Grasshopper Jungle

Citation:

Smith, A. (2014). Grasshopper Jungle. New York, NY: Dutton Books.

Summary:

Austin’s life in Ealing, Iowa seems pretty ordinary. He does what average 16-year-olds in small towns do with his best friend Robby and girlfriend Shann. It all changes when Austin and Robby, unfortunately still dressed in their candy-cane-looking Lutheran school uniform, run into some meatheads from the local high school. A fistfight ensues. Blood is drawn. The world as we know it changes and no one knew anything about it. Hilariously narrated with the focus of “recording history” through the perspective of a 16-year-old male, Austin tells the story of what happens as a freak plague that turns people into Unstoppable Solider bugs is unleashed in his town. He records what is happening around him and connects it to his own personal history, all while he and his friends are trying to figure out what is happening with the bugs who are taking over the planet.

Response:

This book is hilarious and the characterization is great. The voice of the narrator is captivating and witty, which makes this book great for all audiences who enjoy a great book. Written from a male perspective, it may be a great book for high school boys. This book is science fiction, dealing with the quickly approaching end of the world. It focuses mostly on the characters rather than the scientific elements of the plague that has been unleashed. A strong component of the story is the fact that the main character, Austin, is very confused about his sexuality. He loves and is sexually attracted to his girlfriend, but he also loves and is sexually attracted to his best friend Robby who is openly gay. Austin spends the entire book trying to figure out if there is something wrong with him. This factor might make the book appealing to students who are confused about their sexuality.

Textbook Connections:

Genre: fiction

Subgenre: fantasy

Soft science fiction – the majority of the setting is the regular world where regular laws apply, but after a plague is unleashed, people die as giant Unstoppable Soldier bugs are hatched out of their bodies. This book does not focus much on the science behind this plague, but rather the characterization of the mad man who invented the plague and the characters of Austin, Robby, and Shann who live through the plague.

This book is for more mature high school students as it involves edgy topics like sex, sexuality, reproduction, and there are graphic descriptions of deaths caused by the Unstoppable Soldiers.

Other Resources:

2015 Printz Honor Book 

Common Sense Media book review 

New York Times article on Grasshopper Jungle