The Haters by Jesse Andrews

3 Stars

 

The Haters is what happens when Wes, Corey and Ash (three teens who do indeed meet at band camp) decide to ditch those zeros and see if they can’t turn themselves into heros – of the music scene.

Wes and Corey have been buds for a long time. The main goal of their friendship? To find the “Unpoisonable Well” – music so good, so pure, so true that it can’t possibly be hated on (and also how many dick jokes they can make). As just a small child Wes thought he had found that groove . . . .



but when he met Wes he was informed that he was waaaaaaaay off the mark. Nothing else ever seemed to be unhatable either. The Beatles, James Brown, Bon Iver, Kanye . . .



SIT YOUR ASS DOWN, KANYE!

At the end of the day, Wes and Corey would end up with the same reaction . . .


(You’re welcome, Karly)

After a jam session at band camp with Ash, the two think maybe THEIR SOUND is it. When Ash asks them if they want to leave the camp and go play music, the fellas are in - which makes for the most memorable of road trips . . .

“Here’s the deal. Tonight I headbutted a guy in the face, yesterday I got out on a roof and had to deal with Corey going insane fromd rugs. I’ve also talked down a guy with a shotgun and cut open my hand on diseased highway glass. We’ve all made some sacrifices on this trip.”

Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for the threesome to figure out that their sound is pretty easy to hate on. Mainly because they are turrrrrrrible . . .

“We were an animal with three different kinds of legs. We were the soundtrack to a mental illness.”

In other words, they were no Duke Silver . . .



but the adventure continued anyway, the kids made some memories, the laughs (and booze and drugs) flowed freely and I was left with the realization that . . .



Mad props to Jesse Andrews for even being brave enough to attempt a sophomore novel after the extraordinary success he had with Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. My enjoyment of this novel compared to the first was purely a byproduct of not being the target demographic. Good news is, I’m pretty sure if I could get my non-book loving teenager to give this one a shot he’d think it was the shizzle for rizzle (kids still say that, right?).

Still, it was a fun time and provided GREAT inspiration for what my commute playlist should be. Many thanks for picking new bands that even this old lady knows which made me feel like “a cool mom, not a regular mom.” (And in case you haven’t ever heard of them, Band of Horses is a group of dudes who sound EXACTLY like Kings of Leon but probably won’t be super pussy crybabies who leave the stage at an OUTDOOR F-ING CONCERT because a pigeon dared to shit on them. #true story)

My friend Larry actually gets credit for putting this on my radar. He hasn’t read Earl yet. Oh Larry, you’ve got something awesome coming your way when you do : )

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley!