Crash and Burn by Michael Hassan (review)

Steve Crashinsky, known to his friends as Crash, is a hero: he convinced his mentally unstable classmate, David Burnett, not to set off the explosives that would have destroyed their high school and everyone in it, and he did it with the cameras rolling. Now he has a book contract, and, if his ADHD will let him, he’ll tell the whole story of his relationship with David, which started in elementary school when he tried to befriend David and David tried to kill him. The story Crash tells is deeply disturbing in its searingly accurate portrait of boys in contemporary society; Crash’s voice is insistently authentic, documenting the life of an upper-middle-class, medicated teen reared in a world where values are determined by media standards of appearance and privilege. His relationship with his father, in particular, offers a chilling indictment on the failures of intergenerational communication and masculine values. Though his father continually accuses Crash of being a disappointment, Crash is an exact copy of his dad, who, as Crash’s friend opines, has everything a man could ever want—a sexy young wife, a great job, and all the perks that money can buy, including far better pot than the boys can afford. Every mistake Crash makes turns to his advantage, and the only thing he learns is that fame forgives all sins and opens doors to sex and money without commitment or consequence, as long as he keeps his cool. As cynical as this book ultimately is about where we are as a society, it is a must-read for teens and adults alike who want to understand the lack of empathy that permeates contemporary culture; it offers no answers, but the mirror it does present may be chilling enough to awaken readers to the costs of not getting it right.