“A tale of indulgence and camaraderie that ultimately proves moving.” – Kirkus Reviews
Amazon US Bestseller: Humorous Dark Comedy, Fiction Satire
In the last days before the real world, six college friends prepare to take a bow in epic fashion.
After Sunday there’s just Harry, the future business owner; Justin, the medical intern; Trent, the hapless wanderer; and Clarence, soon to don the … Clarence, soon to don the badge and blues. But now they have years of memories to honor, all packed into one weekend. Will they grow into their new adult roles? Will they go out in style with the girls? Will the four of them even survive the sheer level of debauchery?
Living in an apartment paid for by the Grandma, an ex-hooker turned millionaire, Courtney and Ling-Ling couldn’t be more opposite, yet are completely inseparable. Courtney and Harry have been hooking up for years, neither able to commit, but their imminent separation is about to test that arrangement, and Ling-Ling’s never-ending reciprocated crush on Justin just might become more than that.
Their lives intersect with that of Professor Goodkat, their idolized instructor who never quite “left” college himself. In Goodkat, we find the consequence of getting to live out a hedonist fantasy, and the possibility for change in anyone.
Hilarious, raunchy and uninhibited, “The Final Weekend: A Stoned Tale” captures contemporary society while chronicling the dreams, regrets, perspectives, and future after youth in an unbroken sequence of shockingly touching exploits. No longer armed with the excuse of college stupidity, these friends will go on a journey with higher stakes than a night out has ever had. Because there are things about themselves that blacking out can’t erase.
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This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: The Final Weekend: A Stoned Tale
Author: Neal Cassidy
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Number of Readers: 16
Stats
Editing: 9/10
Writing Style: 8/10
Content: 9/10
Cover: 9/10
Of the 16 readers:
15 would read another book by this author.
15 thought the cover was good or excellent.
16 felt it was easy to follow.
16 would recommend this book to another reader to try.
Of all the readers, 4 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
Of all the readers, 8 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
Of all the readers, 4 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘writing style’.
16 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
15 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
Readers’ Comments
“Although, on the face of it, this is a fun read, it is, in fact, rather deep. I felt it was well-written, the author offering huge depth to his characters.” Male reader, aged 44
“This is the perfect book anybody who has a group of pals who could never grow up. An interesting jolly, often rather amusing. I was fully invested in the characters by the end of the book which is a good sign of a talented author.” Female reader, aged 51
“Often a little shocking – which is possibly why I liked it so much – this follows a group of chums on a crazy weekend. At first, I thought it was going to be a little like a coming-of-age, drinking story; which it was a little. But, as I got to know the characters, I discovered there was much more to them. The ending surprised me which is always a good thing.” Male reader, aged 30
To Sum It Up:
‘An engaging plot, often raw, but always thoroughly compelling. A FINALIST and highly recommended!’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
This has been a very weird book for me. If I didn’t have a review copy, I wouldn’t have finished it. If I started a new book, to take a break from this one, I wouldn’t have finished it.
The story was all over the place and maybe it was late at night or maybe I wasn’t in the mood, but I struggled a lot to understand what was happening. There were multiple POVs so I couldn’t connect with any of them, and besides that, none of the characters were likable to me. It seemed that all of them were only thinking about drugs, when to do them, drinking, hangovers and sex.
The only actually shocking thing was the ending. I didn’t expect that to happen! Also, I didn’t find it satisfying. The only character that was partially interesting(to me)and that I felt that evolved a bit had a very unsatisfying ending… After finishing it I don’t know if this was the 1st in a series or it’s a stand alone. I could see how the 2nd book would deal with what happened in the end.
Now, after I talked about how I didn’t like the characters let me tell you a bit about the writing. I didn’t like how the author used sooo many commas and gerunds. The writing didn’t flow for me, I had to keep rereading sentences to make sense of them. I read to relax and none of it was relaxing to me.
Letting out a slight groan, I casually open my eyes, revealing nothing, darkness. Entirely covered by my comforter, sheets, and three or four of the seven pillows on my bed, I reach over and push “stop” on my phone, turning off the alarm. I can hear the air conditioner blasting away and my ceiling fan buzzing on high, and I chuckle a little, thinking of the three speeds my fan seems to have – ‘Very, Very Light Breeze’, ‘Very Light Breeze’, and ‘Hurricane’. Closing my eyes again, I burrow myself deeper into my bed, hugging my body pillow tighter, enjoying the warmth and comfort of my perfect cocoon.
Cassidy, Neal. The Final Weekend (Kindle Locations 83-87).
All in all I don’t know how to categorize it… I see some people have it under humor and new adult and I don’t agree with them. If you don’t mind the sentence syntax that I talked about and the multiple POVs this might work for you. I gave it 2* because I finished it and didn’t have major no-nos for me, just small or medium annoying things that all happened in this book.