Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe by Preston Norton.

Cliff does not have it easy.  He's a larger than average high schooler, towering over his peers at 6'6, and 250 lbs.  His nickname is Neanderthal and he's reminded daily of that fact.  His dad is abusive, his mom is passive, and he just lost his brother to suicide.  

But one day one of his previous bullies Aaron comes to him, because he has been given a task, a task by God.  After hitting his head in an accident, Aaron was told by God to accomplish a list with Cliff, in hopes to improve their school.  Even though Cliff has always hated Aaron, he is intrigued by the offer, and the two team up to accomplish their tasks.  Along the way, Cliff is able to learn more about his brother, and even see his home life change.

This was a very rich, very heartfelt YA novel.  The dialogue was full of color, description, and delightful vulgarity I guess?  At the same time, it also shone a somber light on serious topics like abuse, suicide, sexual orientation, and HS bullying.  It was a playful, but solid reminder to treat those around me with kindness, and never to make assumptions about what someone's life is like, or the secret challenges that they might face.

EVERY BIT OF PERFECT!!!! Nothing but praise. I'm going to be recommending this book to everyone. Norton tells his story with lots of humour - some of it is a bit over the top, as are some situations, but it suits Norton's writing style. Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe moves along very quickly and is an infectious read. (It will also break your heart in places.) Cliff's revelations and resolutions are relatable for anyone, regardless of age.

Wonderful writing, wonderful message!  

3.8 stars

I SO wish I could have given this book a higher rating! 

The first 40% of the book was aiming for at least 4.5 stars. 

BUUUUT... DNF at 50%

I was totally in love with the writing, Cliff (the main character) and his voice! So connected with his goals, dreams and the hardships he was experiencing. The rest of the characters were so real too and the storytelling compelling and VERY FUNNY!

I was SO INTO IT!

If you like stories about school life, friendship, etc. and  themes of redemption, forgiveness, love, hope, etc.  You will probably enjoy this aspect of the book and for many it will make for a satisfying resolution. 

HOWEVER....

The reason why I DNF hat 50%... 

I'm a plot reader. I very much need conflict and tension throughout most of the story ARC. I like conflict, I like stakes, plot twists, characters the doing unexpected, etc. etc. I like the tension rising for most of the story and theeeeeeen climax  and resolution resolution towards THE END. 

There was a good amount of tension during the first 20% and then... PUFFF!!! all the characters were already resolving their conflicts, even their internal conflict at 50% 

Enemies were friends, cowards were braved, bullies were nice...

I lost interest!

BUT I do want to read more books by this author!

I loved this book to recommend to mature students. However, due to the language, I cannot suggest it be used in the curriculum. It's definitely one on my shelves that I will book talk with some students.

Love, love, loved this book! I want to read it again- immediately! There were quite a few storylines going on, but I couldn’t put the book down! The characters were intriguing & relatable. The tragedies and heartbreak were so real. You can’t help but fall in love with the main character! I look forward to reading other books by this author!

Hi, I accidentally fell Completely In Love with this book (and it was a mild problem for all of my shirked responsibilities). I had pretty low expectations for whatever reason, but I ended up really connecting to the characters and the concept/writing completely cracked me up. Although I don't know that it would for other people, this book just completely worked for me, and I cannot wait to pick up more from this author.

Oh come on--if you can't write a story without dropping the Fbomb every few lines then you can't write a story. In addition, the tone was just so overly sour and pretentious that there was no chance to engage and find a way to be sympathetic towards the main character. And after a chapter I just couldn't wait to get away from this story. So it was abandoned.

Cliff's story was one that I never saw coming, but one the will never leave me. It truly touched my heart.

I really enjoyed this book. I really liked the questions it raised about bullying and how horrible people can be to each other while also having this message of hope that things can get better and things can change and people can still be good. I really enjoyed seeing the friendship between Cliff and Aaron grow and I enjoyed seeing all their efforts in completing Aaron's list. There were some things that were predictable, but overall I really enjoyed the book.

Content Warning: Suicide (happens off page but is referred to a lot)

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

I can’t believe I waited this long to read this book. I absolutely loved it. It was a breathe of fresh air and a healthy dose of perspective just when I needed it. 
This novel is about teenager,  Nicknamed Neanderthal, but his real name is Cliff, and he’s an outcast in high school. Since Cliff is our narrator, se learn about his life, and the issues he’s dealing with. All of a sudden, his life is turned upside down, when the most popular kid in school, wakes up from a coma with a mission from god. It includes a list and he needs Cliff’s help in making it all work. The story that unfolds is fantastic. I don’t want to say anymore because you just need to read it. 
I went through all the emotions in this book.  While I spent most of my time laughing, I also shed a few tears. I loved the story, I adored all of the characters (their development was amazing), and I really can’t stop gushing about it. This was an easy read and I finished it in a day. I was actually very sad that it ended and I’m definitely going to check out this authors other books.

I loved this book. The characters, the writing, the emotions. Everything! 

I felt so bad for Cliff and his story. The friendship between Cliff and Aaron was so unexpected but it was probably my favorite part. Seeing them work together in helping the school suck less. Preston Norton is a wonderful writer and I can't wait to read more from this author!

I received this book from Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for my honest review

It's possible I may give this book another try in the future, especially if it becomes consensus that it's actually a good and redeeming story. However, I couldn't connect to any of the characters, and actually found them quite irritating for many reasons. I know that I've always found it more difficult to connect to male MCs, but in this case, he still wasn't that great. I understand his situation, really I do, but he reminded me way too much of so many different characters that I never liked that I really couldn't see myself finishing this and enjoying it. So, maybe in the future, but likely not.

This book is great for the kid who doesn't quite fit in because he/she is different from others.  I was sad to see it end, but couldn't stop reading.

This book is so wonderful and unique I'm not sure how to do it justice in a review. I don't know how the author managed it, but the topics of suicide, bullying, loss, depression, and more are dealt with both honestly and outrageously in a hilarious manner. There is an actual mission from God in here guys. Think more Blues Brothers than Sunday school style. Highly recommended!

A story about two unlikely friends coming together to try to make the world a better place. Heartwarming, funny, and heartbreaking, this is a wonderful take on a coming of age story.

Yeah, I enjoyed this book so much! I loved Cliff's narration, and the whole concept of a near death experience, meeting God and given a list of things to improve the school. It's a fantastic book, about making the world a better place, people being different then they seem, and suicide and dealing with the aftermath.

Cliff is smarter then his appearance suggests. Because of both facts-his intelligence and his appearance, he's developed a defense mechanism that kept everybody at bay. Everybody but his brother. And losing him, and the way it happened, it's made him angry and in the beginning, he welcomed any chance to unleash that anger on the world.

These different characters had their different strengths and as a group, they accomplished quite a lot. The different skills needed to check off different items on the list, from getting a teacher to realize why he loved teaching, to the face off with the religious group, they were provided by these different characters. They were all needed! 

Kinda hiding throughout this book, but peeking out here and there until the end where it was showcased, was suicide, specifically that of Cliff's brother. As well as grief and living in the aftermath, it was a pretty big pillar of this book. 

Yeah, this book was fantastic and such a great read, and a great book!

Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe
by Preston Norton 

I have read a couple of books lately that confirmed for me that I am simply too old to appreciate the edgy, increasingly depressing and horrifying themes of recent YA novels. And yes, I am too old, but this book was not one of them. The ironically named Happy Valley High has the typical roster of peer groups wreaking havoc on the self-esteem of the tender-hearted, but Cliff Hubbard has had enough of all of that. Instead, in a twist of fate only a decidedly adept novelist could achieve, the awkward, 6’6” 250lb Hubbard is teaming up with the ridiculously popular quarterback, to accomplish what is perhaps my favorite mission statement ever, “to make the school suck less.” 

I don’t usually like to summarize the books I review, but I wanted to do this here, because I think the plot itself seems, in those few sentences, to be wildly unbelievably and unlikely to compel a teenage reader. But Norton’s writing is sharp and his observations are spot on and often hilarious, despite the serious topics he tackles. Cliff Hubbard is a character who literally cannot be ignored. This book will make your heart hurt, but it will also make you smile, and it may even provide a little hope for those of us who agree that making school suck less is always a worthy goal.



For Goodreads:

Why I picked it — Because I loved Wonder, and other books about unlikely heroes. 
Reminded me of… A little bit of Relativity and Faithful, for their sense of mission.
For my full review — click here

A great book! Loved the characters, the plot was very interesting. Reccomended it to a few friends and they all liked this book.

Warning: This novel contains strong language and touches the topic of suicide.

Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe is the one novel I feel like I had on my kindle app for the longest time. I got it unsolicited from the publisher (which I’m very thankful for) way before it was published, and then at first I saved it so I could read it closer to it’s releasing day, but then life got in a way, I hit that blogging and reviewing slump, and this book was one of the victims of the mental state I was in.

As Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe was on many bloggers lists of favorite books of 2018, I decided it was the time for me to read this book myself, and now when I finished it, I only feel sorry I didn’t get this book a chance sooner, because it was amazing!

The story follows Cliff who is known at school as Neanderthal because of his height. He got into fight with a popular boy at school, Aaron Zimmerman, and he is on his mission to get revenge.
However, after nearly death experience Aaron comes back to school claiming that God spoke to him, and gave him the list to make their high school a better place, and Cliff is the chosen one to help him complete the list.
From there we watch a new friendship being born and follow our main characters on their adventure to discover life.

First of all, this book is really funny. It talks about serious topics like poverty and suicide, but it still has that intelligent humour that never came over board. I really appreciate it for that.
Second, the way serious topics and problems were talked about made me appreciate this novel even more, because it touches important things, but never loses that light tone.

I think that I’ve read that this novel is perfect for fans of John Green and I agree, but also I have to stress out that there is something unique that Preston Norton gave to this story, something that is entirely his.

I know, in my reviews, I usually say that I want to read author’s other books, but this time I’ll say I know I will read Norton’s next novel, because there is no way I’m going to let myself miss it. I will probably read it as soon as it comes out!

As you probably guessed, Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe impressed me, and if I read it last year, it would probably on my list of favorites too, but there is a big chance it shows up on my 2019 favorite lists.

If you like ya contemporary and coming of age stories, trust me, you do not want to miss this one!

I thought this book was really great. It had a wonderful sense of humor and it was definitely a spunky story for teens. The main protagonist is hilarious and I enjoyed the story overall.