I did not like this book much at all. I'm having a hard time thinking of a single redeemable aspect of it. I could not relate to Addison Schacht at all. This isn't usually a problem, but in this case the dissociation was so huge I sometimes had no idea what he was talking about.
I found the writing annoying: Things that should have been one sentence were broken up into two or three; far too many italics; every few sentences was ended with something along the lines of "or something." That may be a realistic representation of how people my age write, I don't know, but it's annoying. It wasn't necessarily badly written, just not to my taste.
He occasionally had some interesting things to say, but not often enough to keep me interested in the book.
I'm sure someone who likes this genre could enjoy this book. But I generally don't, and I didn't. ( )

Not sure how this ended up on my reading list, but I regret it. I had the Audible version, which was read by the author. Not good; terrible in fact. I'm terrible at quitting on a story, but I'm not sure I'll finish this, though I am over half way through.

The story itself isn't that great, either. A high school student gets consumed by his search into a classmates murder. I suppose the author does a decent job of writing the story in the high schooler's voice, but I actually think that is a detriment to the story. Who really wants to read/listen to a 17 year old go on and on about his life? ( )

Cut rate Holden Caulfield - just what the world needs (not). ( )

I know I am in trouble with a book when I find myself counting how many pages I have left to read in order to cross the finish line. Sadly with "The November Criminals" that was the case. I never could relate to this book, the main character or what the author was trying to convey. It reads like an egotistical kid who is so full of himself he doesn't care whether his story is worth telling or not. In several examples Addison (the main character) actually tells us we don't want to hear something, and then commences to tell us anyway. I think he should have taken his own advice on occasion, and kept quiet.

Addison is in high school, and a fellow classmate is gunned down while working at a local coffee shop. He is a pudgy fat kid, who we later find out has some secrets. Addison becomes obsessed with the killing and spends countless hours mulling over the details in the hopes of figuring out what happened. He drags along his best friend, Digger, who he happens to have casual sex with on a regular basis. I should correct myself here, since Addison proclaims he has no real friends, Digger must be some sort of sex therapy confidant.

As we meander through Addison's life we find out his mother was killed and he is being raised by his father, who isn't a bad guy, but doesn't seem to realize Addison is even around most of the time. The poor dad can't even find the time to go grocery shopping, but he does manage to bang one of his students on occasion. He is a college professor. Addison is pretty self sufficient though, and has been working his own business for a couple of years. He is quite the drug dealer, racking upwards of 12K in profits at his high point. Thanks to a lucky bet on a dog fight towards the end of the book, he actually holds close to 18k before he ends up letting the money go. Ironically he doesn't even want the money. I am not sure this lost character has any idea what he was looking for.

The writing is well done but the words don't seem to form any well conceived notion of what a high school kid might really be like. I found the entire story hard to believe and even when I could believe it, I found myself not really caring. It almost read like the author and main character were writing the story just to hear themselves speak. Self indulgent were the two words that popped into my head continuously throughout the entire book. I couldn't begin to figure out what the purpose was, but it didn't seem to be for entertainment.

So while this might be the harshest review I have ever written, I can say that the author has loads of promise, and I think if he decided to write a less egotistical story he would be able to weave something fantastic. I would be willing to read his stuff again due to his potential alone, but I wouldn't force myself to finish the book if it ended up being another self indulgent walk down kiss my ass lane. You have to care about your reader to a certain extent; they are the people that will potentially be buying your book after all.

Tough book to read, but I did finish it. Hopefully his next endeavor will be a little more conscious of his audience. ( )

I'd been considering writing about The November Criminals for the YA book recommendation column I wrote for my local newspaper, but ultimately decided against it. I don't think it's being marketed as a YA novel, although I think that it could be; the narrator is 17-18, and it definitely has a coming of age theme. It's not that I didn't like it--I did, quite a bit. And I also think that a lot of teenagers, especially boys, will really dig this book. But I don't think the teenagers who will enjoy ...more I'd been considering writing about The November Criminals for the YA book recommendation column I wrote for my local newspaper, but ultimately decided against it. I don't think it's being marketed as a YA novel, although I think that it could be; the narrator is 17-18, and it definitely has a coming of age theme. It's not that I didn't like it--I did, quite a bit. And I also think that a lot of teenagers, especially boys, will really dig this book. But I don't think the teenagers who will enjoy this book will read it because of some middle-aged woman's book column. They'll pick it up because the weed on cover caught their eye, or they'll be intrigued by the title, or they'll learn about it from their friends. It's transgressive that way. ( )

I must say, While I wish I had read more Virgil before entering Munson's novel...this was an amazing Odessy ( if you will allow this kind of overdone comparison). This is a book that I knew little to nothing about going into. I had no expectations and this ended up being a very good thing. I was duly impressed. I can't remember the last time I was not left dismissing half of the events or dialouge of a highschooler as MUCH TO CALCULATED to be enjoyable. This book accomplished something that is very, in my experience, rare in a teen narrater. Believability and recognizable emotion. Sarcasm and repetition that was not stretching and grasping for genuine text but was the real deal. You notice I dont discuss plot in this review? because, while interesting and fun and suprising, totally not the point of its inventivness and fun. I loved it. Mazel tov Munson. ( )