Project X

Below the sign welcoming the new eighth-grade class to school is one that promises to leave no child unsuccessful and a handout that offers eight ways of being smart. For Edwin Hanratty, at times as hilarious as he is miserable, this is part of what makes junior high pretty much a relentless nightmare. And so, with Flake, his only friend, he contends with clique upon clique--the jocks who pummel them, the girls who ignore or taunt them--as well as the dogged and disconcerting attentions of a sixth-grader who's even more ferociously disaffected than they are. And while Edwin's parents work hard to understand him, they face without fully realizing it a demoralization so systemic that he and Flake have no recourse other than their own bitter and smart remarks, until they gradually begin flirting with the most horrible revenge of all. This lethal impulse, which has touched communities across America, has never been given such shocking credibility as it has in "Project X," which suggests that these boys' central predicament is not their hatred of the world but their agonized and enduring love of it. Never before has Jim Shepard's compassionate virtuosity been on such conspicuous, unsettling, and haunting display.

Review :
""Project X" is the latest contribution to the mini-canon of works devoted to understanding the [Columbine] massacre, and it may be the most probing and sensitive. [Shepard] lays down innocuous sentence after innocuous sentence until you find, to your surprise, your heart lurching. Shepard is masterly at setting up our heartbreak [and] is at his most brilliant in capturing the demented essence of junior high." --Stephen Metcalf, "The New York Times Book Review" " "Project X "truly ups the ante [in] dark realism and depth." --"New York Magazine" " " "If Jim Shepard's fiction carried a sign, it might say DANGER: EXPLOSIVES. As this riveting novel progresses, we find ourselves praying for Hanratty's salvation--and our own." --Cathleen Medwick, "O Magazine" ""Project X "is a savvy, sensitive take on the tortured inner lives of two eighth-grade boys--Hanratty and Flake, both outcasts who plan a Columbine-like revenge on their unwitting school--that builds tension with unremitting skill." --L. S., "Elle" "This engrossing novel gives the overworked subject of Columbine-style school massacres an unusually subtle and affecting treatment. Shepard makes these miserable characters sympathetic and even funny, but avoids easy sociological explanations for their predicament...." --"Publishers Weekly" "Powerful . . . vivid, frightening . . . Shepard's grasp of the roiling, unstable psychology of adolescence couldn't be sharper, and he leads us skillfully through his protagonists' embattled days . . . This spare narrative is fleshed out with deft foreshadowings . . . and mordantly amusing vignettes . . . A story 'ripped from the headlines' and transformed into abitter, gemlike work of art." --"Kirkus," starred review ""Project X" is a vivid, unforgettable, and heart-rending book that left me sort of in love with young Edwin, wishing I could turn back time, drop into the book, and give the poor kid the attention he deserves. Jim Shepard is a fantastic writer--compassionate, funny and fearless--and he has written a frightening reflection on our times, that does what great writing always does: inspires us to look more closely at life, and be more caring." --George Saunders "Jim Shepard's disaffected eighth-graders, so brilliantly rendered, elicit the same helpless pity and recognition as Denis Johnson's most memorable characters. This is a dazzling, impossibly wrenching novel." --Andrea Barrett "PROJECT X takes us into the ghastly condition of the toxic teenage android, by which I mean its dialogue is ear-perfect and funny as can be. It's also a very frightening and suspenseful and serious novel. Moreover, Shepard has a deep intelligent sympathy for his characters, all of whom are realized and affecting. This is a fine and moving novel." --Robert Stone ""Project X is the latest contribution to the mini-canon of works devoted to understanding the [Columbine] massacre, and it may be the most probing and sensitive. [Shepard] lays down innocuous sentence after innocuous sentence until you find, to your surprise, your heart lurching. Shepard is masterly at setting up our heartbreak [and] is at his most brilliant in capturing the demented essence of junior high." --Stephen Metcalf, "The New York Times Book Review " "Project X truly ups the ante [in] dark realism and depth." --"New York Magazine " "If Jim Shepard's fiction carried a sign, it might say DANGER: EXPLOSIVES. As this riveting novel progresses, we find ourselves praying for Hanratty's salvation--and our own." --Cathleen Medwick, "O Magazine ""Project X is a savvy, sensitive take on the tortured inner lives of two eighth-grade boys--Hanratty and Flake, both outcasts who plan a Columbine-like revenge on their unwitting school--that builds tension with unremitting skill." --L. S., "Elle "This engrossing novel gives the overworked subject of Columbine-style school massacres an unusually subtle and affecting treatment. Shepard makes these miserable characters sympathetic and even funny, but avoids easy sociological explanations for their predicament...." --"Publishers Weekly "Powerful . . . vivid, frightening . . . Shepard's grasp of the roiling, unstable psychology of adolescence couldn't be sharper, and he leads us skillfully through his protagonists' embattled days . . . This spare narrative is fleshed out with deft foreshadowings . . . and mordantly amusing vignettes . . . A story 'ripped from the headlines' and transformed into a bitter, gemlike work of art." --"Kirkus, starred review ""Project X is a vivid, unforgettable, and heart-rending book that left me sort of in love with young Edwin, wishing I could turn back time, drop into the book, and give the poor kid the attention he deserves. Jim Shepard is a fantastic writer--compassionate, funny and fearless--and he has written a frightening reflection on our times, that does what great writing always does: inspires us to look more closely at life, and be more caring." --George Saunders "Jim Shepard's disaffected eighth-graders, so brilliantly rendered, elicit the same helpless pity and recognition as Denis Johnson's most memorable characters. This is a dazzling, impossibly wrenching novel." --Andrea Barrett "PROJECT X takes us into the ghastly condition of the toxic teenage android, by which I mean its dialogue is ear-perfect and funny as can be. It's also a very frightening and suspenseful and serious novel. Moreover, Shepard has a deep intelligent sympathy for his characters, all of whom are realized and affecting. This is a fine and moving novel." --Robert Stone