Excellent Coming of Age Story

My favorite books all have some basic qualities in common: a quirky yet relatable main character, a conversational first person writing style and an intense emotional love story. Sprout had all these things in spades and is the best thing I have read so far this year. I enjoyed it so much that even though I finished it yesterday I haven't started a new book because I just want to sit with this one for a while.

The main character Sprout is a dictionary reading writer type nerd and is quite relatable to a big reader/writer like myself. As much as I enjoyed Sprout's eccentricities it was the emotional core of the book that really touched me.

I have not read many books with a gay male love story at the center, but the way it was told in this book was relatable to me as a straight female. When Sprout's heart skipped a beat so did mine; I really felt his passion, which is all I can hope for when reading a love story.
To me, the few "sex scenes" referenced in another review were quite tame and involved only kissing. There were no details given that wouldn't fit in a PG-13 movie, so unless you are offended by kissing ears or grabbing your lover's butt, there shouldn't be an issue with this book. Hopefully that's not too much of a spoiler/dissappointment to you!

Though mostly I think it sucks that I feel like I have to reassure people that the gay sex isn't overwhelming. Hopefully if you're reading this you're not even thinking about that part and are just looking for a good story about a lost boy searching for himself and a better understanding of the messed up world that surrounds him.
If that is what you're looking for you will definitely find it here.

2 people found this helpful

I’ve listened to this at least ten times

This is one of my all time favorite coming of age books. It’s relatable on so many levels. I’ve had this book for years and will still listen to it over and over as if it’s my first time. A must listen!

Magnificent

Geeze! I wish we could have read this in high school instead of Salinger. I couldn't ID with Holden, but Sprout told my story. It's a fascinating book that gets more and more interesting as you read. I plan to reread it.

I loved every second of this book.

It's remarkable how living through a fictional telling of fictional character through a fictional voice can give you such hope for a very nonfictional future.

I wanted to like this more than I did

I am really conflicted about this book. I LOVED the first part. That all-consuming-must-have-more-please-don’t-let-it-ever-stop kind of love. I was charmed by this green haired boy who, while smart as hell, wasn’t as annoying and stuck up as most of the really smart YA characters. Then I kept listening, and the second half of the story hit and the magic slowly started to bleed away. When the end came, I had been making frowny expressions long enough that my face hurt.

1 person found this helpful

Good read but a little uncomfortable.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Time spent listening to books is always well spent. Even bad books teach me new things.

Would you recommend Sprout to your friends? Why or why not?

I thought about how I would review this book for a long time. I don't want to give anyone the idea that I do not love my gay friends, becaue I love ALL of my friends. But the only way to truly review this book is with the truth about how it made me feel. Hopefully my honesty is appreciated and not taken as offensive. So here goes...

Most of my friends would not like this book. A few would, but not many. I have to be honest. This book is a story about two teenage boys having an intimate relationship and sexual acts are described in detail. There are parts of the book that made me squirm a little mainly because I have never heard or read any sort of literature describing homosexual intimacy. It gave me a chance to reflect on how I felt about my reaction to it. Books that make you self reflect are always a good thing. I learned alot about myself and how I view the world around me by reading this book.

That being said. This book is certainly not for everyone and that's okay.

Which scene was your favorite?

I really liked the parts of the book where sprout was at school and interacting with other students.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Probably not.