Welcome to the world of Nick Twisp, California’s most precocious diarist, whose ongoing struggles to make sense out of high school, deal with his divorced parents, and lose his virginity result in his transformation from an unassuming fourteen-year-old to a modern youth in open revolt. In Youth in Revolt, the first volume of Nick’s journals, we witnessed his transition from young literary hacker to rebel with a libidinous cause as he attempted to win teen goddess Sheeni Saunders. In Youth in Bondage, the second volume of Nick’s journals, we find him stuck in Sheeni’s hometown of Ukiah, living like an indentured servant with his penny-pinching father while his paramour and her boyfriend are away at school in Santa Cruz. But trouble finds Nick again when the FBI picks up his trail and he must rely on the cahones of his tough alter ego, François Dillinger.
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"The story is utterly ridiculous and all of the young characters are precocious to the point of being annoying, but I can't help loving this book. I first read it in high school, and the ideas of overcoming intense nerdiness, getting the girl, taking illicit drugs, living on one's own, befriending interesting people -- all appealed to teenage me, and still do."
— Carolyn (5 out of 5 stars)
" This was so funny! Poor Nick Twisp just kept digging himself deeper and deeper. Lie after lie after lie... to the readers hilarious benefit. I'm very much looking forward to watching the movie now! "
— Stacy, 2/19/2014" Nick Twisp is the perfect teen cult anti-hero. Physically awkward and mediocre at almost everything - this is his diary as he turns 14. The characters and humor make this book shine, but the situations are so over the top that I had a hard time connecting. I mean a fire that burns down several local businesses in Oakland?? I don't think I am giving anything away here, the real punch line is not that the fire happens, it is how the fire happens. Between the fire, the faked suicide and the romantic relationships I found any sliver of credibility lacking. I would have a hard time recommending this to most teens, and while I can see the cult status, it is a little dated. "
— Sarah, 2/18/2014" I read this book for the first time back in high school (10+ years ago)and it's always been in the back of my mind as one of the funniest books I've ever read. "
— Allie, 2/14/2014" This book keeps me in stitches!! It is so witty and dry. The kid in the book can't see past his hormones. I think they have made a movie of this book. "
— Leah, 2/14/2014" Incredible book. Hilarious and is an accurate account into the mind of a 14 year old boy. "
— Skye, 2/8/2014" Even after reading this book a dozen times there are parts that still make me laugh out loud. I heart Nick. "
— Karin, 2/1/2014" Weird, unbelieveable, couldn't put it down. "
— Kim, 1/26/2014" This made me LOL a million times. It's really fun and funny and makes me happy that I'm not a teenager anymore. I hope the movie is good. "
— Chrissy, 1/21/2014" THE most entertaining book I've read in a long time. You will enjoy the absurdity. "
— Jonathan, 1/20/2014" loved this book....the movie does it no justice..dont even bother watching it. "
— Emma, 1/15/2014" the story of nick twisp is a ridiculous homage to a confederacy of dunces. it works, but it would work better if it were a few hundred pages shorter. the doughnut descriptions are to die for. "
— Laura, 12/24/2013" Very amusing. Takes you into the craziness, angst, and sexual curiosity that is the mind of the average adolescent male, while adding the drama of a young aspiring writer. "
— Eric, 12/4/2013" VERY long-winded, very funny novel about a horny, pretentious boy doing outrageous things to win the heart of an equally pretentious crush. "
— Kate, 11/20/2013" I read this back in high school but I remember really enjoying it. I still have my copy and am considering reading it again to see if my adult self will still appreciate the adolescent sex-driven storyline. "
— Laura, 11/17/2013" this book was awsome, i DID NOT want it to end. "
— Heidi, 10/26/2013" This is the funniest book I have ever read!!! "
— Littleshout, 9/29/2013" good funny ass book, it get quite a bit ridculous but still a lot of fun "
— Mike, 8/31/2013" Disustingly sexual in the beggining, but comepletely hilarious throughout the book. "
— Marissa, 7/15/2013" i did like this book, but the the kids didn't strike me as terribly authentic. i imagine that it's tough to write teens as an adult, and maybe that's why i appreciate a really good coming-of-age tale when i find one. (see Thumbsucker, Swimming Sweet Arrow, Rule of the Bone) "
— Beth, 1/9/2013" A revelation to any junior high kid. "
— Rob, 11/30/2012" Probably one of the funniest things you will ever read. Nick Twisp lives! "
— Joe, 6/13/2012" The most needlessly long book I think I've ever read. "
— Andy, 5/25/2012" 4.5. Very lively book that made me laugh out loud quite a bit. Its missing the .5 because I didn't find it particularly mind-expanding, but I enjoyed quite a bit. "
— Ella, 4/18/2012" Hilarious. The journals of Nick Twisp are just delightful to read. "
— Kristin, 4/18/2012" Easily the funniest book I have ever read! It came out in a movie, and as usual, the movie cannot do the book justice. "
— Stuart, 6/30/2011" It's definitely not the normal teen book with the way the main characters talks. <br/>It was entertaining.<br/>B "
— Kyle, 6/22/2011" I am neutral about this book. I almost didn't really like it but I can understand why a lot of people do. "
— Lauren, 5/21/2011" I enjoyed every second of reading this nearly 500 page novel. Definitely a book I would recommend to any soul with a sense of humor. "
— Alyssa, 5/4/2011" Witty, laugh-out-loud funny, and beautifully structured. It took everything I had to put it down. On my list of best books ever written. so much better than the movie, which I thought highly improbable. "
— Lauren, 4/25/2011" I was worried at first -- there's lots of masturbation and zit-popping going on on this book -- but the action is so ridiculous-in-a-good-way and the dialogue so hilarious that it makes it easy to shrug off the ickiness. You may not learn anything about yourself, but it's a fun, smart read. "
— Ali, 4/4/2011" The only reason I gave this book such a high rating is because I was just so thoroughly entertained. It's not anything profound or especially literary, but it was one of the most entertaining books I've read this year. "
— Joshua, 3/19/2011" I didn't know what to expect when I found this book at a used booksale. I'm so glad I picked it up. A hilarious black comedy, C.D. Payne took me back 20 years to my teenage years, wishing I was part of Nick Twisp's adventures. "
— Jaymie, 3/8/2011C. D. Payne is the author of six humorous novels, including Young and Revolting: The Continental Journals of Nick Twisp and Revolting Young: The Journals of Nick Twisp's Younger Brother. A graduate of Harvard, he lives in California.
Richard Powers has published thirteen novels. He is a MacArthur Fellow and received the National Book Award. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Overstory, and Bewilderment was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.