Scan barcode
papertraildiary's review against another edition
3.0
Original review posted at The Paper Trail Diary.
Flannery, a 16-year-old living in St. John’s, Newfoundland (I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with a character in Newfoundland!), has a few problems. Her single mother can barely afford to pay rent or buy her a textbook, her best friend has ditched her for a new boyfriend, she has a big assignment for her entrepreneurship class due and she’s partnered with the guy she’s had a crush on since she was a kid. Tyrone is the bad boy now, but that’s not who Flannery remembers, but that’s who she’s attracted to. She still thinks of him as the vulnerable boy. Tyrone is barely at school and never shows up to help with her assignment, but she’d still drop anything to spend five minutes with the eternally stoned motorcycle dude he has become. But it was his idea for their project to come up with a business: love potions. Fake potions, they’re just like mood rings, a novelty. But then word gets out around school that the love potions work.
The book is presented to be more about Tyrone and the love potions, but I felt that it ended up being more about Flannery’s relationships in general, especially with her mom and her best friend. Both of these relationships are going through trying times and Flannery needs to see how they’re going to resolve themselves. She’s constantly angry with her mom, Miranda, for being weird and poor, and she misses her friend Amber like crazy because Amber has basically up and dumped her for a new social circle and controlling boyfriend with no warning. (The Amber storyline is the saddest – I appreciate that more books are tackling what a friend breakup can be like, as it’s something very real that people go through at all ages but don’t really talk about it.)
I thought the story itself was pretty cute and realistic; I think it’s loosely based off the author’s and her children's lives, and I quite liked Flannery as a character. She has great vocabulary – “hoofed it” and “beat it” in reference to hurrying somewhere made me giggle – and she’s a little bit clueless so you follow her as she learns. I did think that the story progressed too slowly, though. I craved a bit more action and focus. The love potion part didn’t even come in to play until after 100 pages. I was also a bit distracted by quotes not being within quotation marks (but that’s just a personal thing). Overall, it was still an enjoyable read and I treasured it even more so because it was Canadian.
(Thank you to House of Anansi / Groundwood Books for the review copy.)
Flannery, a 16-year-old living in St. John’s, Newfoundland (I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with a character in Newfoundland!), has a few problems. Her single mother can barely afford to pay rent or buy her a textbook, her best friend has ditched her for a new boyfriend, she has a big assignment for her entrepreneurship class due and she’s partnered with the guy she’s had a crush on since she was a kid. Tyrone is the bad boy now, but that’s not who Flannery remembers, but that’s who she’s attracted to. She still thinks of him as the vulnerable boy. Tyrone is barely at school and never shows up to help with her assignment, but she’d still drop anything to spend five minutes with the eternally stoned motorcycle dude he has become. But it was his idea for their project to come up with a business: love potions. Fake potions, they’re just like mood rings, a novelty. But then word gets out around school that the love potions work.
The book is presented to be more about Tyrone and the love potions, but I felt that it ended up being more about Flannery’s relationships in general, especially with her mom and her best friend. Both of these relationships are going through trying times and Flannery needs to see how they’re going to resolve themselves. She’s constantly angry with her mom, Miranda, for being weird and poor, and she misses her friend Amber like crazy because Amber has basically up and dumped her for a new social circle and controlling boyfriend with no warning. (The Amber storyline is the saddest – I appreciate that more books are tackling what a friend breakup can be like, as it’s something very real that people go through at all ages but don’t really talk about it.)
I thought the story itself was pretty cute and realistic; I think it’s loosely based off the author’s and her children's lives, and I quite liked Flannery as a character. She has great vocabulary – “hoofed it” and “beat it” in reference to hurrying somewhere made me giggle – and she’s a little bit clueless so you follow her as she learns. I did think that the story progressed too slowly, though. I craved a bit more action and focus. The love potion part didn’t even come in to play until after 100 pages. I was also a bit distracted by quotes not being within quotation marks (but that’s just a personal thing). Overall, it was still an enjoyable read and I treasured it even more so because it was Canadian.
(Thank you to House of Anansi / Groundwood Books for the review copy.)
jenniferdinsmore's review against another edition
Lisa Moore is one of Canada's most celebrated writers. I've read, and loved, February and Caught (shortlisted for the 2013 Giller Prize) for different reasons, but I mostly admire Moore for her rare ability to create startling and gorgeous images of the everyday with just a few choice words.
So when I heard about her new YA novel, Flannery, I knew I had to give it a go.
In short, Flannery Malone is in love with Tyrone O'Rourke. Has been since they were children and spent almost every waking minute together. Over the years they've grown apart, but fate intervenes when they are paired together for a school project. But Tyrone isn't the Tyrone she used to know. In fact, it seems no one is: not Tyrone, her mother, or her best friend Amber, who is going down a very dark path of her own.
All in all, Moore's first YA novel was ... okay. I enjoyed it, and Moore's talent shines through, but I felt as though many things were left incomplete. The story line with Tyrone is meant to carry the novel, yet for a few powerful scenes he is largely absent. I was much more interested in Flannery's changing relationship with Amber, a girl throwing away all she has known and loved for a boy, although Amber barely makes an appearance. The climax of her story serves as to that of the book, but as a result it feels out of place. At home, Flannery must deal with her flighty, artistic mother, grapple with having to care for her much younger brother, and ponder how different her life would be should she have known her father.
By the end, I felt like Moore had started all these very interesting and in-depth plots, only to hastily tie them together in a way I'm not sure worked. (Some, like the issues with her family, simply disappeared.) Things seemed to magically work out, though not always easily, and the last few chapters felt rushed. One hundred, or even fifty, more pages may have helped make the book more cohesive.
So, give it a go for the gorgeous writing and exploration of different relationships, or if you are looking for a light, enjoyable read. Until then, I eagerly await Moore's next return to form.
So when I heard about her new YA novel, Flannery, I knew I had to give it a go.
In short, Flannery Malone is in love with Tyrone O'Rourke. Has been since they were children and spent almost every waking minute together. Over the years they've grown apart, but fate intervenes when they are paired together for a school project. But Tyrone isn't the Tyrone she used to know. In fact, it seems no one is: not Tyrone, her mother, or her best friend Amber, who is going down a very dark path of her own.
All in all, Moore's first YA novel was ... okay. I enjoyed it, and Moore's talent shines through, but I felt as though many things were left incomplete. The story line with Tyrone is meant to carry the novel, yet for a few powerful scenes he is largely absent. I was much more interested in Flannery's changing relationship with Amber, a girl throwing away all she has known and loved for a boy, although Amber barely makes an appearance. The climax of her story serves as to that of the book, but as a result it feels out of place. At home, Flannery must deal with her flighty, artistic mother, grapple with having to care for her much younger brother, and ponder how different her life would be should she have known her father.
By the end, I felt like Moore had started all these very interesting and in-depth plots, only to hastily tie them together in a way I'm not sure worked. (Some, like the issues with her family, simply disappeared.) Things seemed to magically work out, though not always easily, and the last few chapters felt rushed. One hundred, or even fifty, more pages may have helped make the book more cohesive.
So, give it a go for the gorgeous writing and exploration of different relationships, or if you are looking for a light, enjoyable read. Until then, I eagerly await Moore's next return to form.
amn028's review against another edition
4.0
A typical Lisa Moore book. Laugh out loud funny, too true to life and well written. While the protagonist is a older teen, anybody who survived their high school, teen years can enjoy the book. The author has done a good job of balancing angst, heavy subject matters and humour to make a very readable story
purrfectpages's review against another edition
3.0
Flannery Malone is just a girl, staring at a boy, wishing he'd fall in love with her. The lad in question is resident bad boy, Tyrone O'Rourke. Only Flannery knew him before he was a bad boy- back when their moms were best friends and single moms together. But that was years ago. Reunited after being paired together on a high school project, Flannery feels that fate must be intervening after all.
Only Tyrone has no interest in the project, or school in general. So Flannery has no choice but to go it alone. Adding to her pressures are problems at home and with her best friend who is changing before her eyes. But when the project starts to come together, oddly, so does her life.
I liked Flannery, but I didn't understand her obsession with Tyrone. He doesn't even really play a big role in this story, unless you consider the flashbacks he's in. Her feelings for him never really get any justification and really are not what the story is about. And everything with her best friend Amber and sort of love interest Kyle made the story's purpose all that more confusing. Instead I'd categorize this book as a tale of growing up and trying to keep it together.
In short, I felt this book had a bit of an identity crisis. In the beginning, I thought this book was going to be funny. By the middle, I thought it was better categorized as introspective. By the end I felt it was just sad. I guess you could argue life itself has a bit of all of these parts, but as the general tone for a novel, something just didn't work.
Only Tyrone has no interest in the project, or school in general. So Flannery has no choice but to go it alone. Adding to her pressures are problems at home and with her best friend who is changing before her eyes. But when the project starts to come together, oddly, so does her life.
I liked Flannery, but I didn't understand her obsession with Tyrone. He doesn't even really play a big role in this story, unless you consider the flashbacks he's in. Her feelings for him never really get any justification and really are not what the story is about. And everything with her best friend Amber and sort of love interest Kyle made the story's purpose all that more confusing. Instead I'd categorize this book as a tale of growing up and trying to keep it together.
In short, I felt this book had a bit of an identity crisis. In the beginning, I thought this book was going to be funny. By the middle, I thought it was better categorized as introspective. By the end I felt it was just sad. I guess you could argue life itself has a bit of all of these parts, but as the general tone for a novel, something just didn't work.
annebennett1957's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent coming-of-age story set in Newfoundland, Canada. It is a bit of a slow starter but it picks up at about the one-third mark. Flannery, the book's narrator, makes a lot of growth as she navigates thought her last year of high school
hijinx_abound's review against another edition
2.0
I found the writing style distracting and the characters frustrating. Just was not for me.
missprint_'s review against another edition
3.0
Flannery Malone knows the exact moment she fell in love with Tyrone O'Rourke. She also knows that their paths diverged, possibly forever, as they grew up. Now Flannery is sixteen and Tyrone is suddenly back--gorgeous and tall and never in school long enough to leave anything more than an impression. He is also, unbelievably, Flannery's partner for their entrepreneurship class.
Making love potions for her entrepreneurship project should be easy--even with Tyrone being more of a figurative partner than an actual help. Unfortunately that's only the beginning of Flannery's problems. Her free spirit mother, Miranda, is struggling to reconcile her vision as an artist with the family's very real bills. Her little brother is quickly moving from adorably contrary to complete menace.
Then there's Amber, Flannery's best friend. Amber used to care about two things above all others: swimming and her friendship with Flannery. That changes when Amber falls for a new guy who seems determined to make sure Amber cares about him--and nothing else--with dangerous consequences.
When word spreads that Flannery's love potions might actually work her simple project gets a lot more complicated as the potions, Tyrone, and Amber make Flannery rethink what she thought she knew (and what she thought was true) about love in Flannery (2016) by Lisa Moore.
Moore's standalone contemporary is a thoughtful commentary on love in its many forms. This deceptively slim novel is a meaty slice-of-life story centered on Flannery and her unconventional family. The love potion project--which spans a significant portion of Flannery's school year--frames this story and gives a unique lens to the events Flannery observes at home and at her school.
This novel is written in first person with a stream of consciousness feel. Flannery's narration is sharp of tongue and wit as she neatly parses friends, family and acquaintances in the present and through flashbacks. It's easy to imagine Flannery telling readers this story over a cup of cocoa in the mall food court.
Flannery has some beautiful moments about love, heartbreak, and family. A clever vignette of a book about the enduring power of love and choosing to be happy.
Possible Pairings: Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo, Piper Perish by Kayla Cagan, Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley, The Fashion Committee by Susan Juby, The Romantics by Leah Konen, Fly on the Wall by E. Lockheart, Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson, Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintera, The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood
Making love potions for her entrepreneurship project should be easy--even with Tyrone being more of a figurative partner than an actual help. Unfortunately that's only the beginning of Flannery's problems. Her free spirit mother, Miranda, is struggling to reconcile her vision as an artist with the family's very real bills. Her little brother is quickly moving from adorably contrary to complete menace.
Then there's Amber, Flannery's best friend. Amber used to care about two things above all others: swimming and her friendship with Flannery. That changes when Amber falls for a new guy who seems determined to make sure Amber cares about him--and nothing else--with dangerous consequences.
When word spreads that Flannery's love potions might actually work her simple project gets a lot more complicated as the potions, Tyrone, and Amber make Flannery rethink what she thought she knew (and what she thought was true) about love in Flannery (2016) by Lisa Moore.
Moore's standalone contemporary is a thoughtful commentary on love in its many forms. This deceptively slim novel is a meaty slice-of-life story centered on Flannery and her unconventional family. The love potion project--which spans a significant portion of Flannery's school year--frames this story and gives a unique lens to the events Flannery observes at home and at her school.
This novel is written in first person with a stream of consciousness feel. Flannery's narration is sharp of tongue and wit as she neatly parses friends, family and acquaintances in the present and through flashbacks. It's easy to imagine Flannery telling readers this story over a cup of cocoa in the mall food court.
Flannery has some beautiful moments about love, heartbreak, and family. A clever vignette of a book about the enduring power of love and choosing to be happy.
Possible Pairings: Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo, Piper Perish by Kayla Cagan, Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley, The Fashion Committee by Susan Juby, The Romantics by Leah Konen, Fly on the Wall by E. Lockheart, Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson, Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintera, The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood
katykat3's review against another edition
5.0
I've been somewhat disappointed with a few of the young adult novels that I've read this past year, but Flannery has restored my love in the genre! It was a such a great book; I've had a joy reading it. It's about a high school girl just trying to make it through and graduate and deal with all the punches life deals her, and there are a lot of punches. She's supported by her wonderful family throughout the process of figuring out who she really is, and trying to help her friends through their struggles as well.
I really enjoyed this book because I felt like the characters acted like real people (well except the main bullying scene seemed a little crazy to me but I don't know, I guess it could happen) and were relatable. Though her mother is...unconventional, the love and support she gives Flannery is beautiful. And I love how Flannery grows up in the novel, and how she sticks up for herself at the end. It's a very natural progression of how she grows up. And the love potions drifting through it all can't help but bring a smile to your face :)
I received this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
I really enjoyed this book because I felt like the characters acted like real people (well except the main bullying scene seemed a little crazy to me but I don't know, I guess it could happen) and were relatable. Though her mother is...unconventional, the love and support she gives Flannery is beautiful. And I love how Flannery grows up in the novel, and how she sticks up for herself at the end. It's a very natural progression of how she grows up. And the love potions drifting through it all can't help but bring a smile to your face :)
I received this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
lememories's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
gives u butterflies for sure,, but honestly the events to that were told felt very all over the place and hard to follow through.