Kids more fucked up than I was

I'm about halfway through Palo Alto stories by the actor James Franco. I'm not enjoying it. It's not horrible, it's like a really good story by a high school senior. The kids don't have emotions, or enough emotions, or emotions I can relate to. I haven't read Ellis, but wonder if that's what he's going for. Not my style, but it's good to mix it up... I guess.