The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian

This book was such a fun read! Anyone would enjoy the book, but there are no vampires or wizards it in. (thank goodness. . .I'm a bit tired of them) The premise is about a 17 year old kid who sets up an anonymous web site that starts a grassroots rebellion against materialism. The entire country buys into the postings at the site, and everyone is talking about "Larry" and his ideas. Of course, "Larry" is Josh, the narrator of the book. He had no idea how popular the website would be; his main wish was to make a difference in the world. When it is discovered who the author of the website is, the story revolves around how all the media attention ruined his life. Josh is a funny, sweet narrator who is easy to like. He subscribes to a lot of Thoreau's beliefs, and he retreats into the woods to "find" himself, just like Thoreau. (Who wouldn't like a book that explores a bit of philosophy??) The negative atttention Josh receives snowballs until he feels there is no way out. I won't tell you how it ends. There are parts of the book that stretch believability, but overall the book is a really good "teen" book.
On the negative side, I didn't like the type that was used in the book. It was supposed to replicate a typewriter (be sure to read the introduction by the book's author which is really part of the story itself). I found it irritating mostly because I'm not accustomed to reading type like that. Pretty picky on my part.