Review of Young and Dumb

[Jeremie Mondejar]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Young and Dumb" by Thomas Louis Carroll.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Young and Dumb: The Year of Years by Thomas Louis Carroll is a story of senior students way back in the 1960s, when dancing, playing or listening to music, and reading books were much more fun than gadgets, computers, and surfing the internet today. This novel is based on realistic stories. The author also includes details of a teenager's life, like partying, hitting joints, smoking cigarettes, or teasing girls. Mostly, everything took place at Bashford School, which is the school for boys only. The star character in this book is Thomas Stafford, who lives in New York and is reluctant to go to Bashford for his senior year.

Students make fun of Tommy for being new on campus. He was beaten up in the middle of the night while sleeping by his roommates. One day, no one talks to him until he enjoys his kitchen duty, like shining the silverware, as if it's the only thing that makes his life pleasurable and as if the people there are his new family. Warden always sets up bad incidents for him. He ran to the woods and found his classmates in a cabin. He joined them, which was the beginning of his life as a "Bashford man." His new buddies love music and rock and roll. He was beaten again by Warden, but his new friends came to his side. Will he be able to graduate from this school?

The intro scene is quite funny, which adds humor and excitement to the rest of the story. Imagine that everyone was laughing when you hesitated to enter the school premises and your mother forced you to go out then speedily drove the car out of your sight. I really like this part because I laugh alone while reading it. I also appreciate the author's way of putting the real emotions of Tommy's likes beyond hisitation and nodding yes, though he doesn't know how to deal with them. 

Furthermore, friendship is the most captivating part of this novel, which is why I gave it a 5 out of 5 stars rating. Tommy's core friends are Rennes, George, Jamie, Winton, and Charts. They are friends in action, either in tough times or good ones, which has a great impact on the flow of the novel. For example, when Tommy is heartbroken, when he always faces Dean Harper, or when he gets low grades, his friends motivate him. I admired the value of friendship in this novel, especially during classes, holidays, and sports activities.

(I can relate to what life is like in a dormitory.) From the beginning, the novel had a lot of profane words (I least liked this), which are common words in the boarding school. The novel is written in first-person narrative by Tommy. It's always a fast-paced narrative embedded with a lot of humorous scenarios, like the controversy of Mr. Rock and the flower party of Dean Harper. The novel is well-polished because I rarely notice errors, which makes this book professionally edited.

I recommend this book to those who experience living in a dorm, but it is not limited to them. Anyone who enjoys reading friendship novels will appreciate the theme of this book. Precautions for minor audiences are necessary because the novel contains profanities and other explicit activities that might be common in our world today or might influence the reader. 

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Young and Dumb
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[Amy Luman]

I still would rather read a book and listen to the radio then be on the internet. You’re right, friends, especially good ones, make facing life’s difficulties more bearable. There always has to be that one guy, doesn’t there?

[Wren Michaels]

This sounds like a great coming of age read. I suspect this would suit many young adults going through modern day school. Great review.

[Mercy Sos Christopher]

Hmm..I love your review, it makes me feel like reading the book itself, so I will do that. Thanks for the review..

[deepu456]

AN EXCELLENT RELATABLE TO LIFE BOOK AND A MUST READ FOR TEENAGERS