Growth and Change Are Highly Overrated by Tom Starita

Growth and Change Are Highly Overrated is Tom Starita’s second published work. His goal while writing this fiction book was “to create something that provokes an emotional reaction in the reader.” He accomplished this well. I did feel a diversity of emotions while reading this engaging novel. My eyes misted while reading the dedication. It is one of the kindest, sweetest, dedications I have ever read. Throughout, Tom Starita definitely chose his words well. As the reader, I painfully felt what the main character was going through yet caught myself empathizing with the other characters. This coming of age book’s content was surprising. This work explained a lot; taught much.

Happily, Growth and Change Are Highly Overrated held my interest throughout its 279 pages. As a book reviewer, this is something remarkable for after a while being in this occupation it can become very difficult to find a book worthy of reading to the end. Granted, there were a few rocky sections where I had to reread a sentence or paragraph to make certain I had read the words correctly, understood what was being conveyed. I blame this on the fact that this novel shares a shocking male point of view in order to gift the reader the true complexity of the main character, Lucas James. The story-line is taken from Lucas James point of view and reading how this man went through his coming of age stage was astonishing.

Growth and Change Are Highly Overrated begins unusually at the time Lucas James loses Jackie who was smart enough to get out of their long-term going no-where relationship. They were together for six years. Lucas James describes himself as the kind of man that “believes in giving people exactly what they want. Not what they need.” (Chapter 1, page 5). He is not an insensitive man, has feelings and in his own way is devastated. The way he reacts to this change in his life is surprising yet shows what a complex character Lucas James truly is. He is a dreamer, a musician to a band that has not made it big but plans to someday. Losing Jackie is a wake up for this kind of man; has to come down to reality as he realizes Jackie is no longer going to support him for the sake of his music career. He is forced into making realistic decisions like get a job to pay the bills. The book primarily is about what happens after Lucas James experiences these things as well as shares quite a bit about his past in order to gain empathy plus sympathy from the reader. I truly enjoyed getting to know this peculiar never really one hundred per cent grew up kind of main character. It was a fun read.

Not only is this book about coming of age, maturing into being a functioning adult, it is also about friendship, love, , life’s challenges, and a whole lot more that most adults are familiar. There is a lot of thought-provoking sections! For me, this is a plus.

I do not dare speak about the well-crafted ending, for that would be a spoiler. From beginning to end, this novel is worth the time spent reading its entirety. I was pleasantly surprised by how skillfully written it was in the first person. Most authors prefer to write in the third person due to how challenging it is to write in the first person without overusing the word “I.” Tom Starita wrote in the first person extremely well. One of the reasons why I regard this work worthy of four stars for this is extremely difficult to accomplish. I truly liked this book a lot. There were, however, a few moments where I had difficulty envisioning what the author was describing, but overall this did not derail me from reading the novel's entirety. This book was a very entertaining read.

It was obviously written with an adult audience as its focus for readership. Parental Guidance is highly suggested. I recommend Growth and Change Are Highly Overrated for leisure reading, and to have as a conversation piece resting in one’s living room’s bookshelves. This book can also nicely augment one’s at-home library’s fiction section. Know someone who likes to read Fiction or Humor and Satire genre books? This novel could be what he or she might like. Gifting books is almost as much fun as reading them.

Enjoy the read!

My favorite from Growth and Change Are Highly Overrated. This quote gifts a mini sneak peek:

For years I have been filling notebook after notebook with song lyrics, ideas, snippets, and other assorted creative thoughts. My notebooks were, are, and always will be my prized possessions. If there were ever a fire inside my apartment, I would go charging into the flames for one reason and one reason only: those notebooks. (Chapter 11, Page 66)

Growth and Change Are Highly Overrated is available in paperback and Kindle formats. It is 279 pages in length. This novel was independently published and released to the public on February 26, 2017 in English. Its ISBN-10 is 1520705816; ISBN-13 978-1520705811. The book format’s dimensions are 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.5 inches. This work is listed as in the Literature & Fiction, plus Humor & Satire genres.

Tom Starita is the author of Two Ways to Sunday and Growth and Change Are Highly Overrated. He, his wife Shannon and their half corgi half chihuahua Lola happily resides in the beautiful beach community of Stratford, Connecticut. Formerly from Staten Island, New York, Tom is a staunch long-term fan of the New York Mets. He is such a loyal fan that former Mets great Mookie Wilson once waved to him from a passing taxi.

His top favorites are:

1. Watching a New York Mets game with Lola.
2. Eating all things chocolate, especially chocolate chip cookies.
3. Receiving a foot massage from his loving wife Shannon.
4. Feeling emotions. Especially while watching a television program or movies. He likes the kind that provoke a reaction, examples are laughter, tears, anger, shock, etc.
5. Simple Song by The Shins, music brings joy.
6. Digging toes in the sand – definitely have to be barefoot for this pleasing experience; best to do on a warm day.
7. Laughter; loves hearing, generating and experiencing it.

Tom regards the best television show of all time to be LOST. In 2018 The Americans, in his opinion, had the best finale. Mr. Starita feels “life is ridiculous and it’s always better to be in on the joke.” He further admitted to having two or three books on his nightstand. These works usually are some kind of Science Fiction, an autobiography or biography from someone in a creative field, and Infinite Jest (a 1996 novel by David Foster Wallace) which has been on his nightstand for several years. He plans to one day finish reading this book, but out of deep respect toward the author who wrote this encyclopedic novel is taking his time.

Like many contemporary authors, Tom Starita has a solid online presence. He has a website which has some fascinating extras: a cartoon titled Tom’s Apartment, short stories written by him, an under 10-minute podcast Ten Minutes Too Long with Doug Barnes, and Mr. Starita's media appearances. To see these and more you are cordially invited to visit Tom Starita’s official website Goppygots Entertainment.

Tom is social network active. You may connect or follow and possibly interact with this author via LinkedIn and Twitter.

A very special thank you filled with immense gratitude to Tom Starita, author of Growth and Change Are Highly Overrated. Without all of his permissions given, as well as his trust, this four star review could not have been written. It was an honor to read his entertaining novel which gifted me misty-eyes, laughs and shocks. Good emotions to feel when one is reading. It is with great sincerity, truly heartfelt, that I say, “Thank you!” to this creative author. This reviewer is greatly appreciative for it is a great honor to find a book worthy of reviewing which gifts the opportunity to share good works with others. Sincerely grateful toward Tom for being a gifted wordsmith and writing Growth and Change Are Highly Overrated. Impossible for me to say “thank you” enough! My gratitude is endless.