Customer Reviews

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Things are going from bad to worse for 15-year-old comic book geek Donnie, aka "Fanboy." He keeps getting bullied in school. His parents are divorced and now his mother is pregnant with the "step-fascist's" baby. "The List" of people he'd rather have far away from his school keeps getting bigger and bigger. And now, his only friend Cal is becoming more obsessed with sports than comic books.

Donnie has several tools that help him in his struggle with high school survival. He carries in his pocket a bullet, which is like a security blanket; just knowing it's there soothes him. But the thing that gets him through it all is the graphic novel he is working on, SCHEMATA. He's convinced that if he shows his work to the famous author Bendis, he'll get signed --- and a ticket right out of town.

As he deals with his daily struggles, Donnie starts going through another torture. In gym class, Mitchell Frampton keeps punching him in the same spot on his arm over and over again. Nobody seems to notice --- nobody but a flash of white and black from the bleachers, that is. And then Donnie gets an anonymous IM from Promeatha387 asking, "Why do you let him hit you?" Promeatha is the name of an Alan Moore comic book character, and it immediately gets Donnie's attention.

They meet at the playground after school. Promeatha387 turns out to be Kyra, aka "Goth Girl," who wears all black and has black dyed hair. "Her face is so pale...that I can't even think of something to compare it to. Chalk? Kabuki makeup? Liquid Paper? Her eyes are brown stamps on it, her nose a bump that sparkles with a red stone through one side. Her mouth twists in a sneer, her lower lip is pierced at the corner, and the ring somehow makes the sneer broader."

She calls him "Fanboy" for his taste in comics and has a powerful personality and a voice that's "low, sardonic, defensive." Fanboy starts spending more time with Goth Girl, who has more in common with him now than his friend Cal, who is obsessed with his lacrosse team. Goth Girl shares freely her opinions and stories about the world. She also encourages Fanboy to continue with his graphic novel. In the end, the relationship with Goth Girl helps Fanboy figure out who he really is.

Author Barry Lyga, "a recovering comic book geek," spent years working in the comic book industry. His love of comics clearly comes out in the character of Fanboy.

THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OF FANBOY AND GOTH GIRL is an impressive first novel with heart and raw emotion that tackles serious problems real teens face today. The characters are so alive that they jump off the page and will stick in the reader's mind for days after putting the book down. Fanboy's voice is strong, sarcastic and often hilarious. He also has so much depth and heart that the reader can't help but root for him every step of his tumultuous journey.

--- Reviewed by Kristi Olson

Fanboy and Gothgirl is a book about a teenage boy who is in love with comics, excuse me, i mean "graphic novels." He's an outcast to a lot of kids, and is a punching bag to the rest. To get away from all the madness he has in his life including, being a punching bag, the genius in the school, his pregnet mother, divorced parents, and having a jock as a bestfriend he makes his own graphic novel to show his favorite, not to mention his role model, graphic novel writter.
Fanboy meets a girl and they become friends. Fanboy has never really had any friend but his jock friend that usually pays no attention to him, so he's sorta new at the new friend thing. Fanboys' novel is a secret that he hasn't told anyone, but his family, about. He opens up to Gothgirl and tells her about his novel. She ends up helping him with it. Even though they have fights, they still stay close.
When Mr. Andree (my english teacher) told my class about this book, I thought that I wouldn't like it, but I took it to read anyways. It was totally different than I had expected and I couldn't put the book down. This book had helped me through my reality by teaching me that just how the way people look or act doesn't mean that you should treat them differently. They are their own character and you can't, and shouldn't, try to change that, or take that from them. I would defiantly recommend this book out to people of all ages that like teenage drama.

There are three things that Fanboy wants more that anything in this world. The first is the newest, fasted Mac computer to be able to produce his comic--excuse me, I mean graphic novel. The second is a mint condition Giant-Size X-Men #1. The third he will never tell, but someday I hope to find out.

Fanboy fantasizes about what every under-challenged kid does--catching a glimpse of a perfectly toned flesh, kissing the most popular kid at school, finding a way out of a too-small town that doesn't offer much of a future, putting every bully on The List. But it's not until Kyra, a.k.a. Goth Girl, shows him how to live a little that he realizes he doesn't just have to imagine a future, he needs to take charge of it.

Fanboy and Goth Girl are touchable. He is the kid sitting next to you next to you in trig, she is the girl in black waiting at the bus stop for her ride. Everything they do, everything the hope for is what makes an American teenager real. These are every day kids that must face the "real world" and deal with the trials, sarrows, and yes, even little joys, that every-day life offers.

Lyga writes with such clarity that I see myself in this book and hope that I can deal with life just like Fanboy. Not everything works out perfectly, but Lyga leaves it open for the reader's imagination or perhaps even a sequel. Either way, I plan to read more of whatever he writes.

Barry Lyga, Barry Lyga, Barry Lyga.

I can't get over how fantastic "The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl" is. It's book like these that make me want to speak in hyperbole. "This is the best book ever." "Barry Lyga is a revelation." "This book will make other YA novelists cry, accept defeat, and bow at the feet of Lyga." And as enthusiastic as that stuff seems, and in some ways I do feel that way, it sort of cheapens the book. There's no need to exaggerate when the quality of the book speaks for itself. It's a darn good novel with human characters, sophisticated writing, and a tendency to avoid the cookie cutter structure that most boy-meets-girl books tend to have.

Aside from the fact that it's well-written (anyone who checks out Page 1 can see that), I identify with the characters on a personal level. I don't only connect with Fanboy because I was/am a Fanboy who met a Goth Girl (yup), I also identify with all of the supporting cast. Lyga's writing is just so human that even when Fanboy dismisses a character as a waste of life, the character pops out as three dimensional. Everyone is flawed, everyone is real, and everyone is--as cheesy as it might sound--a little bit beautiful.

Barry Lyga, along with writers like John Green and Sara Zarr, are transforming YA Literature into one of the strongest genres out there. After reading this book and Lyga's second novel, Boy Toy, it's safe to say that I'm a Lyga fanboy for life.

9/10

I don't write many reviews, but this book deserves a special mention. This was a great book. The comic book reference were well done and meaningful and Lyga does a good job giving the reader the feel of the comics subculture without totally innundating the reader with obscure references. As a high school teacher, I notice that too often kids like the narrator fly under the radar. The resolution is realistic, though being a fairy tale lover, I always want the happy ending.

Congratulations Mr.Lyga on writing a book that should be nominated for a Printz award, but probably won't be. Kudos.

This is the second novel I've read in the last several months in which the protagonist is a precociously clever young teenage boy whose main outlet is the secret creation of a comic book/graphic novel. Evan Kuhlman's "Wolf Boy" is an excellent --sometimes painful, sometimes funny -- portrait of a 13-year-old whose big brother has died and whose parents are drifting apart. Here, the titular "Fanboy" is a 15-year-old whose parents are already divorced and has exactly one friend. He's kind of a classic sophomore smart geek loner -- the kind one could well imagine going TCM on everyone if he weren't too smart for that (although he does fantasize about just such a scenario and keeps a list of people he's like to see dead).

Fanboy's into superhero comics and his schoolwork, hates the school jocks (although his one friend is a lacrosse player), and pines for the school beauties. At home, he resents his pregnant mother and tries his best to ignore his "step-fascist", hiding out in his basement room as much as possible, devoting endless hours to his secret project. His fairly miserable balance is upset when a reckless classmate (aka "Goth Girl"), semi-befriends him. This leads to great confusion for him, as he struggles to say the right thing to the ultra-sarcastic, whip-smart, defensive girl, who challenges his notions about how to get through high-school. Lurking in the background to all this is an impending comic book convention where Fanboy plans to show his masterwork to Brian Michael Bendis (a prominent real-life comic creator). This meeting, he assumes, will be the catalyst for his rise to fame as a creative genius and will herald end his current misanthropic lifestyle.

The story is narrated entirely from Fanboy's snide and often whiny perspective, and so I found myself waiting for the other shoe to drop. His dislike of pretty much everyone is so knee-jerk that the reader can't help but assume that at least some of his characterizations are teenage exaggerations and that things are a little more complex than he makes them out to be. So it comes as little surprise that the "step-facist", school jocks, and teen beauty queen all surprise him in various ways over the course of the story. Indeed, it's hard not to come away at the end of the book thinking that if Fanboy was just a little less close minded, he wouldn't be so miserable -- which is perhaps the point. Thus, Fanboy is an exercise in frustration for the adult reader because while he has legitimate issues (like his uprooting to this new neighborhood six years ago and some very real pummeling in gym class), his approach to them is often so immature that one has a hard time sympathizing.

I also had a hard time believing his "lonerness". In a high school of several thousand, it's hard to believe Fanboy wouldn't have fallen in with a few other geeks (and/or freaks) by now. His portrayal of the school is a population of 90% anonymous kids, 9.9% Neanderthal jocks, and himself, plus Goth Girl, who comes out of nowhere. Perhaps the point is that even if those people were there, he is incapable of connecting with them -- however, this seems like a rather exteme stretch given his friendship with the jock comicbook guy. This is a fairly minor quibble however, as the book is nicely paced and fairly entertaining for the most part. It should be noted that those not into comics may find themselves somewhat less interested in Fanboy's "adventures", especially as the genre is at the center of a number of conversations and plot points throughout the book. At a minimum, one should be aware of the difference between superhero and non-superhero (Daniel Clowes, Adrian Tomine, et al) comics genres. Ultimately, it's an effective story about self-esteem that should appeal to teenagers who like to read.

What a hysterically funny coming of age read!... Loved "the list", Loved the" magic cards", Loved "The Great Ecuadorian Turtle Blight of the 1920's" and Love, Loved Fanboy!
I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard throughout a book... Actually I don't believe another book has ever cracked me up the way THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OF FANBOY AND GOTH GIRL did.

Who knew a story about a lonely and geeky comic book (excuse me, graphic novel) loving kid and his high school woes could be so captivating. The highly intelligent, yet socially invisible (when not being tormented) Fanboy's internal snarky dialog kept me rolling from start to finish.

Surprisingly, Barry Lyga addresses quite a few serious topics in this book; from divorce, second marriages and true friendship to bullying, depression and even teen suicide and he does it well and in a way that feels very real. Also to Mr. Lyga's credit as a writer, he manages not to cheapen the issues, which would be very easy to do considering the amount of humor invested in the story.

With a charming and believable cast, complete and chock full of teen awkwardness, raw emotion and just an abundance of funny, THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OF FANBOY AND GOTH GIRL is a read that is sure to win you over and steal your heart... I know Fanboy stole mine. Can't wait to see how the story continues in GOTH GIRL RISING.

First off, I have to say that I did enjoy this story of Donnie and Kyra for the few hours it took me to read it. Donnie seems to be a bit too sharp-tongued for his own good, at times, but is forgiven as an honor-roll student. Kyra is stealing cars (that was obvious) and slitting her wrists for kicks - what did they look like, these troubled teens, before Goth-dom? The all-in-black is the perfect metaphor for truculent morbidity, but what happened before the early 80's?

There is just one thing bugging me. Let's call it: The Ghost of Paul Zindel.

Teen-fiction, for want of a better way of putting it, is written for teens by adults who have only just left those troubles times behind them and the memories of emotional upheavals have yet to fade before an empathic account has been set down on paper. Paul Zindel was good at this - as was Robert O'Brien and as is S.E.Hinton. And this is my gripe: Barry Lyga has captured the teen angst perfectly, but he seems to be writing for 'kidults' in their early 20's rather than genuine teenagers. Even though Donnie is 15, I kept seeing him as a 30 year old comic-book guy still living in mom's basement - there's something in embryo here that just doesn't ring true.

Still, even as a middle-aged guy, I could relate to the characters - and that's a hallmark of good writing.

Fanboy wants three things more than anything in the world--he'll even tell you two of them. But there are also things that Fanboy needs, especially now that his sophomore year is morphing into his own personal hell.

Senior Goddess Dina Jurgens doesn't know he exists and his part-time-best-friend/full-time-jock, Cal, is distant. Nothing new there.

But at home his pregnant mother and stepfather (that would the Step-Fascist to anyone paying attention) are anxiously awaiting the birth of his half-brother or half-sister. As if that could make them into a real family. School isn't much better once the bullies and the Jock Jerks decide to make Fanboy their own personal target Every. Single. Day.

But that's okay because Fanboy knows exactly what he wants and he has a plan: a secret scheme that will get him out of his lame little town and prove his worth to everyone once and for all.

When the mysterious and angry Goth Girl bursts into his life, he might even have an accomplice in The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl (2007) by Barry Lyga.

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl is the first of Lyga's intertwining books set in Brookdale. It's also a total powerhouse of a novel. Lyga brings an impressive amount of depth to Fanboy's narration about both his stifling discontent and his hope for something more.

What had the potential to be a devastating story turns into a tale of optimism as Fanboy realizes that some of the fundamental truths of his life might bebased on falsehoods, like the ones he tells so easily throughout the novel.

Fanboy is a really great narrator with charm that comes through even when he is as his lowest as seen in "The Great Ecuadorian Tortoise Blight of 1928"--one of my most favorite passages.

And Goth Girl, well, she's Goth Girl. Part catalyst, part friend, all angry, Goth Girl might just be the girl Fanboy never knew he always wanted. Or she might be a train wreck waiting to happen. Readers who feel the ending of her story is underdeveloped in this novel should also read this book's recent sequel Goth Girl Rising (2009).

Possible Pairings: Anything by Brian Michael Bendis, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, Fat Kid Rules the World by K. L. Going, Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart, The Superhero Handbook by Michael Powell

I have to admit before I picked up The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl I didn't know much about it. In fact I really didn't know much about the author. It wasn't until I went to Book Expo America last May and had the good fortune to go to a part for the book anthology, Geektastic. It was at this party that met Barry Lyga and became interested in his books so shortly after returning home I picked up The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl. Sadly though my Mt TBR is huge and it wasn't moving up very far so I was very excited when I saw the audio version sitting on the shelf of my local library. I popped in the first disc before leaving the parking and soon found myself taking the long way home.

The narrator, Scott Bick, was AMAZING in bringing to life all the characters...and what characters! Fan Boy, or Donny as called by his mom, is this awkward loaner with a huge chip on his shoulder. He assumes no one will like him for him and so he refuses to even try and so then isn't shocked when that is just what happens. In many ways, Donny prefers to exist on the fringes of High School society because then life is easier. As it tends to be easier to hate someone then to like them and there is a lot less chance of getting hurt. So, things are going well for Donny in that aspect until the day he meets Kyra, another soul that exists on the fringes. Together these two form a strange bond over their shared love of comic books, social status, and just general angst at the world around them. They are these two delightfully messed up people that with every page turn (well in my case change of the CD) you just want to know more. You want to know what makes Kyra tick and why Fan Boy has such a chip on his shoulder. Its a powerful story about what it means to be a friends and the treacherous waters known as high school. Lyga has a unique writing style and is a gifted story teller. He doesn't tell light and fluffy stories and he doesn't hold anything. He is one of the few adults that seems to remember what its like to be an awkward teen who doesn't fit into the mainstream waters of high school which just adds layers of realism to the story. He's an author that I'm glad to have met in person and I can't wait to read more by him.