Palo Alto

This week I read Palo Alto by James Franco. This book is a collection of short stories written from the point of view of troubled teens who are growing up in Palo Alto, California. The stories of the kids start off at all different ages and some of them are absolutely horrifying. To me it’s sad that there is a possibility that is how some kids choose to live their lives, and how parents choose to overlook things. One young girl starts a physical relationship with her teacher at the age of 14! All I know is that at the age 14 of no one should be involved in a physical relationship. Another story goes into the life of a young girl who goes to a party for the first time and sees an unspeakable act of violence. Also, the amount of drug activity and drinking that goes on with these kids is insane! This book was fascinating, disturbing, rough, and yet some how it was addicting. It was like I couldn’t get to the next story fast enough. Another story looked into the life of a boy who partied non stop and one night cheated on his girlfriend then drove away drunk and fast, he hit someone and never once looked back. He later goes on to say that he’d forgotten that the accident even happened sometimes when he drove down that corner of the street. I cranked this book out in about 3 hours today, and it fascinated me. I loved the style and set up of the book. However, one little thing that bothered me was the fact that the author never brought all of the characters together for one final event and tied everything up. Each story ended with a haunting remark that sticks with you. I would recommend this book to others due to the unique set up and style.