Revolting Youth: The Further Journals of Nick Twisp [Paperback]

C. D. Payne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000

Nick Twisp is back! America's most literate teen diarist returns with more riotous adventures through the land mines of 21st century adolescence. This sequel to C.D. Payne's acclaimed first novel "Youth in Revolt" finds love-struck Nick Twisp still on the lam from the law and his parents. Our 14-year-old hero (and his multiplying alter egos) now must battle blizzards, back-stabbing aliens, vengeful parents, and school officials determined to schedule him into girls' gym. He conspires to play cupid, journeys south of the border on a secret mission, takes some gunplay lessons from his distraught mom, and still finds time to confide all to his diary while inadvertently wreaking havoc in cyberspace. A must-read for Nick Twisp fans.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Payne's self-published Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp became an underground sensation and garnered a youthful cult following for hero Nick Twisp, a linguistically precocious 14-year-old diarist. Later published by Doubleday, it has since sold more than 25,000 copies and is in development as a miniseries by MTV. In his latest adventure, Twisp, now independently wealthy as a result of his invention, the hugely successful "Wart Watch," is still disguised as Carlotta Ulansky, living in splendor with his maid, Mrs. Ferguson, and her son, Dwayne, and is once again attending high school in Ukiah, Calif. The deception is necessary because he is being pursued by the FBI for inadvertently burning down half of Berkeley. His girlfriend, the ever-luscious Sheeni Saunders, knows Carlotta's true identity and is accommodating her/his overactive hormones once or twice a week. The saga of teen angst and rebellion unfolds as before in Nick's first-person journal entries. Ever jealous of Sheeni's past flame, Trent Preston, Nick/Carlotta persuades Trent to elope with his present girlfriend, Apurva, to Mississippi, where 16-year-olds are allowed to marry. But Nick's triumph is short-lived. The FBI tracks him down, and he must once again skip town, ending up in Mexico, where he has plastic surgery and changes his identity. Going by the name of Rick S. Hunter, Nick runs into Sheeni in Baja, has an affair with her as Rick and discovers that she's pregnant with his baby. As in the previous volume, the plot becomes increasingly convoluted, but unlike its predecessor, this installment never catches fire. Nick's voice, although witty, seems less 14 than 40. Still, fans of the previous book will want to read this one, and cross-promotion with Payne's Frisco Pigeon Mambo (reviewed above) will help both titles.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In this sequel to the 1993 cult favorite Youth in Revolt , 14-year-old Nick Twisp still creates criminal havoc by accident, still seeks physical union with his love, Sheeni Saunders, and still has to live as a girl to avoid the police. But now, Nick has decided that he must marry Sheeni in order to ensure that she is with him forever. In pursuit of this goal, he almost blows his fortune, nearly cripples the nation with a computer virus, shoots his future father-in-law, and undergoes radical plastic surgery to resemble French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo. This hilarious sequel will delight readers with its cast of eccentric teenagers, as will Nick's avaricious appetite for adjectives. Unfortunately, those who haven't read the first book will find it difficult to follow the plot, even with Payne's brief back story, and even fans of Youth in Revolt will tire of Nick's sophomoric observations about love. Although the satisfying conclusion to this novel will leave Payne's audience hoping for further Twispian tales, it may be time for Nick to grow up--at least a bit. John Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 278 pages
• Publisher: Aivia Press; 1st edition (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882647157
• ISBN-13: 978-1882647156
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,051,463 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Revolt Again, January 25, 2001

By 

Frederick Dechow (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Revolting Youth: The Further Journals of Nick Twisp (Paperback)

Nick Twisp and CD Payne are back with a vengeance in the 2000 novel REVOLTING YOUTH, the continuation of Payne's classic YOUTH IN REVOLT. Shorter and breezier than its predecessor, REVOLTING YOUTH picks up almost exactly where YIR left off, with Nick hiding out in drag in Ukiah, enjoying his Wart Watch royalties and the affections of his ladylove, Sheeni. This peace is not to be long-lived, however, and Dickensian plot twists and turns soon overtake him. Over the course of the story, our protagonist will find himself in the Deep South during a blizzard, south of the border, living the shallow life in Los Angeles, assuming yet another new identity, along with actually undergoing a surprisingly touching process of maturity. One of the surprises of this book is the degree of changes that the characters go through. Unlike most sequels, in which established personalities remain unchanged (and therefore less interesting), Nick actually grows in REVOLTING YOUTH. He picks up newer, more mature character traits and ways of achieving his goals. True, his primary characteristic is still self-interest, but this new willingness to face danger head on and not rely solely on sneakiness points to a means of growth and development that could fill a whole series of Nick Twisp novels. Sheeni also goes through some interesting changes, showing a new depth and vulnerability. Payne commendably refuses to confine her to a simple "girlfriend" role. There is much talk of genes and genetics in REVOLTING YOUTH, and we realize bit by bit how much Nick rebels against his own genes, almost defying Nature itself, in his various quests. He impersonates various other people and sexes, becoming a female (Carlotta) and many other things while performing his scam operations. It is almost as if Nick's own genes are entirely changeable - he vigorously defies the roles that society attempts to assign him, rebelling against his parents and even himself at several points in order to achieve his goals. Nick reflects at several places how genes control us all, but it is clear that nothing controls him. He is entirely adaptable. The book ends on a good note, while one wishes for the story to continue, it could just as easily end at that point once and for all. Nevertheless, I find myself hoping for more stories of Nick Twisp, and I wish Payne the best of luck with this and all his other literary endeavors. Long live the revolt.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stellar Sequel!, November 6, 2000

By 

Kathleen (La Jolla, Ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Revolting Youth: The Further Journals of Nick Twisp (Paperback)

C.D. Payne has done it again! Revolting Youth is just as good as, if not better than Youth In Revolt! It has all the plot twist and wonderfully descriptive language that has come to be expected of C.D. Payne! He has great insight into the hearts and minds of every mischevious and love-stricken teenage boy! For anyone who loved Youth In Revolt as much as I did, I implore you to read Revolting Youth! Let's just hope that this is not that last book about the crazy and twisted life of Nick Twisp!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars if you liked the first one..., January 4, 2001

By 

Philip Greenspun (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Revolting Youth: The Further Journals of Nick Twisp (Paperback)

... you'll like this one too. The first book, though, opened up one's eyes to the destructive possibilities of young people with too much time on their hands (and they almost all have too much time on their hands). The second book will merely entertain. I gave it to one of my ArsDigita co-founders on an airplane and, though he hadn't read the first book, he was still laughing hard enough that the flight attendants cut off his alcohol supply...