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thepetitepunk's review
2.0
alright, i'll cut this book some slack. it was published well over a decade ago. teen fiction has drastically changed since then. i love fast paced books but this just dropped major plot points every chapter. there was also an unnecessary number of POVs and really, a strange lack of emotion and reactions. but for 2009, i'll give it some credit!
ANYWAY what stuck out the most to me was this one disturbing line LOL. our girl ellie is feeling bad about herself for hooking up with people without really wanting to (that's ok, emotions are valid, we'll work through it ellie), and then proceeds to describe herself like this: "I was nothing. Just a smell on their [boys'] hands to share with their friends."
I'm--girl, what??? Sorry lollll that line threw me for a loop. I had to pause and ask my ex-football player boyfriend if this was a thing. He has years of exposure to locker room talk. Surely he would know? This is why I, a book nerd, would date the high school football guy: to fact check! But alas, he has not heard of boys sniffing the smell of their sexual conquests off each other's hands. I'm almost disappointed. It sounded so vile and weird that I almost wanted some truth to it. Maybe he just missed out or something. Maybe he refuses to acknowledge. Maybe he participated without knowing...? Who knows! I have many questions.
okok sorry djkadhf no more sarcasm i will stop nitpicking that hilariously fascinating line
if you're looking for a teen pregnancy book, i really enjoyed belly up by eva darrows!
ANYWAY what stuck out the most to me was this one disturbing line LOL. our girl ellie is feeling bad about herself for hooking up with people without really wanting to (that's ok, emotions are valid, we'll work through it ellie), and then proceeds to describe herself like this: "I was nothing. Just a smell on their [boys'] hands to share with their friends."
I'm--girl, what??? Sorry lollll that line threw me for a loop. I had to pause and ask my ex-football player boyfriend if this was a thing. He has years of exposure to locker room talk. Surely he would know? This is why I, a book nerd, would date the high school football guy: to fact check! But alas, he has not heard of boys sniffing the smell of their sexual conquests off each other's hands. I'm almost disappointed. It sounded so vile and weird that I almost wanted some truth to it. Maybe he just missed out or something. Maybe he refuses to acknowledge. Maybe he participated without knowing...? Who knows! I have many questions.
okok sorry djkadhf no more sarcasm i will stop nitpicking that hilariously fascinating line
if you're looking for a teen pregnancy book, i really enjoyed belly up by eva darrows!
lastpaige111's review
5.0
Knowles makes old stories new. However, writing about them is tough, because I want to include spoilers! Her endings are rhapsodic! I'll just conclude by saying I am on a tear through all of her novels, and grateful to have met her at NESCBWI, because she impressed me as a woman as lovely and honest as her books.
vivianabana's review
4.0
Great book, I got to learn about the stigma on teen pregnancy and had a good inside look about the struggles of every single person involved
christiana's review
3.0
I'm glad this book exists and I think it's GREAT on the subject of teen pregnancy and teen sex. It just made me feel sad afterwards.
mischief_in_the_library's review
2.0
Maybe it was that there were too many character perspectives (four) that ultimately led to not enough characterisation - not enough for me to kind of start cheering for any of them in particular. But also mostly, not much happened, really. Realism to the point of dullness. Go for her other books instead :)
lilbumblezee's review
3.0
Pretty good, but no emotional connection to any characters. No surprises, or twists, you expect something to happen and it happens.
Good topic and I liked the perspective POV but wasn't one I had trouble putting down.
Good topic and I liked the perspective POV but wasn't one I had trouble putting down.
justlily's review
3.0
This was a very fast read but didn't pack much of a punch in way of emotional connection. I didn't really feel anything for any of the characters. So while it was an okay read, I know it's one I'll forget by the end of the month.
kice7788's review
3.0
it was good but very predicable. I am possibly going to read the next one but only if I find it..I'm not going out of my way.
ckausch's review
2.0
Jo Knowles examines how one unwanted teenage pregnancy can affect many people, and the outcomes from the different choices available to someone when an unwanted pregnancy is discovered....
Of the four main characters, I felt like Ellie, the pregnant girl, was the weakest...This is definitely a "problem novel" - the reader is dropped into the beginning of the problem, and the book ends with the characters trying to move on after facing the problem...But it serves its purpose well enough, is a fast read...
Full review at http://dogearedandwellread.wordpress.com/2010/03/30/jumping-off-swings-by-jo-knowles/
Of the four main characters, I felt like Ellie, the pregnant girl, was the weakest...This is definitely a "problem novel" - the reader is dropped into the beginning of the problem, and the book ends with the characters trying to move on after facing the problem...But it serves its purpose well enough, is a fast read...
Full review at http://dogearedandwellread.wordpress.com/2010/03/30/jumping-off-swings-by-jo-knowles/