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3.17 AVERAGE
3.17 AVERAGE
This has a great narrative voice, and some really witty clever passages. That said, the flashback-y frame narrative did not work all that well for me. Also, at the point where the book should be building to a climax, we basically retreat.... into Judy's head. For pages and pages. That really broke the momentum for me, and I just didn't want to bother sitting through what amounted to a lot of obsessive self-pity. The ending felt strained as well. Too bad the way it began wasn't sustainable.
Part of me feels that I should be more concerned with the accuracy of the main characters disability.
The other part thought she was hilarious and the way the other reveals the mystery piece by piece slowly gives the reader this topsy-turvy feeling.
I really, really loved this one.
I hope to post a more betterer review later.
The other part thought she was hilarious and the way the other reveals the mystery piece by piece slowly gives the reader this topsy-turvy feeling.
I really, really loved this one.
I hope to post a more betterer review later.
I started out loving this...lost interest...tried to come back...didn't want to.
Summary
Big Girl Small by Rachel DeWoskin is a young adult novel about a girl with big dreams who happens to be short statured.
Judy Lohden is a 16-year-old girl who happens to have achondroplasia. She has recently transferred to Darcy Academy of the Arts in order to get one step closer to pursuing her dreams of singing and acting. She discovers that high school is filled with teen angst, first experiences, and clashing personalities.
The novel switches between past and present. In the present, Judy is hiding out in a shabby motel room, away from the media who are on her tail about a scandal. In the past, Judy narrates all of the events that lead up to the scandal.
Judy may be short in stature, but she's big in personality. Her sarcastic and witty voice shines through the pages, balancing between humour and seriousness
Review
I loved reading about a character with achondroplasia, it's rare in fiction. As a person of short stature, I could relate to many of Judy's thoughts, experiences, and witty remarks. I wish there were more books with characters like this.
The start of the novel was just a bunch of reflections, there wasn't really any plot. I couldn't really see where the story was going. However, I got elate to most of Judy's thoughts so I enjoyed reading them.
The middle of the plot was getting to know the characters. However, there wasn't really any problems, it was pretty smooth sailing. I was motivated to keep reading to find out about the big incident.
Reading the incident, I was hooked. I sympathised for Judy and wanted to find out how she overcame it. I thought Judy could have handled it a bit better, and I wish there was more closure.
At times I loved Judy's sarcasm and could relate to some of it. However, there were times when I thought it was a bit over the top.
I loved how Judy's family were supportive and present, I loved the positive family dynamics.
Judy had great friends who cared about her, but I didn't like how she ignored them most of the time.
The paragraphs were really long and I felt like they could have been broken up in order to make the reading experience easier.
I recommend this book for anyone who's 16 years and older and is interested in reading a YA novel in the perspective of someone who has achondroplasia.
Big Girl Small by Rachel DeWoskin is a young adult novel about a girl with big dreams who happens to be short statured.
Judy Lohden is a 16-year-old girl who happens to have achondroplasia. She has recently transferred to Darcy Academy of the Arts in order to get one step closer to pursuing her dreams of singing and acting. She discovers that high school is filled with teen angst, first experiences, and clashing personalities.
The novel switches between past and present. In the present, Judy is hiding out in a shabby motel room, away from the media who are on her tail about a scandal. In the past, Judy narrates all of the events that lead up to the scandal.
Judy may be short in stature, but she's big in personality. Her sarcastic and witty voice shines through the pages, balancing between humour and seriousness
Review
I loved reading about a character with achondroplasia, it's rare in fiction. As a person of short stature, I could relate to many of Judy's thoughts, experiences, and witty remarks. I wish there were more books with characters like this.
The start of the novel was just a bunch of reflections, there wasn't really any plot. I couldn't really see where the story was going. However, I got elate to most of Judy's thoughts so I enjoyed reading them.
The middle of the plot was getting to know the characters. However, there wasn't really any problems, it was pretty smooth sailing. I was motivated to keep reading to find out about the big incident.
Reading the incident, I was hooked. I sympathised for Judy and wanted to find out how she overcame it. I thought Judy could have handled it a bit better, and I wish there was more closure.
At times I loved Judy's sarcasm and could relate to some of it. However, there were times when I thought it was a bit over the top.
I loved how Judy's family were supportive and present, I loved the positive family dynamics.
Judy had great friends who cared about her, but I didn't like how she ignored them most of the time.
The paragraphs were really long and I felt like they could have been broken up in order to make the reading experience easier.
I recommend this book for anyone who's 16 years and older and is interested in reading a YA novel in the perspective of someone who has achondroplasia.
"A fall chill was already in the air and it smelled dark like winter: crisp leaves burning and the snow that's about to come. I like that combination of smells, fire and an impending icy Midwestern season. I don't think I could ever live anywhere that has constantly nice weather. The stars don't look as good when it's not cold. And places that have no transitions make you feel like change isn't possible." p. 36
"... -- because unlike social interactions, or life, or anything big and overwhelming, numbers are manageable. They're tidy and sensible, not sprawling and panic-inducing. At least at the high school level, math can also be accomplished in private, small steps. It offers both one correct answer and a best method for arriving at it. The funny thing is, there's a correct answer in words, too. Sentences are like proofs in geometry -- if you pick the right words, they lead to the precise point you want to make, whereas if you choose sloppily, you end up making the wrong point, or at least not showing or saying what you meant to." p. 42
"... -- because unlike social interactions, or life, or anything big and overwhelming, numbers are manageable. They're tidy and sensible, not sprawling and panic-inducing. At least at the high school level, math can also be accomplished in private, small steps. It offers both one correct answer and a best method for arriving at it. The funny thing is, there's a correct answer in words, too. Sentences are like proofs in geometry -- if you pick the right words, they lead to the precise point you want to make, whereas if you choose sloppily, you end up making the wrong point, or at least not showing or saying what you meant to." p. 42
It was pretty good. Some parts made me want to cry, but the descriptions of important (or, really, any) events were so long winded that my eyes glazed over and I read the same pages about ten times and I didn't realize it. It's really a three star book but I'm giving it four stars because I absolutely LOVE the cover.
Rachel DeWoskin's "Big Girl Small" was a case of picking a book by it's cover. I saw it sitting on the shelf at Vroman's Bookstore and without reading the synopsis, I took a leap of faith and bought it.
The central character of the story is Judy Lohden, a high school student at a local Arts high school. Judy's high school was nearly identical to arts high school that I graduated from in the mid 90's. DeWoskin even had a character that had the same name as one of the teachers at my high school, Gary Sorensen. Unbelievably, when I read DeWoskin's author bio, she had not attended my school, but an arts school in a different state. The similarities are staggering.
Besides her incredible singing voice, Judy is also set apart from the crowd by her diminutive stature. She is a little person struggling to not only prove herself via her talent, but fit in with her peers. Judy is a great character, funny and imperfect. DeWoskin did a great job at writing Judy as an ordinary teenager. Judy's struggles are not over-sentimentalized and the character (also being the narrative voice) never asks to be pitied. This makes it easy to love her and to root for her to win, even when she is making terrible choices. This book is filled with cringe worthy moments.
All of the characters in the book feel very organic. So much so, that it often feels slice of life and is paced a bit slow, especially in the final third of the story. This is my only criticism.
Overall, I very much enjoyed the story and the characters. I am excited to read more stories by this author.
The central character of the story is Judy Lohden, a high school student at a local Arts high school. Judy's high school was nearly identical to arts high school that I graduated from in the mid 90's. DeWoskin even had a character that had the same name as one of the teachers at my high school, Gary Sorensen. Unbelievably, when I read DeWoskin's author bio, she had not attended my school, but an arts school in a different state. The similarities are staggering.
Besides her incredible singing voice, Judy is also set apart from the crowd by her diminutive stature. She is a little person struggling to not only prove herself via her talent, but fit in with her peers. Judy is a great character, funny and imperfect. DeWoskin did a great job at writing Judy as an ordinary teenager. Judy's struggles are not over-sentimentalized and the character (also being the narrative voice) never asks to be pitied. This makes it easy to love her and to root for her to win, even when she is making terrible choices. This book is filled with cringe worthy moments.
All of the characters in the book feel very organic. So much so, that it often feels slice of life and is paced a bit slow, especially in the final third of the story. This is my only criticism.
Overall, I very much enjoyed the story and the characters. I am excited to read more stories by this author.
This book is not a young adults book, but it really nailed what it is like to be in high school, especially if you are different for any reason. This is the story of a little person and how she tries to fit in with everyone else at an arts school. She falls for this popular boy who is not very nice. The book opens with the girl in a motel room very angry and talking of how she can never go back to school or her family as how can she go back after they have seen what has happened? So right from the beginning you know that the story is not going to be happy, but it was very enthralling. There are funny parts, and sad parts, and you just feel for the main character. I kept forgetting that she was a little person and just pictured her as a normal teenager as really this was written so it could have been anyone in high school that just didn’t fit in. Really good book that hooked me right from the beginning.
A good coming-of-age story with a solid, completely teenage voice -- DeWoskin does that very well. You can sort of see the scandal coming from the very beginning, but perhaps that was intentional? I don't know if I'd read it again, but I might pass it on to others.