Scan barcode
margaretann84's review against another edition
2.0
The writing is pretty, but the book itself just seems to meander without reaching any sorts of conclusions. The protagonist goes through a "life-changing" transformation--or does she? She doesn't appear to choose any other sort of path from the one she was already on. The plot is mediocre at best. A disappointing read.
hezann73's review against another edition
3.0
Fifteen year old Samara is coping with her life. Her mother goes from one boyfriend to the next and currently has her useless boy toy, Q, living with them. The house is a dump, Mom is never home and Samara spends most of her free time watching the chimps at the zoo. But that was before she had the most amazing substitue teacher - Mr. Halbrook. Sure, he's old (60+ - practically a senior citizen to Samara), but he's deep and he pays attention to Samara and soon she finds she can't stop thinking about him or the hope he has given her.
I liked this book well enough. It's a super quick read and Samara was a character you could sympathize with. It was refreshing to see a teacher push away a student's romantic interest (not all that common in YA lit), but still try to guide that student's life. You get the sense that Samara will be OK by books end, or at least better off than she was at the beginning.
I liked this book well enough. It's a super quick read and Samara was a character you could sympathize with. It was refreshing to see a teacher push away a student's romantic interest (not all that common in YA lit), but still try to guide that student's life. You get the sense that Samara will be OK by books end, or at least better off than she was at the beginning.
More...