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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
I am really beginning to enjoy novels in verse - they are fast, and also emotional and character driven. The main character, Colette, is a serial liar. Sometimes, it gets a bit annoying, but the premise of the story is good.
Although I've really enjoyed some of Sonya Sones' more recent work, To Be Perfectly Honest was disappointing. The central gimmick--that Colette frequently lapses into elaborate lies--felt like an annoying distraction rather than a clever narrative device. It was always frustrating to learn that certain episodes of the story didn't actually occur, particularly since there was no real payoff--I just had to strike the section from my memory and continue reading. There were also several incidents which I was certain would be revealed as lies but never were (such as Connor bumping into Colette at the fair after their only contact had been passing on the highway or the single stanza in which Colette and Connor are described as going hang gliding, seeing a meteor shower, and learning to juggle in the space of a week). Although these improbable events may have been intended to intensify the impression that Colette's narration isn't trustworthy, they just lowered my investment in the narrative.
An additional issue with this book is that the fun, jokey tone of the narration seems mismatched with the content of the plot, which involves a manipulative 21-year-old seducing a 15-year-old and making repeated attempts to have sex with her, including one effort which involves feeding her pot brownies without her knowledge. Between a storyline that made me extremely uncomfortable and a narrative gimmick that left me frustrated, I did not enjoy To Be Perfectly Honest. If you're interested in Sonya Sones' books, I would strongly recommend you start with Saving Red or What My Mother Doesn't Know.
An additional issue with this book is that the fun, jokey tone of the narration seems mismatched with the content of the plot, which involves a manipulative 21-year-old seducing a 15-year-old and making repeated attempts to have sex with her, including one effort which involves feeding her pot brownies without her knowledge. Between a storyline that made me extremely uncomfortable and a narrative gimmick that left me frustrated, I did not enjoy To Be Perfectly Honest. If you're interested in Sonya Sones' books, I would strongly recommend you start with Saving Red or What My Mother Doesn't Know.
Collette seems to have it all...a famous movie-star mother, colored contacts for every day of the week. Friends, frenemies. But to be perfectly honest, her life is kind of hollow. She and her lisping brother, Will, have learned to entertain themselves and each other, well, by lying to strangers. And their mother, and each other.
Collette will tell us a story, and when we turn the page, she'll fess up, and tell us she just spun that story to make her life more interesting, more entertaining.
The summer she's supposed to go to Paris, but ends up on location for another of her mom's movies, Collette uses her gift of storytelling when she meets Connor, mysterious bad boy with a motorcycle. She tells him she's older than she is; she hints that she's more...experienced...than she is. Connor jumps and pushes and manipulates her to get her into bed with him.
I read the pages wanting to jump in and warn Collette that she was being played, that this was not going to end well.
We all try to invent details that show us as smarter or prettier or more clever...we are all stretching the truth when we don't feel adequate. And Collette is no different. She's a layered, complicated kid who is doing the best she can...but we worry about how very innocent she is when faced with this romantic-looking boy.
As another reviewer said, "Holy mother of unreliable narrators!" But aren't we all...selective narrators of our own stories, especially when we're trying to figure out who the heck we are?
Good points are made about identity, truth, storytelling, family...Sones never disappoints.
Collette will tell us a story, and when we turn the page, she'll fess up, and tell us she just spun that story to make her life more interesting, more entertaining.
The summer she's supposed to go to Paris, but ends up on location for another of her mom's movies, Collette uses her gift of storytelling when she meets Connor, mysterious bad boy with a motorcycle. She tells him she's older than she is; she hints that she's more...experienced...than she is. Connor jumps and pushes and manipulates her to get her into bed with him.
I read the pages wanting to jump in and warn Collette that she was being played, that this was not going to end well.
We all try to invent details that show us as smarter or prettier or more clever...we are all stretching the truth when we don't feel adequate. And Collette is no different. She's a layered, complicated kid who is doing the best she can...but we worry about how very innocent she is when faced with this romantic-looking boy.
As another reviewer said, "Holy mother of unreliable narrators!" But aren't we all...selective narrators of our own stories, especially when we're trying to figure out who the heck we are?
Good points are made about identity, truth, storytelling, family...Sones never disappoints.
I forgot how much I love unreliable narrators! Awesome verse novel. Review forthcoming.
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Not the best I've read from Sonya Sones, but definitely enjoyable. And I still love her writing style!
Not the best I've read from Sonya Sones, but definitely enjoyable. And I still love her writing style!
I’ve become a fan of Sonya Sones writing in the last year or so after reading What My Mother Doesn’t Know and following it up with What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know. I’ve read most of Sones’ work, and like the rest of her books, To Be Perfectly Honest takes some time to draw you in, then hits you unexpectedly with something to make it great.
The narrator of this book, Colette, is a minor character in Sones’ other work One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies. We don’t see too much of her in that book, so it was great to see her here with a bigger role. She’s an interesting narrator too; she’s a career liar. With lying being her nature, she’s an unreliable narrator. Lying also plays a big part in the conflict throughout the book. It took me a little bit to warm up to Colette, to be honest, but her personality kept working on me.
What really won me over was the big reveal in this book. At first this was a nice, light teen romance, but at one point it takes on a heavier, more serious tone. It packed a punch, and I like seeing that in a book. It didn’t feel out of place, just unexpected.
Sones’ free verse has all the strength that I’ve come to love in her previous books, and I know I’ll see in the future. I know I’ll be reading whatever Sones has in store for readers in her next book.
The narrator of this book, Colette, is a minor character in Sones’ other work One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies. We don’t see too much of her in that book, so it was great to see her here with a bigger role. She’s an interesting narrator too; she’s a career liar. With lying being her nature, she’s an unreliable narrator. Lying also plays a big part in the conflict throughout the book. It took me a little bit to warm up to Colette, to be honest, but her personality kept working on me.
What really won me over was the big reveal in this book. At first this was a nice, light teen romance, but at one point it takes on a heavier, more serious tone. It packed a punch, and I like seeing that in a book. It didn’t feel out of place, just unexpected.
Sones’ free verse has all the strength that I’ve come to love in her previous books, and I know I’ll see in the future. I know I’ll be reading whatever Sones has in store for readers in her next book.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
To Be Perfectly Honest was a quick and easy read. I liked To Be Perfectly Honest.
To Be Perfectly Honest was a quick and easy read. I liked To Be Perfectly Honest.
It wasn't as good as I remembered. This time around I listened to the audiobook. I personally think I didn't enjoy the book as much because of the main characters and the ending.
http://librarianosnark.blogspot.com/2013/12/review-to-be-perfectly-honest.html
First Impression: I really love Sonya Sones’ novels and I have read almost all of them. Anyway, I started reading this in an aisle of a book store while my friends went to purchase a coat from a clothing store around the block. They come back to find me about thirty pages into the book and just sitting on the floor. No big deal, right? I love books, of course I’m going to sit, I was hoping I might have a few hours. So anyway, I really loved this book, so I finally read the whole thing on break!!!!! Let me tell you:
Further: I really liked the character of Colette. Her lying addiction is interesting and it shows how things can quickly spiral out of control. Colette is an honest person to herself but not to others and she doesn’t realize the effects of this. It’s so raw and honest though, at the same time, she’s lying through her teeth. It’s amazing. It goes to show how much lying we do on a daily basis can really screw things up. A small fib can turn into a crime.
So, the whole story has you questioning whether if she’s going to tell you she made that up too. For the most part, I could tell when she was lying, but she got me a few times. The prose in the novel just pulls you in and makes it impossible to put it down. Suddenly, an hour has past and you’re one hundred and fifty pages in, gripping the book in anticipation. Trust me, it’s seriously good.
The book has many different aspects: family, self-discovery, change, first-love, relationships and the effect of lies/the truth. The book takes place in San Luis Obispo, a small town, were people could die of boredom. Not really, but it’s a small town. This is where Colette meets Connor and the lies and a relationship begins. It is an interesting relationship, part real and part fake: due to reinventing reality by Colette. I really thought this was a beautiful relationship, but I always had my doubts about Connor, he felt off to me.
I don’t want to say too much and ruin anything, so just trust me and read this book. I think you’ll like it. It’s realistic fiction and romance and partially mystery, because there’s an underlying feeling that the lies will just explode in everyone’s face and it’s a little terrifying to be perfectly honest. I recommend this book to anyone who has read The Perks of Being a Wallflower, any Sarah Dessen book, and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.
Further: I really liked the character of Colette. Her lying addiction is interesting and it shows how things can quickly spiral out of control. Colette is an honest person to herself but not to others and she doesn’t realize the effects of this. It’s so raw and honest though, at the same time, she’s lying through her teeth. It’s amazing. It goes to show how much lying we do on a daily basis can really screw things up. A small fib can turn into a crime.
So, the whole story has you questioning whether if she’s going to tell you she made that up too. For the most part, I could tell when she was lying, but she got me a few times. The prose in the novel just pulls you in and makes it impossible to put it down. Suddenly, an hour has past and you’re one hundred and fifty pages in, gripping the book in anticipation. Trust me, it’s seriously good.
The book has many different aspects: family, self-discovery, change, first-love, relationships and the effect of lies/the truth. The book takes place in San Luis Obispo, a small town, were people could die of boredom. Not really, but it’s a small town. This is where Colette meets Connor and the lies and a relationship begins. It is an interesting relationship, part real and part fake: due to reinventing reality by Colette. I really thought this was a beautiful relationship, but I always had my doubts about Connor, he felt off to me.
I don’t want to say too much and ruin anything, so just trust me and read this book. I think you’ll like it. It’s realistic fiction and romance and partially mystery, because there’s an underlying feeling that the lies will just explode in everyone’s face and it’s a little terrifying to be perfectly honest. I recommend this book to anyone who has read The Perks of Being a Wallflower, any Sarah Dessen book, and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.