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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
This review also available on my blog.
***
I won this in a giveaway last month but had't got the chance to read it until a few days ago.
V is for Virgin isn't just about staying virgin until marriage. There’s more depth to the story and Kelly Oram handles the subject delicately, without being tedious or preachy. The book begins with Valerie spending the night at her boyfriend's house and then they kiss and then her boyfriend wants to have sex but Valerie refuses so he dumps her. The next day everyone is making fun of her and her ex-boyfriend already hooks up with another girl. Valerie then proudly admits that she's still a virgin and she will wait until marriage to do it only to find later that someone has recorded her and uploaded the video on Youtube. Pretty much after that, the video gets thousand of hits, lots of people support her actions and the campaign starts!
Valerie is the type of heroines that I adore. She’s brave enough to be honest, stand up for her beliefs and hold on to her commitment. I think she is a good role model -- not necessarily about the whole virgin until marriage thing -- but more importantly about her courage. I liked reading about Val growing her confidence chapter by chapter and what changes she brings to her surroundings.
The writing in this book is very light and fun, but behind the simplicity I could totally connect with the characters. Kyle is really funny and I laughed every time he and Val argue. Even though he seems like a total jerk in the beginning, eventually he changes too and becomes a better person. I like Val’s friends especially her friendship with Robin. I also found the ending very pleasing and I thought it concluded this book really well.
Overall, this is a quick but inspiring and heartwarming read. V is for Virgin sends a really important message: that we shouldn't back down because of peer pressure, because we are afraid of what people might say about us. It’s about standing up for what you believe and despite the obstacles or consequences, you still manage to stay true to yourself.
***
I won this in a giveaway last month but had't got the chance to read it until a few days ago.
V is for Virgin isn't just about staying virgin until marriage. There’s more depth to the story and Kelly Oram handles the subject delicately, without being tedious or preachy. The book begins with Valerie spending the night at her boyfriend's house and then they kiss and then her boyfriend wants to have sex but Valerie refuses so he dumps her. The next day everyone is making fun of her and her ex-boyfriend already hooks up with another girl. Valerie then proudly admits that she's still a virgin and she will wait until marriage to do it only to find later that someone has recorded her and uploaded the video on Youtube. Pretty much after that, the video gets thousand of hits, lots of people support her actions and the campaign starts!
Valerie is the type of heroines that I adore. She’s brave enough to be honest, stand up for her beliefs and hold on to her commitment. I think she is a good role model -- not necessarily about the whole virgin until marriage thing -- but more importantly about her courage. I liked reading about Val growing her confidence chapter by chapter and what changes she brings to her surroundings.
The writing in this book is very light and fun, but behind the simplicity I could totally connect with the characters. Kyle is really funny and I laughed every time he and Val argue. Even though he seems like a total jerk in the beginning, eventually he changes too and becomes a better person. I like Val’s friends especially her friendship with Robin. I also found the ending very pleasing and I thought it concluded this book really well.
Overall, this is a quick but inspiring and heartwarming read. V is for Virgin sends a really important message: that we shouldn't back down because of peer pressure, because we are afraid of what people might say about us. It’s about standing up for what you believe and despite the obstacles or consequences, you still manage to stay true to yourself.
Phenomenal
I absolutely love this story!! It had an amazing message and story that needs to be told and shared. It has major potential to be very impactful on people everywhere! I love the fact that the message is to not just not have sex but to wait until you are ready and to make the choice for you and not for what anyone else or society will say about it. To be proud of who you are and your decision about it. This story is something that can impact multiple ages and not just a younger crowd. I will definitely be recommending this story and sharing with others! And reading the next one in the series!!!
I absolutely love this story!! It had an amazing message and story that needs to be told and shared. It has major potential to be very impactful on people everywhere! I love the fact that the message is to not just not have sex but to wait until you are ready and to make the choice for you and not for what anyone else or society will say about it. To be proud of who you are and your decision about it. This story is something that can impact multiple ages and not just a younger crowd. I will definitely be recommending this story and sharing with others! And reading the next one in the series!!!
Una historia muy básica, sin muchas vueltas. Es perfecta para cuando uno quiere leer algo relajado y eso era algo que yo quería. El final me pareció medio fofo, pero no me molesto mucho. Se lee rapidísimo. Me molestaron algunos detalles, por eso las 4 estrellas. Sin embargo, me gusto bastante.
Sometimes as part of a reading challenge I pick up a book I know little about and would probably not have read otherwise.
The title made me expect preachy overly-moralistic characters spouting a message that I wasn’t totally comfortable with. Thankfully, what we got was more clever and entertaining than that.
Val is determined - for reasons that are more complex than you might think - to remain a virgin until she’s married. This doesn’t go down well with her boyfriend who dumps her because she refuses to sleep with him, then hooks up with someone later that night. Following a very public dressing-down in the school cafeteria, Val becomes an internet sensation.
Following days of teasing, we could be forgiven for thinking the message was done. But then Val goes to a concert where the lead singer of a local band (who happened to go to her school) falls for her. He pursues her and writes a song for her - which ties in nicely to the work she tries to set up on her virginity/abstinence campaign.
Val and Kyle have a weird relationship throughout the book. They spark off each other and their interest is evident. Both are very stubborn though and this creates a host of situations that actually show us more about each of them and allow Oram to explore the various perspectives around the abstinence/virginity issue.
I was half expecting this to end up in a relationship between the two, and it does - of sorts - but it doesn’t take the easy option. At times Val comes across as a one-woman dynamo and, to be fair, intimidating as hell. However, the vulnerability that Oram paints her with keeps her likeable.
A pleasant surprise...and, heaven help me, now I need to read the follow-up to find out what happens next.
The title made me expect preachy overly-moralistic characters spouting a message that I wasn’t totally comfortable with. Thankfully, what we got was more clever and entertaining than that.
Val is determined - for reasons that are more complex than you might think - to remain a virgin until she’s married. This doesn’t go down well with her boyfriend who dumps her because she refuses to sleep with him, then hooks up with someone later that night. Following a very public dressing-down in the school cafeteria, Val becomes an internet sensation.
Following days of teasing, we could be forgiven for thinking the message was done. But then Val goes to a concert where the lead singer of a local band (who happened to go to her school) falls for her. He pursues her and writes a song for her - which ties in nicely to the work she tries to set up on her virginity/abstinence campaign.
Val and Kyle have a weird relationship throughout the book. They spark off each other and their interest is evident. Both are very stubborn though and this creates a host of situations that actually show us more about each of them and allow Oram to explore the various perspectives around the abstinence/virginity issue.
I was half expecting this to end up in a relationship between the two, and it does - of sorts - but it doesn’t take the easy option. At times Val comes across as a one-woman dynamo and, to be fair, intimidating as hell. However, the vulnerability that Oram paints her with keeps her likeable.
A pleasant surprise...and, heaven help me, now I need to read the follow-up to find out what happens next.
V is for Virgin by Kelly Oram is a fast-paced read about a girl’s convictions and how those convictions turn her world upside down. When Val Jensen gets tossed aside by her boyfriend after refusing to have sex because she wants to wait for marriage, the nasty confrontation in the school’s cafeteria goes viral making Val an instant online star. For some Val is an inspiration, others think she’s a prude, Val just wants her peaceful life back. But when she sees the reach one video has, Val decides to take her convictions and start a nation-wide movement. Only one problem, this year’s Sexiest Man Alive has his eyes set on Val and he won’t let up.
I adored this book! Val is a character that is easy to like. She’s straightforward in her convictions. Her birth mother became a pregnant teen after a drunken encounter at a party and couldn’t even name Val’s father. Adopted, Val vows to not be her birth mother. She will wait until she finds someone to spend her life with. You have to love that conviction! It isn’t to hurt anyone as her boyfriend at the beginning of the book believes. She just refuses to become another teen mom. Val is headstrong, a little shy, and knows what she wants in life. I admire that.
When the video of her confrontation with her ex goes viral, Val earns the nickname “Virgin Val” and she’s devastated. She isn’t sure if she should be embarrassed or wear the name proudly. It takes seeing the responses to the video from her peers for her to decide something should be done. My heart breaks for her though as she goes through the transformation. Her friends aren’t as good as she thought, the media is relentless in finding skeletons in the closet, and then enters Kyle Hamilton, the consummate playboy.
Kyle is perhaps my favorite character. He sees Val as a challenge, but I also believe that he was infatuated with her. He genuinely likes her simply because she isn’t intimidated by his fame and speaks her mind to him. I may have rooted for him just a tad.
Overall, this book is great! It’s heartbreaking and uplifting all at the same time. Val learns some hard truths about herself, the people she surrounds herself with, and how sometimes the heart wants what it can’t have. If you enjoy clean, romantic comedy, I highly recommend it!
I adored this book! Val is a character that is easy to like. She’s straightforward in her convictions. Her birth mother became a pregnant teen after a drunken encounter at a party and couldn’t even name Val’s father. Adopted, Val vows to not be her birth mother. She will wait until she finds someone to spend her life with. You have to love that conviction! It isn’t to hurt anyone as her boyfriend at the beginning of the book believes. She just refuses to become another teen mom. Val is headstrong, a little shy, and knows what she wants in life. I admire that.
When the video of her confrontation with her ex goes viral, Val earns the nickname “Virgin Val” and she’s devastated. She isn’t sure if she should be embarrassed or wear the name proudly. It takes seeing the responses to the video from her peers for her to decide something should be done. My heart breaks for her though as she goes through the transformation. Her friends aren’t as good as she thought, the media is relentless in finding skeletons in the closet, and then enters Kyle Hamilton, the consummate playboy.
Kyle is perhaps my favorite character. He sees Val as a challenge, but I also believe that he was infatuated with her. He genuinely likes her simply because she isn’t intimidated by his fame and speaks her mind to him. I may have rooted for him just a tad.
Overall, this book is great! It’s heartbreaking and uplifting all at the same time. Val learns some hard truths about herself, the people she surrounds herself with, and how sometimes the heart wants what it can’t have. If you enjoy clean, romantic comedy, I highly recommend it!
High morals - in a perfect world maybe...
So I liked that a high school girl had such high morals, but I couldn't help wanting to strangle her for being such a goody two shoes... but at the same time you to admire her determination and what she did for other. Respect, but highly unbelievable. In a perfect world! :)
So I liked that a high school girl had such high morals, but I couldn't help wanting to strangle her for being such a goody two shoes... but at the same time you to admire her determination and what she did for other. Respect, but highly unbelievable. In a perfect world! :)
I think the main idea about this book, the whole abstinence and staying-a-virgin thing, is great. I find the writing okay and funny at times. But there are a couple of things I don't like about it.
Overall, it was a quick and nice read.
Spoiler
I kinda don't like Kyle. I think he's an ass, and I think it's not okay that he's harassing Val and kissing her against her will, no matter how he said Val wanted him to or whatever. I was quite disturbed by that. And I was kinda upset Isaac and Val broke up. They were so good together!Overall, it was a quick and nice read.
2,5 Sterne
Trigger Warnungen für das Buch (und teilweise diese Rezension): Vergewaltigung, Slutshaming
Eigentlich hätte ich das Buch allein von dem Titel und der Beschreibung nicht angehört, aber da mir Kelly Oram durch Cinder und Ella (das immer noch kein lesbisches Märchen ist, falls ihr, so wie ich, nur Titel lest und euch dann wundert, warum beide cis-hetero sind) positiv in Erinnerung, deshalb habe ich dem eine Chance gegeben.
Hm. Ja. Cinder und Ella fand ich besser.
• Ich mochte Isaac viel mehr.
Ja. Mal wieder ein Buch, bei dem der Plot den netten Freund zugunsten vom Arschloch wegschiebt, weil die Autorin zwei Gliederpuppen aneinander haut und "KÜSST! KÜSST!" ruft. Obwohl Netter Freund viel besser zu Prota passt, als Arschloch. Aber es passiert wieder dieser Magische Augenkontakt™, der Prota alles über Bord werfen lässt, was nicht den Ratten in die Sicherheit folgt.
• Der Grund für Vals Entscheidung, Jungfrau zu bleiben, ist an den Haaren herbeigezogen.
Vals biologische Mutter, die sie zur Adoption freigegeben hat, wurde mit 16 auf einer Party vergewaltigt und war daraufhin schwanger, ohne den Vater zu kennen. Deshalb schwört Val, dass sie bis zur Ehe wartet. Häh?
Nein heißt nein.
Prota hält Kyle für ein Arschloch. Aber er wanzt sich ständig an sie ran, ist, wie es Isaac ganz richtig ausdrückt "beinahe schon besessen von [Val].", veröffentlicht Lieder mit dem Inhalt, wie die beiden Sex haben, und bietet ihr ständig an, ihr die Jungfräulichkeit zu nehmen (ein Konzept, das eh sterben kann, danke).
Und ihre FreundInnen meinen, sie sind perfekt füreinander, dass sie tolle Chemie haben, und ermutigen ihn, während sie ihr sagen, dass sie ihm endlich eine Chance geben soll. SIE HAT NEIN GESAGT, IHR KOALABÄREN. UND SIE HAT EINEN FREUND. DER MIT EUCH AM TISCH HOCKT. UND DER SAGT, DASS IHR SIE IN RUHE LASSEN SOLLT.
• Was ist dieses Ende.
Nein, ernsthaft. Was ist dieses Ende.
• Was ist dieses Ende.²
Dass ich jetzt den zweiten Band lesen muss, um zu erfahren, wie es weitergeht, ist miese Erpressung.
• Ich mochte, dass Val 110 % dabei war und andere verurteilt oder sogar beleidigt hat.
Nicht, weil ich das geil oder richtig finde. Aber es war so typisch Teenager. Mir gehen die ganzen Kinder und Jugendlichen in Büchern, die schon mit 90 Jahren Lebenserfahrung geboren wurden, so auf den Gartenzaun.
• Das Buch geht über 5 Jahre.
Ich mag es, wenn eine Liebesgeschichte über mehrere Monate geht, anstatt dass die Hochzeitsglocken nach 5 Tagen läuten.
Fazit: Meh. V is for Virgin kann man sich an einem regnerischen Tag, an dem man absolut nichts zu tun hat, und auch absolut nichts tun will, nicht mal einem Plot folgen, anhören. Verpasst man aber was, wenn man das nicht tut? Absolut nicht.
Trigger Warnungen für das Buch (und teilweise diese Rezension): Vergewaltigung, Slutshaming
Eigentlich hätte ich das Buch allein von dem Titel und der Beschreibung nicht angehört, aber da mir Kelly Oram durch Cinder und Ella (das immer noch kein lesbisches Märchen ist, falls ihr, so wie ich, nur Titel lest und euch dann wundert, warum beide cis-hetero sind) positiv in Erinnerung, deshalb habe ich dem eine Chance gegeben.
Hm. Ja. Cinder und Ella fand ich besser.
• Ich mochte Isaac viel mehr.
Ja. Mal wieder ein Buch, bei dem der Plot den netten Freund zugunsten vom Arschloch wegschiebt, weil die Autorin zwei Gliederpuppen aneinander haut und "KÜSST! KÜSST!" ruft. Obwohl Netter Freund viel besser zu Prota passt, als Arschloch. Aber es passiert wieder dieser Magische Augenkontakt™, der Prota alles über Bord werfen lässt, was nicht den Ratten in die Sicherheit folgt.
• Der Grund für Vals Entscheidung, Jungfrau zu bleiben, ist an den Haaren herbeigezogen.
Vals biologische Mutter, die sie zur Adoption freigegeben hat, wurde mit 16 auf einer Party vergewaltigt und war daraufhin schwanger, ohne den Vater zu kennen. Deshalb schwört Val, dass sie bis zur Ehe wartet. Häh?
Nein heißt nein.
Prota hält Kyle für ein Arschloch. Aber er wanzt sich ständig an sie ran, ist, wie es Isaac ganz richtig ausdrückt "beinahe schon besessen von [Val].", veröffentlicht Lieder mit dem Inhalt, wie die beiden Sex haben, und bietet ihr ständig an, ihr die Jungfräulichkeit zu nehmen (ein Konzept, das eh sterben kann, danke).
Und ihre FreundInnen meinen, sie sind perfekt füreinander, dass sie tolle Chemie haben, und ermutigen ihn, während sie ihr sagen, dass sie ihm endlich eine Chance geben soll. SIE HAT NEIN GESAGT, IHR KOALABÄREN. UND SIE HAT EINEN FREUND. DER MIT EUCH AM TISCH HOCKT. UND DER SAGT, DASS IHR SIE IN RUHE LASSEN SOLLT.
• Was ist dieses Ende.
Nein, ernsthaft. Was ist dieses Ende.
• Was ist dieses Ende.²
Dass ich jetzt den zweiten Band lesen muss, um zu erfahren, wie es weitergeht, ist miese Erpressung.
• Ich mochte, dass Val 110 % dabei war und andere verurteilt oder sogar beleidigt hat.
Nicht, weil ich das geil oder richtig finde. Aber es war so typisch Teenager. Mir gehen die ganzen Kinder und Jugendlichen in Büchern, die schon mit 90 Jahren Lebenserfahrung geboren wurden, so auf den Gartenzaun.
• Das Buch geht über 5 Jahre.
Ich mag es, wenn eine Liebesgeschichte über mehrere Monate geht, anstatt dass die Hochzeitsglocken nach 5 Tagen läuten.
Fazit: Meh. V is for Virgin kann man sich an einem regnerischen Tag, an dem man absolut nichts zu tun hat, und auch absolut nichts tun will, nicht mal einem Plot folgen, anhören. Verpasst man aber was, wenn man das nicht tut? Absolut nicht.
Such a good book! It was definitely right up my Alley as I was like Valarie when I was in high school and all throughout college. Now I have been with my boyfriend for almost 8 months and I know I will give him my V card when we are both ready and he's going to be the man I marry. The book was very uplifting and focused on a very tough topic. I enjoyed every minute of this book! It was a very interesting read that's for sure.