Novel Review: The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely Lost It by Lisa Shanahan

Genre: YA Contemporary (Light-Romance)

Rating (Out of 5): ~3 (maybe 3.5)

Publisher: Random House (Delacorte Press)

Spoilers?: Very Minor.

Buy it here: Amazon.

Goodreads Synopsis:

IN MY FAMILY, when anyone rides the wave of their emotions, we say they're chucking a birkett. When the emotion drives out all common sense, we say they're chucking a big one. The telltale signs are: flaming cheeks, shortness of breath, bulging eyes, and a prolonged illogical outburst.

Gemma Stone is convinced that it's always unseemly to chuck a birkett and that it's actually insane to chuck one in front of a complete stranger. But that was before she fell for a boy who barely knows she exists, before she auditioned for the school play, before she met the family of freaks her sister Debbie is marrying into, before the unpredictable Raven De Head took an interest in her, and before she realized that at the right time and for the right reason, a birkett could be a beautiful thing.

Something Specific:

 Quotes:

•  "Love is more than a 'sit down on your throne while the doves swoon round your head and someone hand-feeds you grapes and chocolates' affair. It's just as much a 'get down on your knees and clean dog poo off a shoe' kind of thing." (Hardback, pg. 243) I just found this thought interesting. It's brought up more than once, and while I wouldn't have minded it being said less crudely, I did like the thought that love's not just butterflies, it's also hard work.

Review:

This book was not quite what I expected. I thought it would be much more cutesy and light, when it actually had some darker elements to it. And now I’m just not sure if I actually enjoyed it or not.

This book is about Gemma, who, despite always being terrified of speaking in front of people, tries out for the play and turns out to actually be pretty good at acting. She likes this boy Nick, only to start actually growing feelings for a boy who has always gotten on her nerves, Raven. Plus, her sister is getting married, and is forcing her to be the flower girl and wear this hideous swan-like outfit.

Gemma was alright. Her sister, Debbie, was very dramatic. I didn’t mind her parents.

I even kind of enjoyed the interactions between them all and Debbie’s fiance’s family. They’re all military crazy, and it was entertaining.

I did like Raven and his family. Especially his younger brothers. I was a bit surprised by this one violent scene between them, and thought that something more serious should have happened in conclusion because of it, and am a little confused as to why nothing did. And then there was something very sad that happened to one of them at the end, and I didn’t like that very much.

So, even though I did like Raven and Gemma together, there was a romantic element between her sister and her sister’s fiancé, that was related to Gemma and Raven, and even her parents, that made it seem like they were all just settling, and I didn’t like that. I don’t like the thought of settling, though. But, I mean, maybe I’m wrong.

But, in particular, during the wedding scene, Debbie pauses before saying ‘I do’, and it just seemed like she was considering whether she was making the right choice, and when she finally chose to say yes, it seemed like she’d decided that she did want to settle with him, and I just didn’t like that. It probably doesn't help that I didn't think they were going to last, that some things hinted at them breaking up, and yet they stayed together anyway, without actually showing us why. Another thing about it that bothered me, I think, is the fact that it seemed like only the women were settling; we didn't get to see much on the men's side of it. Maybe it’s just me, though.

Then, while I think the title is actually kind of cute, it’s trying to hint and cause anticipation to when Gemma finally explodes and makes a big deal of something, and that moment was just horrible. I thought it would be great, maybe fist-pump worthy, but it was actually wince-worthy and made me embarrassed for her. I didn’t like it, and that disappointed me.

Other than that, though, I kind of enjoyed the book. I liked the way in which she got over Nick, and I liked the darker elements of the story, and all the scenes with Raven and his family. The writing wasn’t too bad, and it was especially Australian, and at points the humor was really good.

Overall, I think this was just a bit over average, and there were some things that I especially liked.

Teaser Tuesday[28]: The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year that I Truly, Completely Lost It by Lisa Shanahan

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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Hey there! So, the holidays are over, school is back in session, stores are already stocking up for Valentines Days. I am not ready for any of this. Why is the break over already? How did it go by so fast? Why am I back in school already, taking all these classes with all this homework and crap like that? I don’t like it; got to deal with it either way, though.

Kind of slowly reading at the moment, but here’s this moment’s book:

The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely Lost It by Lisa Shanahan

Genre: YA Contemporary (I think Romance, maybe?)

Publisher: Random House (Delacorte Press)

Publish Date: 2006 in Australia, 2007 in the U.S.

Goodreads Synopsis:

IN MY FAMILY, when anyone rides the wave of their emotions, we say they're chucking a birkett. When the emotion drives out all common sense, we say they're chucking a big one. The telltale signs are: flaming cheeks, shortness of breath, bulging eyes, and a prolonged illogical outburst.

Gemma Stone is convinced that it's always unseemly to chuck a birkett and that it's actually insane to chuck one in front of a complete stranger. But that was before she fell for a boy who barely knows she exists, before she auditioned for the school play, before she met the family of freaks her sister Debbie is marrying into, before the unpredictable Raven De Head took an interest in her, and before she realized that at the right time and for the right reason, a birkett could be a beautiful thing.

Excerpt:

“I pushed the trolley forward. It veered right and clipped the edge of the shelf. One after the other, like bricks in a crumbling castle, cereal boxes popped out and tumbled down.

‘Help,’ I said, crouching and covering my head against a barrage of cereal.” (Hardback, pg. 164)

That was surprisingly hard to find a (at least somewhat) good quote, but there you go.

Go ahead and let me know what you’re currently reading, or how excited you are that school is back in session (if that affects your life at all), or anything else you want to say. Hope you have a good Tuesday (or whatever day it is that you’re reading this)!

Review: Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Random House (Alfred A. Knopf)

Spoilers?: No (with some hints).

Goodreads Synopsis:

 For as long as Josephine Alibrandi can remember, it’s just been her, her mom, and her grandmother. Now it’s her final year at a wealthy Catholic high school. The nuns couldn’t be any stricter—but that doesn’t seem to stop all kinds of men from coming into her life.

Caught between the old-world values of her Italian grandmother, the nononsense wisdom of her mom, and the boys who continue to mystify her, Josephine is on the ride of her life. This will be the year she falls in love, the year she discovers the secrets of her family’s past—and the year she sets herself free.

Told with unmatched depth and humor, this novel—which swept the pool of Australian literary awards and became a major motion picture—is one to laugh through and cry with, to cherish and remember.

Review:

I’ve only read a couple of Marchetta’s books (both of which I should, and want to, re-read), but have enjoyed all of them. This one wasn’t one of my favorites, but I still liked it. Although, for some reason, it took me way too long to finish it.

Josephine Alibrandi, the main character, is very dramatic. She tends to blow things out of proportion, freak out over anything; she feels her emotions very strongly in the moment. Which is alright. It wasn’t done over the top, although at certain points, I rolled my eyes at her blatant teenagery angsty attitude. She wasn’t whiny or anything, though, for the most part. She was very much a teenager that needs to do some more growing up. And she did do some growing throughout the book, although I don’t think enough. She starts trying to connect with her family, the people around her, and gets a more uplifting look on life, and gets the idea that living isn’t such a terrible thing, that while some things suck, she actually enjoys it.

Throughout the book, she meets her father, who unknowingly left her mother pregnant. She doesn’t know how she feels about having a father now, but their relationship grows, and I really liked her father. He was fun and clever, and became quite a great dad. Her mother, through all of it, was also really great. Her grandmother was a little harder to like at times, and some of the things she did in the past kind of sucked, but she grew on me a little bit by the end.

Aside from her family, she also has some problems with two boys. And then her friends. First, the boys: she already knows both of them, John she has a big crush on, and Jacob she starts growing feelings for. Pretty soon, you see that something is wrong with John. I felt bad for him, but was hoping what I was suspecting wouldn’t happen. And then, just when I was starting to think it really wouldn’t, it happened. I wasn’t crushed by it, but it was still a bit upsetting nonetheless. So that left Jacob, who she was with, but who she had a hard time being with. Their relationship tended to include a lot of fights and make ups, and he was a little pushy at some points, but I liked him for the most part. They both needed to do some more growing up, though, so the ending made perfect sense for them. The ending just in general was good, though, and fit really well.

Now, her friends. Some of her friends were okay, but she didn’t seem as close with them as she could have been. And she didn’t seem to care as much as she could have about them, either. Sera, in particular, I didn’t like. Lee and Anna seemed like they had potential, though. I’m not too sure where her friend situation was going by the end of the book, though.

I feel like there could have been a couple ‘big’ moments, where she realizes something, or just something big could have happened. She found things out about her Grandmother, and they got resolved between them, but not really between her mother and her Grandmother, when I thought they should have been. I also felt like something could have happened between her Grandmother and her past coming to the present. But whatever on that. Then something big could have happened between her and her friends, and a little thing did, but nothing really seemed to change between their relationship. I don’t know; none of these things are bad, but maybe a little disappointing.

This wasn’t my favorite book of hers, was probably just a little over average, but I enjoyed it for the most part. The characters were fun, but it took a little bit for it to pull me in. I will probably be picking up another of her books, if I can find one, the next chance I get, though, so we’ll see.

Review: Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

 

Amazon Synopsis:

Life is pretty complicated for Elizabeth Clarry. Her best friend Celia keeps disappearing, her absent father suddenly reappears, and her communication with her mother consists entirely of wacky notes left on the fridge. On top of everything else, because her English teacher wants to rekindle the "Joy of the Envelope," a Complete and Utter Stranger knows more about Elizabeth than anyone else.

But Elizabeth is on the verge of some major changes. She may lose her best friend, find a wonderful new friend, kiss the sexiest guy alive, and run in a marathon.
So much can happen in the time it takes to write a letter...

Review:

 

This was a pretty good book. I read this after reading the third book, The Year of Secret Assignments, which I really enjoyed. I read the third book, after reading a review of it, knowing that it wasn't the first in the series, because I couldn't find any of the others. I prefer reading things in order, and so it bothered me for a while, and I've since continued to read them correctly.

This one wasn't as good as the third one (which I won't talk too much about, since I'm probably going to review it later). The series is written in letters and in notes and those types of things instead of in third person or something, more like the person is talking to someone. (Including letters addressed to her from weird societies that are quite awesome.) It makes them very easy and fun to read. And this one wasn't any different.

This one's mostly about Elizabeth, with some things that are written to her. Her friend keeps running away, and she's making a new friend from a pen pal project. Plus there's a little bit of stuff with this guy from her school, and with her dad.

I liked Elizabeth, for the most part. And I liked the boy. And Christina, her pen pal, seemed cool. I think, also, though, that I enjoyed Moriarty's style of writing. She makes it all very fun to read, and where you just want to keep reading. And her new friend and the boy are fun. The one thing that bothered me most about the characters was that they all seemed so very immature. It's possible that this was mostly in Celia, and that it rubbed off on Elizabeth, but the rest of them seemed too immature, and not very smart. It made me think that Moriarty sees teenagers like this, which I didn't like, but I don't believe that that's true, because her characters from her other books are very different. So I guess it's only in this book, so that's good. I didn't like Celia much, either way, though.
And I feel like her parents should have been more active in her life, which is more of a personal thing than an problems with the author. And what her dad does is very not-cool. I did enjoy the notes her mother left her, but still.

I did enjoy this book, mostly. It's not as good as the third one, but it was still pretty good.