Cover Image: Dead Kennedys

Dead Kennedys

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Member Reviews

Heartbreaking, savagely funny, Dead Kennedys is a book of dissent. It's the modern-day story of John Kennedy, 17-year-old member of the famous Kennedy family, who after a shattering tragedy goes on a reckless binge through Washington DC he may not survive.

In his third novel, Scott Reardon presents a wise-cracking antihero—unfiltered, beaten by life and unwilling to bow to modern pieties.
Unfortunately, this didn’t really click with me! Maybe the next book will be more to my liking. Let’s see what this author brings out next. I’m sure it was a hit for many however.

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From the first words of this book I was drawn in-- the voice is that strong. It reminds me of my first time reading The Catcher in the Rye, when I was much, much younger. "Can he really say that?" I kept asking, and yet the voice was so compelling that I believed everything John said.

There's a conceit here that made me a bit uncomfortable-- that "John Kennedy" and his brother Joe are somehow offspring of the famous Kennedy clan. I don't think the book needs that hook, because the characters are so strong and the voice so compelling that I would have read it without that overlay. Of coursed that would mean a different title...

I can't rave enough about this book, which I think captures the zeitgeist in the same way that Catcher did, with many of the same conceits (alienated prep school boy on a wild weekend).

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I was granted a free copy of this text by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I had high hopes for this text as a history buff, so this coming of age story did not impress me. I am sure others will love it, but it was not what I wanted.

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This was outside of the envelope for me, but I did enjoy it on occasion. The story was unique and the narration was eccentric. Beyond that, I didn't really enjoy or connect with the story.

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I really tried to enjoy this one, as it read like one of my favorite books when I was a teenager. But in 2021, I don’t think this book hits quite the way it would have in 2005. It reads as an updated Holden Caulfield with a superiority complex. I liked the style, and the truthful portrayal of untreated bipolar 1. But that was about it.

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Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Dead Kennedys in exchange for an honest review.

While I know a lot of people who will really enjoy the beyond-envelope pushing narration here, I can't lie and pretend it didn't counteract a lot of the good Dead Kennedys did. I get that Jonny isn't supposed to be a likable character and it does lend itself to a lot of really interesting storytelling potential, but for every thing I found and loved, there was another two things that made me want to stop reading.

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I was intrigued by this title and cover, didn't know if it related to the Kennedy political dynasty or the punk genre. Turns out it's a bit of a mishmash, about a political family (narrator Johnny Kennedy's father is a US senator) and written in a hardcore bombastic style focused on the salacious and sordid, evocative of the alienation at the core of punk's ethos. It reminded me a bit of Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho which was also all about identification and alienation. While Scott Reardon may write with a bit more humor, Johnny Kennedy's misogyny, racism, violence and uncontrollable hatred is a challenge to wallow through.

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3.5 stars

If you are a young adult male who loves vulgar sexual humor with characters who have a terrible spoiled personality, this book is for you!

This was an interesting read since I wasn't exactly sure on what I was reading. I thought this book was supposed to be loosely based the Kennedy family, but I don't think that is the case since I couldn't find these family members. So I was a little confused for most of the book.

I had such a hard time with the MC John. He was given all the opportunities in the world, but he squandered it all. I understand money does not buy happiness, but he was so ungrateful for every opportunity he was given. Instead of growing up and taking his final exams, he ran away and decided to pick fights with everyone he met. He acted like a miserable entitled rich kid.

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

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Dead Kennedys is a must read. You’ll be invested in characters you can relate with immediately. Perfect for a book club read.

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