Reviews - Been There, Read That!

Struck by Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal

Struck by Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal

By: Chris Colfer

5 Hearts out of 5

Summary from GoodReads: Struck By Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal follows the story of outcast high school senior Carson Phillips, who blackmails the most popular students in his school into contributing to his literary journal to bolster his college application; his goal in life is to get into Northwestern and eventually become the editor of The New Yorker. At once laugh-out-loud funny, deliciously dark, and remarkably smart, Struck By Lightning unearths the dirt that lies just below the surface of high school. At a time when bullying torments so many young people today, this unique and important novel sheds light with humor and wit on an issue that deeply resonates with countless teens and readers.

Time for a review on what life is like in those last few months of senior year... or life...

Struck by Lightning isn't your normal everyday teen novel. It's so much more. It delves deeper into the untouched territories of high school and what happens when the president of the school's newspaper gets his hands on the dirty little secrets of the most popular kids in school. Carson Phillips is on the verge of college and only has one dream: to get into Northwestern University. Of course followed by becoming the editor of The New Yorker, writing weekly for the New York Times, and living in a New York City apartment.

Carson Phillips is a character that the readers are able to confine in. He stands for the student with a dream who feels like everything and then some are standing in their way. You get to follow Carson as he works towards his college dream as the "cattle" of the school get in his way when he tries to better his college application. Sometimes things seem like they're on the edge of just completely falling apart, and that's when inspiration strikes like lightning and blackmail becomes your best friend.

Seeing as many teenagers of today can relate to this story about being not just an outsider, but the person that everyone picks on and is said to be too eccentric for their own good. Sometimes it's being that person who puts you out there in the world and makes you realize sometimes all it takes is a few extra secrets and a good friend with a quirky mind to put your name on something.

This book is absolutely filled with sarcasm. Let me rephrase that, it is overflowing with the most truthful sarcasm I have ever heard. I have never laughed this much in my life and his quick wit and cute quips are a way for the reader to truly connect to Carson- being as many of the things he says are ones most of us probably say in our own minds. Carson in the beginning is just a self-absorbed teen who only cares for himself, and has the mouth of a quick witted you-know-what, but as the story moves along we see Carson grow, just as we see ourselves, the readers, grow as well, along with our main character himself as we discover ourselves and the ones around us.

Carson shows us how intelligence is truly what is sexy in this world, and not the underlying eroticism of absolutely anything sexual that has passed through the minds of today's youth. He shows us through his own truthful sarcasm and cynical ways that the young adults of today have to be the ones to create the future where it is more than just a sex-defined world, but rather focuses on penetrating personality and self-worth.

Chris Colfer's novel would not be coined as a literary masterpiece, because it is more than that. It touches the hearts of its readers and drags them along on the journey of senior year and your race to college to get out of the damn town you were sadly born in.

Colfer's novel is perfect for anyone who wants a quick read, but has hopes of being touched by it. As I always say, a little cliché goes a long way, and Chris Colfer portrays this perfectly in his novel. This book is definitely for the ones that are feeling down in life, and feel as if everyone in the world is after them, and trying to destroy their dreams of getting out of the small town that every little mind thinks defines them. Colfer opens us up to a world of blackmail, dementia, alcohol abuse, and portrays it in a way so that any reader is able to relate easily, and throughout the entirety of the book.

Whether you are a fan of Chris Colfer or not, this book is an authentic read that is bound to take any reader on a journey through senior year in high school, and light that flame again or fuel it for the first time about the dirty little secrets lurking the halls.

Just as Carson states to us in the book, "I don't care what you are- gay, straight, bisexual, black, white, purple, cat, dog, or pigeon," I truly believe anyone that picks up this book will have a hard time putting this one down. Colfer, you did a great job creating a truly heartfelt setting full of the sarcasm we all share as we all deal with the pain of today's world.

I don't think I could have expected anymore from this book.

WARNING: Grab that Kleenex box! Nicholas and Scott aren't going to be the only ones needing to clean up after this book is finished.

Last line...cheeky, I know, but it was too good to pass up!

Leave comments and reviews for me; I would love to know what you think of this amazing novel.

Happy reading!

~BetwixtDecisions