Palo Alto (book)
| Author | James Franco |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Short story |
| Publisher | Scribner's |
|
Publication date
|
2010 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Pages | 224 pp |
| ISBN |
Palo Alto is a collection of linked short stories by American actor and writer James Franco. The collection was published in 2010 by Scribner's. The stories are about teenagers and their experiments with vices and their struggles with their families. The book is named after his home town of Palo Alto, California, and is dedicated to many of the writers he worked with at Brooklyn College. Inspired by some of Franco's own teenage memories, and memories written and submitted by high school students at Palo Alto Senior High School, the stories describe life in Palo Alto as experienced by a series of teenagers who spend most of their time indulging in driving drunk, using drugs and taking part in unplanned acts of violence. Each passage is told by a young narrator.
The film adaptation of the book stars its author, James Franco, Emma Roberts, Jack Kilmer, Nat Wolff, Zoe Levin, Claudia Levy, Chris Messina, Keegan Allen, Talia Shire, Don Novello and Val Kilmer. The film is written and directed by Gia Coppola.
The book is divided into two parts, Palo Alto I and Palo Alto II.
The first part of the book, Palo Alto I, includes the following stories:
The second part of the book, Palo Alto II, includes the following stories:
Ryan, the protagonist of this story and 16 years old, is on probation for being a minor under the influence of alcohol. Nevertheless, he meets his friend Ed to drink liquor and to smoke weed. They decide to go to the Halloween party of Alice Wolfe, the prettiest girl in class. Although Ryan is only allowed to drive to school and back, he and Ed take the car to escape from Ed's home when his mom returns. At the party Ryan talks to a girl and gets distracted from calling his girlfriend that night. She gets angry with him and says that she and her friends got ready for another Halloween party. Ryan gets jealous because his rival Nick will be at this party too. He decides to get to the party angrily and, while doing so, accidentally hits a person. Ryan stops and looks behind but realizes there is no one else around so he decides to drive away. He parks his car at Ed's and knocks on the front door. Ed's father opens and asks Ryan to come in. They both smoke a pipe and watch news about the death of actor River Phoenix. Ryan leaves the house. Years later, Ryan passes the corner where the accident happened. He initially believes it was a scene from a movie but then remembers what happened that night.
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