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brimclala's review against another edition
4.0
I'd probably give this a 3.5. However, I read this awhile ago when I was about 15 or 16. If I had read Beige at my current age, 22, I don't think I would have liked it as much. With that said, this is a great book for teenagers!
lazygal's review against another edition
2.0
Rather predictable story: Katy (an uptight Quebecois-American) is sent by her mother to live in LA with her father. Mom's off to Peru to work at an archaeological dig and Katy hasn't seen her father in eight years - sounds like the perfect solution, right? Dad's The Rat, a Tommy Lee clone for an infamous band named Suck (no umlauts!), lives like an absolute slob and has no idea how to relate to his daughter.
Turns out, Katy's repressed. So when Lake "befriends" her (because The Rat's paying her, not because she'd actually like someone like Katy), Lake decides to name her Beige, as in bland. Boring. Dull.
There are two boys, Leo and Garth. There's punk and near-punk and drums and "merch" and by the end, well, Katy's learned to not be afraid to let her inner emotions show, to sing, to like music, etc.. The Rat is actually a pretty good father, and Lake turns into a friend. As I said, predictable.
Not quite beige-predictable, more mauve.
Turns out, Katy's repressed. So when Lake "befriends" her (because The Rat's paying her, not because she'd actually like someone like Katy), Lake decides to name her Beige, as in bland. Boring. Dull.
There are two boys, Leo and Garth. There's punk and near-punk and drums and "merch" and by the end, well, Katy's learned to not be afraid to let her inner emotions show, to sing, to like music, etc.. The Rat is actually a pretty good father, and Lake turns into a friend. As I said, predictable.
Not quite beige-predictable, more mauve.
librariann's review against another edition
3.0
Canadian Katy (dubbed "Beige" by punk girl Lake) goes to visit her estranged rocker Dad in L.A. when her PhD student mom goes off for a dig in Peru. A 2 1/2 week jaunt turns into the whole summer, and bland ol' Katy learns to appreciate music. Fun, except for the whole "parents are ex drug addicts" thing.
celestemarin's review against another edition
Meh. Everything that you expect to happen does. I'm hesitant to give it a rating because it's not terrible but it's just really... beige.
abigailbat's review against another edition
4.0
Katy has been transplanted from Montreal to LA for the summer to stay with her ex-punk-rocker dad while her mom is out of the country doing research. Katy has only met her dad a handful of times and hasn't seen him since she was seven. She has no desire to make up for lost time. She's thrust into this greasy, sweaty, dark punk-rock world and she knows that she doesn't fit in. Compared to the people around her, she's so... beige. She tells herself that she'll hold her nose, power through, and pretend she's somewhere else. But things don't always turn out as planned and once Katy gives this world half a chance, it might be the very thing that will help her figure out who she really is.
I almost put this book down after about fifty pages. I hated Katy. HATED. She was such a bitch! She didn't give anything a chance before she decided that it was terrible and she hated it. She was terribly dishonest with everyone around her, preferring to be nice and bite her tongue instead of experiencing the world.
Luckily, I did not put it down because by the end of the book I loved Katy. So, pick this book up. And don't put it down until you've finished it. :)
I almost put this book down after about fifty pages. I hated Katy. HATED. She was such a bitch! She didn't give anything a chance before she decided that it was terrible and she hated it. She was terribly dishonest with everyone around her, preferring to be nice and bite her tongue instead of experiencing the world.
Luckily, I did not put it down because by the end of the book I loved Katy. So, pick this book up. And don't put it down until you've finished it. :)
sumayyah_t's review against another edition
4.0
I wanted to hate Katy. She came across as obnoxious and stuck up in the beginning. She harbored a strong dislike for everything that did not fit into her world back home in Canada, including her father, who was obviously trying very hard.
The book takes place over the summer. What was supposed to be a 2 week visit turned into a 2 month stay. During the course of the story, we see Katy begin to blossom. She goes from an "I hate everything about this place" to a "hey, this is kind of cool" young woman. When she leaves, she discovers that maybe, just maybe, she actually had fun.
Though I would love to see a sequel, I know that it would probably ruin the story. :)
The book takes place over the summer. What was supposed to be a 2 week visit turned into a 2 month stay. During the course of the story, we see Katy begin to blossom. She goes from an "I hate everything about this place" to a "hey, this is kind of cool" young woman. When she leaves, she discovers that maybe, just maybe, she actually had fun.
Though I would love to see a sequel, I know that it would probably ruin the story. :)
showlola's review against another edition
4.0
When her mother goes on a research trip to Peru, Katy spends some time with her estranged punk rock father in LA.
I was surprised by this book. I wasn't a particular fan of Boy Proof, but I really enjoyed this. Katy's outsider perspective and immersion in the world of LA felt natural and authentic. Character development and supporting characters were also really strong. Looking forward to reading Castellucci's next book.
I was surprised by this book. I wasn't a particular fan of Boy Proof, but I really enjoyed this. Katy's outsider perspective and immersion in the world of LA felt natural and authentic. Character development and supporting characters were also really strong. Looking forward to reading Castellucci's next book.
sparklesonmars's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
4.5
This is a book about what happens when you really get to know people who (you think) are very different from yourself, and the friendship that can bloom when we let our walls down and subvert our expectations. It is also the only book I have not only been able to read more than once, but at least three times. I first read it when I was in about 8th or 9th grade, and though it is not a work I would say holds significant artistic or literary merit, it is one that deeply resonated with me at that time in my life. I haven’t read it since I was a teen, so though I want to say it is a book I recommend everyone read, I cannot vouch that it would stand up to such claims under an adult’s scrutinizing view. If you are a person that enjoys reading YA, please give it a shot. It is full of heart, and full of (s)punk— pun intended.
valhecka's review against another edition
5.0
Completely not what I expected, in the best way possible. This is one of the first books I've read that really encompasses what it's like to be the kid of an addict, and the effects it has on you when you're growing up, and how hard it is to realize that not everyone lives the way you do and not everyone has the walls up that you do and then how hard it is to take them down and learn how to live without them, how to communicate and how to connect. Castellucci handles it beautifully. It's subtle, enough that people unfamiliar with that type of family dynamic might write Katy off as a bratty, spineless stick-in-the-mud (I see a lot of that on the reviews page) - but for me, at least, it resonated like nothing else has.