Scan barcode
kaylareadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I was so excited for this book but It wasnt as good as I was hoping it would be. I read it over the summer and it was fun but i hated the ending. I loved that it took place on Fire Island but it was just not my favorite.
rdyourbookcase's review against another edition
4.0
Ok, so I saw the author of Be True To Me was Adele Griffin, and snatched it up. I didn’t even read what it was about.
After I had started it, I read the description on Goodreads, and realized it took place in the ‘70s. I just thought that the characters were into classic rock. Oops. It’s a good thing I figured out the time frame, because it became important later. Everything in the plot builds up to a terrifying incident at the end of the book. It kept me turning the pages, but I wasn’t super happy with how the incident turned out. Overall, I enjoyed the backstabbing and suspense throughout the book.
I think fans of Gossip Girl or We Were Liars would enjoy Be True To Me.
After I had started it, I read the description on Goodreads, and realized it took place in the ‘70s. I just thought that the characters were into classic rock. Oops. It’s a good thing I figured out the time frame, because it became important later. Everything in the plot builds up to a terrifying incident at the end of the book. It kept me turning the pages, but I wasn’t super happy with how the incident turned out. Overall, I enjoyed the backstabbing and suspense throughout the book.
I think fans of Gossip Girl or We Were Liars would enjoy Be True To Me.
missprint_'s review against another edition
2.0
Is it that I'm too close to the 1970s (when my mom was in her prime so I have already heard about it from her) or too far from it (as a 1980s baby)? Either way I don't really care about the setting here and don't understand the choice--I guess because class distinctions would have been more pronounced? The dichotomy between Jean and Fritz is interesting but it was never clear to me why this story had to be told in the 1970s.
Be True to Me hits similar notes to The Great Gatsby with similar outcomes. It's atmospheric but slow to ease into the plot. It's dual first person POV between Jean and Fritz and their voices are hard to distinguish although their lives and perspectives are very different except when it comes to their fascination with and attraction to Gil. I don't mind love triangles at all but it bothered me that the whole point of the book was these two girls being set against each other both by society and their own choices. Which I guess is the point Griffin is trying to make here. It just felt much less compelling without a lack of connection to either the setting or the story.
You can find this review and more on my blog Miss Print
Be True to Me hits similar notes to The Great Gatsby with similar outcomes. It's atmospheric but slow to ease into the plot. It's dual first person POV between Jean and Fritz and their voices are hard to distinguish although their lives and perspectives are very different except when it comes to their fascination with and attraction to Gil. I don't mind love triangles at all but it bothered me that the whole point of the book was these two girls being set against each other both by society and their own choices. Which I guess is the point Griffin is trying to make here. It just felt much less compelling without a lack of connection to either the setting or the story.
You can find this review and more on my blog Miss Print
michelle_pink_polka_dot's review against another edition
5.0
Summery with an edge. A book that made me miss those childhood summers of freedom and friends. It's also completely addicting and I'll be so tired now that I've stayed up all night reading.
I was so excited for this book because-- 70's, and summer, and ADELE GRIFFIN. I know Ms. Griffin doesn't make most people's lists of fave authors, but she's super high on mine. You wanna know why?? It's because her books fucking GO FOR IT. They aren't perfect, and things don't always go the way I want them to go. The characters are HARSH. But I love the fact that it's so completely different with a unique writing style.
It's the summer of 1976-- the bicentennial. Man, it made me wish I was alive to celebrate America's 200th year. I'll bet is was a great party. Anyway, the setting and the era was complete perfection. I loved the 70's fashions and slang. I loved the way summer came through this book so hard I could almost smell the sunshine and sunscreen.
Characters: As I started reading it, I really took Jean's side. It's about 2 girls with nothing in common except that they both spend summers in a town on Fire Island. I feel like Fritz (the other girl), is the one that most people will gravitate towards-- she's definitely more likable.... but you know me. I have to be a rebel and like the one I'm probably not supposed to. The thing is, Jean was flawed and had all the resources and advantages, but at the same time she had an inner pain that I could relate to. She goes through a big character arc, deals with heartbreak, but she's the type who will always land on her feet eventually. She's the type that I root for.
Now we get to the end. Holy smokes. The ending gives this book an edge that honestly, I think it needed. Up until then it was just about a love-triangle-- and those can get annoying. About 3/4ths of the way through things started getting INTENSE and I could not stop reading. I was up super late because I just HAD to know. Don't you love when that happens??
OVERALL: OMG YES!!! It's the perfect summer book--- plus it's the 70's!!! How many 70's YA books are there being published? It's addicting, cool, edgy, and about so much more than a love-triangle.
My Blog:
I was so excited for this book because-- 70's, and summer, and ADELE GRIFFIN. I know Ms. Griffin doesn't make most people's lists of fave authors, but she's super high on mine. You wanna know why?? It's because her books fucking GO FOR IT. They aren't perfect, and things don't always go the way I want them to go. The characters are HARSH. But I love the fact that it's so completely different with a unique writing style.
It's the summer of 1976-- the bicentennial. Man, it made me wish I was alive to celebrate America's 200th year. I'll bet is was a great party. Anyway, the setting and the era was complete perfection. I loved the 70's fashions and slang. I loved the way summer came through this book so hard I could almost smell the sunshine and sunscreen.
Characters: As I started reading it, I really took Jean's side. It's about 2 girls with nothing in common except that they both spend summers in a town on Fire Island. I feel like Fritz (the other girl), is the one that most people will gravitate towards-- she's definitely more likable.... but you know me. I have to be a rebel and like the one I'm probably not supposed to. The thing is, Jean was flawed and had all the resources and advantages, but at the same time she had an inner pain that I could relate to. She goes through a big character arc, deals with heartbreak, but she's the type who will always land on her feet eventually. She's the type that I root for.
Now we get to the end. Holy smokes. The ending gives this book an edge that honestly, I think it needed. Up until then it was just about a love-triangle-- and those can get annoying. About 3/4ths of the way through things started getting INTENSE and I could not stop reading. I was up super late because I just HAD to know. Don't you love when that happens??
OVERALL: OMG YES!!! It's the perfect summer book--- plus it's the 70's!!! How many 70's YA books are there being published? It's addicting, cool, edgy, and about so much more than a love-triangle.
My Blog:
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
Set on Fire Island in 1976, this is a story about two girls -- Jean and Fritz -- and the new boy they're fighting over. It's a story of heat and romance, of summer, and about two girls who don't hate each other, don't tear one another down, but who are fiercely competitive, both on the tennis court and off. Griffin can write twists in her stories and this one is no exception. I'd come to accept something as the resolution and then BAM it was pulled from me (in a good way).
These are rich white kids getting in trouble, so it should appeal hugely to those who loved We Were Liars or other books in that vain. Well written, and the setting in 1976 really gives flavor to that time period without feeling like it's an ode to nostalgia.
One thing that I loved, and it's a small thing, was that both Jean and Fritz have sex with Gil in the book, and their experiences of that first time are so wildly differently. It's nice to see a story where that first sexual encounter is rendered in two very different, and yet totally normal, capacities.
These are rich white kids getting in trouble, so it should appeal hugely to those who loved We Were Liars or other books in that vain. Well written, and the setting in 1976 really gives flavor to that time period without feeling like it's an ode to nostalgia.
One thing that I loved, and it's a small thing, was that both Jean and Fritz have sex with Gil in the book, and their experiences of that first time are so wildly differently. It's nice to see a story where that first sexual encounter is rendered in two very different, and yet totally normal, capacities.
midnightbookgirl's review against another edition
4.0
1976. Two girls that should have been friends, and a boy trying to straddle two worlds. Because of, and not despite of, their flaws, I connected to both Jean and Fritz. I even understood Gil. The ending is emotionally draining, but holy shiz is it worth it. Big mistakes, small mistakes, selfish mistakes and angry mistakes all add up for one amazing story of two girls, one boy, and one small island.
readwithtay's review against another edition
4.0
{4/5}
THIS BOOK LEFT ME SHOOOOK LIKE HOLY HELL THAT ENDIIING!
THIS BOOK LEFT ME SHOOOOK LIKE HOLY HELL THAT ENDIIING!