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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
I was very disappointed in this book. I loved and hated it.
The writing was amazing and it sounded like a great story. Until it got too romantic. After reading parts of this book I was shocked that it is a Christian book. I'm just speechless. I would not recommend this at all. I am not finishing this book. :(
The writing was amazing and it sounded like a great story. Until it got too romantic. After reading parts of this book I was shocked that it is a Christian book. I'm just speechless. I would not recommend this at all. I am not finishing this book. :(
Out of all the books from the book club, It’s Complicated (Status Updates #1) by Laura L. Smith was very unique in several ways. For one – it alternated between four different points of view. For another, it’s intensely issue-driven. I ended up enjoying the book but I wasn’t sure I would at first. It took quite a few chapters for me to get all the girls straight and be comfortable with the head hopping. I liked Kat the best – partly because of her name – but I also liked how she seemed to have a level head though she took some risks driving around with boys she barely knew. Oh, and I didn’t realize Palmer was olive-skinned until almost the very end of the book.
Also I was so confused after the prologue when suddenly Claire was in Paris. I was expecting the story to start with the girls in college – I hadn’t realized half the book would be the summer beforehand with all the girls separated. Plus I was expecting a main plot with a beginning, middle and end. This felt more… slice-of-life is what I want to call it? Each of the girls just living their lives and encountering various real-life guy issues and many of the arcs not having any closure. (Presumably they are addressed in the rest of the series?)
The biggest thing was I knew a date-rape was coming at some point (thanks to another reviewer) but since I didn’t know who, I felt like that part was hanging over my head lurking around every corner and I couldn’t enjoy the book until it was behind me. I did think the rape was handled very well, though. I’m very sensitive to anything involving children or SVU situations. I put down the book after the rape scene and had a hard time sleeping afterwards – I was glad to get that part over with but it bummed me out for the rest of the night. But if I hadn’t known it was coming, I would have been taken aback and furious, so I’m not sure the book is marked well in that regard.
I can definitely see where this book is fantastically realistic for what teens that age go through. I spent the entire book thinking the girls were attending the most liberal Christian college I’d ever heard of only to learn afterwards it was a secular school. Well that explained the mixed-gender dorms and alcohol! lol Thankfully I didn’t encounter any of the situations the 4 girls did when I was in college, but I was blessed in that regard.
Also I was so confused after the prologue when suddenly Claire was in Paris. I was expecting the story to start with the girls in college – I hadn’t realized half the book would be the summer beforehand with all the girls separated. Plus I was expecting a main plot with a beginning, middle and end. This felt more… slice-of-life is what I want to call it? Each of the girls just living their lives and encountering various real-life guy issues and many of the arcs not having any closure. (Presumably they are addressed in the rest of the series?)
The biggest thing was I knew a date-rape was coming at some point (thanks to another reviewer) but since I didn’t know who, I felt like that part was hanging over my head lurking around every corner and I couldn’t enjoy the book until it was behind me. I did think the rape was handled very well, though. I’m very sensitive to anything involving children or SVU situations. I put down the book after the rape scene and had a hard time sleeping afterwards – I was glad to get that part over with but it bummed me out for the rest of the night. But if I hadn’t known it was coming, I would have been taken aback and furious, so I’m not sure the book is marked well in that regard.
I can definitely see where this book is fantastically realistic for what teens that age go through. I spent the entire book thinking the girls were attending the most liberal Christian college I’d ever heard of only to learn afterwards it was a secular school. Well that explained the mixed-gender dorms and alcohol! lol Thankfully I didn’t encounter any of the situations the 4 girls did when I was in college, but I was blessed in that regard.
I really enjoyed this book.
Claire was my favorite character. She just. . . she was just a character that drew you in. I wish she'd had more chapters.
Hannah was my least favorite. It annoyed me with the whole, "I want a boyfriend now" attitude. I didn't really get why she had this need for a boyfriend. She just seemed a little desperate, and I didn't like that.
Palmer and Kat were in-between for me. Palmer just didn't seem to "get" it for a while. I hated Keegan. I mean, really, dude? You can't just respect Palmer? Ugh. And Kat had her own little love triangle thing going on.
AND THERE WAS A HUNGER GAMES REFERENCE! *raises hands and jumps up and down* I almost died when I read it. My heart . . . STOPPED. Did any of you experience this? (hehe, Hunger Games reference.) Okay, okay, I'll shut up about that now. Anyway, great book. If you're looking for a book filled with drama and friendship, check this out.
Claire was my favorite character. She just. . . she was just a character that drew you in. I wish she'd had more chapters.
Hannah was my least favorite. It annoyed me with the whole, "I want a boyfriend now" attitude. I didn't really get why she had this need for a boyfriend. She just seemed a little desperate, and I didn't like that.
Palmer and Kat were in-between for me. Palmer just didn't seem to "get" it for a while. I hated Keegan. I mean, really, dude? You can't just respect Palmer? Ugh. And Kat had her own little love triangle thing going on.
AND THERE WAS A HUNGER GAMES REFERENCE! *raises hands and jumps up and down* I almost died when I read it. My heart . . . STOPPED. Did any of you experience this? (hehe, Hunger Games reference.) Okay, okay, I'll shut up about that now. Anyway, great book. If you're looking for a book filled with drama and friendship, check this out.
When Claire meets a girl looking for a third and fourth college roommate, she takes a chance and accepts. Sharing a room with Hannah and her friends will be awesome. Hannah is bubbly and bright. Palmer, Hannah’s bestie is looking for friends to fill the gap that will be left when she moves away from her long-time boyfriend. Despite her excitement about being on the college soccer team, Kat is thrilled at the possibility of friends off the field. But just as roomie preparations are finally in place, the unthinkable happens, and one of the girls is raped. How can she face her new friends now? Maybe she’s too soiled to fit in with them anymore.
As the four girls juggle classes, homework, living space and boy interest, they learn they have more in common than they initially thought. And they’ll need all their strengths if they are to band together and help each other through the heartaches and hardships of freshman year at college.
When it comes to dating and relationships issues, author Laura L. Smith doesn’t mess around. Hitting heavy topics like date rape and peer pressure, she remains frank but not intensely graphic. The rape victim asks real questions and endures a grieving process. As the characters face peer pressure, they respond with realistic emotional confliction and growth. The spiritual journey by comparison begins deep for each girl, but doesn’t seem to undergo the same beautiful blossoming as the emotional journey of the girls. Over all, this first novel in the Status Updates Series is a warm, fun read about having great girl friends.
As the four girls juggle classes, homework, living space and boy interest, they learn they have more in common than they initially thought. And they’ll need all their strengths if they are to band together and help each other through the heartaches and hardships of freshman year at college.
When it comes to dating and relationships issues, author Laura L. Smith doesn’t mess around. Hitting heavy topics like date rape and peer pressure, she remains frank but not intensely graphic. The rape victim asks real questions and endures a grieving process. As the characters face peer pressure, they respond with realistic emotional confliction and growth. The spiritual journey by comparison begins deep for each girl, but doesn’t seem to undergo the same beautiful blossoming as the emotional journey of the girls. Over all, this first novel in the Status Updates Series is a warm, fun read about having great girl friends.
It's a book about 4 girls who become room mates in university, it's so cool because they just kind of find each other, it's like god wanted them together. They all have lots of different issues which surround them and this novel introduces all of them and their individuals lives and issues. I fell in love with them all from the beginning ( Especially Claire) and they had me on a little emotional roller coaster all the way through. I was never sure what they were going to throw at me next. I really really really loved it and I cannot wait to read the second book in her series when it's released. Since I'm on the street team I have some little facts to share with you about the author and the book:
Laura Smith tells a beautiful story of four incoming college freshman. The emotional and spiritual lives of four girls who face boy trouble, from the regular sad to the truly heart wrenching kind, are carefully crafted and compelling. The student athlete who plays soccer, the pretty girl, the ballet dancer who's trip to Paris ends up including a horrible night, and the girl with the long term relationship to her high school sweetheart are sweet, insightful characters that portray what it's like to start on the exciting, terrifying, and game-changing journey that is college. The best part is that in spite of their differences, the four girls become best friends and fierce champion's of each other's well-being, happiness, and success. I'm excited to read the next book in the series.
Laura Smith tells a beautiful story of four incoming college freshman. The emotional and spiritual lives of four girls who face boy trouble, from the regular sad to the truly heart wrenching kind, are carefully crafted and compelling. The student athlete who plays soccer, the pretty girl, the ballet dancer who's trip to Paris ends up including a horrible night, and the girl with the long term relationship to her high school sweetheart are sweet, insightful characters that portray what it's like to start on the exciting, terrifying, and game-changing journey that is college. The best part is that in spite of their differences, the four girls become best friends and fierce champion's of each other's well-being, happiness, and success. I'm excited to read the next book in the series.
It’s Complicated is told in the point of view of its four main characters telling their individual stories and how they intertwine. I really like stories that are told from the first person point of view because I feel like it lets you get a closer connection to the character.
Claire and Palmer are the ones I connected with the most. Not because I have gone through what they did but with the emotion that was conveyed for them.
It’s Complicated is a story of friendship and strength. These girls come together to hold each other up and see the strength inside themselves. I’m looking forward to reading the next book to see what else happens to these girls.
Claire and Palmer are the ones I connected with the most. Not because I have gone through what they did but with the emotion that was conveyed for them.
It’s Complicated is a story of friendship and strength. These girls come together to hold each other up and see the strength inside themselves. I’m looking forward to reading the next book to see what else happens to these girls.
It's a book about 4 girls who become room mates in university, it's so cool because they just kind of find each other, it's like god wanted them together. They all have lots of different issues which surround them and this novel introduces all of them and their individuals lives and issues. I fell in love with them all from the beginning ( Especially Claire) and they had me on a little emotional roller coaster all the way through. I was never sure what they were going to throw at me next. I really really really loved it and I cannot wait to read the second book in her series when it's released. Since I'm on the street team I have some little facts to share with you about the author and the book: