There isn't anything like Grasshopper Jungle in young adult fiction. First of all, it's insane. Giant, six-foot-tall praying mantis-looking bugs are bursting out of the stomachs of certain residents in a decaying Midwest town and all they want to do is eat and mate. They're taking over Ealing, Iowa, and it's raunchy and hilarious. But while all this mayhem is going on, the heart of the book is a kid caught in a love triangle with his girlfriend and best friend, attempting to understand his sexual identity. (Yeah... didn't see that comin', huh?) I don't typically throw around the word "brilliant," but here, I would.
Recommended By Jordan S., Powells.com
