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Twelve
Nick McDonell's electrifying novel tells the story of a fictional drug called Twelve and its devastating effects on the beautiful rich and desperate poor of New York City. A bleak Manhattan midwinter and a group of wealthy teenagers, left to their own devices by disregarding parents, delve into the excesses of drugs, sex and the most chilling acts of violence imaginable. Hunter ----- falsely accused of murder after a fight on the basketball courts; White Mike - a straight-A student who makes a fortune selling illegal substances; Laura - gorgeous but obsessed with a fabulous new designer drug called 'twelve'; and Claude - whose trips into the shadier corners of Chinatown have fuelled a macabre fascination with deadly weapons...From page one, this novel pulsates towards its apocalyptic climax. Cool and cruel and utterly compulsive, TWELVE is the debut novel of 2002.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
Nick McDonell
23 books156 followersNick McDonell is the author of the novels Twelve, The Third Brother, and An Expensive Education, as well as a book of political theory, The Civilization of Perpetual Movement, and four works of reportage, The End Of Major Combat Operations, Green On Blue, The Widow's Network, and The Bodies In Person.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 350 reviews
September 6, 2008
Aha! Stumbling around my local Borders as I was, looking for something to while away the dead spots during a family Christmas my eye was drawn to a stark modern cover design with blurb that pressed all the right buttons. “Stunning debut” it said (10 points); “he’s in danger of doing for his generation what I did for mine (Hunter S Thompson)” it said (15 points); “the bright lights of acid and the ferocity of speed” it said (another 15 points). Twelve is a novel that completely satisfied my criteria for random book selection. You can see why I took it home.
Set in New York over the 5 days leading up to New Year it’s the story of a bunch of late teens looking for a party. It spans the classes from the ghettos of the Bronx to the brownstones on Park Avenue, telling the story of a group of kids all loosely connected by the same desire for a big New Year’s bash and all destined to end up at the same house for the big night.
It uses the neat narrative trick of telling the story from many character’s point of view. White Mike is our main protagonist - a small time dealer in weed and coke who never touches his own supply. Other characters include the rich geek who’s brother used to be a coke addict, the unencumbered prom queen and the drug addled mess of self consciousness that is the party girl. Each one tells their story over the 5 days, and each one gives us an insight into their own peculiar brand of teenage angst.
You can tell from that precis that this is going to be a difficult novel to carry off; there’s not an awful lot to work with, let alone a lot of originality, and unfortunately Twelve doesn’t manage it. This is another one of those desperate to shock novels. Apparently we should be shocked that kids in their late teens smoke weed. We should be shocked that they take cocaine. We should be shocked that drugs make up so much of their lives, and that they overstep boundaries because of them.
So, this is mostly regurgitated pap. He’s trying to be make an East Coast version of Brett Easton Ellis’ Less Than Zero and he really doesn’t succeed. On top of that it’s made all the more disappointing by the overt privilege and ego of the author. Never have I read a book before where the author so desperately wants us to think that the book is autobiographical because he’s made the character he wants us to think is him so cool.
Add to that a set of completely vacuous two dimensional characters, a plot so weak it couldn’t snap spaghetti, a fictional device clumsily created and then never actually used and a denoument that smacks of the last role playing game the author played and what you get left with is a completely disatisfying 2 hour read.
Shame on the publishers for publishing it, shame on the parents for funding the little twat through school and letting him live out his desire to be a novelist. I’m sure he got a good education. Hopefully he learned a trade. He’ll need it.
Set in New York over the 5 days leading up to New Year it’s the story of a bunch of late teens looking for a party. It spans the classes from the ghettos of the Bronx to the brownstones on Park Avenue, telling the story of a group of kids all loosely connected by the same desire for a big New Year’s bash and all destined to end up at the same house for the big night.
It uses the neat narrative trick of telling the story from many character’s point of view. White Mike is our main protagonist - a small time dealer in weed and coke who never touches his own supply. Other characters include the rich geek who’s brother used to be a coke addict, the unencumbered prom queen and the drug addled mess of self consciousness that is the party girl. Each one tells their story over the 5 days, and each one gives us an insight into their own peculiar brand of teenage angst.
You can tell from that precis that this is going to be a difficult novel to carry off; there’s not an awful lot to work with, let alone a lot of originality, and unfortunately Twelve doesn’t manage it. This is another one of those desperate to shock novels. Apparently we should be shocked that kids in their late teens smoke weed. We should be shocked that they take cocaine. We should be shocked that drugs make up so much of their lives, and that they overstep boundaries because of them.
So, this is mostly regurgitated pap. He’s trying to be make an East Coast version of Brett Easton Ellis’ Less Than Zero and he really doesn’t succeed. On top of that it’s made all the more disappointing by the overt privilege and ego of the author. Never have I read a book before where the author so desperately wants us to think that the book is autobiographical because he’s made the character he wants us to think is him so cool.
Add to that a set of completely vacuous two dimensional characters, a plot so weak it couldn’t snap spaghetti, a fictional device clumsily created and then never actually used and a denoument that smacks of the last role playing game the author played and what you get left with is a completely disatisfying 2 hour read.
Shame on the publishers for publishing it, shame on the parents for funding the little twat through school and letting him live out his desire to be a novelist. I’m sure he got a good education. Hopefully he learned a trade. He’ll need it.
February 24, 2010
I don't understand why this book was such a sensation when it came out. Okay, I sorta do: the author was only seventeen, his father is a rich publishing figure and Hunter S. Thompson wrote a blurb. However, none of that makes this a good book. In fact, I couldn't stand it.
I don't think Nick McDonell is without talent, but this book definitely betrayed his age. It was like he was trying to prove how grown up he was by writing about all the sex and drugs. And I thought the ending is horrible. It was like McDonell just got tired of writing about these people and decided to blow them away in a smashing Rambo-style shooting (much like the video games adolescent males enjoy so much).
In conclusion: blech. Try again in about ten years, Mr. McDonell. And I'm not just saying that cause I'm jealous of your youthful success, either. (Although I am, when it comes to that.)
I don't think Nick McDonell is without talent, but this book definitely betrayed his age. It was like he was trying to prove how grown up he was by writing about all the sex and drugs. And I thought the ending is horrible. It was like McDonell just got tired of writing about these people and decided to blow them away in a smashing Rambo-style shooting (much like the video games adolescent males enjoy so much).
In conclusion: blech. Try again in about ten years, Mr. McDonell. And I'm not just saying that cause I'm jealous of your youthful success, either. (Although I am, when it comes to that.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 21, 2021
Ein beeindruckendes Debut eines damals sehr jungen Autors. Verstörende Szenen in der Welt der reichen, allein gelassenen Jugendlichen, die alles zu haben scheinen,denen es aber an sozialer Kompetenz und Empathie zu fehlen scheint. Ein anderes, krasses, mit Drogen durchzogenes Buch,welches ganz wichtige Dinge anspricht in einen Jugend Slang Sprache, die anstrengt aber real ist. Ich bin nicht die Zielgruppe und hätte mir einfach mehr Nähe zu den einzelnen Protas gewünscht, was aber in die Art der Geschichte wohl nicht gepasst hätte.
February 14, 2012
Skip the nearly straight to DVD movie with A-list actors and read this book. I'm stunned by all the negative reviews. White Mike takes a year off from his over-privileged life to defer an ivy league education and "work". Needing only a supplier, a beeper and his never-ending prep school connections, he walks the streets of New York to collect cash in exchange for drugs. Near the beginning, another dealer, much like Mike, dies in a violent and bloody deal gone bad in Harlem and the wrong guy is arrested. That deal's connection to White Mike eventually surfaces, but it's Jessica-the teen slut's first trip on Twelve, a drug she describes as a combination of ecstacy and cocaine that lends its name for the title. Taking place in the two weeks of a high school's Christmas break, you will feel White Mike's self-imposed isolation, even as he walks among the crowds in New York during the Christmas .
I was surprised to find that this dark book about a teen drug dealer was well-written, regardless of how it was published. I loved its structure, moving from vignette to vignette and leaving a loose-end only to pick it up later.
I was surprised to find that this dark book about a teen drug dealer was well-written, regardless of how it was published. I loved its structure, moving from vignette to vignette and leaving a loose-end only to pick it up later.
June 13, 2007
The author hadn't even started college when he wrote and published this book. The book was published with ease because his parents are rich New York socialites in the publishing business. At the time when I read this I had great dreams of becoming a young, successful writer, so I wanted to see if the kid had talent or if he just had money and access.
I did like reading the book, but I'm not sure how much talent was involved. I don't believe he's written anything since. I mean, maybe he is talented, as so many unpublished writers are, but I have no doubt that this story would still be saved on someone's computer had his parents not been in the field.
I did like reading the book, but I'm not sure how much talent was involved. I don't believe he's written anything since. I mean, maybe he is talented, as so many unpublished writers are, but I have no doubt that this story would still be saved on someone's computer had his parents not been in the field.
January 14, 2008
A poorly written book by "up and coming" writer Nick McDonell. The guy was 17 years old and it showed in his writing. It was the sort of thing that you think is genius when you're a kid and writing is your "passion." What convinced me to buy the book is the wonderful reviews in New York Magazine and the blurbs in the back, featuring one by Hunter S. Thompson and Joan Didion. What the back cover doesn't mention, however, is that these are friends of his parents. I find it sickening that they would use their fame to promote a horrible writer.
I would more likely drink a gallon of gasoline and then smoke before reading this book again.
I would more likely drink a gallon of gasoline and then smoke before reading this book again.
March 19, 2018
I didn't hate this book. It kept me hooked till the end and the writing style was good (at least for one character). But there were so many issues with this book.
I don't know much about what American high schools were like back in early 2000s but this author made it seem as if all rich kids cared about was money, drugs, parties, alcohol, and sex.
We are told the story of an entire week from the perspective of many characters, yet, with the exception of the main character, every character felt like the previous one with the only difference being their situation. That was the only thing that kept them from blending into one another.
All these rich kids cared about was when they are going to get their next drug and when they can have sex with someone. The author tries to portray them as just lonely rich kids who have no love or attention from their parents who are too busy making money, but it completely fails at that. These characters don't even feel like human beings.
The main character whose name is Mike is the beloved drug dealer(his work name is White Mike which is completely stupid and doesn't protect your identity especially when you work with people who know you). He is taking a year gap before Uni and spends his time selling drugs. How he managed to hide from the police, I don't know. He's pretty open about it and doesn't seem to think anyone would rat out on him. White Mike is portrayed as this genius kid who does well without trying and is very blunt about his opinions. He doesn't do drugs (a fact told so many times) but finds no problems in selling it to kids his own age. He lives alone because his father is too busy with work. In other words, here we have an intelligent, antisocial rich kid who is lonely. Yes, White Mike is lonely. His report card is not that much different from other students and people around him are generally nice towards him. Maybe I'm being harsh but we never get an understanding of why he decided to sell drugs. You don't just do that because you're bored. There is a reason and we're never given that. Being lonely makes it more likely that he would take drugs but not sell them.
Moving on, most of these kids despite spending most of their time drinking and doing drugs excel in school. They have scholarships and acceptance letters and what not. I'm not trying to say that people who drink and or do drugs can't excel in school. No, I'm confused as to how they are excelling. In the entire week no one studied once. They just do very well, yet the manner in which they speak and think doesn't replicate the supposed 90s they are getting. A great example, is when a student says he wants to go into medicine but the only classes he's taking are Molecular bio, Latin, English, and History. Now, I don't know how American schools work, but I'm pretty sure you need more than that if you want to go into medicine, specifically chemistry. It's a minor detail but this whole book is so jumbled that it stands out.
Characters, as I've said, are so shallow because the author didn't take the time to flesh them out. He also puts in characters that have no impact to the story and give really bad stereotypes to different groups of minorities . For example, Japanese women having small feet. I don't know what that had to do with the story at all.
The worst part of this story was that there is one character who you know from the beginning set up to be this really creepy messed up person. You know something bad it going to happen involving them but why they are like that is never given. They're just the textbook "evil" character. And when the climax occurs, it's just messy. Nothing makes sense as to why this person is doing what they are doing and it just ends on that note. Nobody gets admonished or punished for breaking the law. Nobody's story gets concluded. Just climax and a short random reflection and makes no impact to the story.
I don't know much about what American high schools were like back in early 2000s but this author made it seem as if all rich kids cared about was money, drugs, parties, alcohol, and sex.
We are told the story of an entire week from the perspective of many characters, yet, with the exception of the main character, every character felt like the previous one with the only difference being their situation. That was the only thing that kept them from blending into one another.
All these rich kids cared about was when they are going to get their next drug and when they can have sex with someone. The author tries to portray them as just lonely rich kids who have no love or attention from their parents who are too busy making money, but it completely fails at that. These characters don't even feel like human beings.
The main character whose name is Mike is the beloved drug dealer
Moving on, most of these kids despite spending most of their time drinking and doing drugs excel in school. They have scholarships and acceptance letters and what not. I'm not trying to say that people who drink and or do drugs can't excel in school. No, I'm confused as to how they are excelling. In the entire week no one studied once. They just do very well, yet the manner in which they speak and think doesn't replicate the supposed 90s they are getting. A great example, is when a student says he wants to go into medicine but the only classes he's taking are Molecular bio, Latin, English, and History. Now, I don't know how American schools work, but I'm pretty sure you need more than that if you want to go into medicine, specifically chemistry. It's a minor detail but this whole book is so jumbled that it stands out.
Characters, as I've said, are so shallow because the author didn't take the time to flesh them out. He also puts in characters that have no impact to the story and give really bad stereotypes to different groups of minorities . For example, Japanese women having small feet. I don't know what that had to do with the story at all.
The worst part of this story was that there is one character who you know from the beginning set up to be this really creepy messed up person. You know something bad it going to happen involving them but why they are like that is never given. They're just the textbook "evil" character. And when the climax occurs, it's just messy. Nothing makes sense as to why this person is doing what they are doing and it just ends on that note. Nobody gets admonished or punished for breaking the law. Nobody's story gets concluded. Just climax and a short random reflection and makes no impact to the story.
April 25, 2017
Rezension:
An dieses Buch bin ich vollkommen ohne jegliche Erwartung herangegangen. Trotzdem hat das Buch es geschafft, irgendwie noch schlechter zu sein. Denn auf den ersten 225 (von 230) Seiten passiert: nichts. Die einzelnen Kapitel, die manchmal nur eine und selten mehr als vier Seiten lang sind, sind kaum zusammenhängende Aneinanderreihung derselben Dinge. Es geht um das Beschaffen von Drogen, das Konsumieren von Drogen, Schlägereien und andere Gewalttaten, Partys, Alkohol und Sex – wobei die Charaktere nicht einmal wirklich Sex haben, sondern sich einfach nur in aller Vulgarität darüber auslassen, dass sie jedes Mädchen gerne ins Bett bekommen würden. Mehr Handlung hat das Buch nicht, bevor es dann mit einem kurz zusammengefassten, vollkommen aus dem Zusammenhang gerissenen Knaller endet. Das war wirklich unglaublich langweilig zu lesen. Möglicherweise soll die Tatsache, dass die Charaktere beinahe alle minderjährig sind, den Leser schockieren, aber das ist völlig an mir vorbei gegangen.
Neben der fehlenden Handlung waren auch die ständigen Perspektivenwechsel ein großes Problem für mich. Bis zum Schluss konnte ich die Figuren schlichtweg nicht auseinander halten. Sie sind alle Kinder reicher Eltern, nehmen Drogen, feiern Partys, betrinken sich und denken, egal ob männlich oder weiblich, ständig über den Sex nach, den sie dann doch nicht haben. Weder im Charakter noch in den Handlungen haben sich die Charaktere irgendwie unterschieden. Ich muss ehrlicherweise gestehen, dass ich nicht einmal weiß, aus wie vielen Perspektiven das Buch eigentlich geschildert wird. Geschätzt hätte ich zwischen zehn und zwanzig. Jede neue Perspektive war aber bloß eine Wiederholung der Beschreibungen irgendeines vorherigen Erzählers – mit einem neuen Namen. Noch verwirrender wurde es dadurch, dass die Charaktere sich zum Teil kennen, zum Teil aber auch nicht, manchmal haben sie schon voneinander gehört oder sie kennen sich um mehrere Ecken. Oder auch nicht.
Die einzige Figur, die aus der gleichförmigen Masse heraussticht, ist White Mike. Allerdings sind die Kapitel, die aus seiner Perspektive geschildert werden, kein Stück interessanter. Er trifft einfach nur nacheinander die unzähligen Charaktere und verkauft ihnen Drogen. Dabei wird auch keinerlei Begründung geliefert, warum er das macht. Er ist intelligent genug, um aufs College zu gehen, hat das Geld nicht nötig, die falschen Freunde hat er auch nicht und unter Druck gesetzt wird er ebenfalls nicht. Er dealt halt einfach. Das hebt ihn zwar von den anderen Charakteren ab, da er auf der anderen Seite des Tisches sitzt, aber schlussendlich ist er genauso platt konstruiert wie alle andere Figuren.
Fazit:
Mit diesem Buch konnte ich überhaupt nichts anfangen. Es wird erzählt von einer extrem großen Anzahl an Figuren, die ich aber überhaupt nicht auseinander halten kann, weil sie alle gleich denken und handeln. Daher weiß ich nicht einmal, wie viele Erzähler es tatsächlich sind. Die kurzen, aneinander gereihten Kapitel wiederholen trotz vieler Erzähler immer dieselben Elemente: Drogen, Alkohol, Sex, Partys und Gewalt. Nur die letzten fünf Seiten haben tatsächlich Handlung, die allerdings völlig aus dem Zusammenhang gerissen ist. Da für mich an „Zwölf“ absolut gar nichts gestimmt hat, vergebe ich nur eine Schreibfeder.
http://jennys-buecherkiste.blogspot.d...
An dieses Buch bin ich vollkommen ohne jegliche Erwartung herangegangen. Trotzdem hat das Buch es geschafft, irgendwie noch schlechter zu sein. Denn auf den ersten 225 (von 230) Seiten passiert: nichts. Die einzelnen Kapitel, die manchmal nur eine und selten mehr als vier Seiten lang sind, sind kaum zusammenhängende Aneinanderreihung derselben Dinge. Es geht um das Beschaffen von Drogen, das Konsumieren von Drogen, Schlägereien und andere Gewalttaten, Partys, Alkohol und Sex – wobei die Charaktere nicht einmal wirklich Sex haben, sondern sich einfach nur in aller Vulgarität darüber auslassen, dass sie jedes Mädchen gerne ins Bett bekommen würden. Mehr Handlung hat das Buch nicht, bevor es dann mit einem kurz zusammengefassten, vollkommen aus dem Zusammenhang gerissenen Knaller endet. Das war wirklich unglaublich langweilig zu lesen. Möglicherweise soll die Tatsache, dass die Charaktere beinahe alle minderjährig sind, den Leser schockieren, aber das ist völlig an mir vorbei gegangen.
Neben der fehlenden Handlung waren auch die ständigen Perspektivenwechsel ein großes Problem für mich. Bis zum Schluss konnte ich die Figuren schlichtweg nicht auseinander halten. Sie sind alle Kinder reicher Eltern, nehmen Drogen, feiern Partys, betrinken sich und denken, egal ob männlich oder weiblich, ständig über den Sex nach, den sie dann doch nicht haben. Weder im Charakter noch in den Handlungen haben sich die Charaktere irgendwie unterschieden. Ich muss ehrlicherweise gestehen, dass ich nicht einmal weiß, aus wie vielen Perspektiven das Buch eigentlich geschildert wird. Geschätzt hätte ich zwischen zehn und zwanzig. Jede neue Perspektive war aber bloß eine Wiederholung der Beschreibungen irgendeines vorherigen Erzählers – mit einem neuen Namen. Noch verwirrender wurde es dadurch, dass die Charaktere sich zum Teil kennen, zum Teil aber auch nicht, manchmal haben sie schon voneinander gehört oder sie kennen sich um mehrere Ecken. Oder auch nicht.
Die einzige Figur, die aus der gleichförmigen Masse heraussticht, ist White Mike. Allerdings sind die Kapitel, die aus seiner Perspektive geschildert werden, kein Stück interessanter. Er trifft einfach nur nacheinander die unzähligen Charaktere und verkauft ihnen Drogen. Dabei wird auch keinerlei Begründung geliefert, warum er das macht. Er ist intelligent genug, um aufs College zu gehen, hat das Geld nicht nötig, die falschen Freunde hat er auch nicht und unter Druck gesetzt wird er ebenfalls nicht. Er dealt halt einfach. Das hebt ihn zwar von den anderen Charakteren ab, da er auf der anderen Seite des Tisches sitzt, aber schlussendlich ist er genauso platt konstruiert wie alle andere Figuren.
Fazit:
Mit diesem Buch konnte ich überhaupt nichts anfangen. Es wird erzählt von einer extrem großen Anzahl an Figuren, die ich aber überhaupt nicht auseinander halten kann, weil sie alle gleich denken und handeln. Daher weiß ich nicht einmal, wie viele Erzähler es tatsächlich sind. Die kurzen, aneinander gereihten Kapitel wiederholen trotz vieler Erzähler immer dieselben Elemente: Drogen, Alkohol, Sex, Partys und Gewalt. Nur die letzten fünf Seiten haben tatsächlich Handlung, die allerdings völlig aus dem Zusammenhang gerissen ist. Da für mich an „Zwölf“ absolut gar nichts gestimmt hat, vergebe ich nur eine Schreibfeder.
http://jennys-buecherkiste.blogspot.d...
October 24, 2017
@ my teacher: why
are we supposed to be shocked that rich white teens from the upper east side think about sex and drugs all the time???? we been knew
the „twist“ or whatever you wanna call it, was so weak and described in 3 pages or less.
i had to sit through all of white mike‘s random, completely unrelated flashbacks for this? and why was that scene with andrew and sven in there if it’s never mentioned again?
the only reason i gabe this 2 stars instead of 1 is because it was a pretty fast read so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
are we supposed to be shocked that rich white teens from the upper east side think about sex and drugs all the time???? we been knew
the „twist“ or whatever you wanna call it, was so weak and described in 3 pages or less.
i had to sit through all of white mike‘s random, completely unrelated flashbacks for this? and why was that scene with andrew and sven in there if it’s never mentioned again?
the only reason i gabe this 2 stars instead of 1 is because it was a pretty fast read so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
July 29, 2017
A gallery of insights into edgy teen lives as opposed to a believable narrative with a climax. It fell flat for me, but 2 stars because the writing style was good.
June 25, 2013
Enjoyed & am finally donating as I need to cull bookshelves before moving.
April 9, 2020
Schullektüre😩😩
March 2, 2022
I read this in one big gulp. Enjoyed it, but I’m a sucker for this kind of thing
May 10, 2024
I found this book incredibly tedious to get through. Before reading it I heard much praise specifically regarding the fact that the author was only 17 at time of writing, and in my opinion it shows. From arduously bland dialogue that goes on and on to incredibly uncomfortable, indulgent and gratuitous scenes, the author spends tedious page after tedious page setting up many of the most unsympathetic characters I have ever encountered in fiction. I am not talking about characters whose personalities or motivations are objectionable, since even a character who is not morally sound can be well written and rounded, I am talking about flimsy, unlikable, one-dimensional caricatures.
The only redeeming quality that is stretched paper-thin over most of the cast is that they are finally and anti-climactically mowed down in the books uncomfortably indulgent climax, which though it was as unenjoyable to read as the rest of the work, could not have arrived soon enough.
The only redeeming quality that is stretched paper-thin over most of the cast is that they are finally and anti-climactically mowed down in the books uncomfortably indulgent climax, which though it was as unenjoyable to read as the rest of the work, could not have arrived soon enough.
April 18, 2013
This book did not have great writing and is to be expected by a 17 year old writer. Perhaps I did not like the writing as much because it came from a 17 yrs old high school student with a point of view of a teenager that is so prevalent in this book.
The book is about rich kids being spoiled because they are rich and entitled. I wonder if being so privilege makes one destroy ones life internally because there is no challenge to take in order to thrive. Books like this makes me want to support the estate tax and place the funds from that tax into supporting human capital for disadvantage kids. The problem with wealthy legacies is that they totally destroy the recipient of the legacy. Being born into societal extremes is not good. If one is born poor then homelessness could be an issue with mental illness but if one is born too rich there is no challenge for the person to pursue and mental illness is an issue because of drugs or spiritual emptiness of these people.
For example, Claude goes to a pawn shop who to buy gun illegally because he thinks it is cool to have. Claude may have a mental issue from all the drugs he has taken because he is now obsess with weapons. In the end, Claude like the rush of power he got from having a gun better than drugs and comes out of his room during Chris' party and starts shooting people at random because of the rush of power to needlessly take someone else life. Until someone outlaws uzi, high-clip magazines, and make universal background checks, we should not be surprised of mass shooting gun violence.
It seems that White Mike and his peers are all jaded. It is books like these that make me thankful that I was not part of the popular crowd growing up. White Mike tries to be like the nannies a transient being so no one can catch him being the drug dealer that he is. White Mike did not like the social disparities he sees in the city and likes getting lost in the crowd.
A good question to ask is what makes smart, privilege, non-substance abuser become a drug dealer even if he knows the people he deals with are dangerous with guns to protect themselves from drug addicts. Is he looking for a challenge or is it innate hatred of rich kids that he grew up with? White Mike is annoying because he does not like the people or even the "drug" parties but yet contributes to them by dealing to people he does not like? I mean who takes a gap year in order to sell drugs to people he does not like? Why does he not go after Molly a smart and good-looking model? Is it he grew up with her and considers her off limits?
White Mike is so jaded that he insults a scholarship girl's Christian beliefs as an opiate for weak people instead of focusing on its moral value it provides which leads one to be a productive member of society and pray for uncontrollable events in ones life. I bet the scholarship girl will go farther than White Mike despite his status as a genius and the connections that he has.
Jessica is slutty because she can be and be smart at the same time. Jessica is morbid about her future and forcasts that she will be a bad wife and mother so someone should kill her now before her life will inevitably fall apart. She also parodies what happens in mass shootings such that nothing changes after the initial outrage is over (Newtown, Congressional inertia, and the NRA). Because of her jaded outlook on her future and she got hooked on 12, she sells her virginity in order to obtain drugs.
Hunter's father focuses on his child's material success and not his well-being.
Sara does things to increase her popularity in the city even if it means leading a guy on, Chris by kissing then withdrawing the kiss and promising they can do things if he gives his house for a party. She is the type who gets what she wants by using her sexual allure to get it regardless of who she is attached to at the moment. Even though Sean knows that Sara uses her looks to get men to do things for her oddly enough as her boyfriend it does not seem to bother him especially using sexual favors as a bait for men. Unfortunately for teenage boys, hormones control their behavior in finding sex be it real or online porn.
Supply of drugs come from poorer neighborhood but demand come from the rich. I wonder if being addicted to drugs is genetic since there are people out there who are materially successful that do drugs recreationally. Jessica could see how when one is hooked on drugs one can do things like selling ones body for drugs is possible.
The book is about rich kids being spoiled because they are rich and entitled. I wonder if being so privilege makes one destroy ones life internally because there is no challenge to take in order to thrive. Books like this makes me want to support the estate tax and place the funds from that tax into supporting human capital for disadvantage kids. The problem with wealthy legacies is that they totally destroy the recipient of the legacy. Being born into societal extremes is not good. If one is born poor then homelessness could be an issue with mental illness but if one is born too rich there is no challenge for the person to pursue and mental illness is an issue because of drugs or spiritual emptiness of these people.
For example, Claude goes to a pawn shop who to buy gun illegally because he thinks it is cool to have. Claude may have a mental issue from all the drugs he has taken because he is now obsess with weapons. In the end, Claude like the rush of power he got from having a gun better than drugs and comes out of his room during Chris' party and starts shooting people at random because of the rush of power to needlessly take someone else life. Until someone outlaws uzi, high-clip magazines, and make universal background checks, we should not be surprised of mass shooting gun violence.
It seems that White Mike and his peers are all jaded. It is books like these that make me thankful that I was not part of the popular crowd growing up. White Mike tries to be like the nannies a transient being so no one can catch him being the drug dealer that he is. White Mike did not like the social disparities he sees in the city and likes getting lost in the crowd.
A good question to ask is what makes smart, privilege, non-substance abuser become a drug dealer even if he knows the people he deals with are dangerous with guns to protect themselves from drug addicts. Is he looking for a challenge or is it innate hatred of rich kids that he grew up with? White Mike is annoying because he does not like the people or even the "drug" parties but yet contributes to them by dealing to people he does not like? I mean who takes a gap year in order to sell drugs to people he does not like? Why does he not go after Molly a smart and good-looking model? Is it he grew up with her and considers her off limits?
White Mike is so jaded that he insults a scholarship girl's Christian beliefs as an opiate for weak people instead of focusing on its moral value it provides which leads one to be a productive member of society and pray for uncontrollable events in ones life. I bet the scholarship girl will go farther than White Mike despite his status as a genius and the connections that he has.
Jessica is slutty because she can be and be smart at the same time. Jessica is morbid about her future and forcasts that she will be a bad wife and mother so someone should kill her now before her life will inevitably fall apart. She also parodies what happens in mass shootings such that nothing changes after the initial outrage is over (Newtown, Congressional inertia, and the NRA). Because of her jaded outlook on her future and she got hooked on 12, she sells her virginity in order to obtain drugs.
Hunter's father focuses on his child's material success and not his well-being.
Sara does things to increase her popularity in the city even if it means leading a guy on, Chris by kissing then withdrawing the kiss and promising they can do things if he gives his house for a party. She is the type who gets what she wants by using her sexual allure to get it regardless of who she is attached to at the moment. Even though Sean knows that Sara uses her looks to get men to do things for her oddly enough as her boyfriend it does not seem to bother him especially using sexual favors as a bait for men. Unfortunately for teenage boys, hormones control their behavior in finding sex be it real or online porn.
Supply of drugs come from poorer neighborhood but demand come from the rich. I wonder if being addicted to drugs is genetic since there are people out there who are materially successful that do drugs recreationally. Jessica could see how when one is hooked on drugs one can do things like selling ones body for drugs is possible.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2024
Nick McDonell's debut Novel Twelve follows a group of adolescents spending Christmas break in New York’s Upper East Side. The book follows White Mike in his year off between High School and College, selling drugs but never consuming them. It follows Hunter, a New York Teen in jail after being wrongly accused of murder. It follows Chris trying to get into Sara Ludlow’s pants. It follows Chris' brother Claude on his dubious adventures through Chinatown's armouries. It follows Sara Ludlow on her quest to acquire more of the drug Twelve. The book follows all these teens’ stories and tries to get all of them under one hat and into one continuous story. I think it fails miserably.
I didn't only dislike the book; I think it's simply bad. Here's why:
The main thing McDonell tries to achieve in his novel is to shock the reader, whether it be with drugs or murder. The problem is that, especially the ending isn't surprising and thus not shocking. He makes the ending fairly obvious through all of Claudes’ storyline and it leaves the ending predictable, unnecessarily violent and just toneless.
Furthermore, McDonell tries to seem mature by writing about drugs, sex and murder but throughout the book, it gets increasingly clearer that the author was just seventeen years old. The most reoccurring thought I had while reading was: TMI (too much information). I don’t understand why he felt the urge to mention the characters masturbating every other chapter. Again, probably to seem more mature. (You write what you know, I guess)
Another thing that bothered me in the book is that most of the characters, especially female characters are flat and uninteresting. I wasn't invested in any of their storylines (except for maybe White Mike). The comic relief characters are unimportant, distract from the story and show that McDonell had nothing to write about and as he put it himself he just wrote “the kind of book [he] wanted to kill characters in” and it shows. Most of his characters are just built on stereotypes. The superficial dumb blonde, the rich white boy with daddy issues and the bad black drug dealer.
But if the book at least had an interesting plot, it could maybe still pull through, the thing is: it doesn't. Nothing of much interest happens and anything that could be of interest to the reader is predictable and unnecessary. Moreover, the whole book is built on the premise of a fictional drug, which the book is even named after, but McDonell doesn't even use it in the book much. It could be replaced by any other hard drug. If a new drug is invented for the sake of a story, it should at least be interesting or important to the plot. As well as that the plot, as such doesn't really exist. McDonell tells different shorter incoherent stories about a lot of different unmemorable characters which lead to an obvious ending. This becomes apparent when trying to shortly summarise the book. I struggled to make out the main storyline which the book follows. Some of the narratives could even make intriguing stories but he doesn’t follow up on those but just tells new, often uninteresting or very random ones. The book is like a big puzzle, where most of the pieces are missing and others are simply from the wrong puzzle.
When reading the book, it’s obvious that McDonell has a father in the publishing business, and I think the success of the book is thanks to the mere novelty of a seventeen-year-old author rather than a book which is actually good.
I didn't only dislike the book; I think it's simply bad. Here's why:
The main thing McDonell tries to achieve in his novel is to shock the reader, whether it be with drugs or murder. The problem is that, especially the ending isn't surprising and thus not shocking. He makes the ending fairly obvious through all of Claudes’ storyline and it leaves the ending predictable, unnecessarily violent and just toneless.
Furthermore, McDonell tries to seem mature by writing about drugs, sex and murder but throughout the book, it gets increasingly clearer that the author was just seventeen years old. The most reoccurring thought I had while reading was: TMI (too much information). I don’t understand why he felt the urge to mention the characters masturbating every other chapter. Again, probably to seem more mature. (You write what you know, I guess)
Another thing that bothered me in the book is that most of the characters, especially female characters are flat and uninteresting. I wasn't invested in any of their storylines (except for maybe White Mike). The comic relief characters are unimportant, distract from the story and show that McDonell had nothing to write about and as he put it himself he just wrote “the kind of book [he] wanted to kill characters in” and it shows. Most of his characters are just built on stereotypes. The superficial dumb blonde, the rich white boy with daddy issues and the bad black drug dealer.
But if the book at least had an interesting plot, it could maybe still pull through, the thing is: it doesn't. Nothing of much interest happens and anything that could be of interest to the reader is predictable and unnecessary. Moreover, the whole book is built on the premise of a fictional drug, which the book is even named after, but McDonell doesn't even use it in the book much. It could be replaced by any other hard drug. If a new drug is invented for the sake of a story, it should at least be interesting or important to the plot. As well as that the plot, as such doesn't really exist. McDonell tells different shorter incoherent stories about a lot of different unmemorable characters which lead to an obvious ending. This becomes apparent when trying to shortly summarise the book. I struggled to make out the main storyline which the book follows. Some of the narratives could even make intriguing stories but he doesn’t follow up on those but just tells new, often uninteresting or very random ones. The book is like a big puzzle, where most of the pieces are missing and others are simply from the wrong puzzle.
When reading the book, it’s obvious that McDonell has a father in the publishing business, and I think the success of the book is thanks to the mere novelty of a seventeen-year-old author rather than a book which is actually good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2022
Well, I grabbed it on the spur of the moment b/c I loved, loved, loved the author's The Council of Animals. This was published nearly 20 years earlier...when the author was 17. This, and the milieu - snobby, privileged private school and boarding school kids looking to party hard in their parents' tony Upper East Side homes - seem to have sparked some ill will with the literary gatekeepers, but I was mighty glad of the distraction whilst freezing my tail in a late afternoon, pre-Xmas Rapid Covid Test line that stretched all the way from the abandoned European children's clothing boutique where those lucky enough to make it inside before the line was cut awaited nasal swabbing, and - oh, irony! - the intersection anchoring the block containing the townhouse that is the scene of the novel's debauched and SPoooOOOOOOOIIIIIIILER ...... bloodsoaked teenaged New Year's Eve bash.
I also liked it b/c while my secret writing hole is on 79th (thus the frequent struts down Madison) I live in East Harlem, and hardly anyone deigns to write a novel set here, but Nick McDonell included in a NYCHA courtyard and a rec center gym and this really elevated the proceedings from the accusations of warmed up Less Than Zero rehash.
The characters aren't particularly well developed but I'm guessing that's the point? I dunno. My daughter, a NYC publik skool graduate, supervised a pod of middle schoolers at one of the schools Nick McDonell might have been writing about, or hell, attended, what do we know, it's so far from our experience of NYC... Her observations suggest that these middle schoolers were encumbered with some of the same entitled views that limit many of Twelve's characters.
I also liked it b/c while my secret writing hole is on 79th (thus the frequent struts down Madison) I live in East Harlem, and hardly anyone deigns to write a novel set here, but Nick McDonell included in a NYCHA courtyard and a rec center gym and this really elevated the proceedings from the accusations of warmed up Less Than Zero rehash.
The characters aren't particularly well developed but I'm guessing that's the point? I dunno. My daughter, a NYC publik skool graduate, supervised a pod of middle schoolers at one of the schools Nick McDonell might have been writing about, or hell, attended, what do we know, it's so far from our experience of NYC... Her observations suggest that these middle schoolers were encumbered with some of the same entitled views that limit many of Twelve's characters.
October 23, 2009
A weak milky tea version of Bret Easton Ellis. The exceptionally short chapters are concise and to the point. It's over quickly. The author was just 17 when he wrote it, which sure is admirable, but it doesn't make the impact that it seems to strive for.
The world of privledged teenagers in New York, is not a world that is wholly engaging. As a young adult reader in London it does not engage me. If you live in New York and know the archetypes of the book then perhaps it would be more meaningful. To be fair, there is some engaging imagery spattered throughout the book. However, there is no sense of an immersive "world" of the story so when the final climax of the narrative happens, it was with a sense of "so what?" that I turned the final pages.
It's been said by a fair few but if you want the real deal then just read Ellis' American Psycho.
It will be interesting to see where McDonell goes in the future.
The world of privledged teenagers in New York, is not a world that is wholly engaging. As a young adult reader in London it does not engage me. If you live in New York and know the archetypes of the book then perhaps it would be more meaningful. To be fair, there is some engaging imagery spattered throughout the book. However, there is no sense of an immersive "world" of the story so when the final climax of the narrative happens, it was with a sense of "so what?" that I turned the final pages.
It's been said by a fair few but if you want the real deal then just read Ellis' American Psycho.
It will be interesting to see where McDonell goes in the future.
Read
September 14, 2009The book's climax doesn't come until the last ten or so pages, but it still was able to hold my attention. One of the amazing things about this book is that it was written by a seventeen-year old boy. His writing seems beyond what most seventeen-year olds could do. Even though the story is based around drugs, sex, and partying, McDonell is able to take us into the story of a coming of age and hardships of young adults. The main character White Mike does not really fit in with the rest of the characters because he has experienced too much. However, he is still connected to their world. He is their drug dealer. We see kids losing themselves to exterior pressures and falling deeper into a hole that they won't be able to get out of. Definitely very intense and I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. The book is shocking and held my attention throughout.
September 16, 2011
Okay, so this one was odd. Basically a play-by-play chronicle of a bunch of spoiled, unsupervised teenage Manhattan debutants who waste their talent and opportunities on drugs, sex and violence. The main character, White Mike, refrains from doing any drugs but doesn't seem to mind dealing. The girls are ALL airheads and the guys think with their little digits. The end comes so jarringly and out of the blue. Not sure if this was on purpose, and I'm guessing there is a message here about gun control laws. The only chapters that drew any emotion out of me were the ones with Timmy and Mark- their ridiculous banter definitely kept me laughing. Other than that, it made me wonder if this came from the author's head or if some of this came from his own experiences with this particular lifestyle. Either way, I don't think I will remember this book.
August 23, 2020
Maybe I should have read this book like 10 years ago. Now, the topic seems overrated to me. Anyhow, I am not American and I am not a teenager, so I have no idea if things really get this crazy in real life or the author gets them together only to make a point.
October 12, 2016
Keine Ahnung wie ich das bewerten soll :D
2 oder 2,5... wer weiß das schon...
2 oder 2,5... wer weiß das schon...
January 22, 2024
like it was interesting and much to follow ?? and also not much at all?? until the end and i was like okkkk girll!
September 22, 2024
Very bad book, no logic or ability to story tell. Many viewpoints you’d think would intertwine clearly, very lazy writing style. Did not enjoy this
Felt like the author was a 16 year old boy that handed this in for a homework assignment - would not recommend!
Don’t even get me started on the non explored older brother who just kills everyone at the end I cba
Felt like the author was a 16 year old boy that handed this in for a homework assignment - would not recommend!
Don’t even get me started on the non explored older brother who just kills everyone at the end I cba
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2018
I liked this book in parts and didn’t like it in others. It teetered between cringey and realistic in terms of the way teenagers act, think, and speak, and I found it falling to cringey more often than I would like. The ending also felt sloppy and extreme. Without giving anything away, there was a certain character that I felt required more development before he did what he did, but none of the characters felt very developed other than White Mike, despite the multiple point of views.
April 2, 2023
A chaotic, almost dystopian novel, Twelve illuminates the dark side of the lives of elite youth at the turn of the twenty-first century.
July 15, 2018
Twelve produces a story in which is highly relatable given the society in which a person may live, as no matter the location it is reality. It all comes to an ending which stops the similarities only to switch to symbolizing how one event can completely change whom a person is.
March 20, 2012
In a regular book, it builds to the climax, and than resolves the problems of the book, Twelve is not a regular book, this is book is about rich, snotty, drug using teens who don't get enough love from their parents so they drink and do drugs to cope. (I about summed up the plot right there).
White Mike is a 17 year old drug dealer from Manhattan's Upper East Side, he himself, does not drink, or do drugs but he did drop out high school and nows sells drugs- Weed and an Ecstasy called "Twelve"- to New York's teens. The reader follows White Mike through his drug deals to many of New York's teens, introducing possible characters, at the end of the book, White Mike attends a party that ends up in a very surprising and unpredictable way.
McDonell wrote Twelve when he was 17 years old, and honestly after reading, I could not figure out HOW he got it published because of the flimsy plot, the shallow characters, and the overall writing is so childish and falls way below thought provoking. he describes some characters as "the hottest girl at her school by, like, a lot"...." A creepy dude who brown and yellow bloodshot eyes- who also sells drugs". Overall, I rated it 2 stars because of the ending, it totally blew me away- came out of no where but makes the whole book.
Characters:
White Mike: 17 year old drug dealer that roams the streets of New York. His mother died of cancer and his father is almost never around, leaving Mike to his own devices.
Hunter: White Mike's closest friend, a prime suspect in a murder case
Chris: a plain 17 year old boy who is in love with the hottest girl in his school but is hated on by other people.
Claude: Chris's Older brother, who is gun lover and an ex-cocaine abuser.
Deals with: Drugs, Sex, Murder, Parties, High School, Death, Family
White Mike is a 17 year old drug dealer from Manhattan's Upper East Side, he himself, does not drink, or do drugs but he did drop out high school and nows sells drugs- Weed and an Ecstasy called "Twelve"- to New York's teens. The reader follows White Mike through his drug deals to many of New York's teens, introducing possible characters, at the end of the book, White Mike attends a party that ends up in a very surprising and unpredictable way.
McDonell wrote Twelve when he was 17 years old, and honestly after reading, I could not figure out HOW he got it published because of the flimsy plot, the shallow characters, and the overall writing is so childish and falls way below thought provoking. he describes some characters as "the hottest girl at her school by, like, a lot"...." A creepy dude who brown and yellow bloodshot eyes- who also sells drugs". Overall, I rated it 2 stars because of the ending, it totally blew me away- came out of no where but makes the whole book.
Characters:
White Mike: 17 year old drug dealer that roams the streets of New York. His mother died of cancer and his father is almost never around, leaving Mike to his own devices.
Hunter: White Mike's closest friend, a prime suspect in a murder case
Chris: a plain 17 year old boy who is in love with the hottest girl in his school but is hated on by other people.
Claude: Chris's Older brother, who is gun lover and an ex-cocaine abuser.
Deals with: Drugs, Sex, Murder, Parties, High School, Death, Family
June 7, 2012
I read this book after seeing the indie film last year.
I was quite surprised that it was written by a 17 year old but after just a few pages, I could see it was not well done.
Let's start with what works. The story follows about a half dozen teenagers throught the course of a week as they prepare for a New Years party. I liked reading each individual's perspective as the story progressed. Some details are strewn nicely throughout the work to positive effect. Also, the pacing towards the end of the book was suspenseful and well done.
Unfortunately, the book's negatives far outweigh any positives. Because of the large number of characters, the reader is given some insight into their life, without any real development or resolution in the end. Some details, and dialogue throughout the work are really juvenile. The author makes references to musicians and song lyrics which do little for the story and actually show a lack of maturity. It seems as though the whole focus of the story is surrounding a New Years party. The pace speeds along to this event yet only about 8 pages are actually spent on it. It seems like a waste to have 98% of the book spent describing immature teens and the party they are looking forward to with only 2% devoted to resolution. There is an unsatisfying ending as the work is concluded in the 2 page Afterword.
In my opinion, the author should have spend much more time polishing this bad boy up and have less of his own ideas/desires within the story's voice.
I was quite surprised that it was written by a 17 year old but after just a few pages, I could see it was not well done.
Let's start with what works. The story follows about a half dozen teenagers throught the course of a week as they prepare for a New Years party. I liked reading each individual's perspective as the story progressed. Some details are strewn nicely throughout the work to positive effect. Also, the pacing towards the end of the book was suspenseful and well done.
Unfortunately, the book's negatives far outweigh any positives. Because of the large number of characters, the reader is given some insight into their life, without any real development or resolution in the end. Some details, and dialogue throughout the work are really juvenile. The author makes references to musicians and song lyrics which do little for the story and actually show a lack of maturity. It seems as though the whole focus of the story is surrounding a New Years party. The pace speeds along to this event yet only about 8 pages are actually spent on it. It seems like a waste to have 98% of the book spent describing immature teens and the party they are looking forward to with only 2% devoted to resolution. There is an unsatisfying ending as the work is concluded in the 2 page Afterword.
In my opinion, the author should have spend much more time polishing this bad boy up and have less of his own ideas/desires within the story's voice.
January 28, 2019
I'm not really disappointed, but I wish the afterword, more like the epilogue, was done better. It is a serviceable novel if you are just in it for a few small instances of debauchery and carelessness. I do agree when people talk about how cheap it is that his parents and their connections got the book published and the Hunter S. Thompson blurb. But in the end, it is a disposable piece of teen fiction and that is all that it should be seen as.
I am giving one and a half stars in this instance due to the "afterword" as I mentioned earlier. After all the time he devoted to talking about other characters I would have hoped that he would given them some kind of send off instead of just talking about White Mike enjoying his college years in Paris. If he had at least tried to talk about Jessica or Chris then I would have given two stars instead.
I think the problem is that McDonell focused too much on his Nihilistic views instead of giving more heft to the characters. It is obvious that White Mike is himself and that he thinks very little of the people around him. I hope that his future endeavors were more intricate and that he can look back at his first work and see how much he has grown since then.
I am giving one and a half stars in this instance due to the "afterword" as I mentioned earlier. After all the time he devoted to talking about other characters I would have hoped that he would given them some kind of send off instead of just talking about White Mike enjoying his college years in Paris. If he had at least tried to talk about Jessica or Chris then I would have given two stars instead.
I think the problem is that McDonell focused too much on his Nihilistic views instead of giving more heft to the characters. It is obvious that White Mike is himself and that he thinks very little of the people around him. I hope that his future endeavors were more intricate and that he can look back at his first work and see how much he has grown since then.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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