RaveElectric LiteratureNeon Green does not coast on easy nostalgia. Rather, it employs its nineties milieu toward aims infinitely more insightful and subtle than mere pastiche ... Neon Green hits a lot of familiar beats one expects from the 'family drama' novel. What makes it flourish, however, is not so much the grounded wackiness of its sprinklings of sci-fi but rather its sensitive handling of its characters, which is never less than absolutely truthful.
Dylan Hicks
PositiveElectric LiteratureThat set-up may be a tough sell to some readers, as it was to me. In synopsis Amateurs resembles a mediocre indie dramedy of the sub-Stillman/Baumbach mold...But Hicks is too astute an observer of quarter-life ennui, too precise and empathetic a chronicler of his characters’ very real anxieties to write Amateurs off so easily. This isn’t just a book featuring pretentious, privileged people; it is a book about privilege, about pretension ... Hicks’ masterful free indirect narration afford[s] nearly all of the core characters unexpected depth and anguish ... Most impressively, Amateurs captures the intricacies of social exchange in a screen-dominated culture.
