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Struck by Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal
Unavailable
Struck by Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal
Unavailable
Struck by Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal
Audiobook3 hours

Struck by Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal

Published by Hachette Audio

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

Struck By Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal follows the story of outcast high school senior Carson Phillips who blackmails the most popular students in his school into contributing to his literary journal to bolster his college application; his goal in life is to get into Northwestern and eventually become the editor of The New Yorker.

At once laugh-out-loud funny, deliciously dark, and remarkably smart, Struck by Lightning unearths the dirt that lies just below the surface of high school.

The film Stuck by Lightning features Colfer's own original screenplay. Colfer also stars in the film alongside Allison Janney, Christina Hendricks, Dermot Mulroney, Sarah Hyland, and Polly Bergen.

A Hachette Audio production.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateNov 20, 2012
ISBN9781478977285
Unavailable
Struck by Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal

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Reviews for Struck by Lightning

Rating: 3.5330576033057848 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

121 ratings12 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed reading this book. The main character, Carson, is the perfect amount of snarky and provides a real insight into someone who grows up with many issues in their personal and social life, but through all of it still strives for more in life.I thought it was good to write the book in a journal/diary style. It provided a better insight into the main character and allowed for more character development. The reader is able to get inside the mind of Carson Phillips and what he is thinking and going through in his senior year of high school. By using a journal style of writing, there is more leeway for the reader to connect to the character and witness his progression throughout the book with the way that his words and conversation changes throughout the story.I enjoyed the story and the sarcasm. My favorite part is the sarcasm and the snarky comments made by Carson, but also the way that he end up realizing that his tormentors and the people in his high school are more than their stereotyped images and that they are actual people with actual problems and learns that the way they act and who they are is reflected through their own personal lives.The story was capturing and interesting from start to finish. I was drawn in from the very first sentence and kept until the very end.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Carson Phillip's is determined to escape from the small town he is trapped in and all the less than intelligent people there as well. He has been the bottom of the heap for as long as he can remember with only his writing and journalism class to sustain him. Journalism is his ticket out. He has applied to Northwestern Uni and now he eagerly awaits his acceptance letter. When he is told that he needs to submit a Literary Magazine Carlson decides the only way to get submissions is to blackmail his fellow students. This book is listed as humour and there are certainly some moments of that. For the most part though I found the humour bleak and the characters hard to warm up to. Carlson has lived a sad life and his journal reflects that more than anything else. He grows and learns through his actions during the course of this story but life appears to be as cruel as ever and there is no let up for Carlson. All and all a bit depressing really.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Written by a Glee cast member,soon to be made into a movie...this book was pretty funny. Like irreverent funny. In order to get into the college of his dreams & out of the small burg he lives in, the main character blackmails students into participating in a writing journal. What's it like to be odd man out at home & school?
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I didn't like the main character and the storyline was boring.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    cofler's got talent!! This guy is the king of english language .WOW
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    At first I wasn't sure I was going to like this book. As I continued to listen I found I couldn't stop. The end was so unexpected. I completely recommend listening to this book. I strong thank you to the author.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Chris Colfer wrote it AND he made a movie AND he starred in that movie
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    T͛h͛i͛s͛ b͛o͛o͛k͛ w͛a͛s͛ i͛n͛c͛r͛e͛d͛i͛b͛l͛y͛ i͛n͛s͛p͛i͛r͛i͛n͛g͛. A͛n͛d͛ w͛a͛s͛ o͛n͛e͛ o͛f͛ t͛h͛e͛ b͛e͛s͛t͛ I͛ h͛a͛v͛e͛ e͛v͛e͛r͛ r͛e͛a͛d͛.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Liked:
    strong make lead
    witty and fast paced writing style
    sinister plot filled with humor
    characters of high school, and life, portrayed realistically

    Didn't like:
    predictable ending
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The writing isn't the greatest, and it's filled with sarcastic jokes that either didn't make me laugh or that I've heard so many times they've lost their appeal. But there are some genuine moments that I related to, and I enjoyed the inclusion of the literary magazine. (I thought the entries were more telling than Carson lets on.)The ending was .. strange. Unexpected. Maybe it'll work better in a movie, but I didn't work for me.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    While I enjoyed the fact that I could so easily "see" and "hear" Chris Colfer while reading this book, I can only give this book two stars.First, you can't (or at least you shouldn't) try and sustain a whole novel on snark, snark, and more snark, especially when so much of it is mean-spirited. The main character hates that nobody "gets" him, but he's nasty about other characters' physical characteristics when he really doesn't need to be. He can be tender towards his grandmother, who has Alzheimer's, and a little bit towards his slightly mentally challenged "partner-in-crime," but his sometimes extreme nastiness went beyond what I found enjoyable to read about.Second, there was a lot of unfulfilled potential here. The basic premise was interesting and a lot more could have been done with it, emotionally speaking. I liked that we were able to see some of the contents of the literary magazine ourselves, but {spoilers ahead} none of the intended audience ever saw the thing. The character went through all this only to learn that his mother sabotaged his college application, and everybody gets mad at him again for sticking up for student rights. (I don't believe, by the way, that the university would have told him he couldn't enroll or even re-apply because he didn't respond to the one letter they had sent. They would have sent at least one follow-up letter, and if they didn't hear back again they might even send another one via certified mail.)Third, I don't think a school administrator can penalize the entire student body (via changing their off-campus policy) because one student annoyed him. That's akin to the administrator deliberating setting up a situation so that that particular student will be harassed and bullied.Finally, I don't buy that the character would accept staying in that town and going to the community college until he could re-apply to his college of choice. He could travel! Get a job! Go to a community college in another town! As far as I'm concerned, he just rolls over -- he doesn't even try to argue his case with the university.Oh. And the ending was stupid.I really wanted to like this more.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fresh, original story told in a real way. The main character, Carson Phillips, is the smart, ambitious kid in school - he's also the head of the Creative Writing club & school newspaper (which no one reads!) - which means he picked on & bullied by everyone. But rather than sit down & take it, he fights back the only way he knows how -- with words. Carson's sarcastic wit is biting at times, which can be off putting to some, humorous to others - but the author lets us know that Carson feels justified in his actions, and is sure to let us see his softer side as well. The reader's are also given a glimpse into the lives of those that bully Carson through their creative submissions to the school literary magazine. Although I'm sure it was written to be an "anti-bully" book, it can be used for a book discussion on the subject.All in all, a most enjoyable read with just enough depth to make you think, as well as provide some interesting discussion for book groups.Revommended for High School or older due to language and subject matter.