Struck By Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal

I absolutely loved this book! I could connect to the characters and follow the plot effortlessly. I could not put this book down and have re-read the book many times. Already recommended to sevral people.

This book was really funny! I'd recommend this to all writers out there that want to laugh and anyone who doesn't mind a ton of cursing. I also recommend reading the book before the movie. The movie has more details on everyone else while the book only really has Carson's point of view. If you haven't read it... GO NOW!!

I bought this book based on the wonderful reviews and the fact that I really enjoy Chris Colfer. After only a few pages I really regretted the purchase. I forced myself to finish the book only to find that the last two pages were truly awful. No twist was needed. All in all, I felt like Carson was way too whiney and unlikable. It seemed like more of a short story that should have been submitted in a high school English class. I feel bad for being so harsh, but I had high hopes and I was very disappointed.

The novel was great I myself strongly connected to Carson. He was refreshingly sarcastic and his devotion to his dreams unparalleled. The only disappointment I felt was the ending but I won't spoil it but other than that I quiet enjoyed the novel.

I absolutely loved this book! I could connect to the characters and follow the plot effortlessly. I could not put this book down and have re-read the book many times. Already recommended to sevral people.

I enjoyed reading the book - it was unlike the type of books I usually choose to read. It was funny - a lot of one-liners. I actually really enjoyed it UNTIL the last two pages. I absolutely hated the way the book concluded - it left me with a terrible feeling. The protagonist had a very rough life, and then nothing good was ever going to come of it. So overall, I now have bad feeling toward the entire book. I wouldn't read anything else by this author.

Wait, what????

My heart hurts...literally hurts!

Ok, I'll just say, the book is awesome. Well written and thoughtful. Shows how teenagers grow and learn about themselves through their high school years. Shows a loving relationship with an older relative. Highlights what coming from a troubled and broken home can be like. Illustrates grandly how even the "best of the best" can be living with secrets and pain.

This is not a HEA book...don't expect the warm fuzzies at the end. I still recommend it, because it was beautiful for what it was.

Chris Colfer has accomplished so much in his life so far. He is a New York Times bestselling author, a Golden Globe winning actor, and he has written and starred in his own movie. Now Chris Colfer has tackled adapting his own feature film into a book.

Struck By Lightning follows Carson Philips who desperately wants to get into North Western University. Carson is told that if he wants to get into North Western he has to make a literary magazine with submissions from other students. Soon he realizes that the only way people will submit anything is if he resorts to blackmail.

I really liked the concept of Struck By Lightning because it was original and unlike anything I have ever read before. The book is written in journal entry form which really helped the reader see exactly what Carson was thinking.

One of my major problems of Struck By Lightning is with our main character. Chris Colfer has created a very antagonistic and negative character who really got my nerves. Every single thing Philips seemed to have an issue with even the littlest things. Carson's attitude was very condescending and I couldn't stomach hearing him complain again and again. I guess Colfer succeeded in creating a hostile character but the problem is that I didn't like Carson much.

Considering Struck By Lightning is a coming-of-age story I expected more of a change in Carson's outlook. Carson does grow from the beginning of the novel to the end but it is rather abrupt and short. Carson Philips becomes a new person in like 2 pages and everything is suddenly good. In my opinion it was rather unrealistic and irritating. I really wanted to see Carson slowly grow into a better person because you can't be a jerk all your life and you decide to become a better person in one second.

Besides my dislike of Carson I did like the supporting characters a whole lot more. Melanie was a character that made me laugh a bit and her whole mix up with Suzanne Collins was extremely hilarious. The other characters are very stereotypical but it is a very accurate view of High School students.

The ending of Struck By Lightning is really strange and I have mostly negative feelings about it. I don't want to give it away but I felt like the ending of the book was overly dramatic and uncalled for. I just feel like a contemporary novel should have a realistic ending to it that really ties up everything nice and neat. The ending of Struck By Lightning makes you think but is way too unbelievable.

Struck By Lightning is a twisted story of one high schooler's attempt at a better future. SBL isn't always realistic but it makes up for it with humor. I haven't seen the movie yet but I do hope I like the movie better than this book. I look forward to reading Colfer's The Wishing Spell and his other upcoming books.

So...I finished reading Struck by lightning. It is hard to find the right words to describe my feelings right now. I will still try to write a little review, though.

Again, Chris Colfer really amazed me. This story is about Carson Phillips, an outcast because he is different, stuck in an little town, desperately wanting to get out of there...he sure isn't perfect, in fact he is a prick sometimes. But still...he is full of dreams and is ready to do almost everything to reach his goal. No matter what. He fights for it. With Carson, Chris created a character who shows that everyone is able to dream, one just has to find themself, find something to fight for. Sure, that isn't easy. But if you trust yourself, trust your heart, you can do it. You just have to crack that nutshell around you, everyone else telling you what you can't do, everyone who hurt you and everyone who did you wrong trapped you in and...fly. Loving and accepting yourself, knowing it is ok to be you and show it, is an great start to do it. I personaly loved one passage in the book:

Like having a great idea, life comes at you fast. It hits you and tries to escape and be expressed in anyway possible. In a way it is a lot like...lightning.

So...what did `Struck by lightning' show me? What did it inspire me to do? A good question. I think...it inspired me to try and accept myself a little more every day, to actually get to know myself more. And who knows...maybe I will some day find my own dream and fly, even if that day seems to be so far away right now. And if that should ever happen, Chris Colfer will have done a lot to make it happen, without even knowing it. So I am saying THANK YOU, Chris. Thank you for being so amazingly talented, being such an inspiration, for...just being you. Please...never stop to fly.

Greetings, Meike

Carson Phillips knows exactly what he wants in life, and sticking around his hometown of Clover is not in his plans. In order to achieve his goals, he needs to go to Northwestern University. In order to get into Northwestern, he needs to accomplish something unique--like starting a literary journal at his high school. The only problem? He can't even get anyone to write for the school newspaper. But Carson has spent almost eighteen years in Clover, and he and his friend Malerie observe things that other people might miss. And Carson is so bent on getting accepted, he won't rise above blackmailing his fellow students to get what he wants...

Carson Phillips is a hilarious and sarcastic character and his misadventures in Struck by Lightning won't fail to amuse and entertain readers. Colfer tells Carson's story in a journal format, which is a little choppy, but this choppiness is perhaps appropriate considering the form. The characterization develops gradually, as does the plot, but readers won't mind terribly; Colfer's writing reads like a string of genuinely funny stand-up comedy routines with surprisingly acute insights on life and high school. The actual blackmail part of the story unfolds nicely and is a bit sly and a little unrealistic, but readers won't help but feel a little bit triumphant for Carson as he finally stands up to the people that have pushed him around for years and starts figuring out life. Of course, life never works out the way one expects, which is something that Carson struggles with, especially at the end of the novel, leading up to the surprising ending. Struck by Lightning is unexpected, unconventional, and perhaps a bit unrealistic, but incredibly witty and satisfying nonetheless.

Cover Comments: I love how the broken pencil is arranged to look like lightning--very smart. This cover has a movie poster feel, which isn't entirely surprising considering the audience or author, but it turned out well. I like it a lot.

My high school was never this interesting.

I’ve never watched Glee and I didn’t know anything about Chris Colfer before I read this book. Maybe I’ve lived under a rock, but that’s okay. When I passed this book at the store, I stopped to check it out. The title grabbed me right away. Struck by Lightning. Okay, I’ll give it a try. I’m glad I did.

Carson Phillips is the standard outcast kid with huge dreams. He’s not had the best start in life and will find out just how messed up life can get. But I rooted for him all the way. His voice in the story is forthright and funny. I laughed and cried along with him. He’s got a great cast of characters set in an average high school.

I loved Carson’s pluck. This kid never quit and when it looked like he should, he gave another 110%. He’s mischievous but driven. It’s great. I also loved his relationship with his grandmother. She’s suffering from dementia but she’s the one person who hasn’t given up on Carson. It’s bittersweet and sweet. I love how she always has his back.

The secondary characters helped make the story memorable, too. I loved Malerie. She’s innocent, but there’s much more to her than meets the eye.

Granted, there is some swearing in this book. It’s definitely geared for the upper high school set, but anyone from around 16 years old and up will be able to identify with at least one character.

If you want a book that will make you laugh, cry and want more, then this is a great place to start.

Originally posted at Long and Short Reviews

This book is made up of Carson Phillips' journal entries, some newspaper articles and a literary journal to tell the story. Carson's darkly sarcastic voice is very entertaining and so funny, as he tries his hardest to make something of his life despite what sounds like the worst high school in existence. Teenage angst and prejudice and cruelty is very much in evidence, but Carson's lighting wit tears through the superficial layers of the characters and reveals a lot of heart in even the most unlikable characters. Although Carson is the hero of the story, he has his flaws as well, and although it does seem justified compared to the flaws of his fellow classmates, it grounds the story by making it feel like a realistic study in character.

The story is mostly character-driven, because it is about Carson's underhanded efforts to get into Northwestern University, and how he uncovers the secrets of some of his popular fellow students, and Carson is the one who really carries the story. Don't expect alot of plot or even many twists and turns (except for the secrets the students are hiding). The only thing I had trouble with was the ending, which seemed so unexpected and I found it hard to understand why it had to end that way. But I know this is a personal preference, and it really doesn't change how very enjoyable I found the whole of the story.