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36 reviews for:
Undiscovered Gyrl: The Novel That Inspired the Movie Ask Me Anything
Allison Burnett
3.64 AVERAGE
36 reviews for:
Undiscovered Gyrl: The Novel That Inspired the Movie Ask Me Anything
Allison Burnett
3.64 AVERAGE
I discovered this book after seeing the movie on Netflix. I loved the twist at the end - and the book didn't disappoint. The movie stayed pretty faithful to the book.
My sister lent me this book and I'm afraid to admit I couldn't put it down. I'm a sucker for these diary type books (think Go Ask Alice or Wintergirls), even if they're not that well-written. The book is a series of blog entries written by the young and gorgeous "Katie." Katie has decided to defer college for a year, and turns to the internet to share her stories regarding her one and only friend, her abusive boyfriend, and her bad habit of becoming sexually involved with much older men who are already in relationships. The tone, at first, is light--she is proud of her sexuality and not ashamed to flaunt it. As the blog progresses, though, you learn of her troubled relationship with her father, you witness her repeated self-destructive behaviors, and watch as she falls deeper and deeper into a state of despair. It's definitely not worth a Pulitzer Prize, but it's a perfect read for a lazy Sunday.
And books have trailers now?? How awesome is that?
And books have trailers now?? How awesome is that?
What attracted me to Undiscovered Gyrl was the premise. It’s about a girl who blogs anonymously and supposedly with honesty. She is a 17 year old teenager who lives her life without really thinking of the consequences. She has a boyfriend Rory who is more or less her age and she is also having an affair with an older guy whom she calls Dan and who already has a girlfriend. She takes a year off before joining college because she feels she isn’t ready.
She calls herself Katie. Although Katie lives her life recklessly she does realize from time to time that what she is doing is wrong. But she is unable to stop. As she continues to blog we come to know more about her life which mostly consists of partying, taking drugs and indulging in sexual relations. As a reader you get to know only what she projects to the world. We can see that her actions will have bad consequences. The things Katie does are disgusting and reckless. And although I never liked her I didn’t hate her too. I felt really bad for her and what she was doing to her life. I was hoping for something to change.
The end was a big surprise. I was expecting something different and was wondering how it will end, but I didn’t see it coming. For a moment when I turned the last page, I was stunned. I was like, ‘That’s it, over?’. I really wanted to know more. You know how it feels like when the power goes off just before the climax? That’s exactly how I felt. I kept thinking about it for a couple of days until I could finally make some sense out of it.
So the question is did I like it? It was engrossing and un-putdownable. It got some strong reactions from me. It made me think. It was different. So in a way yes, I liked it. And considering the author is a man, he did a great job with the voice of Katie.
One thing I didn’t like in the book was the constant ridiculing of other cultures. Be it Katie’s father’s words or her own, it was like the author was trying to create humor by making fun of others. And although I do understand it was part of Katie’s and her father’s character, it was just too much at times. I don’t know what the exact reading range of Undiscovered Gyrl is, but I wouldn’t give it to someone below 16.
First posted at http://violetcrush.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/undiscovered-gyrl-by-allison-burnett/
She calls herself Katie. Although Katie lives her life recklessly she does realize from time to time that what she is doing is wrong. But she is unable to stop. As she continues to blog we come to know more about her life which mostly consists of partying, taking drugs and indulging in sexual relations. As a reader you get to know only what she projects to the world. We can see that her actions will have bad consequences. The things Katie does are disgusting and reckless. And although I never liked her I didn’t hate her too. I felt really bad for her and what she was doing to her life. I was hoping for something to change.
The end was a big surprise. I was expecting something different and was wondering how it will end, but I didn’t see it coming. For a moment when I turned the last page, I was stunned. I was like, ‘That’s it, over?’. I really wanted to know more. You know how it feels like when the power goes off just before the climax? That’s exactly how I felt. I kept thinking about it for a couple of days until I could finally make some sense out of it.
So the question is did I like it? It was engrossing and un-putdownable. It got some strong reactions from me. It made me think. It was different. So in a way yes, I liked it. And considering the author is a man, he did a great job with the voice of Katie.
One thing I didn’t like in the book was the constant ridiculing of other cultures. Be it Katie’s father’s words or her own, it was like the author was trying to create humor by making fun of others. And although I do understand it was part of Katie’s and her father’s character, it was just too much at times. I don’t know what the exact reading range of Undiscovered Gyrl is, but I wouldn’t give it to someone below 16.
First posted at http://violetcrush.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/undiscovered-gyrl-by-allison-burnett/
First thing's first: The "gyrl" thing bugs me. In fact, there are a lot of things that stem from the blog format that bug me. I cringed at the typos. Is it too much to ask for our heroine to use Firefox?
So this book started out as a set of entertaining blog entries from a 17 year old who is fooling around with someone 15 years her senior. I might have related to that just a bit. But it didn't take long for me to lose my ability to relate to "Katie". It took a turn for the serious, as she became more and more self destructive and obsessed with finding Prince Charming, but really, how many people ever related to Go Ask Alice? I have to remind myself that sometimes a good book can have a character you don't relate to. Despite all this, I found myself sucked into this world with its backdrop of the election of last year and its cast of fuck-ups. And then came the last few entries. Let's just say I was not expecting those. They'll make you want to reread the book immediately, just to see if it doesn't take on a whole new meaning the second time around.
So this book started out as a set of entertaining blog entries from a 17 year old who is fooling around with someone 15 years her senior. I might have related to that just a bit. But it didn't take long for me to lose my ability to relate to "Katie". It took a turn for the serious, as she became more and more self destructive and obsessed with finding Prince Charming, but really, how many people ever related to Go Ask Alice? I have to remind myself that sometimes a good book can have a character you don't relate to. Despite all this, I found myself sucked into this world with its backdrop of the election of last year and its cast of fuck-ups. And then came the last few entries. Let's just say I was not expecting those. They'll make you want to reread the book immediately, just to see if it doesn't take on a whole new meaning the second time around.
Authors have always been told “write what you know”, but as far as I can tell, this is a rule that Mr. Burnett has shunned totally. Had it resulted in an unsuccessful novel, that would have been understandable. But amazingly, it doesn’t. You can read my review here https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2015/02/07/fictional-blogging-for-her-life/