Reviewed by Sin: PRESSURE

PRESSURE
By Jeff Strand
Amazon link (Earthling Publications version)

If you don't like first person narrators, I urge you to make an exception for PRESSURE, by Jeff Strand. This is one of the best books I've read in years, the kind that you read in one day and wind up exhausted because you couldn't put it down. So if I forget to feed the dog, or fall asleep while writing this, it's Jeff Strand's fault.

PRESSURE is a story about Alex, a young men with asshats for parents. Young Alex makes one mistake, the kind countless kids have made, and they send him off to boarding school. This is done in an incredibly believable fashion, when it could have looked like a gimmick, and I found myself more and more pissed off at Alex's parents. As any kid can tell you, grown-ups can be incredibly stupid. In boarding school Alex has a little bit of good luck, meeting two cool friends, and a whole lot of bad when he meets a kid named Darren. Awful thing happen, which I won't ruin for you, and Alex and Darren part ways. But Darren comes back, and as the book progresses you feel more and more claustrophobic. Darren is smart, relentless, and you never know when Alex will see him again. First it's in college, when Alex has his whole life to look forward to. Then it's after he's married and has a little girl he loves more than anything. Darren wants Alex to be like him, and he doesn't take rejection well.

Don't start this book unless you have the time to read A LOT of it at once. It will bug the crap out if you not knowing what happens next. I went to sleep around four last night, and quite frankly I feel like shit. This is what love of literature gets you, kids. That's why writers are addicted to coffee, and often booze. If you want to avoid sleep deprivation and lead a constructive life, well I have no idea how to help you. If you want to have some fun, pick up Jeff Strand's book.