I was immediately drawn to this book after reading the
title, which is one of the more interesting ones that I’ve come across. The story is about Larkin Pace, a high school
student an amateur filmmaker. “The
Accidental Genius” is one of those books where the main character is telling
his own story, and writing it down as a long-term diary as part of a school
assignment.
This book is probably always going to be compared to “Diary
of a Wimpy Kid”, because the author includes hilarious cartoons to complement
his writing. However, the two books are
actually very different. This is mostly
because Larkin Pace is a high school kid with high school problems, like
dating, school bullies, and exploring a career.
The subject matter is a little bit more mature than the “Wimpy Kid”
series, but somehow that makes the cartoon illustrations seem even more
welcome. The pictures serve to lighten
the mood while Larkin discusses the problems and challenges of his life.
The book’s chapters tend to focus on the most memorable
events that happened to Larkin, so you really feel like you’re sneaking a peek
at someone’s most personal thoughts. I
liked how the author didn’t include any dates in each chapter—it almost seems like
Larkin started his writing assignment on a regular schedule, but falls out of a
routine. He tends to provide his updates
after the most impressionable moments occur, which makes this book seem even
more like a student project!
One thing I noted in “The Accidental Genius” was that there
were no major life-changing events that happened to Larkin. He’s a (mostly) normal kid, with a (mostly)
happy family, with a (mostly) normal group of friends. But somehow, following his experiences over
the course of a year makes for a really interesting book! This book made me think about all of those
times when I’ve been bored in class, or a little uninterested with my own
(mostly) normal life. Do you ever feel
that way? Have you ever considered that
someone else might be interested by what we do?
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