Customer Reviews

The Janitor

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

 

 

A good effort by an imaginative, new author. I would have liked to see more development for the three main characters. And, there was a tense problem throughout - flipping from first person to third person without warning. The dozens of grammatical and spelling errors in this edition are extremely distracting. There were a few strange and unnecessary subplots that actually made me laugh, but I don't think the author intended them to be funny. The conclusion was an obvious elipse to a sequel. If he learns to spell, and stops butchering the English language, his stories are worthy of a read. I am hopeful he'll make enough on this book to hire a copy editor for his next.

After I got past all of the grammatical errors it was an interesting story. I did not see the need for so many different story lines. I got bored when the story veered off so many times. It was sometimes difficult to read when characters were speaking back and forth with no punctuation to denote the change. Over all the plot of the story was good, the writer has got a great imagination.

As an English teacher, I am speechless. This must have been a vanity-publisher item, as I detect the lack of an editor.

Amateurish at best.

Tony Falcone had only a few things on his teenage mind that seemed the utmost important. Sally, sex, baseball, poker and more sex with Sally. No matter how many times he tried to do the deed, they were interrupted and then life just changed...Roman Swivel was about to become his best friend and let Tony in on the secrets he'd kept hidden for the past six years.

Roman Swivel was a lonely geek eating lunch alone with his nose stuck in a book, he was also the schools student janitor. Johnny the 'killer' could not resist picking on Roman as well as getting the rest of the school to partake on the torture to the guy leading a double and sometimes even triple life. Johnny's rage boiled down to jealousy once his girlfriend started having lunch with Roman and Johnny was not named the killer because his last name was Killman; he was going to get rid of this little pest once and for all at the Hallow.

No matter how many times Roman was teased or tortured he never faltered, his anger never surfaced to the top. Roman lost so much in his life, first his mother and then his father. He came to live with foster parents in which he was regularly beaten. Then the big break came when Agent Johnson approached the Pentoch's and Roman offering Roman the chance to "save the country" by joining the NN. Once you're in the NN there is no way to quit, you must die to get out. And that is what it would boil down to.

Enemies became friends, friends became brothers and the most popular girl in school became the janitor's lover. Even the drunken neighbor claiming to see aliens brought something new and wonderful into the once thought of cold and empty heart of Roman Swivel. It was not fate that threw such atrocities into the young man's life...it was simply that life. Lives were lost, and not only a few but the man that murdered Roman's parents would soon meet the angel of death; he wore a plain drab janitor suit.

Adam Decker's Novel The Janitor was electric, bolts of excitement were on every single page. I loved the story line and the characters grew up right before my eyes. There were so many trivial parts of this book, it kept you wondering what would happen next and if Roman would ever survive the NN. The middle to end of the book was over before I know it, and the last two sentences on the page gave me chills. This book is a winner through and through, Young Adults as well as Adults could appreciate the fine work Mr. Decker has scrawled across these pages. 5 Hearts

This little gem is an shining example of why we are blessed to live in this web-based, do-it-yourself world that has emerged over the last decade. We no longer have to miss out on great creations or passions, because some suit in an office decided that it wouldn't be "commercial". Would the major publishing houses buy it? No. Would professional literary critics tear it apart? Definitely. But that's part of the beauty and appeal of the book: that an everyman without the background or connections, and without the support of a publisher or benefit of an editor could manage to crank out a decent work of escapist fiction. The fact that a middle class Joe with a wife and two infant children and at least two jobs that I know of (one of which is extremely time consuming), could find the time over the last five years to piece together a 316 page novel and keep it as seamless and coherent and entertaining as he has is unfathomable to me.

The version that I read contained a few obvious grammatical and typographical errors, which did little to detract from the story, but it is my understanding those errors have since been fixed for this wider release edition of the novel. There was also a brief change in voice, but its necessary to reveal Roman's back-story.

All that aside, The Janitor was a quick and almost addictive read. It took me two or three sittings tops. The first was more tedious because I had already read the first six or so chapters online a year or so before he had released the novel in its entirety. But once I got into the fresh material I literally could not put it down. Its like when you buy the complete season of a serialized show and you can't quit and before you know it you've sat through 8 hours of television. In fact, that is how I pictured it in my mind's eye as I read it - as a serialized TV show in the vein of Buffy The Vampire Slayer or more recently Veronica Mars. You've got your high school teen angst drama, then you've got your real world, higher stakes adventure. It's Bourne Identity meets Dawson's Creek, only a much more guy-ed up version of the latter. That's not to diminish the sensitive side of the book. The love scenes themselves are handled with such care the reader is left believing that either the author brought in a ghostwriter or Mrs. Decker wants for nothing in the romance department. The action scenes are described in remarkably vivid detail, and while at times they can delve into the bizarre, they deliver at just the right times throughout the story.

The Janitor is a multi faceted action-adventure peppered with just the right amount of comedy, romance and a slight inkling of science fiction. It's a story of prejudice and acceptance, friendship and love, good and evil, the courage to face that which torments you, and of course - baseball. Even better, its perfectly poised for a sequel, which I am awaiting with baited breath. But alas, the author is currently working on other projects and only plans to revisit Roman Swivel if he sells a certain amount of copies. So help a fledgling author jump start his career, and do myself and other Swivel-heads a solid or just do YOURSELF a favor and buy The Janitor.

This is a good read and I couldn't put it down. The Janitor's main characters can all be people in your neighborhood. Ever wonder about that reclusive, quiet person you see every day at work or school? Ever question yourself as to why you should or should not speak with that person, or even strike up a conversation? "The Janitor" can demonstrate what may happen if you do. Excellent story for first time published author. You will enjoy it.

The Janitor is an excellent and gripping book about a high school student with an amazing story. When I first picked it up, I couldn't stop reading. I finished the book in only a few reads. I normally take months to read a book because of my busy schedule but I couldn't put this book down. I would recommend this book to everyone.

The Janitor is a book that will keep you entertained and on the edge of your seat. From the moment you read the first chapter until you finally enjoy the last page, this story delivers. This book draws you into the friendship of the high school jock and the token geek and becomes a story you can't break free from. The author takes you into the minds and lives of Tony Falcone, Heather Hawthorne, and Roman Swivel. You are immersed into the town of Collingston and all that it stands for, from its great sense of school pride to its seedy criminals. You will get to know and love Carl, the town drunk, whose unconventional advice for life always turns out to make sense. Plot turns will have you holding your breath as you experience the ups and downs of an atypical high school student. This is a story of action, murder, love and kids having to grow up fast. This book is an awesome read and you will not want to put it down until the last page has been read.