Smith, A. (2014). Grasshopper jungle (p. 400). New York, NY: Dutton Books.

Austin Szerba is a descent kid who it totally confused about his sexual identity.  Set in a dystopian atmosphere he can’t figure out why he feels attracted to his girlfriend, Shann, and his best friend, Bobby, who is a confident homosexual.  Using 6 ft preying mantises to end the world is definitely a new perspective and could easily symbolize the over the top consumption of natural resources.  Many sections of the text are focused on Austin’s obsessive sexual thoughts.  “Smith has a lot on his mind from the grand tapestries of history to teenage sexual confusion to ideas of military investments in technology derailing otherwise sound science into horrifying ends to the hypocrisy of anyone attempting to tell someone else how to live a life that’s ‘proper’”.

The target audience for this book is supposedly grades 9 – 12 with a lexile of 910.  Personally I found way too much of this content personally offensive.  It is not for those who find it difficult to cope with the language common in teen-aged culture today.  It is a coming of age book, which deals with ideas of sex, sexual orientation, war, violence, substance abuse and strong language.  I’m not sure I would feel comfortable recommending this book but I can see my students becoming wrapped up in the characters and the creatures.  One website referred to potential readers as “precocious.”  Precocious is definitely not the word I would choose.  For me it would be more appropriate for mature readers.