"Youth in Revolt" might not be a literary gem and may never make it into any university canon, but it sure is one thing: extremely funny. Since "The Diaries of Adrian Mole" there probably has not been such a vivid and colorful account of teenage life, of growing up in the 1990's. In fact, if the book were made into a TV series, it might as well become the "Wonder Years" of this decade. The language is great, the plot is full of action and suspense, and the pace is deadly (literally). Nick Twisp is the most dangerous teenager in California today. His intriguing and brilliant mind produces the ideas and stunts we all would have loved to do as teenagers. Or wouldn't you have liked to burn down half of your snoring, boring home town? Nick Twisp actually does it, and he does even more. It is great fun to accompany him on his way to freedom, fun and sexual enlightenment. Hop on!

Rich Baiocco Book Review of Youth In Revolt

C.D. Payne's rookie effort, Youth In Revolt, can easily be one of the funniest, most entertaining books you will read this year. Told through the journals of fourteen-year-old Nick Twisp, I found myself rolling through fields of laughter and memory thinking of my own life at his age. Angst ridden, intelligent, feeling the whole world is against him, Twisp brings us face to face with honesty on subjects such as love, masturbation, jealously, parents, society, oh, and did I mention masturbation. Though the book seems to dwell [on this repetitively], the plot never follows an expected course and always keeps the reader turning the page (Even if it is the pages of Webster's dictionary to stay in check with Payne's tremendous vocabulary). I found the strength of the book lied in the fact that Nick was such an interesting character. At times I felt like killing him, or just telling him to quit whining but at other times I felt his comments were so right on that I was able to completely see the world through his eyes, even if it were just for a few pages. At one point of the novel, when Nick's sister's boyfriend is vocalizing his business strategy for a venture the following dialogue ensues. Nick: That doesn't sound very ethical, to ruin a man professionally because of a personal vendetta. Phillip: What business is it of yours, kid? Nick: Ethics are everyone's concern, or at least they should be. It is during an intercourse like this were you see the true in you face intellect and wit of C.D. Payne show through in his character of Nick Twisp. Another strength of this book is the social commentary that Payne gives to his readers. Nick's father is to busy being a giggalo to give his son any guidance and his mother is too insecure with her own life to really care about Nick's. Can we really blame Nick for his behavior seeing where he has come from, and the life he led. He is definitely no angel, as we see in his manipulative love life, but hey love does that to teenagers. It is a time of confusion, lust, jealousy, and naivety, but Payne shows us Nick's role models, and there is really nobody he can go to for solid advice. Nick finds himself in love, out of love, an arsonist, a felon, a runaway, on the lamb, and in the costume of a girl. He experiments with homosexuality voluntarily and involuntarily, acquires wealth and fame, and listens to Frank Sinatra. Really this entire book is just a zany and remarkably hilarious romp through adolescence. It is definitely one that you will not forget and marks C.D. Payne as one of the young American writers to keep an eye on in the future.

Youth in Revolt is one of the most insightful books I have yet read. When I read it, Nick was a real person with whome I suffered, laughed and just spent time with. This is the ultimate goal of a writer: to make a character real. This book was so good that while in school a friend of mine started reading it. She finished reading it between classes, during classes and any spare moment she could muster during the schoolday. This book, then roamed the campus of my school, and, inevitably disappeared. That's why we ended up buying another copy. I was very angry when I saw that Youth in Revolt was not voted as the best book of the year, or at least the funniest. This book should be obligatory reading in all classrooms, most safely college classrooms. If I were a creative writing teacher I would make all my students read it. I've recommended it to everyone I know, and to those who I don't. If you haven't read it yet, I suggest you go to the nearest bookstore and buy it! ! now!!! Out of a possible 5 stars, I would give it 6.

If you haven't read Youth in Revolt, please do. It will help a ton in understanding Revolting Youth. However, contrary to popular belief, you can still read Revolting Youth without having read YiR, and still find it hilarious. Just ask my mom.

Revolting Youth somehow manages to surpass YiR. Payne has mastered his craft and now effortlessly cranks out complicated and unexpected Twispian plot twists, with hilarious results.

Lots of crazy stuff goes down in this book. While Nick is doomed to suffer setbacks and rejections, he always mananges to come out on top. Sheeni is even more indifferent to him than before, but you can bet Nick finds his way into her . . . erm . . . heart. Or something like it. Fuzzy returns as Nick's best pal, who is consistently, albeit NOT stupidly, a true friend. Don't forget about Ukiah's most beautiful teen couple, Trent and Apurva, now married and expecting two babies, although only one of them is Apurva's. Yes, all your favorite characters are back, and some new crazies join in the madness.

Only one problem remains: Don't expect Payne to come out with another Nick Twisp adventure. It doesn't seem possible that he can equal or top this one.

This book continues the madcap adventures of Nick Twisp.

In the beginning of this book, Nick and his girlfriend Sheeni, are happily living in a rented house after the success of Nick's invention. However, their respective sets of parents soon confiscate all the cash and this forces Nick to run away and plot his reunion with Sheeni, who is playing him the whole time like in the first book.

Payne is a modern comedic genius. I place this book and its predecessor in the same class as John Kennedy Toole's Confederavy of Dunces. The pacing is manic and the action nonstop. Just when you think that it can't get any zanier, Payne pulls another trick out of his hat.

This, and Youth In Revolt, are the funniest books I've read in my 23 years on this planet.

Just when you think the life of Nick Twisp can't get any weirder, it does! Not only does Nick continue living as Carlotta in this highly anticipated sequel, but he takes on two more hilarious alter egos. And even through his penniless days Nick manages to get rid of his enemies and end up with the one thing he wants most- Sheeni. If you enjoyed the first book even a little bit, you must read Revolting Youth. It's even better!

As a resident of SF, I found the book absolutely hysterical. It's a must read for anyone who has ever lived or loved in this city.

Note: It would be helpful to be familiar with "The Maltese Falcon" before reading this book. A familiarity with San Francisco and the area also helps greatly.

The first few pages of this book didn't immediately capture me, but I slogged through, and it was worth it: This book is funny! Even if you hate pigeons, or don't want to hear a story from an animal's point of view, if you are an intelligent person, read this book! Payne's vocabulary continues to astound, and he is the master of unexpected plot twists. He'll have you seeing things from a bird's eye view in no time. Even if these birds weren't convinced that they were human, I have a feeling they'd still think they were pretty hip, continuing to trash talk, sleep around, smoke and drink. They're living the life some people dream about! ...

I read this hilarious tale in less than two days, it was just the thing I need to distract me from the horrible events of this week (9/11/01 terrorism attacks on US). I wasn't quite sure an author could pull off a whole book about pigeons who believed they were human, but Payne did it. Now to order Payne's other books....

The format of this book is completely ludicrous: it's basically everything cut from "Youth in Revolt" ... up on the page with no context. Everything from two sentences to two pages of cut text is in here introduced only by a "from page X, after words "xxx xxx" in literally hundreds of little excerpts. Imagine if you made a film out of all the scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor -- it makes about that much sense. The only way to truly make sense of this mess is to re-read your copy of "Youth in Revolt" and use this as a companion (which would mean switching books every other page). HOWEVER, if you have read YIR recently, you can somehow make sense of things and it's not totally confusing. And, thankfully, most of the passages function more as stand-alone amusing little anecdotes that were cut for obvious reasons, since they did little to drive the plot. Many, fortunately, don't suffer too much from a lack of context. Thankfully, Payne's wit is enough to make this an enjoyable read for hardcore fans. Be that as it may, the format is just generally annoying, dropping you into situations for a minute or five minutes and you never know quite where you are. Anyone but C.D. Payne cultists should steer clear.

Youth in Revolt must be read in its uncut entirety to really be appreciated. In this book, characters do things you never expected them to do just by reading Youth in Revolt. Things also make much more sense, and there is even an allusion to a cut part in the sequel, Revolting Youth. However, there will be some shuffling between this book and YIR which is kind of irritating.

by far one of the funniest and best written books i've ever read. payne does a great job of getting into the mind of a 14 year old. the book flows great, with so much going on at one time, much like real life, yet with adventures that could never be imagined by a normal mundane mind. seriously a great book.

This book was quite ammusing and I did enjoy it. My only problem with this book is that C.D. Payne has women characters that are somewhat vindictive and very manipulative. I found the characters in civic beuties to be a little to manipulative. I would recommend this book, but with a condition...READ YOUTH IN REVOLT FIRST, so you can see this author at his very best.

I was buying Franken's "Why Not Me?" and the clerk in the bookstore suggested "Civic Beauties" too. I hadn't heard of the book or the author, but I liked the first few pages so I took a chance. I found the Franken book fairly predictable, but really enjoyed Payne's fresh and inventive story. You never know what's going to happen next with Toni and Cara. I think maybe Al and George W. should read this book. "Youth in Revolt" doesn't sound like my thing, but I may give it a try.

Actually, you won't die if you don't read Civic Beauties. But you will be missing out on a great new novel by C.D. Payne, author of Youth in Revolt. Fans of Nick will not be disappointed by Payne's new effort. You will be rolling on the floor as you read about the antics of Antonia and Carissa Mason, identical twins whose father is running for US Vice President. There is a fresh batch of unique characters, and the numerous, amusing plot twists make you wonder how the author ever came up with them. Please read this book, I promise you won't be disappointed!

This was a very amusing an enjoyable play. However, the quality of humor and style does not nearly match Payne's other works, such as Youth in Revolt. It also appears to have been written all in one sitting and not to have been edited: it reads somewhat like a skit written for a High School class. It is, however, worth reading because of the funny lines and its shortness. It can be read in about 30-60 minutes flat.