Thug Notes: A Street-Smart Guide to Classic Literature by Sparky Sweets

4 stars

Thug Notes is a well-known and widely loved video series on YouTube where classic novels are discussed through the comedy character of Dr. Sparky Sweets. The series is done through illustrations and tying in the texts to other philosophers and well-known world concepts. It’s like SparkNotes for visual learners. This novel composes some of the most famous commentary on the videos and offers a fun and helpful text to furthering understanding classic literature in a scholarly setting. This book goes through the texts of:
Romeo and Juliet
To Kill a Mockingbird
Pride and Prejudice
The Great Gatsby
Frankenstein
Invisible Man
Lord of the Flies
Moby Dick
A Raisin in the Sun
Hamlet
Fahrenheit 451
The Catcher in the Rye
Crime and Punishment
Things Fall Apart
The Color Purple
The Scarlet Letter
At the time of reading this novel, I had read Romeo and Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, Hamlet, Fahrenheit 451, The Catcher in the Rye, and The Scarlet Letter. Since then I have attempted to read Lord of the Flies and finished Frankenstein, so I’m making slow progress through these well-known classics. However, the analysis of these texts is so fun and it brings the videos to the page. I think this would make a great classroom resource or a coffee table book. This novel accomplishes what it sets out to do and if you are looking for supplementary analysis material then this could be a great source.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 4

Plotastic Scale: 4

Cover Thoughts: It kind of looks like those Penguin Chalk Classics. I like it.

Thank you, Netgalley and Vintage, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed Thugnotes. While no exception for reading the actual books, it is a humongous way to excite and entice an audience into reading them.