With a tendency to go off on tangents it was at first difficult to get a line on what Felton was trying to saying. I was constantly wondering where he was going with what he was saying; it turns out he was figuring things out as well. Still, he could get pretty funny. It’s not even him wanting to be a stand up comic, no… his is a humor that’s not intended because in simply saying what was, in being honest about one absurd situation and then another, his observations felt true, funny and even when they were sad at the same time. More remarkable is him being funny with a mother and brother coming unhinged. Little brother goes pyro, but his mother’s all used up. Sad goings on, and in the midst of it, he and his brother butting heads still rang true. It’s one of the main things that kept me interested. Because with his family being the way it was, Felton grows up… albeit slowly, reluctantly, and not at all in sync with him being stupid fast, given his sudden physical change. Overall though he gave me the impression that he didn’t know much not just about his history, but also about how to be with others. Simple boy, said one. And, indeed he was, but it’s not a bad thing either because in being that way, things felt more honest, too. Like his feelings on being disappointed in his mother and not wanting to deal with his brother, both those felt in the moment. But along with, there’s a reluctant look into why he feels, almost as if he were afraid of the truth. Anyway, a humor that comes out of him calling things as they are.Then of course, his new found friends, I liked him with them because there’s a little flashback of Perks of a Being Wallflower, where the protagonist is taken in and is shown the way things are done… only in Stupid Fast, things are less dark and depressing. Here, he’s shown the possibility of so many things. I enjoyed him with them that because he is such a simple boy, his reactions could be cute only to make him come off as younger than his fifteen going on sixteen. Let’s pare it down, shall we? On the one had there are relationships being formed; then on the other are relationships tearing themselves apart, in people losing it then him not dealing with the same. Theirs is a sad family, with a sadder history so that there’s this lump in my throat for him and his little brother. And the hero? Felton is awkward, lacks experiences. But, is honest about what he sees, and is funnier for it. He grows up… just not as fast as he was physically. This is so much more than a boy book or a boy book with sports... it’s him reluctantly growing up because what choice does one have when everyone else around him has gone unhinged?3.75/5
