Reviews

Turning by Joy L. Smith

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e33215's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This story had so many emotional grenades for not only the main character Genie, but also for her mom, her best friends, her ex-boyfriend, and her new friend Kyle. We don’t know every single detail of what led up to Genie becoming confined to a wheelchair and losing her dream of becoming a Prima Ballerina. The author feeds us little details as the story goes along, stringing us along one piece of the puzzle at a time.

It’s easy to understand why Genie is as hateful as she is to those around her. I mean she is a teenager who was in her prime before the accident. But one thing led to another, and she could just see the mistakes she was making and how they were similar to her mother’s, and she didn’t want to disappoint her mother, nor end up with any regrets like she did either. Yet it was some of the fact of how far she took things, even as a teen, that made it a little hard at times for me to have sympathy for her.

I feel like we might have needed maybe a bit more time spent with her dad, either flashbacks or new events occurring because while we get that her ex is like what her father was to her mother, it’d be nice to be shown that as more of the story. But oh did I want to smack her ex so many times when he would complain about how her accident affected him, yet he wasn’t paralyzed like she was. Again, the author did a perfect job of showing just what kind of a guy he was.

Genie’s handling of her friends was really frustrating for me at times as well as how she dealt with her mom. Again, I get it, teenager behavior with her mom. And the fact that her friends were getting to continue doing what she had loved and lived and breathed and could no longer do definitely made sense for why she avoided them. Even her lashing out, or just letting her sarcastic remarks out on her new friend Kyle or other people in that same circle, could be understood.

At the end of the story I was glad for what she had figured out, and I was definitely pleased with how her mom reacted to the news when Genie finally let her in. A wonderful story, one I can’t wait to share with the students at the school where I am a librarian.

Review first posted on Lisa Loves Literature.

why913's review

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emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

eahoffm2's review

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3.0

A beautiful coming of age story that deals with the grief and whirlwind of emotions that comes with a disability. Learning to rewrite your story when life happens is devastating but your story goes on.

missknown's review against another edition

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funny inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

alleewalls's review

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3.0

It had a good overall story, but was very hard to follow at times. I also felt the language was unnecessary for the story. It is a heavy story for younger kids.