Word Associations with Geoff Herbach (Nothing Special Blog Tour)

Today we have Geoff Herbach here for an author word associations post! This post is part of The Teen Book Scene's blog tour for Nothing Specal by Geoff Herbach. You can find out all about the tour here. Make sure to visit all the other stops if you'd like to know more about Nothing Special!


These are author word associations, meaning I gave Geoff some random words and phrases and he had to respond with the first thing that came to his mind.


Cooking and baking:

Meth. Just kidding. Chocolate chip cookies.

Sunday mornings:

Meth. Just kidding. Singing with my friends in a choir.

Rocks:

Crack. Not kidding. (No, I’m kidding.) Turtles that look like rocks.

Board games:

Temper tantrums.

Dictionary:

Pictionary. Temper tantrums.

Smileys:

Ecstasy. Just kidding. Happy people dancing.

Chocolate chip cookies:

Sifting flour on a Sunday morning.

Penguins:

Lame excuse for slew of bad movies.

Summer:

Swim team and sun tan oil. I’m going to make a penguin saves the swim team movie.

Playground:

Stung by wasps.

Travelling:

Scorpion in my sandal.

Donkey:

Speedy land mammal.

Thanks for the hilarious answers, Geoff!

If you haven't read Stupid Fast and Nothing Special, you should, because they're awesome. (And because there's a quote from my review on the back of Nothing Special. Yes, that's a valid reason.) Nothing Special released yesterday, and you can read my review here.

Nothing Special (Stupid Fast #2) by Geoff Herbach
(Amazon | Goodreads)

Felton Reinstein thought he had it all - a great girlfriend, an athletic scholarship in the bag, and football friends he could totally count on. Wrong! Like an elephant storming a house of cards, it all comes crashing down. And it's Felton's fault. Turns out his little brother has taken an impromptu road trip to Florida (aka desperate flight from all the talented people) to make a bid for stardom (aka fronting a hotel rock band with escapees from a retirement community). What's a big brother to do but help pick up the pieces, even if it means giving up all the status, all the glory and once again facing a life of nothing special.

Review: Nothing Special by Geoff Herbach

Title: Nothing Special (Stupid Fast #2)
Author: Geoff Herbach
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release date: May 1st 2012
Pages: 304
Genre: Contemporary YA
Source: NetGalley - thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing a free eGalley of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Find out more: Amazon | Goodreads


Goodreads description:

Felton Reinstein thought he had it all-a great girlfriend, an athletic scholarship in the bag, and football friends he could totally count on. Wrong! Like an elephant storming a house of cards, it all comes crashing down. And it's Felton's fault. Turns out his little brother has taken an impromptu road trip to Florida (aka desperate flight from all the talented people) to make a bid for stardom (aka fronting a hotel rock band with escapees from a retirement community). What's a big brother to do but help pick up the pieces, even if it means giving up all the status, all the glory and once again facing a life of nothing special.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars


I loved Stupid Fast, so I was really excited to read Nothing Special. But I honestly didn't remember all that much about Stupid Fast (not the book's fault, I just have the worst memory - which is why I'm not a huge fan of series), so I was still a little wary about reading Nothing Special. But not remembering all that much didn't turn out to be a problem - I think you could even read this book without having read Stupid Fast, since it works as a stand-alone. Not that I'd advise you to read a series out of order, but still.


Nothing Special was a little hard for me to get into, because of the unusual format. The whole novel is written as a letter from Felton to Aleah, Felton telling Aleah everything that happened this summer and also what is happening to him right now, while he's writing the letter. I found that whole idea kind of strange, at first, since I didn't get why this book would be written in letter format when the first one in the series isn't, and because it's confusing at times, switching back and forth between past and present. After a while, though, I really liked the format - it's unique and gives a different perspective to Felton's character.


I loved the humor in Stupid Fast, and it's just as good in Nothing Special. Felton's character is hilarious - his voice is so real, and his self-deprecating style just makes everything funny. The whole style and setup are hilarious - for example, when Felton is telling Aleah/readers about something that happened this summer, he'll just start talking about what's happening right now, how someone is reading over his shoulder what he's writing, and they sort of have a conversation like that. I can't explain it, but the setup causes for some seriously funny situations.


What I loved most about Stupid Fast, though, was how incorporates both humor and tragedy so well - how it's both funny and heartbreaking. And sadly, I found the emotional intensity I enjoyed in Stupid Fast lacking in Nothing Special. I just didn't feel it as much, and Nothing Special didn't make me cry like Stupid Fast did.


As for the plot, I really liked all the original ideas in Nothing Special. Andrew is an interesting character, and I'm glad we got to know more about him. I like how much of the story focuses on the unique family dynamics - I just love when family plays an important role in a YA book. I liked the romance, too - it's not mentioned directly all that often and isn't really part of the story, but since Felton is writing to Aleah, we got to know more about their relationship, too. I liked all the subtleties about Felton's feelings for Aleah.


Also, there's a quote from my review of Stupid Fast on the back of Nothing Special, which made me ridiculously happy - I feel so important!


I didn't like Nothing Special quite as much as Stupid Fast, but I did enjoy it, and I think it's a good addition to Felton's story. With an authentic voice, unique family dynamics, and subtle, fresh humor, this is a series I think will appeal to a wide range of readers - maybe even some reluctant boy readers! (I think I might make my brother read these books in a year or two!)


If you've read this book, what did you think?

Review: Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach

Title: Stupid Fast

Author: Geoff Herbach

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Pages: 320

Release date: June 1st 2011

Genre: Contemporary YA

Source: Bought

Find out more: Amazon ; Goodreads

Goodreads description:

My name is Felton Reinstein, which is not a fast name. But last November, my voice finally dropped and I grew all this hair and then I got stupid fast. Fast like a donkey. Zing!
Now they want me, the guy they used to call Squirrel Nut, to try out for the football team. With the jocks. But will that fix my mom? Make my brother stop dressing like a pirate? Most important, will it get me girls - especially Aleah?
So I train. And I run. And I sneak off to Aleah's house in the night. But deep down I know I can't run forever. And I wonder what will happen when I finally have to stop.

First sentence:

This could be a dark tale!

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The cover of this book is really misleading. At first I wasn't interested in Stupid Fast because it looks like a book about sports, which isn't my thing. But Stupid Fast is so much more than that - it's an emotional book about a dysfunctional family. Felton's dad committed suicide when Felton was five, and his mom is struggling with depression. Stupid Fast is mainly about how Felton deals with these family problems, and football is not the most important aspect.

Stupid Fast was hard for me to get into because of the unusual writing style. I can't even explain what's strange about it, it's just...different. After a while, I got used to the writing and enjoyed it, but I still think it's too choppy at times.

Once I got into it, I loved Stupid Fast. Felton is a great character - he's just so likeable! He's awkward in a fun way, and his comments and way of seeing things are hilarious. He's complex and dynamic, and there's just so much to him, lots of which I probably didn't even get reading Stupid Fast for the first time. His voice is honest, original and realistic, and it felt like he was talking to me throughout the entire book. The secondary characters are fully-developed; I could imagine everyone easily - Aleah, Jerri, Andrew, the jocks, all of the characters! I also loved the dynamic and realistic relationships between Felton and all the other characters. Aleah and Felton are adorable together!

Stupid Fast reminded me of a John Green book. I don't mean the story, because that's really different from John Green's books - I just mean the style and the feel of the book. Stupid Fast conveys so many emotions - it's sad and funny and heartwarming and hopeful and honest and raw, all at the same time, just like John Green's books. You're crying one minute, and the next minute you're laughing. That's probably what I enjoyed most about this book - I love when a book can really make you feel something, both good and bad.

***The next paragraph contains spoilers!***
The ending is a little too happy, in my opinion. Of course I want everything to work out for Felton, but I just think it all ties up a bit too nicely to be realistic, with the clichéd moment on the football field and all. Especially the storyline with Jerri seems unrealistic to me - she appears to be totally fine when she gets on the plane, which seems impossible, considering how bad she was doing just a few days before.

This is a great read! Don't be discouraged by the football-topic - I'm not big on sports, but I really enjoyed Stupid Fast. Felton is such a likeable main character, and Stupid Fast is emotional and hilarious at the same time, reminding me of a John Green book. I definitely recommend it!