Kindle Edition Download from Smashwords (eBook) Amazon Paradise Squandered on Amazon.com Category:  Young Adult/Teen ISBN-10:  1479278564 Pages: 146 Copyright: September 3, 2012 ISBN-13: 9781479278565 Price: $4.99 (eBook) Paradise Squandered is the story of Andrew Banks, a recent graduate of Puget Sound Prep and quite possibly the least ambitious member of his graduating class.  Insightful, provocative and bold, Paradise Squandered is Alex Stefansson's take-no-prisoners debut novel about a cynical teenager's naive artistic aspirations, and his pining love for a girl he is too afraid to actually talk to. It is a raw, powerful portrait of a disaffected generation in an empty, consumer-culture world. It is the story of Andrew Banks, a recent graduate of Puget Sound Prep and quite possibly the most directionless member of his graduating class. This is a story of what it is like to aimlessly trudge along that strange and uncharted course that is life after high school.  Andrew returns home from a long-promised graduation trip to Hawaii and re-enters a bland, suburban landscape of privilege and indifference feeling alone and empty. The house he grew up in doesn't feel like home anymore. His mother seems more interested in desperately clinging to youth than being a mother. His sister only cares about playing the role of dutiful daughter. His brother disappeared years ago. His dad died when he was ten. Talented but uninspired, Andrew knows he wants to pursue his art, but he has no idea how. He resigns himself to going through the motions of his own life, until he overhears the disturbing truth of his father's death. He instantly decides he has to leave his childhood home forever, and a darkly hilarious odyssey ensues. Andrew moves to a new city with his best friend, David, who is going to college in the fall and has big plans for his future. Andrew's plans are less academic. He meets Steven, a highly ambitious artist with questionable motives, and a mysterious and alluring young woman who keeps him coming back to the same coffee shop, day after day. Andrew eventually discovers that some things are actually worth pursuing. Excerpt I shift into neutral, kill the engine and start coasting through the last few blocks of eerily-silent residential streets, running stop signs, not wanting to disturb anyone or alert anyone to my presence. The wharf is in sight, barely lit by the waning moon and my approaching headlights. It's all downhill from here. I switch off the headlights and stop the car behind an overflowing dumpster. The air coming through the heater-vents is already growing cold again, I notice as I set the emergency brake; I was just starting to warm up, too. I can see my breath every time I exhale. The windows begin to fog up again. I pull the key out of the ignition, open the door and step out into the cold night air. I'm digging around in the trunk, using my cell-phone as a flashlight, hoping to find some extra clothes, or a blanket, or anything else that could possibly help keep me warm. But there is not all that much to look through. The trunk is unfortunately clean and uncluttered. All I see is an empty gas can and this enormous emergency kit my mother gave me for Christmas the year I started driving. “That car is a death-trap,” she told me. She told me that on more than one occasion. “That's the biggest kit I could find,” she said, which, in her mind at least, undoubtedly meant it was the best. “You'll thank me one day.” It wasn't the merriest Christmas. I don't have many happy holiday memories. Too much awkward, forced mingling. An emergency blanket rustles obnoxiously as I shake it out of its packaging. I'm still mentally debating whether or not to actually use anything from the kit as I pull the thin Mylar rectangle over my shoulders, tightening the blanket around my back—I'm concerned my mother will later somehow find out what I've done here and be proven correct about the usefulness of her very thoughtful Christmas gift. I shake off the doubt, grab a road flare, slam the trunk lid shut and walk the rest of the way down the steeply-declining, dead-end road. I cross the railroad tracks and stop for a moment, peering through the chain-link fence that cordons off the remains of the decaying wharf. I'm amazed at the fact that such disrepair exists only a few hundred yards from million-dollar refuges for undeserving, maladjusted social climbers. Inherited wealth is all around me, and it makes me feel a bit sick about my own lot in life. I'm trying to calm myself by intently listening to the tranquil sounds of seawater softly lapping at the bottoms of boulders, above which railroad tracks run parallel to the Puget Sound coastline as far as I can see. The tide is high. I'm all alone. Alone in my head. My very cold head. I pull the Mylar blanket tighter as I examine the tall chain-link fence in front of the crumbling fishing-pier. The construction gate and various sections of fencing are cobbled together by a haphazard assortment of chains and padlocks, bailing wire and zip-ties. No Trespassing and Watkins Construction, LLC signs threaten various punishments for intruders, but most of it is obscured by graffiti and weather-damage. A plastic shopping bag rustles in the breeze, caught on the coil of barbed wire which runs along the top of the length of the fence. I walk along the towering barrier until I find a hole. I easily step through, but my blanket gets caught. Annoyed, I wrap it around myself even tighter, holding onto it with both hands, my arms crossing my chest. I can feel the material stretching until it finally breaks free, sending me stumbling forward across the trash-strewn gravel. My blanket has already become a tattered rag, I perceive with dismay, feeling cold air rushing in around my back. But at least it is still crinkly and reflective, I conclude sarcastically.

A book that is eminently readable and worth every second
Engrossing and engaging, told in first person, this coming of age story brings a sense of the known and unknown to the reader as it progresses. Andrew is not particularly lovable from this perspective, nor sympathetic, in fact I was almost hoping for something to shake him; for a snap judgment to be wrong, for some grey to invade his very black and white world.

Adding to the difficulty is the often lamented immaturity that is in juxtaposition from his sarcastic and often spot on depictions of people and events that surround him. While coming of age stories are usually angst filled and stereotypical: Stefansson's skill with the written word provides a sense of a real teenager as they navigate the world between childhood and adulthood. I won't make comparisons to other writers, as many have: for I think that this author managed to set his own path, with a book that is eminently readable and worth every second.

What you won't get is a happy ending with roses and bunnies: but you will see his growth and be left with a story that gives you some insight, and plenty of food for thought.

Full of raw emotion
Paradise Squandered is full of raw emotion; an uncensored view through Andrew, the main character's, transition from High School/Prep School and the next step. How to figure out what one wants to do and get out of life. It's a struggle we all have in common.

I quickly became aware, as I did when I read a Cather in the Rye, that I am not included in the large target audience this book was written for in the author's mind. That stated I still highly enjoyed this book because of Stefansson's ability to craft words. This book is highly polished and the structure is fantastic. The circular motion in the book as a whole and in the chapters was subtle, but made the book feel composed even through the uncertainty and indecisiveness the main character expresses.

Masterfully written
Exploring deep within the human condition, many types of personalities are touched upon from the aimless to the driven. I feel like I stumbled across a treasure with this book because its a book you can easily read twice as well as share. It's so well written that at times you fall into the story and lose your surroundings. SO good with detail. I'm just thoroughly, thoroughly impressed.