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thehodgenator's review against another edition
4.0
When I requested this, I thought I was going to get a novel about awkward moments of losing virginity. I was not prepared for what was waiting for me. Not. At. All.
This collection contains ten short stories that bring readers into the lives of teens in a vulnerable time in their lives, dealing with sexuality.
And I do not mean that the characters are trying to figure out if they are gay. I mean they are trying to deal with life, and sex happens to be a part of that.
Each author deals with a different element of “losing it”—but all of their stories revolve around the emotion that surrounds it.
The strength in the storytelling lies in the heart and honesty of each one. From dealing with sexuality to an honor killing, these authors do not hold back. There is something here for every reader.
In some stories sex happens consensually. In one it does not. And in one, miscommunication leads to the loss of life.
Each story was memorable to me for numerous reasons, and I did not have a favorite. I felt that all of them carried equal weight, but some left me feeling sadness.
With that said, this was a powerful read. The pacing of the stories, their placement within the anthology, it was a whole package for me.
This is a great source of discussion when it comes to sexuality in the world—not in America—and how it is perceived differently, especially the honor killing.
I would recommend this for any teen who is looking for raw emotion when it comes to reading about sex, but I especially think it is a powerful read for parents of teens. It is a reminder that no matter how we feel about sex and teens decision to have it—and for those who have the decision taken from them—it is important to remember that this is an element of growing into adulthood, and that the doors of communication need to be open, no matter how uncomfortable it may make us. Our kids need to be able to communicate with us, with each other, and we need to be willing to listen.
This collection contains ten short stories that bring readers into the lives of teens in a vulnerable time in their lives, dealing with sexuality.
And I do not mean that the characters are trying to figure out if they are gay. I mean they are trying to deal with life, and sex happens to be a part of that.
Each author deals with a different element of “losing it”—but all of their stories revolve around the emotion that surrounds it.
The strength in the storytelling lies in the heart and honesty of each one. From dealing with sexuality to an honor killing, these authors do not hold back. There is something here for every reader.
In some stories sex happens consensually. In one it does not. And in one, miscommunication leads to the loss of life.
Each story was memorable to me for numerous reasons, and I did not have a favorite. I felt that all of them carried equal weight, but some left me feeling sadness.
With that said, this was a powerful read. The pacing of the stories, their placement within the anthology, it was a whole package for me.
This is a great source of discussion when it comes to sexuality in the world—not in America—and how it is perceived differently, especially the honor killing.
I would recommend this for any teen who is looking for raw emotion when it comes to reading about sex, but I especially think it is a powerful read for parents of teens. It is a reminder that no matter how we feel about sex and teens decision to have it—and for those who have the decision taken from them—it is important to remember that this is an element of growing into adulthood, and that the doors of communication need to be open, no matter how uncomfortable it may make us. Our kids need to be able to communicate with us, with each other, and we need to be willing to listen.
jessicadepressedica's review
5.0
This book was so great! I know what you're thinking, but it's really not like that... ok, maybe some of it is.... but the stories in this collection were so diverse! My favorites were the stories by Mary Hooper (about child prostitution with a historic fic twist), Patrick Ness, and Bali Rai (a heart-wrenching story about honor killings). I am so glad I decided to give this collection a go!
jerma985's review against another edition
2.0
Please do not read this book it is a waste of time. It's completely and utterly childish and mediocre writing. Just Do. Not. Read. You'll be saving yourself a lot of trouble and dignity.
jowillread's review against another edition
4.0
“It’s that kind of story. Certain words are necessary because this is real life, but you can’t actually show ‘em because we’re too young to read about the stuff we actually do, yeah?”
Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Has anyone seen Cinema Paradiso?
If yes: Stick with me for this bit and read my highlyconvoluted intelligent analogy.
If no but you don’t mind it being spoilt: Stick with me for this bit and read my highlyconvoluted intelligent analogy.
If no but you would rather it not be spoilt: I loved this book and you can skip ahead to the high points.
You know the part where the priest tells Alfredo that he has to censor the films he shows in his cinema? And Alfredo explains this to Toto, his young apprentice, that he has to cut all the rude scenes out and all these clippings are in the big box? And then when the cut film is playing the audience boo because the scene cuts just when the couples are about to kiss?
That’s usually me when I’m reading a YA book.
I can probably count on both hands the books I’ve read recently where teenagers have sex.
Maybe I’m just reading the wrong books or maybe it’s because it doesn’t have any relevance to the story and the characters or maybe it’s because if a teenager reads a book where characters have sex, or even discuss sex, they will obviously run out and have immoral sex in an alley behind the nearest paper shop.
So at the end of Cinema Paradiso, Alfredo sends the now grown up Toto a film of all the rude scenes spliced together and it’s all emotional and lovely and brilliant.
This book was the literary equivalent of that end scene.
It was like Mr Gray had gone through all the snippets and cut scenes of books from YA writers all across the world and put them together into one fantastic collection.
High Points.
SEX! Home-grown writers. Realistic portrayal of emotions. Awkward parent chats. Awkward teacher chats. Great dialogue. Condoms on cucumbers. Vocal grannies. Footie shirts. Cock-cagoules. Hand-shandies. History. Diversity. The importance of being honest about sex. Truth. The censorship discussion.
If I could get away with giving this book five stars, full marks, performing a solo Mexican Wave in its honour based solely on Mr Ness’ “It’s Different For Boys”....I would.
But unfortunately I can’t.
So anyone who has everseen me wear my “I LOVE NESS” t-shirt heard me talking about Ness and his writing will know that it makes me lose my [blank] mind.
And these 50 pages or so were no exception.
My other favourites were Scoring by Keith Gray, The White Towel by Bali Rai and The Way It Is by Sophie McKenzie.
Low Points.
I wish there had been more stories told from the perspective of the girls. Out of the eight stories, only two were told from the perspective of the ladies. (I’m not counting Anne Fine’s because it’s told from a teacher’s viewpoint and Ms McKenzie’s was told from alternating perspective ) . Maybe it was just because the first four stories were about the boys but, to me anyway, it seemed to be an extremely male-centric book.
I actually enjoyed all of the stories but I couldn’t help but think that both Melvin Burgess and Mary Hooper’s stories would have been so much better if they were part of a longer book.
But the more I think about it, the more that is actually a high point because I wanted to know more about their brilliant characters… but, whatever… I had to find something, didn’t I?
Theme Tune.
I struggled to narrow my collection down to one.... so I didn't.
Here are a few because
There | were | about | a | million | that | I | could | have | chosen.
But I’ll leave the decision with you.
Sadness Scale.
It’s difficult to give a number because most of these stories are absolutely hilarious so they kind of toned the sadness down.
But I will say that Bali Rai and Mary Hooper’s story practically gutted me. I’ve never read anything by either of those two authors but based on those stories I definitely will be doing so in the future.
Recommended For.
People who boo when YA books fade to black or get all tongue-tied when *whispers* sex is brought up. People who are looking for a collection of hilarious, heart breaking and realistic contemporary stories. People who have ever had an awkward conversation with their parents and teachers about sex.
You can read this review and other exciting things on my blog here.
Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Has anyone seen Cinema Paradiso?
If yes: Stick with me for this bit and read my highly
If no but you don’t mind it being spoilt: Stick with me for this bit and read my highly
If no but you would rather it not be spoilt: I loved this book and you can skip ahead to the high points.
You know the part where the priest tells Alfredo that he has to censor the films he shows in his cinema? And Alfredo explains this to Toto, his young apprentice, that he has to cut all the rude scenes out and all these clippings are in the big box? And then when the cut film is playing the audience boo because the scene cuts just when the couples are about to kiss?
That’s usually me when I’m reading a YA book.
I can probably count on both hands the books I’ve read recently where teenagers have sex.
Maybe I’m just reading the wrong books or maybe it’s because it doesn’t have any relevance to the story and the characters or maybe it’s because if a teenager reads a book where characters have sex, or even discuss sex, they will obviously run out and have immoral sex in an alley behind the nearest paper shop.
So at the end of Cinema Paradiso, Alfredo sends the now grown up Toto a film of all the rude scenes spliced together and it’s all emotional and lovely and brilliant.
This book was the literary equivalent of that end scene.
It was like Mr Gray had gone through all the snippets and cut scenes of books from YA writers all across the world and put them together into one fantastic collection.
High Points.
SEX! Home-grown writers. Realistic portrayal of emotions. Awkward parent chats. Awkward teacher chats. Great dialogue. Condoms on cucumbers. Vocal grannies. Footie shirts. Cock-cagoules. Hand-shandies. History. Diversity. The importance of being honest about sex. Truth. The censorship discussion.
If I could get away with giving this book five stars, full marks, performing a solo Mexican Wave in its honour based solely on Mr Ness’ “It’s Different For Boys”....I would.
But unfortunately I can’t.
So anyone who has ever
And these 50 pages or so were no exception.
My other favourites were Scoring by Keith Gray, The White Towel by Bali Rai and The Way It Is by Sophie McKenzie.
Low Points.
I wish there had been more stories told from the perspective of the girls. Out of the eight stories, only two were told from the perspective of the ladies. (I’m not counting Anne Fine’s because it’s told from a teacher’s viewpoint and Ms McKenzie’s was told from alternating perspective ) . Maybe it was just because the first four stories were about the boys but, to me anyway, it seemed to be an extremely male-centric book.
I actually enjoyed all of the stories but I couldn’t help but think that both Melvin Burgess and Mary Hooper’s stories would have been so much better if they were part of a longer book.
But the more I think about it, the more that is actually a high point because I wanted to know more about their brilliant characters… but, whatever… I had to find something, didn’t I?
Theme Tune.
I struggled to narrow my collection down to one.... so I didn't.
Here are a few because
There | were | about | a | million | that | I | could | have | chosen.
But I’ll leave the decision with you.
Sadness Scale.
It’s difficult to give a number because most of these stories are absolutely hilarious so they kind of toned the sadness down.
But I will say that Bali Rai and Mary Hooper’s story practically gutted me. I’ve never read anything by either of those two authors but based on those stories I definitely will be doing so in the future.
Recommended For.
People who boo when YA books fade to black or get all tongue-tied when *whispers* sex is brought up. People who are looking for a collection of hilarious, heart breaking and realistic contemporary stories. People who have ever had an awkward conversation with their parents and teachers about sex.
You can read this review and other exciting things on my blog here.
fionareads2much's review against another edition
3.0
The first few stories were pretty good but it got really boring after them
alinaborger's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this, both the variety of voices and styles and the British-ness of it. I also like the way it challenges our constructions around teen sexuality and "first times."
thegreatergatsby's review
5.0
This is such a wonderful collection of short stories that I think every single person should read, regardless of your age. (Obviously be mature enough)
rebeka_r's review against another edition
3.0
Did I finish this one in one sitting? Well yes, yes I did. Did I enjoyed it? Not so much. Well it depends on the story.
First of all, I have to mention that Slovenian edition has 10 stories not just 8, because there are two Slovenian authors included. I can't remember the last time I read a book by Slovenian author.
"It was last summer, Rebeka."
"Oh... right. But it doesn't count."
Why not? Because it was middle grade book. And reading young adult stories about teenagers in my country felt so familiar (anyone who's reading this and it's not Slovenian will have no idea what I'm talking about, but the rest of you will get it). I was already smiling when I started reading the first story, which is by Slovenian author. Because there are mentions of Pohod ob žici, Škisova tržnica and štajerske rovte (štajerske rovte = expression we use to describe small towns in the middle of the nowhere usually surrounded by hills, this time specifically in Styria), by which I was offended, because guess what I live in one of those towns. And yet it was so great to read about a place you know so well. It was the same with the last story. At the mention of Maribor my face lit up and I knew of every event that was described in the story. I really wish we would get more young adult books by Slovenian authors.
As for the other stories. I wish we would get more stories from girls point of view. And even those few that we got were more deep and you know, were those kind of stories that give you something to think about. There was prostitution and The white towel story which was also about a girl, but other than that it was always guys who lost their virginity. Maybe, just maybe girls would like to read about how it was for girls to lose theirs too.
The one I liked the most was by Patrick Ness, but that really isn't a surprise. As I scrolled through reviews I noticed that most readers liked his the most. At first I wasn't a big fan of all the black spaces because I was afraid I'm not going to understand the story because of it. I had nothing to fear, because in the end, even with those black spaces the story was clear.
One of Slovenian authors touched similar topic, which I'm really happy about because I don't think we get enough books (translated or by Slovenian authors) that represent LGBTQ+ community. As much as I don't like to admit that, I think Slovenia is still very homophobic country and my opinion is that books are a way to change that. Anyway this story is about a girl who writes a letter to her friend when she's on vacation, because of something that happened between them before she left. It was little bit confusing for me, because we never get to see the letter and apparently she wrote it in a way that her friened has no clue what she wanted to say with it. At the end it is revealed that they got drunk and had sex. But all that before the ending is just soo confusing and it doesn't make any sense.
First of all, I have to mention that Slovenian edition has 10 stories not just 8, because there are two Slovenian authors included. I can't remember the last time I read a book by Slovenian author.
"It was last summer, Rebeka."
"Oh... right. But it doesn't count."
Why not? Because it was middle grade book. And reading young adult stories about teenagers in my country felt so familiar (anyone who's reading this and it's not Slovenian will have no idea what I'm talking about, but the rest of you will get it). I was already smiling when I started reading the first story, which is by Slovenian author. Because there are mentions of Pohod ob žici, Škisova tržnica and štajerske rovte (štajerske rovte = expression we use to describe small towns in the middle of the nowhere usually surrounded by hills, this time specifically in Styria), by which I was offended, because guess what I live in one of those towns. And yet it was so great to read about a place you know so well. It was the same with the last story. At the mention of Maribor my face lit up and I knew of every event that was described in the story. I really wish we would get more young adult books by Slovenian authors.
As for the other stories. I wish we would get more stories from girls point of view. And even those few that we got were more deep and you know, were those kind of stories that give you something to think about. There was prostitution and The white towel story which was also about a girl, but other than that it was always guys who lost their virginity. Maybe, just maybe girls would like to read about how it was for girls to lose theirs too.
The one I liked the most was by Patrick Ness, but that really isn't a surprise. As I scrolled through reviews I noticed that most readers liked his the most. At first I wasn't a big fan of all the black spaces because I was afraid I'm not going to understand the story because of it. I had nothing to fear, because in the end, even with those black spaces the story was clear.
One of Slovenian authors touched similar topic, which I'm really happy about because I don't think we get enough books (translated or by Slovenian authors) that represent LGBTQ+ community. As much as I don't like to admit that, I think Slovenia is still very homophobic country and my opinion is that books are a way to change that. Anyway this story is about a girl who writes a letter to her friend when she's on vacation, because of something that happened between them before she left. It was little bit confusing for me, because we never get to see the letter and apparently she wrote it in a way that her friened has no clue what she wanted to say with it. At the end it is revealed that they got drunk and had sex. But all that before the ending is just soo confusing and it doesn't make any sense.
dutchlauren's review against another edition
2.0
I particularly enjoyed Patrick Ness', Sophie McKenzie's, Melvin Burgess' and Keith Gray's stories.