From today until December 24th, then, I'll be posting my favorite releases in fourteen categories, one each day, for anyone who needs to find the perfect bookish gift for loved ones for the holidays. Or, if you celebrate no holidays, or celebrate the holidays like I do, these make the perfect gifts to celebrate the awesomeness of YOU anytime. (It's my...seventeenth birthday next month. Allow me my inflated self-interest.)
I'll also be trying desperately to catch up with my review lag before the New Year. Also allow me a few minutes while my brain explodes.
And so, without further ado, to kick off TWO WHOLE WEEKS of best-of: the Best Indie/Small Press read of 2011!
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My review | Goodreads
YA, Contemporary, pagecount unavailable (novella length), Vagabondage Press.
- Pub date: February 5th 2011
- Where to find it: Available for $2.99 from the publisher's website. Also available on Amazon, but n case you weren't aware, Amazon sucks.
Abraham Lincoln Jenkins is a teenage vandal, social activist, and aspiring revolutionary, but with only four months left until his high school graduation Abraham’s lifelong dream of attending Harvard College is put in jeopardy when he learns that he is still in need of two core credit hours in Physical Education. Unfortunately for Abraham, the only available spaces in a P.E. class are as a cadet in the Army’s JROTC program!Why it's the best:
Told almost exclusively through Abraham’s one-sided complaint letters, OUTSPOKEN is the natural result when the War on Terror collides with the War on Christmas. OUTSPOKEN is a digital short at >18,000 and is a fast and funny read for both teens and adults.
Despite my low expectations right off the bat, Outspoken proved to be a bitingly funny and self-aware novella that was head and shoulders above its indie/small press brethren. Its unusual format (in letters) made it a quick and interesting read, and Abraham Lincoln Jenkins' voice--simultaneously vulnerable and that-kid-in-high-school-you-always-wanted-to-smack--was hilarious and unforgettable.
Who will love it:
Politically aware would-be revolutionaries (as long as they have e-readers) who aren't afraid to laugh at themselves, OR the favorite know-it-all teen in your life. It might teach
4 comments:
Just bought it! Sounds like the kind of book I'd like.
Yay! Let me know what you think.
Maggie, thanks so much for this awesome award! Commentators have generally cited OUTSPOKEN as being the driving force behind the year's #Occupy movements, but being named best Indie of 2011 is a much greater honor!
Ok, yes, he’s my brother, but I HATE books written via “letters” and news articles… except this one! I will grudgingly admit that I laughed my way through this one (he IS my brother!) and am insanely jealous of his writing ability… his 2nd novella, ‘Burnout’, I read twice. On my cell phone. Yeah, it was that good, the little @#$@@$&*$$5!!!
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