Review of Young Americans
Posted: 06 Sep 2021, 17:52
[Following is a volunteer review of "Young Americans" by Peter S. Rush.]
Young Americans by Peter S. Rush is a beautiful work of crime fiction. It tells the story of Tommy, a small-time dealer, and his ventures on making more money in the drug world. Tommy has always been quite average but found himself better than decent at drug dealing therefore, he dropped out of college in Miami to pursue drug dealing full-time. Meanwhile Sandy, his girlfriend, is a rich daddy’s girl who dealt at some point in her life but has never left school. She balances Tommy out. She’s the calm to his temperament, and the paradise to his hell. They find comfort in each other and throughout the story we get to witness the development of their love story. The story really begins when Sandy introduces Tommy to one of her dad’s friends, Harry. Harry is a big time drug dealer whom Sandy met when he went over to her house to talk to her father and ended up introducing her to the best coke she’s ever had. The rest of the book reveals each characters’ true intentions and unravels the story of how they work together in order to import the cleanest coke possible.
I enjoyed many aspects of Young Americans. The first being the 360 perspective the author, Mr. Rush was able to show. The book did not have alternating chapters of different point of views, or anything of the sort but was very able to deliver a very good and well rounded story. The best way to describe it is that the book was narrated in a birds’ eye view. Although it is usually not my preferred narration, I grew to like it while reading Young Americans. I also liked how the characters developed throughout the story. It might’ve been the best aspect of this book. It was my first time reading crime fiction and I’m glad to say that I enjoyed it. The story was very captivating; I feel that the author did a good job at giving just enough information to both keep readers satiated and wanting more.
Just as there were some parts that were enjoyable, others weren’t as much. One of them being that although the bird's eye view was good, it could have been more alive. There were times that I felt that due to the lack of a specific point of view, the narration got a little monotonous. I also felt that at times the dialogue didn’t quite match the character. For example on page 185 when Kippi went to wake up Tommy, at some point he said: “‘You would have walked quietly over to me,’ Tommy lowered his voice, causing Kippi to lean closer, ‘and you would have given me a big kiss.’ With that, he surprised the child with a kiss to the lips. Her eyes widened, and her expression stayed frozen for seconds.” I simply didn’t understand how that fit Tommy’s character being that he himself was sexually abused as a child and based on the way his character was developed, the readers would never expect that from him.
I rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars. I didn’t give it a 4 because of the inconsistencies between some of the character’s dialogue and their actions. The plot twist was okay but not great. It was monotonous at times and at other times it felt oddly rushed. In other words, there is a lot of room for improvement on this already good book which is why I gave it a 3 out of 4 stars.
The recommended audience for Young Americans is 17-18yr olds. I feel that although teenagers are still very impressionable at that age, it’s a good time to introduce a heavy book like this. The book isn’t so emotionally heavy but it is heavy in terms of subjects such as drugs, rape, dealing, and murder. The book included a fair amount of profanity and explicit language, the first one being on page 9. It also included quite detailed sexual encounters, detailed murders (chapter 16), detailed explanations on how they were doing/taking certain drugs, rape and some of child sexual abuse.
Teens 17 and up would be able to digest the book without having to apply the information to their own lives. This book is for mentally stable people no younger than 17. If you are that age and you also enjoy mystery, crime, thriller and a hint of romance, this book is for you.
******
Young Americans
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Young Americans by Peter S. Rush is a beautiful work of crime fiction. It tells the story of Tommy, a small-time dealer, and his ventures on making more money in the drug world. Tommy has always been quite average but found himself better than decent at drug dealing therefore, he dropped out of college in Miami to pursue drug dealing full-time. Meanwhile Sandy, his girlfriend, is a rich daddy’s girl who dealt at some point in her life but has never left school. She balances Tommy out. She’s the calm to his temperament, and the paradise to his hell. They find comfort in each other and throughout the story we get to witness the development of their love story. The story really begins when Sandy introduces Tommy to one of her dad’s friends, Harry. Harry is a big time drug dealer whom Sandy met when he went over to her house to talk to her father and ended up introducing her to the best coke she’s ever had. The rest of the book reveals each characters’ true intentions and unravels the story of how they work together in order to import the cleanest coke possible.
I enjoyed many aspects of Young Americans. The first being the 360 perspective the author, Mr. Rush was able to show. The book did not have alternating chapters of different point of views, or anything of the sort but was very able to deliver a very good and well rounded story. The best way to describe it is that the book was narrated in a birds’ eye view. Although it is usually not my preferred narration, I grew to like it while reading Young Americans. I also liked how the characters developed throughout the story. It might’ve been the best aspect of this book. It was my first time reading crime fiction and I’m glad to say that I enjoyed it. The story was very captivating; I feel that the author did a good job at giving just enough information to both keep readers satiated and wanting more.
Just as there were some parts that were enjoyable, others weren’t as much. One of them being that although the bird's eye view was good, it could have been more alive. There were times that I felt that due to the lack of a specific point of view, the narration got a little monotonous. I also felt that at times the dialogue didn’t quite match the character. For example on page 185 when Kippi went to wake up Tommy, at some point he said: “‘You would have walked quietly over to me,’ Tommy lowered his voice, causing Kippi to lean closer, ‘and you would have given me a big kiss.’ With that, he surprised the child with a kiss to the lips. Her eyes widened, and her expression stayed frozen for seconds.” I simply didn’t understand how that fit Tommy’s character being that he himself was sexually abused as a child and based on the way his character was developed, the readers would never expect that from him.
I rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars. I didn’t give it a 4 because of the inconsistencies between some of the character’s dialogue and their actions. The plot twist was okay but not great. It was monotonous at times and at other times it felt oddly rushed. In other words, there is a lot of room for improvement on this already good book which is why I gave it a 3 out of 4 stars.
The recommended audience for Young Americans is 17-18yr olds. I feel that although teenagers are still very impressionable at that age, it’s a good time to introduce a heavy book like this. The book isn’t so emotionally heavy but it is heavy in terms of subjects such as drugs, rape, dealing, and murder. The book included a fair amount of profanity and explicit language, the first one being on page 9. It also included quite detailed sexual encounters, detailed murders (chapter 16), detailed explanations on how they were doing/taking certain drugs, rape and some of child sexual abuse.
Teens 17 and up would be able to digest the book without having to apply the information to their own lives. This book is for mentally stable people no younger than 17. If you are that age and you also enjoy mystery, crime, thriller and a hint of romance, this book is for you.
******
Young Americans
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon