Rating: 
Summary: Cute! Talented! A little bummer at the end
Review: This book was so awsome in the begining. I read the whole thing in my boring classes at school and in detension. I coulnt stop!! I have never really read a whole book without it being asigned by teachers in high shcool so I was amazed myself when I finished it. It was so cool how the kids in it were so much like kids I know in Bulwer-Lytton, Kansas except they are richer and more classy and more fashion able then the kids I know. But because the kids in the book are into drugs and sex and partying I was able to relate. We are also into guns and weapons and stuff but Im not personally but I know guys who are. New York seems like such a cool place that I have always wanted to go there but after reading the book 12 I would have to say that it seems kind of scary too. Its amazing how the writer could write like that, and hes my age so it gives me hope that I can write a book too. I dont understand how the other opinions can be so harsh. Those people are probably too old to relate so they dont understand the book. I thougt it was very much like a symbol how the main charecter is named White Mike. Its like hes more pure I guess then the other charecters like the 2 wiggers and the black drug dealer. the only downer was the end. It was so sad that it made me sad because I was hoping the writer would write more books about this story. Likea sequel. Plus the writer is so cute by the way!! That is waht made me start to read the book. Because my friend Heather showed me a picture of him and he looked so cute but also like he had something to say. If you look at his picture on the book you can tell that hes thinking about a lot of important things to say. I just wish that his next book will be more up beat and maybe a little more romance. So I would definetly reccommend this book but you should keep open mind and not read all the negative stuff people wrote below. Well my detension is almost over so I will have to stop writing and post this and end it here. Good job! You are very talented and not just cute!!
Rating: 
Summary: nice work
Review: it's well crafted and written in a careful, spare style. it tackles Easton Ellis type themes - rich kids who don't know what to do with themselves and are alienated from society by remote parents and by having too much of everything. contains some thoughtful observations. the author is much more comfortable with his male characters than his female ones - overall, he clearly doesn't think much of his girls who are thick, manipulative, and mentally confused. the ending was a slight cop out. it's a very readable book and a wonderful achievement for such a young writer, but the terrain is one we've seen before, and the author brought more style than novelty to it.
Rating: 
Summary: nothing new
Review: I'm bewildered by the praise for this young man's novel--(from writers I respect.) The writing is blatently derivative and amateurish overall, and drugs as a de facto main character just doesn't hold a contemporary reader's interest.although McDonnell's effort takes only an evening to consume, this is a song you've heard sung better before.
Rating:
Summary: Pathetic
Review: This is one of the worst books I have ever read. It never would have been published if the teenage author's godfather, Morgan Entrekin, didn't own the publishing company, Grove Atlantic. It doesnt hurt that his father, Terry McDonell, is a publishing name as well in the magazine industry. The book itself is tripe. It's hilariously padded out to almost 250 pages, but in reality it should be about 90. The characters are empty, the sentences are poorly and simplistically constructed, and there are no original ideas ANYWHERE in the book. It makes me angry to think that this even touched a publisher's desk.
Rating:
Summary: Well Done
Review: While I can agree that parts of the description where lacking I have to say that all and all I enjoyed the book. Through summers and time over vacations, I have become very familiar with the kind of kids profiled in this book and I have seen much of what is portrayed. McDonell also knows and lives with these people and has written a novel that contains much personal experience and thought. I found the book an easy read and entertaining. I would especially recommend it to people who are familiar with Manhattan because the story really comes alive.
Rating:
Summary: Firstly, hard to read - finally, hard to put down.
Review: I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I first started reading 'Twelve', but I knew I had to see what all the fuss was about. At first I really struggled with the way it was written - it was like nothing I had come across before. However, the more and more I delved into each page, the more I was hooked. It was amazing how the author showed the entanglement of people's lives, bringing new meaning to "it's a small world". It was absolutely fascinating how the story came to a head and proved that there are always consequences to every action you make. Read it!
Rating:
Summary: Mediocre
Review: McDonell has a gift for prose at least, which is what makes this book worth reading. Even at its least inspired, the sketchiness of the plot is papered over by a tapestry of words that can really spin you away. Still, the plot isn't there, and neither are the characters. The voice is smart and caustic but superior ......
Rating: 
Summary: *Great Book*
Review: I cannot believe how good this book was. I read it for hours before i went to bed then i finished it the next day. Thats outstanding for me because im actually a slow reader. I honestly have to say i couldnt put the damn thing down!! I love the description, the plot and i felt like i was sucked in the book within minutes. I loved it. I hope 'Less than zero' is much like it because im reading that next :)
-Cristina age 14
Rating:
Summary: Pathetic Writing Even For a Non-Talent Like McDonell
Review: This is the worst book I have read all year. A complete ripoff of Less Than Zero, right down to the italicized digressions--except in this books, it's a crutch that McDonell relies on because he has no story to tell, and no interesting characters. And if you can't see the ending coming by page 30 or so, you might an idiot. It's also very unconvincing--what drug, exactly, are they supposed to be on when they're tripping? (That's a ridiculous scene, by the way.) And what's up with the rich prep school kid going to prison and finding out it's 'not so bad'? Please. The sex scenes (what few there are--this book is NOT shocking) are pretty ridiculous too: stuff to the effect of "The big scary black guy watched the virginal white girl take off her sweater. His menacing yellow eyes stared at her pale breasts." I mean, come on. And how come the white drug dealer is an intelligent, philosophical, sypathetic character (or is supposed to be, at least) while the black drug dealer is this hulking, evil monster? And then, after I read it, I discovered that Nick McDonell's godfather owns the company that published the book. Funny, it doesn't mention that on the back flap. But it explains everything.
Rating:
Summary: WHY?
Review: Thank you, Nick McDonell, for educating us about affluent New York City's teens' "morals" and pathetic problems. Now I can die happy.
All right, seriously, the book was BAD. Pointless, even. The readers keep expecting some explanation for all the bizzare and almost evil behavior exibitied by most of the characters, but alas, no such luck. Gosh, WHAT a waste of time. There was absolutely no depth to any of the characters and the plot was nonexistant. Boy, oh boy I had to wipe my brow with relief when my ordeal was over.
I first heard about the book in the newspaper. Many people gave "Twelve" rave reviews. I am unclear as to why.
Oh, and don't get me started about the ending "climax" scene. ...I don't want to give it all away, so I'll just say that I almost laughed in disbelief. Someone on this website commented that Mr. McDonell wrote the TRUTH... *ahem* If you say so... I, on the other hand did not find that scene truthful, but rather an excuse to add meaningless violence. Meaningless, because the book was obviously a lost cause loooooong before the grand finale.
The bottom line is, feel free to read this book. Maybe after you've finished you'll have a new outlook on life and might even be able to relate to it...then again if you're not a rich teenager in New York City, perhaps not.
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