Everything Matters

What can I say about this book? First, the author's descriptive writing is amazing. Not only could I visualize the characters, their settings and the time period but I had a strange deja vu feeling at times. The setting was during my real teenage years i.e. shake 'n bake chicken, Oklahoma bombing, Reagan, Challenger, etc. So, a lot of feelings from that time came back to me. However, I thought the book jumped around a lot. It seemed he was a pretty smart guy by the time it jumped to Junior being in a prison cell for predicting the end of the world, but there was no build up to his all of a sudden being smart and figuring out a cure for his father. There also seemed to be a little too much substance abuse throughout the book. I know, he was living with the end of the world in his mind at all times and his mother and uncle were substance abusers, but I really wanted to see him clean up at some point. I liked the idea of getting a second chance and finally realizing what really matters. And, his characterization of his father brought tears to my eyes as I compared him to my own father, who is now in the early stages of alzheimers. I wondered, when I realized the book was dedicated to his father who had passed away, if he was characterizing his own father. It is interesting the sense of duty to work and provide for their families that the fathers from this time period possessed. I saw this with my own father. I also thought it was sad to see so many characters flawed by horrific incidents or situations from their childhoods. Amy and her crazy abusive mother and the camp counselor, Rodney and his cocaine habit from lack of parental attention, Debbie and her mean alcoholic father who almost drowned her, and John's mean father and his guilt from Vietnam. How much an abusive past can cause continued suffering in people. I think I was looking for more redemption for these characters but in real life, that doesn't always happen. However, I did put a book down on my "to read" list Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos. It is Gantos' true story of surviving drug abuse, possession, distribution and prison. He was able to turn his life around and he advocates not giving up on anyone. I guess the redemption in this book would be in the end when Junior finally realizes that everything that matters is in the bed with him when the world ends. I think I was looking for a little more help from the author in getting to this point.