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eengasser's review
5.0
I absolutely love summer vacation novels, and this one was exactly that! I loved the story between the two main characters. A great beach read if you're looking for one!
chrissymcbooknerd's review
4.0
CRUEL SUMMER in one line: A cute, summer read.
In more lines?
Well... Colby is a pretty typical high school girl. She's completely obsessed with getting into the in-crowd, which works out pretty well for her now since Amanda, the most popular (hateful?) girl in school is finally paying attention to her. Not to mention that Levi, the sexy high school stud she's been eying, seems to want to take things to the next level. Now, it's summertime and Colby is ready to bask in the glow of her new-found popularity. The world is beautiful and life is good... until...
Her parents announce that they are getting a divorce. And, while they work things out, they want to move Colby in with her aunt for the summer (for her own good, of course). Her aunt, dubbed "Crazy Aunt Tally" by Colby's parents, lives on a remote island of Greece where she survives without cell-phones, internet, or television. After one time visiting the slow-paced relaxation of the culture, Tally decided to plant her roots for good in Greece.
But... this doesn't mean Colby is ready to spend a summer apart from her accustomed modern amenities! After all, high school popularity is short-lived, and Amanda and Levi have short attention spans, so Colby can't afford not to stay connected (both virtually and "IRL") this summer!
Except, once she gets to Greece.... she meets this boy called Yannis....
...... continued on my blog.....
In more lines?
Well... Colby is a pretty typical high school girl. She's completely obsessed with getting into the in-crowd, which works out pretty well for her now since Amanda, the most popular (hateful?) girl in school is finally paying attention to her. Not to mention that Levi, the sexy high school stud she's been eying, seems to want to take things to the next level. Now, it's summertime and Colby is ready to bask in the glow of her new-found popularity. The world is beautiful and life is good... until...
Her parents announce that they are getting a divorce. And, while they work things out, they want to move Colby in with her aunt for the summer (for her own good, of course). Her aunt, dubbed "Crazy Aunt Tally" by Colby's parents, lives on a remote island of Greece where she survives without cell-phones, internet, or television. After one time visiting the slow-paced relaxation of the culture, Tally decided to plant her roots for good in Greece.
But... this doesn't mean Colby is ready to spend a summer apart from her accustomed modern amenities! After all, high school popularity is short-lived, and Amanda and Levi have short attention spans, so Colby can't afford not to stay connected (both virtually and "IRL") this summer!
Except, once she gets to Greece.... she meets this boy called Yannis....
...... continued on my blog.....
abigailbat's review
4.0
Colby has finally penetrated the inner circle of the cool kids at her high school when her divorcing parents send her to Greece for the summer. At first Colby clings to home, desperate to maintain the fragile friendship she's developed with bitchy Queen Bee Amanda, but as the summer unfolds she figures out where her loyalties lie and she learns to take life as it comes. Told in journal entries, emails, blog posts, and text messages.
I really enjoyed this funny, fresh novel. Colby starts off pretty clueless and really hurting about her parents' divorce (although she doesn't know how to express it) and she really grows and develops over the course of the novel. It's a mite predictable and Colby seems to act younger than her age, but for me it was funny enough to overlook those slight flaws. Between the cover and the title, I thought I was in for a Gossip Girls-esque read, but I'd liked it more to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Read more on my blog:
http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/2008/12/book-review-cruel-summer.html
I really enjoyed this funny, fresh novel. Colby starts off pretty clueless and really hurting about her parents' divorce (although she doesn't know how to express it) and she really grows and develops over the course of the novel. It's a mite predictable and Colby seems to act younger than her age, but for me it was funny enough to overlook those slight flaws. Between the cover and the title, I thought I was in for a Gossip Girls-esque read, but I'd liked it more to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Read more on my blog:
http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/2008/12/book-review-cruel-summer.html
sarahpyt's review
1.0
When I first started reading Cruel Summer, I almost put it down. It wasn't horrible, but it was definitely not for me. Colby seemed annoying and spoiled, but around the middle of the novel, she got likable enough that I could continue reading. Thats not very good. I grabbed this book because it takes place in Greece, which is one of my favorite places in the world, but was disappointed when all Colby did was complain about it.
I decided to give Alyson Noel another chance after reading Saving Zoe, so because I was short on money, I got this book from the library. I'm glad I did. Cruel Summer was written only through blog entries, letters, diary entries, and texts, which was confusing because it didn't show anyone's messages but Colby's and left the minor characters undeveloped. I also felt that everything that happened was predictable. The plot was very unoriginal, and even the "twists" in the story were not unexpected or surprising. Overall, I would not recommend this book to anyone :/
I decided to give Alyson Noel another chance after reading Saving Zoe, so because I was short on money, I got this book from the library. I'm glad I did. Cruel Summer was written only through blog entries, letters, diary entries, and texts, which was confusing because it didn't show anyone's messages but Colby's and left the minor characters undeveloped. I also felt that everything that happened was predictable. The plot was very unoriginal, and even the "twists" in the story were not unexpected or surprising. Overall, I would not recommend this book to anyone :/
nesisnon's review against another edition
3.0
Stále tak celkom neverím faktu, že to napísala Noel... Tááá Noel? O_o
melbsreads's review
3.0
Trigger warnings: divorcing parents, death.
This was...fine? But also, I strongly suspect, quite forgettable. So essentially, it's told in diary entries, emails and letters from a teenage girl sent from California to Greece to stay with her aunt while her parents sort out their messy divorce.
The setting shines in some ways, but also Colby spends most of her time in the local internet cafe because her aunt doesn't have a computer at home. The text speak that's used in Colby's emails to some of her friends is INDESCRIBABLY cringeworthy and I definitely struggled my way through some of her "blog posts" where she's essentially just describing a bunch of images that are supposedly in the post.
But it was a quick easy read so I guess there's that.
This was...fine? But also, I strongly suspect, quite forgettable. So essentially, it's told in diary entries, emails and letters from a teenage girl sent from California to Greece to stay with her aunt while her parents sort out their messy divorce.
The setting shines in some ways, but also Colby spends most of her time in the local internet cafe because her aunt doesn't have a computer at home. The text speak that's used in Colby's emails to some of her friends is INDESCRIBABLY cringeworthy and I definitely struggled my way through some of her "blog posts" where she's essentially just describing a bunch of images that are supposedly in the post.
But it was a quick easy read so I guess there's that.
greenbeanteenqueen's review
4.0
I am a HUGE fan of anything written by Alyson Noel, so I was super excited when an advanced copy of this book (actually signed by the author herself!) found it's way into my hands. I wasn't able to read it right away, because work got in the way, so this week I finally was able to sit down and travel to Greece with Colby and Yannis. The story is told through Colby's "Journal for Desperate Times", e-mails, letters and her blog. Colby's desperate measures made me laugh out loud and she was a great narrator and very relateable. The whole time I was reading I wanted to pack my bags and join Colby and Yannis on Tinos. This is one book that should be on everyone's summer beach read list!
jpjordicat's review
4.0
This is was cute, and good. Not great, and not exactly what I was expecting. It went really fast because since there were no chapters, I never knew when to stop. It never exactly got boring, which is a plus. But not the best book I have ever read.