Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.
Title: The Art of Raising Hell
Author: Thomas Lopinski
Narrator: L.J. Ganser
Format: Unabridged
Length: 7 hrs
Language: English
Release date: 07-08-15
Publisher: Thomas Lopinski
Genres: Fiction, Literary
Publisher's Summary:
"There are some people that walk around on two feet and others like me that run on all four." Newbie Johnson tries to understand the meaning of this statement while learning about friendship, loss, and love as a small town teenager.
The Art Of Raising Hell is a coming-of-age story set in the 1970s that centers around four teenagers and their involvement with a larger-than-life character named Lonny Nack.
Newbie had recently moved to Bunsen Creek, Illinois when his mother is killed in a devastating car crash. Nursing a broken soul, he soon hooks up with the three best friends a guy could ever ask for and meets the love of his life, Sally Nack.
Sally's brother, Lonny, fears no one, including the law, and soon takes his peculiar sense of justice, along with his love of practical jokes, to new heights while entertaining the colorful characters of Kickapoo County.
When Officer Hightower and Lonny collide with deadly results, Newbie becomes the only one who can make things right. Somewhere along the way, he learns an important lesson about how to chase after life instead being chased by it.
Members Reviews:
The writing in the Amazon sample grabbed hold, so I took the plunge.
I rarely read coming of age novels. I consider myself too old to relate. So please keep that in mind when reading this review, but the writing in the Amazon sample grabbed hold, so I took the plunge.
The novel comprised a series of anecdotes told by Newbie Johnson (in first person). Through the adventures Newbie and his friends had, I got an interesting profile of small town Illinois in the 60s and 70s. Newbie and his pals and the local townsfolk were well drawn and their antics had me laughing on more than one occasion.
The writing was engaging throughout. The only disappointment for me was a lack of tension. Certainly, there were tense moments, but to me this read more like a series of short stories than a novel. The main character was central throughout, but because the action was related to each anecdote, challenges were too easily solved for my taste and the story didnât seem to have an overriding purpose. Except, well, Newbie Johnson's coming of age, so maybe that's enough.
This review was originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog.
Fantastic and HILARIOUS! Unforgettable characters and plot! Deals with serious issues of growing up, too.
Loved, loved, loved! I borrowed the audiobook from a friend for a long drive, not knowing much about it. Normally I read sci-fi books, but this was a nice change of pace for me. It reminded me a lot of my own small town childhood. I especially related to the narrator, Newbie, whose story the reader follows from childhood to high school graduation. I loved that the plot line was kind of broken up, telling notable memories (both hilarious and sad) from the different parts of Newbie's life. He changes a lot as he goes through adolescence, but there is a constant theme of the importance of having close friends, which also touches on the more serious issues of bullying and dealing with the loss of family members and friends. But Lopinski has the skill of keeping the same fun and witty tone throughout. All in all, read (or listen to) the book and you'll feel like one of the gang on this HILARIOUS and exciting adventure.