Crazy Dangerous by Andrew Klavan

Crazy Dangerous is a book about a young man trying to do the right thing. The only problem is that he doesn't know what the right thing to do is. Should he protect someone even though he will get a fierce beating for it? Does he listen to the ravings of a girl who's hallucinating about demons, death, and destruction? Should he abide by his father's advice and just let the doctors and police handle things? Should he steal a car to save hundreds of lives? This book, while fraught with moral dilemmas, delivers a compelling and fast-paced read.

I found this book to be very interesting for a number of reasons. First, the writing style is somewhat peculiar. It's written primarily from the perspective of Sam Hopkins as he tries to figure life out, especially when life is dishing out so many curve balls. Every several chapters, the writing shifts to the perspective of a young girl, Jennifer Sales, who is hearing the whispers of demons, seeing strange demonic visions, and is convinced that the only person she can trust is Sam. Another reason I found this book interesting is that it tries to find the balance between mental illness and spiritual warfare. Is Jennifer a prophet having visions of the spiritual battlefield, or is she just a young girl struggling with schizophrenia? A third reason is that this book places the main character into many moral dilemmas, from standing up for someone to breaking the law for the greater good. I was left asking myself the question, "Does the end justify the means?" The author seems to think that it does.

All in all, I would recommend this book. Because it seems to be written to teenagers, I believe the content and questions raised in the story should be followed up by discussion to help work through the various issues and situations the main characters find themselves in. There is a discussion guide at the end of the book which would help facilitate this.

I received a copy of this book from the publishing company and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed here are my own.