McDonell's prose is fresh, at times beautiful, at times horrifying, while still being able to make you laugh on one page and cringe on the next. The only aspect I did not particularly like was the ending. It certainly seemed to make sense from a realistic aspect, but with all of the build-up I expected something more. This mild criticism would not keep me from recommending this tremendous debut novel though. I am eagerly awaiting whatever future releases this promising, young novelist has in store for us.

Rating:
Summary: Ending is predictable...thoughtful, truthful novel
Review: This book started out really well...then crashed and burned. If it wasn't for the sorry ending, I would've rated it with 4 stars. Many of the characters the book follows were of no interest and did not really relate to the underlying story. The individual stories of addiction are truthful.

Rating:
Summary: Awful Book
Review: I just finished this book last night and I was shocked at the ending and so disturbed that an 18 yr. old is writing such disturbing scenes especially after what our country has gone through. Nick McDonell needs to get on some medication to straighten him out!

Rating:
Summary: Twelve
Review: Twelve by Nick McDonell is a great book if you are looking for a suspenseful page turner. Twelve is a story that follows a young drug dealer through the streets of New York City during holiday break. All of the rich bording school teens are home for the holidays and ready to party. The most ideal audience for this book would probably teens from sixteen to nineteen mainly because of the adult language, topics and violence. The style the author used was very unique in which the story was set up like a soap opera in which different stories were going on at once. Also, the characters were developed very well, I felt like I knew each one of them. The story definately stirred emotion also. The end was tragic and a bit disturbing all at once. It really caused me to reflect on the book as a whole and think about how the events in the story were based off of actual events. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It always kept me guessing and I felt like I really got to know each of the characters, even the ones who were rarely mentioned. The book was very unique, unlike the books I usually read, this book did not follow grammer rules or structure. It was like being inside the head of a teenage boy. The ending of the book was somewhat predictable, however it was much more drastic and tragic than what I predicted, thus it was an unexpected ending. Twelve is a great book for those looking for an easy summer read.

Rating:
Summary: it's all in what's missing
Review: If you want an extremely insightful review, see 12/29/02 from Sam Gogolak. After reading that I was incredibly happy someone finally had something intelligent and analytical to say about this book.

What I feel has caused so many people to find such a distaste for this book is exactly what the author was attempting to do. People have complained of a lack of a plot, characters, etc...But this isn't a typical book and it isn't for just any reader. What makes this book so interesting and intriguing is how it makes you feel in the end- confused, perplexed and unsettled. Perhaps those who have given this book negative reviews never got over that initial shock to actually think about the book after reading it. The things that are missing are what it's really about- the reader must go beyond what is merely described and pay attention to what is really happening. Could it be that the absence of parents leads to the absence of personality, morals, and anything beyond shallowness? Could the absence of a nurturing and loving home (aside from the provided money) be what fuels the desire for the perfect high, the perfect sex, the most friends, the most attention....?

This book is not perfect, and I don't feel that the author was trying to create sympathy for the rich and elite, but rather show the world a sort of reality that so many of us refuse to believe. I would definately recommend this book if you're looking for something beyond the predicatable romance and comedy that currently overwhelm film and literature.

Rating:
Summary: GOOD BOOK
Review: i think that this book was written well even though many readers have labled it a .... i don't think it was at all and if they knew anything about anything about being young and living in the city then they would surely change their opinion of this novel. although the ending was dissapointing, and, yes, he is well-connected in the publishing industry, i don't think that anyone can take away the excellent prose and readibilty of this book. it reads like a comic book of sorts and does have a high entertainment value. i did find it very similar to Less Than Zero, yes, even right down to the italisized flasbacks, but just because McDonell wasn't the first to tackle the genre, doesn't mean he didn't put forth a solid effort and a nice piece of literature.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book Of ALL TIME. And 4-EVER, too!!!!
Review: Like, I can't believe how super-cool this awesome book was!! It was sooo realistic! You've gotta read it! I'm thirteen and I can really relate to Mike White.
I'm not from New York or anything. I've never even been there, actually. I don't even know where New York is. But Nick McDonnel is the greatest writer I've ever read! The plot was amazing: rich kids being rich in rich neighborhoods. But not in L.A. this time, like in that other book about bored rich kids. And they do drugs too, which I never do since I Dare to Say No. But McDonnel makes it seem so REAL, though.
My favorite part was when everybody was really bored and spending money and doing drugs, you know, because that's really sad and empty and I'm sure all rich kids in New York are like that. Anyway, I hope the author writes many more books (sequals hopefully!!). And I can't wait for THE MOVIE!!!!!