'Twelve' tells the story of White Mike, an urban teenager trying to come of age in Manhattan. White Mike does not smoke, drink, or do drugs, but he makes a living selling drugs.

Partying in million dollar houses with sex and drugs, White Mike caters to the wealthy; children of rich parents. Children raised by hired help while their parents are too busy at work, or vacationing around the world.

In a lifestyle that mimics 'live fast, die young', White Mike and his friends will come face to face with an end that will destroy them.

'Twelve' is a hard book to describe, it's basically just a story of Manhattan teenagers partying, doing drugs, and having sex. The shocking fact is the kids all come from wealthy parents who give them everything except the one thing they really need...love. The hype surrounding this book is due to the fact the author, Nick McDonell, is only seventeen.

While McDonell does a nice job for a seventeen year-old, his story has been done many times before, and his writing style is very choppy; jumping from characters and scenes, to the thoughts of his main character White Mike.

This is a readable novel based on the author's age, but the story's been told before, most notably by Bret Easton Ellis with his novel 'Less Than Zero'. While there are parts that are interesting, and several characters that you actually feel sorry for, there are other parts that are silly, characters that you really don't care what happens to them, and even with the shocking ending the reader can't help but feel they saw it coming all along.

Nick McDonell does show promise of being a new, hip Bret Easton Ellis, but he just needs the right storyline to prove it.

Nick Gonnella

Since Mr. McDonnell is connected, it seems fitting that one of his friends mentioned to me that i should read it, since I am an aspiring writer as well. Then, a few months later, my school librarian comes up to me and says, "You should read this book." And I respond, "Oh I should, my friend's friend wrote it." And she says, "That's so funny, because that's what this book is about, connections."... then, I reccomend it to my friend, and he says, "well, Nick McDonnell is in my english class at Harvard, so I can introduce him to you if you want." And, I reply, "well, now I have 2 ways of meeting him."

Point being - I'm not going to give him five stars because I know him through 2 friends; but I am going to give him 4 stars because I know him through 2 friends.... it validates the reality of Twelve - connections. Corrupt, money-based, drug-related, image-conscious connections.

Twelve is to the point. It's clear and simple, and even got me to laugh out loud a few times. I've never read a book in 2 sittings before - I definately read this one that quickly though. Perhaps it's because I related.

Some people might view Twelve as depressing or cynical - but it's deeply comic... and while saddening to my idealism, McDonnell obviously knows what he's talking about. Most teens won't truly understand this since it's about Prep Schoolers... we're a breed... not an elite breed, just one of many.

His use of labels and dialogue is supurb. His conflicted lead character, White Mike, depicts the product of a corrupted generation. While he strives to be wholesome and intellectual, he lacks the background and motivation to truly follow through. Being the sober drug dealer seems more practical to him. He lacks depth because he was forced to abandon the deep end of the pool too early in life. Meanwhile he's got baggage left over from his childhood.

White Mike, along with all the other characters in Twelve, are people that I have met. I know them - undeniably. Most of them won't ever read the book - and if they do, their pseudo-intellectualism will erase any notion that they themsleves are, in fact, pathetic.

This book may not harness a universal depth that all teens can relate to. Perhaps that is because McDonnell's maxim within this novel is a sort of passive introspection. A Vanity, and self-hate. No reader that ought to relate to it will admitt to its truth. And the readers that can't relate are baffled.

Either way, Twelve did its job, and did it well. It's not Catcher In The Rye - they are much different. If you want Catcher In The Rye part two, pick up Chbosky's "The Perks of being A Wallflower"...

But if you want a sort of Owen Wilson & Wes Anderson-like dark comedy, paired with the cynical truth of Alan Ball's American Beauty - laced with a little but of Prep School Elitism (School Ties), buy Twelve.

From a teenager's standpoint, this book was an accurate account of the party life for spoiled, rich kids. People have been bashing this book, but I was captivated and could not put it down. The people who don't understand or appreciate the novel are adults who grew up in the 50's and wouldn't know contemporary literature if it bit them in the ( you know where). I loved this novel and hope others will enjoy it as well.