Just read this great read in its entirety today. I really enjoy Ethan's writing, makes me laugh, smile and kept me intrigued page after page. His characters are relatable and his words are honest.

I believe The Hottest State is the first book he published. I recommend reading this book.

It's been probably 10 years since I read this. I remember it being good then. I love Ethan as an actor and wanted to see what his writing was like. I didn't see the movie version they put out. They're usually never as good.

What a bizarre book. I did read it in around 1 day - couldn't put it down. But in the end I felt like it had been a waste of time. This book is basically about a guy who falls in love and then the girl dumps him and he takes it badly, but the whole time it seems like it's gonna be more - which is why I couldn't put it down. For awhile I thought William was in the midst of a psychotic break - hearing voices, erratic, violent behavior, strange physical manifestations like having to pee 20 times in an hour. But then he just recovers and gets over the girl with no explanation for all that. Then I thought maybe he was figuring out he was gay - nope. I wasn't sympathetic to his character or the girl who was supposedly so fabulous. And so many things didn't hang together - like Sarah grew up in CT, lived in Seattle, then moved to NY, but had never been on a plane? Yet she has a passport ready to go when he invites her to France? And she invites him to visit her preschool classroom and asks him to take a little girl to the bathroom then lie down with her while she falls asleep at naptime? Excuse me? That's a preschool whose days are numbered...
Can't believe they turned this into a movie.

This is one of those books that just sits with you. It gets under your skin and inside your thoughts and stays there.

“Avevo vent'anni, e prima di compierne ventuno avrei avuto il cuore spezzato.”

E questa è la storia di quel cuore che si spezza, questa è la storia di un amore. Quello dei vent’anni, appunto. Appassionato, assoluto, devastante. La scrive il talentuoso Ethan Hawke: è il suo esordio nella narrativa e lui di anni ne ha proprio ventuno.

William e Sarah si incontrano a New York, entrambi in fuga da una famiglia disfunzionale sprofondata in una qualche periferia americana. Lui ha appena cominciato a fare l’attore, lei è aspirante cantante. Il nome del locale in cui si incontrano, Bitter End, annuncia già quale sarà il loro destino.
La loro storia è anche il paradigma dell’amore giovane, quello che nutre, infiamma, mette le ali ai sogni e con la stessa forza poi li sparpaglia gettandoli via. Quello che brucia l’anima più di ogni altra cosa quando poi finisce.

La forza di questo racconto sta nella sua freschezza e insieme nella sua intensità.
Come scrive Hawke nella prefazione:
”Gran parte dei libri sulla gioventù sono immersi in un’atmosfera di nostalgia. Questo no. Questo è il libro che parla di cosa significa compiere ventun anni, scritto da un ragazzo che aveva ventun anni davvero. Qui stanno la sua follia e la sua potenza.”

Quindici anni dopo Hawke stesso lo trasformò in un (bel) film.

I read this such a long time ago, when it first came out. It's a novella, not a novel, per se. The characters felt familiar and the angst of William loving someone who didn't even know if she "liked" him half the time much less "loved" him gave the piece an honest vibe.

However, the lack of details throughout left me frustrated. Sarah is a nanny yet never seems to work, though she still manages to afford a New York apartment. William is an actor. He's successful enough to make a living at it, yet never mentions rehearsing, auditioning, directors, other actors, or the hassles of trying to get ahead in what is surely a difficult industry.

Sketchy details continue when William gets a part in an "independent movie" which is shooting in Europe. He never mentions what the part is, and for whatever baffling reason, Sarah doesn't bother asking. When he trades in his first-class ticket for two coach tickets so Sarah can go with him, I was ready to finally bond with them, and believe in their relationship. I was thinking of them tackling Europe together, across an ocean with only each other to cling to. They aren't well-traveled characters but for some reason meet the rush of their new and exciting surroundings with ho-hum attitudes. Shouldn't at least one of them want to have fun? Go sightseeing? Get swept away? It's as if nothing but the back and forth of maybe-I-like-you-or-maybe-I-don't mattered to either of them. I know it was a catalyst for William coming to terms with his father later on, but Sarah comes off as a manipulative child rather than sympathetic.

I did like William's relationship with his mother. That twinge of loneliness and spending Thanksgiving in "another" house, with "another" of his mother's boyfriends, when there had been so many of them sort of broke my heart. Kudos for that.

I think Hawke needs to stick to acting.

Ho-hum. Another young man with boiling testosterone, who beds anyone in sight--of course, the one he falls for is a little "different." Yeah, right. I would dump him, too.

Texas---the answer

What a putz.

I'd been kind of surprised when I saw Hawke's name on books in the bookstore and had intended to check his writing out, but just never got around to it before now. I'd heard some bad things about his writing and wasn't sure what to think. As I do sooner or later most times in this situation, I looked for myself. After all, Hawke thanks Fred Leebron in the acknowledgements in this one, so I figured there had to be some good here. Having finished, I do have to say that Hawke is a better writer than I'd heard people say. This one isn't going on my all time favorite list or anything, and I think there are some spots here and there that seem a little bit cliché or awkward, but for the most part this is some pretty decent writing. I'm even considering checking out Hawke's other book, if that means anything.

Really grew on me after about 50 pages or so, and then it really managed to connect emotionally with me. Surprisingly great, though by now it shouldn't be a surprise that Hawke can do this and that and succeed at it all.

When I saw this book at the library I picked it up, wondering if this Ethan Hawke was the actor... It was. So, I decided to read the book, just for fun and since I admire him as an actor I wanted to see if he was a terrible writer. Well, guess what, he is all but that. I was surprised about how much I loved this book. His writing is articulate and direct and while it is not difficult to read it is very interesting.
The Hottest State is a book that just completely holds your attention from the beginning until the end. It portrays beautifully what is that crazy, reckless young love. It makes you hope for the couple, makes you laugh, cry and go through the complete emotional range while reading it.
Great read.