Grasshopper Jungle (Andrew Smith)

I've been wanting to read this ever since I read The Alex Crow (check out my review of that one!) and I finally got the chance. And boy, was I not disappointed.

Nothing happens in Ealing, Iowa. People live their lives while the small town slowly crumbles and decays. And Austin Sczerba is confused. Shann Collins is Austin's first girlfriend and first love, but Robby Brees Jr. is his oldest and truest friend-and lately Austin has been thinking of him as more. Austin chronicles all of his experiences in his diaries, from his day to day life to his families long and winding history in Poland and the USA. Austin writes down everything, right up to when he and Robby make a discovery that will change the world as they know it.

This book is a rollercoaster. It hops through time, subject matter and location within a single sentence. It is utterly insane in every sense of the world, and it is completely brilliant. While it contains a stunning amount of mature content, I think that this book should be required reading for pretty much every young person out there.