Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber
Ferris Bueller meets La Femme Nikita in this funny, action-packed young adult novel.
It’s prom night—and Perry just wants to stick to his own plan and finally play a much-anticipated gig with his band in the Big Apple. But when his mother makes him take Gobija Zaksauskas—their quiet, geeky Lithuanian exchange student—to the prom, he never expects that his ordinary high school guy life will soon turn on its head. Perry finds that Gobi is on a mission, and Perry has no other choice but to go along for a reckless ride through Manhattan’s concrete grid with a trained assassin in Dad’s red Jag.
Infused with capers, car chases, heists, hits, henchmen, and even a bear fight, this story mixes romance, comedy, and tragedy in a true teen coming-of-age adventure—and it’s not over until it’s “au revoir.”
Review:
This week I've been catching up on a lot of books I've had sitting on my shelves for way too long. I devoured both the Mara Dyer books and Divergent and Insurgent, so I was looking for something light and fun. Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick provided just that! I enjoyed how fast-paced and action-packed this book was, I flew through it and can't believe I've let it sit on my shelf for so long! Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick is the perfect book for a rainy day and it was so unique and entertaining.
There is no beating around the bush in Au Revoir-- the action starts right away and doesn't let up. I love books that take you away from the real world for a little while and while this was contemporary, it did require some suspension of disbelief. Perry had a variety of adventures and each page brought some new action and mystery to the table. I felt like I was watching an action-comedy like Killers or Mr and Mrs Smith.
Perry was such an interesting character and a likable one at that. He was a typical teenager who found himself in a lot of crazy situations. Even though this book was extremely short, not even 200 pages, Perry was fairly well developed and the reader got to see a lot of different sides of him. I could definitely relate to his college stress! Most of Perry's friends were rather flat characters, as the book mainly focused on him and Gobi. Still, his family played a large role, especially his dad. Gobi was another fascinating character and such a stand-out in the YA world. I don't want to spoil anything, but just know she is definitely not at all what she seems!
Sometimes a crazy and non-stop fun book is just what the doctor ordered and Au Revoir is the perfect change of pace from what I've been reading lately. Every chapter left me wanting more and I enjoyed every minute of this whirlwind adventure. There were guns, car chases, and helicopter rides-- and the majority took place over the course of just one night.
I thoroughly enjoyed Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick and I will definitely be recommending it to my friends. The chapter set-up was another awesome part of Au Revoir: each began with a college essay question! As a current high school senior working through a lot of college applications this was a fun and original twist. I thought this could be a good standalone, but I just learned there is also a sequel out- I will be checking it out for sure!
Perry was such an interesting character and a likable one at that. He was a typical teenager who found himself in a lot of crazy situations. Even though this book was extremely short, not even 200 pages, Perry was fairly well developed and the reader got to see a lot of different sides of him. I could definitely relate to his college stress! Most of Perry's friends were rather flat characters, as the book mainly focused on him and Gobi. Still, his family played a large role, especially his dad. Gobi was another fascinating character and such a stand-out in the YA world. I don't want to spoil anything, but just know she is definitely not at all what she seems!
Sometimes a crazy and non-stop fun book is just what the doctor ordered and Au Revoir is the perfect change of pace from what I've been reading lately. Every chapter left me wanting more and I enjoyed every minute of this whirlwind adventure. There were guns, car chases, and helicopter rides-- and the majority took place over the course of just one night.
I thoroughly enjoyed Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick and I will definitely be recommending it to my friends. The chapter set-up was another awesome part of Au Revoir: each began with a college essay question! As a current high school senior working through a lot of college applications this was a fun and original twist. I thought this could be a good standalone, but I just learned there is also a sequel out- I will be checking it out for sure!
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
October 25, 2011/Houghton Mifflin Books for Children/192 Pages/Young Adult
Source: BEA (2010?)
Other books in this series: Perry's Killer Playlist (#2)
I have this on my shelf! I have no idea why I haven't read it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad this book delivers because it has been on my list for a while! :D hope I can get to read it next year.
ReplyDeleteThe sequel is very similar in tone to this book although it felt a bit unnecessary to me. Still you'll want to check it out since you enjoyed the first book so much!
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