The Misfits-By: James Howe

I thought The Misfits was a decent book. I wasn't in love with it, but I didn't hate it either. The first nine chapter made the book really hard to get into because they moved kind of slow but then everything started to come together and start happening. I liked all the different characters. They were all so different from one another that it made the book really interesting. I think it made it easier to like and dislike characters because they had such strong personalities. For example, Addie was a very powerful character and did what she wanted and said what she felt which I both liked and disliked a lot because in high school those kind of kids annoyed me a lot but I liked her because she didn't back down from what she believed and she never gave up. I wish I could be like her a little more often.
I liked the format of the book and how it was narrated and written in first person but then at their meetings it was written like the script, so you didn't get any one's feels or emotions, but rather could form your own thoughts and opinions because they talked about some pretty intense stuff.
As far as the controversial issue of the book, I didn't see a problem with it. I think the people reading the book and the issues that happen in the book and words that are said in the book come up all the time at that age, so everyone knows what they are. The author being a homosexual man also helps the book because it is coming first hand and not a made up experience. He knows what it is like. I would much rather read about a character that has true, factual feelings then a character whose feelings are made up and the author really didn't know how to write the character. I also think it is a prime time for kids to experience different feelings and try to figure them out, so if they have something to relate to or a way to learn more about their feelings than I totally support that. I think parents also need to understand that and be supportive of their child whatever they may believe.