I found this book next to Maureen Johnson's books at the library and almost didn't read it because of the crappy title and worse cover. However, after reading the premise, I thought it might be worth a read and, since it was pretty short, decided to give it a shot.
Was it worth it? Not so much.
Loserville is the story of five friends whose lives spiraled out of control in a matter of months. The story is told from the perspective of Lucas and focuses mainly on how his best friend, Derek, ended up going off the deep end.
Derek was a good kid at the beginning, even if he did dabble in drugs and alcohol. However, his stepmother convinces his father to put the three of them on a reality TV show with an overbearing host whose sole passion in life is to shape up the "loser" boys that end up on his show. The host tends to demonize the boys on his show and none of the friends are looking forward to seeing Derek subjected to such treatment, but there's nothing they can do.
I really didn't like this book. Each of the chapters felt very disconnected from the last and his characters were flat, never changing or growing in depth. You see everyone at a surface level and it stays that way. No resolution is given at the end and there's not even a real climax. Honestly, I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was definitely disappointed.
If you're thinking of picking up this book, don't even bother. The few witty or laughable moments are drowned in a sea of bad work. I felt like I was reading a first draft of a school project the author hadn't really paid enough attention to and wrote the night before. Just put it back on the shelf and grab something more bearable.
Rating: ♥
"How do we escape this mess, Derek?" he asked.
"We don't," Derek said. "Isn't that what this dumb-ass show is about?"
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