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Crash and Burn

Michael Hassan

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Mock Printz 2014

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What Members Thought

Mar 17, 2014 Becky rated it liked it

Shelves: ya

I have mixed feelings about this book, and here they are, kind of scatter-brained.

Crash, the main character, is a pretty repulsive character. He's a poor little rich boy that I never quite managed to be sorry for. Set up against Burn, the manic depressive boy genius whose natural destructive tendencies are exasperated by loss after loss after loss, and his father, a sociopath businessman, Crash certainly sees himself as innocent - a hero even. What's disturbing then, is the ways he can't see how ...more

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Nov 20, 2012 Richie Partington rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, ya

Richie’s Picks: CRASH AND BURN by Michael Hassan, HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, February 2013, 544p., ISBN: 978-0-06-211290-3

“We all stood up, and Obie stood up with the twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy pictures, and the judge walked in with a seeing-eye dog. He sat down, we sat down. Obie looked at the seeing-eye dog, and then at the twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy pictures with the circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one.
And he began to cry ‘cause Obie came to th ...more

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Aug 12, 2018 Abigail rated it it was amazing

What WAS this!?

I don’t understand how no one has ever mentioned this book to me. Holy shit.

I can’t even really evaluate if it was good or not good, or if I liked it. All I can say is this. This book does something different. There is almost no artifice.

The main character actually for once feels like a real person who is speaking. In this way, he is often an asshole and not fun to read about lol. But he felt authentic.

The whole book felt authentic. And to be honest, the ending blew me away.

It too ...more

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May 30, 2013 Terri rated it liked it

Great reviews led me to "Crash and Burn" by first time novelist, Michael Hassan.

"Crash and Burn" is well-conceived. Stephen Crashinsky (aka "Crash") has apparently saved the entire staff and student body of his high school from violence perpetrated by fellow classmate David Burnett (aka "Burn"). As a result of his heroism, Crash earns himself a book deal. "Crash and Burn" is that book. In an overly long, confusing narrative that switches between the past and the present, Crash details his love- Great reviews led me to "Crash and Burn" by first time novelist, Michael Hassan.

"Crash and Burn" is well-conceived. Stephen Crashinsky (aka "Crash") has apparently saved the entire staff and student body of his high school from violence perpetrated by fellow classmate David Burnett (aka "Burn"). As a result of his heroism, Crash earns himself a book deal. "Crash and Burn" is that book. In an overly long, confusing narrative that switches between the past and the present, Crash details his love-hate relationship with Burn from the day they first met on the playground, to the fateful events of 4-21. In the book, Crash promises to reveal what it was that Burn whispered to him on that fateful day as the siege ended. All of the press for this book sells the book as being about school violence. In actuality, that is a small part of the book. One has to read nearly 500 pages before the school violence occurs - and, in the end, the violence turns out to be more of a threat than a reality in the book.

This book is really a character study. Neither Crash, nor Burn are likable characters. Crash, the anti-hero, is plagued by ADHD, which is his excuse for his foul mouth, his drug and alcohol addictions, his obsession with sex, and his narcissism. I thought he was disgusting and felt no empathy or compassion for him at all, which made it extremely difficult to slog through all 532 pages of the book. I felt much more compassion for Burn who loses his father in the Trade Towers, his mother to breast cancer, and his sister to suicide. The characters are, however, well-developed and nuanced. This includes the more minor characters like Christina, Roxanne, Felicia, and Jamie. This is definitely a character study of massive proportions.

Some of the themes merit thought and discussion - mental illness, substance abuse, suicide, friendship, ADHD, etc. are all important. However, some of the messages were questionable. I didn't like the idea that having ADHD excuses an individual from putting forth any effort to change. Crash proves that he is smart and can be a good student with some effort when he works with Roxanne. I also didn't like the idea that substance abuse is OK for someone with this disability. I also didn't like the fact that the adults in the story were pretty much clueless. There are some moments, when Crash figures out important things about himself and life in general that are beautifully written - I actually went back and reread them because of their poignancy. Again, the reader has to work very hard to get to these moments, however.

Many pop culture references will date this book quickly.

Be aware that there is LOTS of crude language - some of it unnecessary - lots of substance abuse (everything under the sun), and sex galore. Crash has no filter and no self-control. He really was disgusting at times.

I like the concept of this book - I like the idea of it. But in terms of product, I think it will take a special reader - mature, smart, patient male readers who prefer character driven stories. This is a rare bird indeed.

Just so-so for me. ...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Mark rated it it was amazing

Clear some space on the awards lists next year. This one cannot be denied. Wow, just ... wow. More to follow, hopefully, after I come down from the high of reading this one.

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Dec 02, 2012 Jennifer rated it did not like it

Shelves: young-adult-teen

Read for review.

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Jan 23, 2013 Emily rated it it was amazing

It took me forever to read this book, partially because it's long, partially because I hit a crochet frenzy and stopped reading for a while, but I finally finished it while I was camping, and WOW. This book is phenomenal. ...more

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