Downers Grove

By Michael Hornburg

Book Overview

Downers Grove is the haunting and tender story of Chrissie Swanson, a paranoid high school senior for whom graduating has become a matter of life or death. She's an unusual girl in an ordinary town. Her mother's sex life is overshadowing her own; her brother is aboard his own private Enterprise, slipping into one black hole after another; her best friend is hornier than a Prince song; leaving her eccentric grandmother as the only source of wisdom in a rapid downward spiral. As Chrissie tries to take control of the events that shape her life, she finds the events beginning to take control of her, until she is finally cornered by choices with everlasting consequences. Full of humor, wit, and the sacrilegious worldview of a savvy teenager, Downers Grove paints a searing portrait of the American dream in all its broken glory.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802137938
• ISBN13: 9780802137937
• Release Date: March 2001
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.6" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Hi, I love this book

Jeez, does it really matter how accurate it is as far as being set in Downer's Grove? I didn't realize this was supposed to be an Encyclopedia Article on the place, and quite frankly, I couldn't care less. I just assumed Downer's grove could be replaced with any other Bumf*ck, USA suburb. I happen to admire Hornburg's writing style, where the whole thing is like a long poem of symbolism. It upsets me to see certain reviewers claiming Hornburg lacks skill as a writer simply because they do not share the same taste. That is really a matter of opinion. All I can say is from the very 1st paragraph of Bongwater, I was hooked on his technique--and this book is no different. It can only be described as dreamy, yet totally sassy and down-to-earth. If this kind of writing appeals to you, you'll love it!

Downers Grove

I loved this book. It's young, fresh and totally sexy. I could not put it down. The adventures of Chrissie Swanson are totally absorbing. Downers Grove recalls everything real about being young, intelligent and isolated in suburban America. Hornburg's voice is honest and authentic. He's the Salinger of a post-milleneal generation. Read this one. It's really fun.

An accurate look at my hometown

This book portrays the harsh reality of growing up in a seemingly perfect place with humor and honesty. Having grown up in Downers Grove for twenty years, this book was a refreshing, mostly accurate description of my teenage years. Things aren't as perfect as they may seem in the suburbs, which is why I got out. Hopefully Chrissie gets out as well.

What's so great about Catcher in the Rye?

At a time when fiction offers more women writers than ever before, it is ironic that such an honest and poetic account of the life of a 17 year-old girl should be written by a 30-something man. Perhaps being liberated from biology and the tenets of 90's feminism allow Hornburg to explore his heroine's life more fully, illustrating a search for meaning that is universal.From the first sentence, we see Chrissie yearning to be transfigured, to rise above the vacuum of her fast food, styrofoam existence. She tries sex, drugs, and rock and roll (the standard vehicles for today's youth) to escape her suburban Inferno. In the end, she chooses not to escape, but to be herself, even if it means wearing a Dairy Queen uniform. If for nothing else, the message that what is important is not how much you matter to the world, but how much the world matters to you, is reason enough to read this book. One of the functions of literature is to allow us to intimately connect with another life, and in a time when teenagers are more and more marginalized and isolated, having a friend like Chrissie could be very valuable indeed.