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tiggerser's review
I received an ebook of this from the author. I enjoyed the music touches interwoven with the plot line as well as the poetry. Some of the challenges facing teenagers seemed well written and other references in the book seemed dated or contrite. (E.g. Justin Bieber and Anne of Green Gables or Little House on the Prairie.) writing style was good, descriptive, and most characters did develop some depth by the end of the book. A nice quick read.
beyondevak's review
Hmm... So, my first thoughts upon reading this book were literally, "Okay?" and "What kind of book is this again?" I think I was expecting one thing and I got quite another. I was not expecting sexual connotations, profane language, the date rape drug or other sobering issues such as they were. I was expecting a coming of age and a loss of innocence in the sense of a young girl maturing and moving even more so toward womanhood (away from the Pollyanna mold).
I don't quite know what to say about this book really; it was like a mixed bag. I got to see some growth...obviously, but I also saw other things. Some things dark and not so pretty. Some things eerily familiar and yet unfamiliar at the same time. Like I said, a mixed bag.
Playing Nice was a quick read. There were times when I wanted to put the book down and other times when I wanted to push through so that I could see what would happen. This book churned up a lot in the way of emotions. The author did a good job of steering in this vein. Still, I don't know that I could say this book was an out-of-the-park solid.
There are those who will like this book and those who won't. No matter which side you choose, you will undoubtedly be talking about it.
A complimentary copy of this title was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. That is what I have given. I was not required to write a positive review. The words I have expressed are my own.
Rating: NR
I don't quite know what to say about this book really; it was like a mixed bag. I got to see some growth...obviously, but I also saw other things. Some things dark and not so pretty. Some things eerily familiar and yet unfamiliar at the same time. Like I said, a mixed bag.
Playing Nice was a quick read. There were times when I wanted to put the book down and other times when I wanted to push through so that I could see what would happen. This book churned up a lot in the way of emotions. The author did a good job of steering in this vein. Still, I don't know that I could say this book was an out-of-the-park solid.
There are those who will like this book and those who won't. No matter which side you choose, you will undoubtedly be talking about it.
A complimentary copy of this title was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. That is what I have given. I was not required to write a positive review. The words I have expressed are my own.
Rating: NR
merkyr's review
2.0
Parts of this book I liked, and parts just seemed like they were thrown in because that is what a YA book is “supposed” to include. Things like:
-Bad teen poetry to express repressed feelings
-Good girls wear dresses
-Bad girls wear combat boots and black eyeliner
-The dangerous moody unattainable guy plays the guitar and wears black bracelets.
That being said I thought the parental characters were well drawn, and although I wish Lil had been just a bit more complex I still liked her. However, overall it seemed to be a bit antiquated with nothing that surprised me and some things that I have seen in many other books that I have read recently.
-Bad teen poetry to express repressed feelings
-Good girls wear dresses
-Bad girls wear combat boots and black eyeliner
-The dangerous moody unattainable guy plays the guitar and wears black bracelets.
That being said I thought the parental characters were well drawn, and although I wish Lil had been just a bit more complex I still liked her. However, overall it seemed to be a bit antiquated with nothing that surprised me and some things that I have seen in many other books that I have read recently.
eesholtis's review
5.0
Any reader who picks up Playing Nice will not be disappointed! The characters are easy to relate to as they struggle to find their own identities during the paradoxical stage of adolescence where individuality, independence, and acceptance are desired but conformity and normalcy are expected. Playing Nice is a story filled with challenges, turmoil, triumphs, and courage that cannot be missed.
trisha_thomas's review
4.0
When I first started this, I was a little nervous. Marty sounds young and naive and a little annoying at first. She's immature for her age and really too good to be believed.
But I kept finding little bits of unbelievable beauty between the words. A line here, a sentence there of pure clarity and poetry outside of the poems. Marty became deeper and wiser and seeing her come into her own ideas and her own personality was just a lovely thing to behold.
It's a story about friendship and love and the true journey to become who you are and not just who everyone expects you to be.
The cover is adorable. Lil is just an amazing friend (a nightmare for a parent but just what Marty needed!) This is truly a story to love!
and Alex. How cute was he??!
But I kept finding little bits of unbelievable beauty between the words. A line here, a sentence there of pure clarity and poetry outside of the poems. Marty became deeper and wiser and seeing her come into her own ideas and her own personality was just a lovely thing to behold.
It's a story about friendship and love and the true journey to become who you are and not just who everyone expects you to be.
The cover is adorable. Lil is just an amazing friend (a nightmare for a parent but just what Marty needed!) This is truly a story to love!
and Alex. How cute was he??!
jules1278's review
4.0
This book is 87 times better than the description makes it sound. Marty is a convincing Rachel Berry type good girl in small town Ohio. She's perfectly happy with her neat, organized, fully planned out life, performing in musicals and joining every club, and perfecting her stays as the nicest girl in town. Until she meets Lil. Lil is the new girl, and she's different than anyone Marty's ever met. She shows Marty that it's okay for life to be a little messy. It's not real if you're not really living it. This book felt edgy in a good way for YA lit. But mostly it felt real, too. I love the poetry Marty writes. I love how she eventually sees her parents and people she's always known. I love how this book talks about friendship and what it means to actually know another person, faults and all. I loved it.
paperbackd's review
2.0
Marty Hart is the nicest girl in Minster - but she’s starting to wonder if that’s all she really wants to be. When brash and brutally honest Lil moves to Minster, Marty is instantly drawn to her, and begins to step outside her comfort zone. Its a concept we’ve seen before in contemporary YA, but what really drew me to Playing Nice was the focus on female friendship rather than romance. All too often in YA, a cute guy is the catalyst for the protagonist to make changes in her life - and that’s fine, as long as she’s changing for herself and not for him. But friendship (especially between two girls) is often cut or sidelined to make way for the central romantic relationship. In Playing Nice there’s a little romance but friendship is the main focus of the story, and I enjoyed that.
Playing Nice has potential, and it’s a story that I think will resonate with some teens - as a teenager, I was constantly worried about how other people perceived me, and Marty’s obsession with her own self-image was very relatable to me personally - but ultimately, I felt that the story was let down by clumsy exposition: the reader is constantly told how “nice" Marty is, but her actions don’t always reflect the same nice girl persona. Example - surely politely turning down an offer of a ride, saying you don’t want to inconvenience the driver, is kinder than accepting out of a bizzare sense of duty? Marty also gossips constantly with her best friend, says nothing when Sarah insults other students, and slut-shames most other women in the book, including her own teacher. I realise that Marty isn’t actually supposed to be as nice as she tries to appear, but if I met Marty (or, more accurately, the girl Marty is trying to be) the first word I’d use to describe her probably wouldn’t be “nice", and I can’t imagine anyone else would either. Other little details seemed out of place - like a bizarre schoolwide dating rule that no students would actually enforce or even want no matter how conservative their town is.
Marty is naive and melodramatic, but she does think and behave a lot more like an ordinary teenager than most YA narrators do. I’m not sure what to make of Crane’s other characters (Lil didn’t make as much of an impression on me as I’d hoped, Matt’s game was obvious from the beginning, and Alex seemed to be the embodiment of the nice guy who ‘deserves’ the uninterested girl trope). Ultimately, Playing Nice was an easy summer read, and I enjoyed it but I’m not sure I’d read it again.
Many thanks to the author, who provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 2 stars
Review cross-posted to Paperback'd.
Playing Nice has potential, and it’s a story that I think will resonate with some teens - as a teenager, I was constantly worried about how other people perceived me, and Marty’s obsession with her own self-image was very relatable to me personally - but ultimately, I felt that the story was let down by clumsy exposition: the reader is constantly told how “nice" Marty is, but her actions don’t always reflect the same nice girl persona. Example - surely politely turning down an offer of a ride, saying you don’t want to inconvenience the driver, is kinder than accepting out of a bizzare sense of duty? Marty also gossips constantly with her best friend, says nothing when Sarah insults other students, and slut-shames most other women in the book, including her own teacher. I realise that Marty isn’t actually supposed to be as nice as she tries to appear, but if I met Marty (or, more accurately, the girl Marty is trying to be) the first word I’d use to describe her probably wouldn’t be “nice", and I can’t imagine anyone else would either. Other little details seemed out of place - like a bizarre schoolwide dating rule that no students would actually enforce or even want no matter how conservative their town is.
Marty is naive and melodramatic, but she does think and behave a lot more like an ordinary teenager than most YA narrators do. I’m not sure what to make of Crane’s other characters (Lil didn’t make as much of an impression on me as I’d hoped, Matt’s game was obvious from the beginning, and Alex seemed to be the embodiment of the nice guy who ‘deserves’ the uninterested girl trope). Ultimately, Playing Nice was an easy summer read, and I enjoyed it but I’m not sure I’d read it again.
Many thanks to the author, who provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 2 stars
Review cross-posted to Paperback'd.
skyhazzard's review
3.0
I don't normally read books like this (heck I normally only read series that have something to do with the supernatural) but I'm branching out and trying new things. The main character Marty was way too nice for me, and I couldn't wait for her to snap, I was counting down the seconds. I couldn't believe the way she'd just cave in to what her mother wanted and not try to explain what she would want to do. I quit listening to my mom when I was 2. I applaud her for being so good at trying to be nice cause I try that and internally, it don't happen like that. But I really liked Marty's friendship with Lil. That was the one thing she wouldn't give in to no matter what people said. She was finally taking a stand and saying "I'm going to be friends with this girl no matter what you people think and say about her and her mom." *insert clapping here* The more time she spent with her the more she started to change, although gradually. She started to stick up for her ideas and what she wanted. And at the same time it was nice to see the small changes in Lil too, like her opening up.
It killed me when they fought, I was just like no, you two get back over there and make up. And then there was that whole scene were things came out and somethings were said and done. But glad they resumed talking at the end, although it was sad with Lil moving.
Ugh and Alex. There were so many times I wanted to shake Marty when she was off chasing after that Matt guy when Alex was always there being so sweet and into her.
It killed me when they fought, I was just like no, you two get back over there and make up. And then there was that whole scene were things came out and somethings were said and done. But glad they resumed talking at the end, although it was sad with Lil moving.
Ugh and Alex. There were so many times I wanted to shake Marty when she was off chasing after that Matt guy when Alex was always there being so sweet and into her.
auntieheatheranne's review
3.0
I liked the story line of this book. It was a fun read and very realistic of the life of a highschooler except for the obsession with sex. I remember that feeling of wanting to be kissed and it is described really well but not all the thoughts about sex. All the thinking about sex reminded me of a teenage boy not a teenage girl. I also did not like all the F words and the C word. usually I read YA fiction to stay away from that kind of language. I could only give this book 3 stars because I could not suggest it to my students and it would not be allowed in the school library either. I really liked the idea of this book though.