How to Lose Everything

August 26, 2013
In a story first published in Germany and based on events from Mattheis's youth, a fictionalized narrator, Jonathan, looks back after 18 years at the destructive events of the summer of 1994. Four best friendsâJonathan, Sam, Schulz, and Ericâspend their time in the suburbs of Munich hanging out, skateboarding, playing video games, and getting stoned and drunk. However, when they enter a deserted house and find a stack of envelopes filled with money, the boys steal it, opening up countless possibilities for exhilaration and self-destruction. Initially giddy with their newfound freedom and power, the boys consume everything on the McDonald's menu, splurge on drugs and alcohol, and show off their riches in public. Yet as their sudden affluence leads them to betray one another and cross legal and ethical boundaries, they begin to realize the corrosive impact of the stolen money on their lives. Guilt and paranoia darken a fantasy-come-true as relationships believably break down. Jonathan's perspective in hindsight offers a nuanced view of temptation in the face of moral obligations. Ages 14âup.

Outside of Munich in the summer of 1994, four teenage boys find a fortune that changes their lives. Boredom and anomie define the lives of Jonathan, Sam, Schulz and Eric. They want to get out of the suburbs, maybe get an apartment in the city. They know their lives aren't that great--skateboarding, getting stoned, playing video games, hating school. Then they break into an abandoned house and find old, yellowing envelopes stuffed with money, lots of money. What do the boys think to do with their sudden good fortune? Well, thinking things through isn't really how they proceed. At first, it's just buying everything on the McDonald's menu, buying (and stealing) tons of T-shirts and hoodies, and having plenty of cigarette money. But things devolve into partying, drug dealing and thoughts of car theft--there are no reasonable plans for putting the money to good use. Translated from German, the story really happened, at least in its basic plot and main events, and Mattheis effectively delineates four teenagers' lives of quiet desperation, tracing the effects of an unearned fortune on their dreams of something better. Choosing to have Jonathan relate the story several years later gives the narrative a much-needed perspective, a chance for a character to reflect on the significance of the events he's lived through. A nuanced character study with no easy answers. (Historical fiction. 14 & up) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-In mid-'90s suburban Munich, four bored and disillusioned teenage boys with nothing to do but skateboard and smoke pot decide to explore an abandoned house. They discover a small fortune in cash, which they split four ways, making for one eventful summer. Jonathan, Sam, Schulz, and Eric find they can't spend their ill-begotten gains on anything major without attracting attention, so they spend it on junk food, clothing, drugs, and alcohol. The story is told by Jonathan, who is deeply disturbed by the money and worries about the elderly women who owned the apparently abandoned house. Sam is equally troubled, but his erratic behavior, galvanized by drug use, puts him in a mental institution. Schulz and Eric also face dire consequences related to their actions. The novel should appeal to teens who enjoy gritty, realistic fiction that reads like a men's magazine article.-Mindy Whipple, West Jordan Library, UT

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