The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp

The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp

Publisher: Ember      
Publication date: July 9th 2013
My rating: 4.5 stars

So, my girlfriend, Cassidy, is threatening to kick me to the curb again, my best friend suddenly wants to put the brakes on our lives of fabulous fun, my mom and big sister are plotting a future in which I turn into an atomic vampire, and my dad, well, my dad is a big fat question mark that I’m not sure I want the answer to. 
Some people would let a senior year like this get them down. Not me. I’m Sutter Keely, master of the party. But don’t mistake a midnight philosopher like me for nothing more than a shallow party boy. Just ask Aimee, the new girl in my life. She saw the depth in the Sutterman from that first moment when she found me passed out on the front lawn. Okay, so she’s a social disaster, but that’s where I come in. 
Yes, life is weird, but I embrace the weird. Let everyone else go marching off into their great shining futures if they want. Me, I’ve always been more than content to tip my whisky bottle and take a ride straight into the heart of the spectacular now.

Sutter's having the time of his life. He's skipping school, drinking and doing some light drugs (occasionally) when his girlfriend Cassidy suddenly dumps him after he was trying to do a good deed. His best friend, Ricky swiftly abandons him for his new girlfriend  even though Sutter set them up. After a night of crazy partying he finds himself on Aimee's lawn. Since he's the Sutteman he sets of to help Aimee get a social life.

The first thing I loved about The Spectacular Now is that it's not just another teen book. The ex girlfriend isn't too demanding. She actually cares for Sutter and wants what's best for him.  The best friend doesn't get 'whipped' by his new girlfriend. He just wanted a change from the old drinking and getting high days. And Aimee's not only a  nerd/wallflower. 

The brightest star of this book is Sutter. He doesn't try to be anything different from what he is. He's a party boy who loved to mix alcohol with 7UP and drink every day. He loves Dean Martin, knows how to dance and is always the center of attention. But now everyone's up for his type of party. There were a couple of scenes where people were telling him to go home. He doesn't know how to control himself and goes overboard one too many times. Surprisingly he stayed friend with all his exes and they still enjoy his company but you can tell why everyone of them decided to break up with him. He doesn't think about the long run. I know some of the things I mentioned aren't really good but Sutter happens to be one of the most charismatic narrators of today. I'm not even kidding. You need to read at least a chapter and see for yourself. He pulls you in right from the start 

The best thing about this book was the ending itself. It doesn't try to portray Sutter as a changed man. He's still Sutter only with more life lessons. At least I try to think he learned something.  He doesn't try to think about the future. He still wants to live in the now and I think I can understand that. After all, not everyone's the same. But I still can't help but to want him to change. Be better, finish school, find a job and settle down with someone. Isn't that what's suppose to happen in the end? But I guess, things don't always work the way we want them to in real life.