or will he perform better? I think the theme of this story is ...
347332
Jamie Grimm is starring in his own TV show!  This is his fourth adventure in middle school.  After winning the funniest kid on the planet award, Jamie continued school.  Jamie is a little anxious, awkward, and is very nervous in front of crowds. His friends support him, and help him through school though.  During school, Jamie gets a phone call from the person who gave him the prize, he wants to start the TV show Jamie will be in.  So, Jamie ends up in a complicated mess, and in showbiz.  Jamie gets put up on  the spotlight again.  Will he freeze, or will he perform better?

I think the theme of this story is to just enjoy yourself.  You may mess up, but your friends will always have your back.  I personally enjoyed this book, because it was funny and enjoyable.  There were serious, and funny parts to it.  Overall it was very entertaining!

Brandon
7th Grade Student
2233008
This is an awesome story...it is unfortunate that more people don't have the heart that this man had...it is no wonder the song he wrote is now a world wide novelty...I would recommend this story!!!
2063319
It's not as good as his previous album but I'm sure I will quickly warm up to it. I'd recommend it.
3935605
I read the Kindle version - a lot of his unusual illustrations and typography didn't come through very well. I wish authors would put more effort into creating a smooth, readable electronic version of their work. The lack of the typographic and visual flourishes didn't seem to diminish the novel, however. That makes we wonder whether all that is necessary or merely serves to dilute the story.

The novel was a bit too "cute" - I don't know if I would go as far as saying "cloying" at the start... but it was close. The problem is the narrator - too young to be taken seriously as a protagonist. He could have been made an adolescent without hurting the story, and that would have added depth and believability to the narrative.

It does pick up towards the end, as the various story threads come together. There is a real emotional payoff as the reader identifies with the characters.

I feel the novel would have been better if told in a more straightforward manner. It felt as if the author was trying to show off his mastery of unconventional storytelling techniques; which became more distracting than illuminating.
672012
He probably need to be more a poet, Novel is okay also
4328033
Definitely, a talented writer!  An exciting action story, if a depressing read. I am much more optimistic about human nature and the future than this dark story suggests Mr. Brown may be. Maybe this is why I found his explanation for the emergence of the stratified tyranny on Mars so thin. I do think it will be a challenge for him to show how the good guy (disguised as a bad guy) can eventually help to change the evil world.  Ultimately, this is a story about the oppressed playing the oppressor's game in order to acquire power to change the system.  Will it work? Must the change agents be as brutal as those they seek to overthrow? If power corrupts, how will the hero overcome the effects of his special privileges and powers -- which he acquired as part of a transformation designed to help him eliminate special privileges and powers?  I look forward to reading the next books, so I can find out. Be warned: The level of violence and cruelty among the young elitists fighting for social status was startling -- so high I doubt this story could ever follow the Hunger Games onto the movie screen.
4841062
I am so glad I didn't pay $11.00 for a ticket at the movies.  I'm sure this might appeal to teenage boys, but I am a senior female and I've seen Tom do this character again and again.  Being invincible and enigmatic is so two dimensional.  Perhaps Tom really can't do any other kind of role...well good luck to him.
The story which casts Tom as an avenger (again) fighting to correct injustice (again).
Fill in your own story...
2515082
I don't feel this is one of his best story tales, but not too bad.
775857
I would have to say that this story is one that moves at a slow pace. It is very hard to follow which character is doing what. I think this could be a really good story with more character/action description, punctuation adjustments and more descriptions regarding the scenery for people that are more visual thinkers.
3646845
I didn't like the story as much as his "Dying is My Business" universe... And yet, I spend more of my time coming back to think about how this universe actually adds something to our Mythic Heritage.
You don't find stories that hit that mark very often!
2735384
Winning wars, fighting, planning battles just doesn't come naturally no matter how large sized one is. The fact this young blacksmith hero of the story does whatever he wants, gets whatever, whenever he wants it, from whomever, and so on.  He's amazing!  And the story is so predictable.  Sigh.
1620851
I mostly enjoyed that I'll be digesting the character for a few days now. I'm not really sure I liked Nathan (main character) as a person, but that might have been part of his appeal for me. I suppose what kept me separated from him was how disparate the struggles of this character were to those of my own life. I'm a reasonably intelligent, fairly hardworking individual. But, basically poor too. Meanwhile, Nathan is apparently a slacker who never really had any grand aspirations for life but enjoys the benefits of a good job (if not the job itself) and then gets promoted to an even "better" position -- one that changes his "tax bracket" according to one of the Sirs -- for reasons that don't seem exactly clear to him, nor worthy of much consideration. If this circumstance were part of the madness Nathan combats throughout the story, as he does comically with the ambient bibliophobia, then maybe I would've been more fond of him ... not that I think fondness would've necessarily made for a better story.

Additionally, Nathan also has a friend who's a multimillionaire globetrotter offering to pay his way for a trip to climb Mount Everest. And though Nathan refuses his friend's money, even the way he raised the funds came about through means that felt bountiful (at least to me). And then, while on his way to climb Mount Everest, he manages to befriend a billionaire's son who offers him a job, promising that his dad will guarantee that he makes more money than whatever he's making now ... even with the new tax bracket changing promotion. And all of those details about money only matter in the sense that access to these resources with only a degree in communications seems to be what makes Nathan's desire to not really want to do anything important with his life feasible.

And maybe that's why I didn't really like him sometimes. He occasionally came across as a disaffected jerk, a little smug, and sometimes more concerned with mocking other people's taste in books and music and being left alone than much of anything else. But I think what I really liked about the book is that I felt like I understood why Nathan was that way. He was never malicious, nor curmudgeon, nor morose ... though maybe a little solipsistc. He just craved a simple existence. Him. His wife. His cats. Every once in a while, the teenager from across the street, and his millionaire best friend whenever he's in town.

Nathan is the kind of guy who asks why his parents never told him that he might not want to do anything important with his life, that he might just want his tea and books. And that if he climbs Mount Everest, he might just want to climb the stupid thing and then come down it with no interest in touching the face of God. Like Mark Twain, he might think that those who came around his life trying to sniff out a plot deserve to get shot.

For reasons too byzantine to explore here, my life has never been like that. On top of the financial luxuries, Nathan seems to be benefiting from, and drowning in, the existential luxury of being able to not give that much of a damn. And though I personally wish there were more people in the world who cared more, and am still thinking about how I feel about Nathan's own capacity for compassion by the end of the story, this guy just felt pretty interesting to me, and I'm glad I met him.
341503
The story line is pretty good, but I do not think it is the same high caliber as other books he has written.
2496483
This was OK, but I think it's going to be hard for him to top some of his previous stand-up specials.
4449712
The CD overall is alright.  It doesn't capture his full potential.
3993588
This is John Grisham inserting a bit of humor in his story.  It is about a kid who appears more intelligent than his peers in the legal world.  A whole different tune for Mr. Grisham.  If you are a fan of old, then you might be disappointed; I, on the other hand am not and found it to be a: "breath of fresh air" in an otherwise muddled environment.
4297988
This is pretty great. He doesn't get all of the showdowns, but maybe there's a "Great Showdowns II" in the future?