Book Blog #309: The Basic Eight by Daniel Handler

 

Title: The Basic Eight

Author: Daniel Handler

# of Pages: 329 (paperback)

Genre: YA, Mystery, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Meet Flannery Culp, a world-weary high-school senior. She is primed to take on the few remaining obstacles that stand between her and the rest of her life: the SAT, college applications, the fall semester....Mercifully, there are a few distractions: 1) her friends, the Basic Eight; 2) Adam State, the object of her affections. If only things hadn't gotten out of control. If only Flan had stayed away from the absinthe. Then she wouldn't be a topic on daytime talk shows, or incarcerated, or have time to edit her journals....

Review: This lands somewhere between 2 and 3 stars.

I was really struggling through most of this book (I'd say the first 2/3rds were really tough to get through). There's only so much entitled, angsty teen protagonist POV I can stand reading in one sitting - it took me a LONG time to get through it just because I kept putting it down. I even took a break to read Project Hail Mary instead try to mitigate the reader's block that was setting in.

The most interesting aspects of The Basic Eight are that it's told by an unreliable narrator (this part of the mystery of the story - is Flannery telling the truth? Are there hints that indicate otherwise?) and the ending (finally, some mysteries are solved!). The ending was actually what helped me decide on 3 stars - I was actually gripped by the story and wanted to know what was going to happen next.

Additionally, since this book is actually pretty old now, it was interesting to compare with how teenagers were portrayed in YA written 22-23 years ago vs how they are portrayed today. 

That being said, this still does not excuse the earlier parts of the book and how Flannery is just not a very likable protagonist (not even in the love-to-hate type of way). Since this book is her "diary," it's written in her voice (first person), which makes for a somewhat unpleasant read. There's a lot of build up that is unnecessary - a lot of fluff I didn't need to read. 

I really liked the ending, but I don't think it was worth reading (there are better books out there to read that might have the same affect!). I've yet to read a mystery that beats Silent Patient, and after reading this book, that DEFINITELY remains true to this day.