Firecracker Paperback – June 12, 2014

After reading the novel--aside from it being full of fantastic one-liners and hilariously vivid characters--I found it to be a particularly interesting character study.Astrid Krieger lives an incredible life--saying and doing things most people wouldn't (and probably shouldn't). With a shallow reading of the novel, you might dismiss her as being nasty without cause--but that would be ignoring all the great work the author does to build out this character's history/context. Growing up in a family of virtually unlimited wealth and power, free from consequence and undeniably precocious, Astrid is a product of her surroundings (even if she'd never admit it). With that in mind, her journey and subsequent interactions with supporting characters read as a struggle between a lifetime of learned behavior and strange, new challenges to her sense of self--a challenge to which anyone can relate.Deeper analysis aside, it's just an entertaining read! Astrid has an acerbic wit and I thoroughly enjoyed getting wrapped up in her twisted perspective on friendship, family and society-at-large. With Firecracker, Iserson has not only proven his comedic chops, he's written something fresh--cutting through a deluge of YA fiction that is all-too-often insipid and toothless.

It took me awhile to get through this book. Astrid's personality is narcissistic, arrogant, and entitled. She is a character I don't think many people can relate to, which makes reading this book a tough endeavor.The only way to get through the book is to look at it through a strictly comedic lens. You also have to remind yourself: Astrid is a liar, and she's writing the story, so the story is over-embellished.In the end, I thought the story was fun and rewarding, considering Astrid's substantial character growth. But, it would have made a better movie. In a movie, you wouldn't have her narcissistic ramblings which made the story so annoying.Give it a try!

Just when it seemed like so many YA books were becoming plagued with over-wrought, maudlin backstories that anesthetized characters from being truly flawed and therefore AMAZING, along comes Astrid Krieger. What a breath of fresh air. She's brash. She's impulsive. She's unapologetic. She's a superhero without a cape, avenging any and all wrongs, no matter how small. And what fun it is to watch her go. The thing that really worked for me about the book and what ultimately grounded it was that I could see her immaturity behind the facade. And when she does start to grow and change, she doesn't become some saccarine, Disney-fied version of herself, she just becomes stronger. A tour de force of one-liners. I will be buying copies for all my ladies. This is a must read.

*review from books-anovelidea.blogspot.com*I'm not sure what I was expecting from David Iserson's Firecracker. Whatever it was, I was probably expecting it to be funny- he is after all a writer for SNL and New Girl. I should also probably add that New Girl is one of my favorite shows (mostly because it leaves me laughing and squealing with feels and my roommates probably think I have problems). So I guess my expectations were high. Thank goodness they were also fulfilled.Astrid Krieger is everything. She's rich, cunning, intimidating, hysterical, the list goes on. Astrid also got kicked out of boarding school (she's convinced she was set up) and is now being forced to attend public school. Not only that, but her parents are making her see a therapist (aka the Dean at her old boarding school), who she manipulates into letting her make a list of three good deeds (real good deeds) in order to be allowed back to boarding school. To top it all off, Astrid is determined to get revenge on whoever it was that set her up. That's the plot line. But there's really so much more.Here's what I really liked about this book, Astrid's voice was very unique. Her character is different from a lot of stuff I've read in YA fiction, especially since she's the protagonist. She has this laissez faire attitude and she literally does not care if people like her. Actually, she'd rather them be afraid of her. This can be kind of annoying at times because you just want to shout "JUST CARE ABOUT SOMETHING!" when she's being all hard and indifferent. But she does care about something, and there's a really great scene towards the end just as you're questioning why you like her that really changes everything. It shows Astrid's human side, her vulnerability and why she hides it. A+ character development.Also, I like how Iserson doesn't really describe Astrid- therefore, we're not focused on her looks and distracted by trying to imagine her. Yes kiddos, you get to imagine her however you like (besides the fact that she has dark hair but that in itself is pretty vague). No long winded descriptions about the color of her eyes or her features that she just doesn't like about herself (Astrid is not lacking in the self-confidence department- she thinks she kinda rocks). So that means if you're into Charles Dickens-like descriptions, this book is not for you.Lastly, and something I really appreciated, this book was not about Astrid's search for romance. In fact, when she was little, she swore off men and wasn't expecting to want anything to do with them. This is great because everything Astrid does, she does for herself and not to make so-and-so fall in love with her/notice her/like her, whatever. Not saying there isn't any romance. She eventually falls for someone (but it's not love and she doesn't think it's going to go anywhere really), all while having love obsessed Pierre following her every move- she just doesn't care.The only thing I wasn't a big fan of was that it might have been a teeny tiny bit predictable, plot-wise. No, I didn't know what Astrid was going to next, but there were some plot points that were obvious. That still didn't affect how much I liked the book, though.Iserson creates a voice that people will fall in love with (even though you really don't know why you love Astrid at some points), and I secretly want it to be turned into a movie- I think that'd be cool and they could really do a lot with it (can I volunteer to audition? or is that not a thing?). I can now say that I am a fan of Iserson's television writing and his fiction writing, and I can only hope he continues to write YA books for us all to enjoy!

The world belongs to, Astrid, the defiant 17 year old daughter of a billionaire defense contractor. She's a genius with a wicked sense of humor, a love of mischief, a scary knack for revenge, and she doesn't have a real friend in the world. Except for her grandfather. The story begins when Astrid is betrayed and expelled from Bristol Academy then forced to attend Public High School. Why is it that the worst thing that could possibly happen to you almost always turns out to be the best thing.Astrid's story is extraordinary. Bright and funny. Heartwarming. With a wonderful theme of finding real love by learning to do good in the world.

Firecracker is the story of Astrid Krieger, a seventeen year old girl who lives in a disused rocket ship on her parents' estate because she has just been expelled from her posho boarding school for breaking into the dean's office and stealing test papers. To teach her a lesson, her family decide to send her to the local public high school, where she meets Noah, a socially-awkward boy with a great line in seventies shirts, and Lucy, a hair-chewing loser. As Astrid finds her feet in her new school (that smells of urine, unlike her old school, which smelled of diamond earrings) she starts building a plan for revenge on whoever it was who set her up.Okay, the first thing to say about Firecracker is that I really, really enjoyed it. The second thing to say is that it won't be everyone's cup of tea.The main thing that will put some people off is the MC. Astrid is arrogant, obnoxious, power-crazed, rude, misanthropic and slightly sociopathic and yet, for me, she totally worked as a character. She has no morals whatsoever, but she does have standards. For instance, she has no problem smooshing a Twinkie between her hands and wiping it in the chief bully's hair in the middle of the school cafeteria, but she would never, ever do the same thing to the socially-inept hair-chewing loser. That's not cool.She does grow as a character as the book progresses, and we find out a little about exactly why she's so very chippy and unpleasant, but she doesn't do a complete personality one-eighty and start wearing a hair shirt for all her past misdeeds. I was glad of this, because I think it would have weakened her as a character. Instead, she develops new ways of looking at life, whilst retaining her hilarious snarkiness.I liked Astrid and Noah's relationship and the way she lowers her defences a teeny, tiny bit to get to know him but never gets all lovey-dovey. In fact, I just generally liked Noah. He wasn't like a Book Boyfriend or anything but he was exactly the right compliment for Astrid.The plot isn't anything groundbreaking - it's kind of a classic tale of: loss of something important, gradual adjustment to new circumstances followed by big reveal/betrayal and then a kind of be-careful-what-you-wish-for moral, but the story is interspersed with so many great anecdotes and asides (usually about Bharani princes or shady politicians) that it actually becomes something pretty special.Another thing that shines the plot up is the writing, which is superb. Isersen has a really cool way of writing that's slightly off-the-wall and yet descriptively spot-on and he can be truly hilarious at times. This book actually had me laughing out loud in that irritating way people do when they're reading a funny book in the company of someone else and the other person keeps asking what's so funny, and the laughing person just goes, 'Oh it's something funny in this book. But it's the context. If I say it out loud it won't sound funny.' That was me, last night, reading this book.Now, I have to give fair warning: there's a love triangle in Firecracker. But it's such a ridiculous love triangle, that it made me laugh rather than throw the book across the room. I doubt anyone is going to be putting up a Team Pierre icon on the sidebar of their blog.So, yeah. Firecracker was a really fun read. If you're looking for something serious and profound that rocks your world and makes you question your metaphysical existance, then it may not be the book for you. If you're looking for something to take to the beach and laugh irritatingly at, then you should pick it up.

Ich habe dieses Buch abgebrochen. Und das mache ich eigentlich fast nie.Aber Astrid Krieger, die Hauptfigur, hat keinerlei rettende Eigenschaften und es war für mich einfach nur mühsam dieses Buch zu lesen.Der Autor, David Iserson, ist auch Texter bei der Serie New Girl, was mich schon ein bisschen warnen hätte müssen... aber da diese Serie so eine Art guilty pleasure für mich ist, habe ich mir gedacht, ich probier das Buch einfach mal...aber...für mich schaut es so aus, als ob Astrid Krieger, die Hauptfigur, einfach nur quirky ist, weils eben gerade modern ist in YA Büchern über quirky Heldinnen zu schreiben.Ich habe lange auf irgendetwas gutes, für die Geschichte oder Heldin rehabilitierendes gesucht, ein Moment wo sie als Person wächst, irgendetwas interessantes oder auch nur ein flüchtiger Blick darauf... aber nein. Nix da.Auch ihre Eltern, ihre Schwester und Freunde sind die Stereotypen, die man erwartet (was ja an sich nichts Schlechtes ist. Klischees gibt es ja schließlich, weil sie in gewissem Rahmen gut funktionieren). Nur die Figur ihres Großvaters hatte kurz einen gewissen Reiz, zumindest für kurze Zeit.Das einzige, was ich an diesem Buch gut fand, war, dass Astrids Vater eine Rakete in ihrem Garten aufgestellt hatte.Als es mir einfach zu blöd war, weiterzulesen, habe ich aufgehört. Also habe ich keine Ahnung, wie das Buch endet. Aber eigentlich ist mir das auch egal.Diese Bewertung tut mir etwas leid, weil Autoren sich ja prinzipiell Mühe geben, wenn sie etwas schreiben, aber ebenso leid tut es mir wegen der Zeit, die ich verloren habe, als ich dieses Buch gelesen habe.

Couldn’t get into it at all. Saw on a list of books with nice covers and then read the blurb and thought it would be interesting, read about three chapters and didn’t like it, perhaps it’s for a younger audience 12-16