Scan barcode
stephxsu's review
3.0
Jeannine Garsee tackles the difficult subjects of homosexuality, homophobia, and family loyalty in SAY THE WORD. In particular, I found the family loyalty issue most striking. It’s incredibly difficult for an author to create a despicable character who we want to beat the crap out of, yet still empathize and understand where he’s coming from. Mr. Gallagher, and, to a lesser extent, Shawna, are two such characters. They’re flawed, sometimes with unadmirable points of view or attitudes, and yet you can’t help but feel for them, can’t help but understand where they’re coming from, even as you wish for them to grow up.
I feel like the issue of homophobia could have been discussed more in-depth, and I certainly wasn’t satisfied with the blasé way in which Shawna’s sex life was treated. The characters of Shawna, her dad, Schmule, and even Shawna’s friend LeeLee were well developed, but something was missing in Shawna’s budding friendship with—and later, romantic attraction to— Arye. That came out of nowhere, and I found myself unable to understand their relationship.
Even with those small complaints, I found SAY THE WORD to be an overall good read, perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Elizabeth Scott.
I feel like the issue of homophobia could have been discussed more in-depth, and I certainly wasn’t satisfied with the blasé way in which Shawna’s sex life was treated. The characters of Shawna, her dad, Schmule, and even Shawna’s friend LeeLee were well developed, but something was missing in Shawna’s budding friendship with—and later, romantic attraction to— Arye. That came out of nowhere, and I found myself unable to understand their relationship.
Even with those small complaints, I found SAY THE WORD to be an overall good read, perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Elizabeth Scott.
brittys_books's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kanaan's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
books_plan_create's review
5.0
This one is outstanding! Lesbian mom leaves family for her lover, years later she dies. Now the new family is thrown together with the old family. Such a great book.
nerfherder86's review
5.0
High school senior Shawna has her world pretty much begin to crumble when the phone call arrives--her mother is in the hospital, probably not going to make it. But as she goes to New York to visit her, she's not sure how she should feel: this is the same mother who abruptly left Shawna and her dad in their Ohio home when Shawna was only seven, to live with another woman, Fran ("the Frankfurter" as Shawna's best friend LeeLee calls her). So Shawna hasn't had that great of a relationship with her since. At school she's been teased for having a gay mom. It's hard enough to keep her grades up to get into college and med school without that added pressure. When Mom dies, Shawna's controlling father not only uproots Fran's family by selling their house out from under them, but soon he learns that one of Fran's sons may actually be HIS son--Shawna wonders how her mother could possibly have left her and never told her she had a baby brother? Now Dad wants to get custody of the 10-year old boy. And why is LeeLee so chummy with the girl she met at Mom's funeral? Just what Shawna needs, jealousy on top of everything else she's feeling....
A really good book about relationships and forgiveness and family dynamics; I enjoyed Shawna's dark sense of humor and zingers, whether just thought or spoken aloud. Excellent characters and some suspense, too, as you get pulled into this family saga, wondering what could possibly happen next. There are some hidden secrets, too, that come to light later.
A really good book about relationships and forgiveness and family dynamics; I enjoyed Shawna's dark sense of humor and zingers, whether just thought or spoken aloud. Excellent characters and some suspense, too, as you get pulled into this family saga, wondering what could possibly happen next. There are some hidden secrets, too, that come to light later.
molliekemp's review
1.0
The people in this book make chaotic choices that are less about being interesting and more about forcing a storyline to work combined with little nuance.
lulubella's review
4.0
This book has so many wonderful things about it, I’m finding it difficult to know where to start. First there is Shawna, who puts on this perfect face but as a narrator hides absolutely nothing. She says things she shouldn’t, she does things she shouldn’t and she is so realistic it felt like I was talking to a good friend. I was honestly sad that when I closed the book after reading it, I was never going to get to talk to Shawna again. I loved loved loved her. Even when she did terrible things. Even she made huge mistakes.
My life is completely different from Shawna’s and was when I was in high school, and I’ve never had to go through a lot of what Shawna had to deal with, but I really connected with everything that happened. There were moments when Shawna would explain a feeling or do something and I would just think, “YES that is exactly how I would think!” Or, “That’s exactly what I would do!” Garsee does such a remarkable making this book not about all of the terrible things that happen in Shawna’s life but about Shawna and how she reacts to them.
My life is completely different from Shawna’s and was when I was in high school, and I’ve never had to go through a lot of what Shawna had to deal with, but I really connected with everything that happened. There were moments when Shawna would explain a feeling or do something and I would just think, “YES that is exactly how I would think!” Or, “That’s exactly what I would do!” Garsee does such a remarkable making this book not about all of the terrible things that happen in Shawna’s life but about Shawna and how she reacts to them.
anna_reads_too_much's review
3.0
*Review originally posted April 2009.*
I have very mixed feelings about this book. In some ways, it's wonderful and it deals with a lot of great topics that you don't see too much in the YA genre. However, in other ways, it's just okay and kind of blahhh in some parts. This is going to be a really hard review to write just because of that. . .
The Good:
-->Say the Word dealt with a lot of issues that you don't see too much in YA books, such as: lesbian mothers and step-brothers who may not be step-brothers.
-->It's not sugar-coated. There are many things in this book that didn't seem sugar-coated -- one of them being Shawna's feelings towards her mother and her partner, Fran. This made the book seem realistic.
The Bad:
-->At some points, the events just seemed really rushed. I thought that a few of them could've been spaced out a little better to help this.
-->Shawna's character got annoying to me though the middle of the book. At the beginning, I was sympathetic towards her and her situation, but in the middle and towards the end of the book, Shawna just got on my nerves. She was really focused on herself, it seemed like, and that got on my nerves a lot. However, towards the end of the book, it was like she made a three sixty and her character started to grow on me again.
The Overall:
This book was just okay. I thought it would be a little better than it actually was.
I have very mixed feelings about this book. In some ways, it's wonderful and it deals with a lot of great topics that you don't see too much in the YA genre. However, in other ways, it's just okay and kind of blahhh in some parts. This is going to be a really hard review to write just because of that. . .
The Good:
-->Say the Word dealt with a lot of issues that you don't see too much in YA books, such as: lesbian mothers and step-brothers who may not be step-brothers.
-->It's not sugar-coated. There are many things in this book that didn't seem sugar-coated -- one of them being Shawna's feelings towards her mother and her partner, Fran. This made the book seem realistic.
The Bad:
-->At some points, the events just seemed really rushed. I thought that a few of them could've been spaced out a little better to help this.
-->Shawna's character got annoying to me though the middle of the book. At the beginning, I was sympathetic towards her and her situation, but in the middle and towards the end of the book, Shawna just got on my nerves. She was really focused on herself, it seemed like, and that got on my nerves a lot. However, towards the end of the book, it was like she made a three sixty and her character started to grow on me again.
The Overall:
This book was just okay. I thought it would be a little better than it actually was.
More...