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    The Gospel According to Larry
    Unavailable
    The Gospel According to Larry
    Unavailable
    The Gospel According to Larry
    Audiobook2 hours

    The Gospel According to Larry

    Written by Janet Tashjian

    Narrated by Jesse Eisenberg

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Josh Swensen is not your average 17-year-old. At the age of two, he was figuring out algebraic equations with colored magnetic numbers. He is a prodigy who only wants to make the world a better place. Josh's wish comes true when his virtual alter ego, Larry, becomes a huge media sensation. Larry has his own Web site where he posts sermons on anti-consumerism and has a large following of adults and teens. Meanwhile, Larry's identity is a mystery to everyone. While it seems as if the whole world is trying to figure out Larry's true identity, Josh feels trapped inside his own creation. What will happen to the world, and to Larry, if he is exposed?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateApr 13, 2004
    ISBN9780807223062
    Unavailable
    The Gospel According to Larry
    Author

    Janet Tashjian

    Janet Tashjian is a middle-grade and young adult novelist who’s been writing books for children for over two decades. Her first novel Tru Confessions was made into a critically acclaimed Disney TV movie starring Clara Bryant and Shia LaBeouf. The Gospel According to Larry series is a cult favorite and Fault Line is taught in many middle and high schools. Her bestselling My Life As a Book series is illustrated by her son, Jake. They also collaborated on the Einstein the Class Hamster series. Janet collaborated with fellow Macmillan author Laurie Keller on the chapter book series Marty Frye, Private Eye. Janet currently lives in Los Angeles and made her new home city the setting of the Sticker Girl series, which details the adventures of Martina who overcomes being shy with the help of her magical stickers that come to life.

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    Reviews for The Gospel According to Larry

    4/5

    169 ratings15 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Not bad, not bad. Interesting concept, certainly believable...Beth was a bit cliche'd and it could have done without that, but an the pure brain candy scale, not bad at all.
    • 5/5
      I read this book back in high school but have always thought highly of it; I wanted my husband to read it, and then I re-read it. I still really enjoyed it, and requested the follow-up books to read since I didn’t read them the first time.
    • 4/5
      I remember reading this book when I was much younger--it was, in fact, one of the first YA books I ever read. I was, however, too young to really understand much of what had happened, and although I had a vague recollection of how the book went, over the years, I found that my recollection was significantly off. The concept behind this book is a fascinatingly unique one, but the characterization is pulled off so wonderfully that Josh's situation ends up feeling entirely realistic. It's written in a way that the reader can relate to this utterly unrelatable, unintentionally personable character. While reading this, I realized what a great choice Tashjian had made when she'd chosen the point of view, whether she'd given any thought to it or not. It would have been a different story entirely if told by one of Larry's fans or something. I'm wondering what on earth the sequels could contain, since there are two of those if I'm not mistaken. Everything was tied up so neatly, so I'm hoping the sequels aren't too destructive to the original. I would have liked to have seen more than some vague hints about Beth and others close to Larry at the conclusion, and I hope the sequels elaborate on them. One final thing I noticed that definitely flew past my younger self's attention is the elaborate biblical parallel evident throughout the story--see if you can catch it, it's amazing how well it's interwoven in the story. Great read, I can't wait to hear more from snarky young Larry.Rating: 4/5
    • 4/5
      Josh and his best friend (and secret love interest) Beth are obsessed with a mysterious online prophet who calls himself Larry. Little does Beth know that Josh is the mastermind behind the website. When "Larry" explodes in popularity, Josh will find that making a difference in the world isn't as easy as he'd thought. I really, really enjoyed this audiobook. It's expertly narrated by an actor who sounds a little bit like John Green (*swoon*). If it hadn't been a bit overproduced (didn't need those sound effects) and if Janet Tashjian was a more talented narrator for the prologue and epilogue (apologies, Janet; you're a wonderful author, but stay away from the mic), it would have been near perfect. Highly recommended for Nerdfighters everywhere. Just keep listening through the prologue. I swear it gets better quickly.
    • 4/5
      Josh is easily board and loves a good project. But when a pet project makes it big, it is much more than he bargained for. He starts an anti-consumerism website where he posts sermons under the name of Larry. As Larry's fame grows, so do those who demand that he reveal who is writing these messages including a particularly adamant reader named betagold. Josh preaches about his beliefs while he deals with the death of his mother and pines for his crush who also happens to be his best friend.
    • 5/5
      Josh (aka Larry) begins a website where he shares his opinions on the consumer and advertising driven lifestyle in America, and slowly gives clues to his real identity by posting pictures of his 75 possession. As Josh posts as Larry he has to keep his identity secret from his stepfather and best friend Beth. While Josh is a well developed character, and Beth and his stepfather have personalities the majority of the other characters are too minor and are not well developed. The plot is a bit slow at first, but picks up towards the middle of the book and races to the end. This is the first book in a series and would be great for teens who like books about going after the things that you feel passionately about.
    • 4/5
      Interesting "sermons" on consumer culture and our obsession with celebrity status. Looking forward to reading the next two books in the series.
    • 4/5
      What would your life be if you lived like a monk, only kept the possessions you truly needed? This is the plot of The Gospel According to Larry, along with a lot more. Larry decides to start his own website about his philosophies on life and it becomes way more popular than he ever thought it would.
    • 5/5
      I have read 227/277 pages in the book. This book is a biography of a fictitious character named Josh. Josh was sort of a nobody in his high school. He was the kind of genius who wanted to do something to change the world. So for fun Josh created an alter-ego, Larry, and secretly created a website for his perspectives and views of different topics in the world. However, more and more people listened to he sermons, and encouraged his views, so Larry became the most popular website in the world!! In this book, Josh is a senior and a total genius, who is going to go into Princeton to study Philosophy! He really does change his ways throughout the book. At first he thinks it wasn't too bad to post sermons of his views, but later, as his website grew more and more popular, he began to think if it was safe for him. I could kind of relate to Josh, because Josh was a really independent person and so am I. But that's it. The part that I mostly didn't like, was the ending. In the end, Josh just runs away from his neighbor hood, and away from people because he was exposed to the world. I didn't like this part because I thought to myself, why would he let go of his almost perfect future! He would be going to go to one of the most prestigious colleges in the nation, He was able to change the world and follow his dreams! so why just give up? I would recommend this book to readers who love to read high school stories. This is sort of a different kind of high school story, because it isn't about dating or friendship. I think maybe Danielle Radcliffe could play in a movie as Josh.
    • 4/5
      The Gospel According to Larry would be a good book to follow Feed since we are entering an era where everyone is going green to save the earth. Larry is against destroying the world for consumerism and will go to great lengths to prove what is happening to us through advertizing. Unfortunately, there is a protagonist, betagold, who wants to expose the truth and show that Larry’s intent is for profit, if not for himself but for her. Josh is involved and tries to find the answer in discussing his problems with his mother at the makeup counter she visited while alive. He is disappointed that he cannot carry out his plan after Larry’s true identity is exposed. This novel reads easily and appears in typeset as if a person was tying it on a manual typewriter. I received the recommendation to read this book because it was well accepted by boys who were struggling readers and had few possessions. They enjoyed making lists and thinking about how Larry was going to get out of his bad position. Occasionally throughout the book references are made from the bible to explain what is going on in the book making Larry a guru. It appears this book will be a series of books because one does not really know where Josh is and what will happen to him. The next book is Vote for Larry will fill everyone in on what happened to Larry. What I liked most about the book is that it contains no sex and a few curse words that are not out of place. It would be an easy book for my students to read and understand relating to change in the world towards cleaning up and not polluting the world.
    • 4/5
      Fantastic! So funny and insightful. Great for readers who question the status quo, and a wonderful audiobook.
    • 5/5
      The Gosple According to Larry is a wonderful book I couldn't set it down once I started. It has very believable charectors and events (yes I was fooled for awhile). It is also great because It teaches all of us just how much we can do.
    • 5/5
      I recommend this book the most. My daughter is reading it now and she understands the strong message of individual identity and consumerism. I love this book.
    • 4/5
      Funny up until the end. I didn't like the ending, but I don't like the endings of many books
    • 5/5
      Nerd gains populartiy by starting a website. He is a great character.