Doing Time: Notes from the Undergrad

I'm ecstatic to have discovered this book. I'm a huge fan of YA books, and an even bigger fan of Veronica Mars, a critically acclaimed television show created and executive produced by Rob Thomas. I could go on and on about how great Rob Thomas is at writing dialogue, how perfectly plotted his story arcs are, and how he has the best understanding of the teenage mind in TV land... but that would be gushing. And I already kind of did that in the "Veronica Mars" review, so let's move on. "Doing Time: Notes from the Undergrad" is a collection of short stories, each of which are first person narratives about how high schoolers spent their community service time (a requirement for their graduation). The stories range from slice of life tales, funny tidbits, and even tear jerkers, each of them commenting on the human condition. As with "Veronica Mars," Rob Thomas values the quirks and cynicism of realism over sentimentality, which makes this book ring all the more true. The first story gives a nice context to those that follow. A college student named Randall is asked to review the reports that the high schoolers in question have written, and those reports are the subsequent stories. However, as another reviewer mentioned, this book feels extremely open-ended, as it doesn't close with another Randall story. However, that's a minor quibble, as this truly isn't a novel. It's simply a collection of short stories that center around a similar theme. Some stories were better than others, but this book was entertaining throughout, which is rare for short story collections. It's short, it's packed with dialogue that zings across the page that will make any "Veronica Mars" fan feel like they are at home at last. It's not perfect, and it's not a life-changing book, but it's a great little book from an author whose work--whether it be prose or television--should be on your To Buy list. 8/10

Doing Time by Rob Thomas is a great book. Rob Thomas does an excellent job of writing ten short stories in which each one appeals to teenagers. Thomas does an exceptional job of conveying morals and themes from each story that really makes one think. This book is exceptionally well written. Thomas was really able to bring these characters alive and have them become appealing to us young adults. He really portrays how teenagers would react in certain types of situations and made each story very logical and relaxing to read. I really liked how he had some twisted endings and had endings that really made one want to sit and think about what they have just read. Thomas does such a good job with each story that you just do not want to have the stories end. He does such a good job of bringing out the character's personality traits. He truly does make them alive and seem like one of our friends at school. The only negative thing that Thomas does throughout this whole book is that he doesn't have much closure to the book.

This book is full of stories that are irony and also true. Most of them were similar to the ones that I read before but there was something always odd and unexpected. ¡®Doing Time¡¯ is about hours. It made me want to go over to Lee High School get involved with friends there volunteering for others. I would definitely recommend to the others who don¡¯t want to worry about which types of book they want to read because this book is related to our real lives and it shows Rob Thomas¡¯s thoughtful comments from each characters. Again, I was reading stories about volunteer hours and everyone knows they need those to get into the colleges they want to go. There was this high school girl and she was part of a team that delivers stuffs. On the Christmas day, she was delivering boxes of can foods and some small furniture to the neighbors who do not have a food to celebrate their own holidays. But by this chance to meet other people, she realized something that she should have not known. I kept on reading this story to the end and I said, ¡°Yeah, I¡®d be crying so hard in my mind if it was me.¡±I remember one of the stories about this boy named Randall. He was a normal kid and one day, his mom introduced Preston, who was a very popular football player, to her son.Preston was a cool guy helping Randall out with his talented football skills. And then all of a sudden I started thinking Randall is a lucky boy who has a tutor instead of his own big brother. I just remember this story by these characters but also there was unexpected ending which kept me still. I was very amazed in a way of this story¡¯s ending that Rob Thomas had ended.

I enjoyed this book immensely. I think that Thomas is fantastic at using perspective as a key, without making anything too unclear. I'd like to start an e-mail kids book club, so spread the news and e-mail me (Lucy) at the above adress, with your thoughts about this book.

Doing Time: Notes from the Undergrad, Rob Thomas' lastest work of fiction for young adults captures the experiences of high school students engaged in community service projects they are required to complete for graduation. These stories will appeal to teenagers and to adults alike; the characters' voices are sincere and engaging, and the stories are intriguing, insightful, and most importantly, entertaining. I like how the author avoiding resorting to moralization and preachiness and focused on how individual teenagers might react in each of the situations...many of their decisions were surprising, and the stories ended in ways that really made me think. Neither adults nor students should be put off by the fact that these are short stories...they are among the best pieces of young adult fiction I've read, and I think other readers will agree as they finish each one, they wish it would go on. The characters are that real, and the stories that engaging.