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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Very tricky book for me to talk about. Half the time I just wanted to put it down and stop reading and then the other half I kinda enjoyed the story. I just couldn't attach myself to any of the characters, and when I found myself liking or empathising with one of the girls, they would say or do something that would turn me off them. I also sometimes found the writing a bit /too/ juvenile at some point - yeah, I get the characters were 15 but I don't know if having the writing sound like it was writing by a 15 year old was totally necessary in my opinion.
Not a bad book, but unfortunately not my favourite. I really wanted to like this one after the hype that it always got.
Not a bad book, but unfortunately not my favourite. I really wanted to like this one after the hype that it always got.
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Read for class. Some parts were enjoyable and it was a quick read, but I definitely was groaning and shaking my head at a lot of the decisions by characters. Though, I do think this is a novel that younger middle-school aged Lauren would have devoured.
Was very annoyed by the amount of incorrect guinea pig knowledge in this book:
-Tibby's guinea pig lived in a "glass box." Guineas pigs should live in a cage, and a large one, because they need a lot of space
-It's best to have two guineas pigs, not just one. They are social animals so they won't be happy by themselves!
-Guinea pigs absolutely cannot run on exercise wheels, like hamsters do. It's very bad for their backs
-Tibby said she got her guinea pig at age seven, and still had her as a fifteen-year-old...guinea pigs have a lifespan of 4-6 years. It is impossible for her guinea pig to have lived that long
-Guinea pigs should not be fed "assorted seeds"
These may seem like very insignificant mistakes, but I believe that you shouldn't put things in your book that you know nothing about. It just seemed lazy to me that there were so many mistakes that could've easily been avoided using Google. She could've just made Tibby have a hamster?
The character descriptions were very awkwardly written. A lot of info-dumping about what they looked like.
I found Lena and Bridget specifically very hard to believe. They just seemed too perfect?
Lena was apparently SO beautiful and every single character (including every single person on the island she was staying at) told her so, which doesn't happen in real life. Beauty is subjective!
Bridget was SO amazing at soccer, and had the most beautiful hair that made everyone look at her. Sure she can be amazing at soccer, but she went to a competitive soccer camp in Mexico! How can she be the only one who's really good?! So good that her team completely falls apart when she can't play well?! And I don't believe that people would stare at her because of her hair. Lots of people have bleached blonde hair, it's not that awe-inspiring.
I was very uncomfortable with the love interests in these books, because the girls were fifteen and the guys they were going after were nineteen. Four years isn't a large age difference...when you're over twenty. These girls are minors and are still in high school! I found it very unrealistic and kinda creepy that these college guys were interested in them.
The girls' stories were entertaining, but were a little too fast-paced for me. I wished each girl had a whole chapter and the whole book was longer, so you could get more invested with what happened to them. Bailey's death was wrapped up so quickly, Lena and Kostos were all of a sudden in love, and Bridget wasn't ok and then she was? I would've liked the story more if things were more developed.
-Tibby's guinea pig lived in a "glass box." Guineas pigs should live in a cage, and a large one, because they need a lot of space
-It's best to have two guineas pigs, not just one. They are social animals so they won't be happy by themselves!
-Guinea pigs absolutely cannot run on exercise wheels, like hamsters do. It's very bad for their backs
-Tibby said she got her guinea pig at age seven, and still had her as a fifteen-year-old...guinea pigs have a lifespan of 4-6 years. It is impossible for her guinea pig to have lived that long
-Guinea pigs should not be fed "assorted seeds"
These may seem like very insignificant mistakes, but I believe that you shouldn't put things in your book that you know nothing about. It just seemed lazy to me that there were so many mistakes that could've easily been avoided using Google. She could've just made Tibby have a hamster?
The character descriptions were very awkwardly written. A lot of info-dumping about what they looked like.
I found Lena and Bridget specifically very hard to believe. They just seemed too perfect?
Lena was apparently SO beautiful and every single character (including every single person on the island she was staying at) told her so, which doesn't happen in real life. Beauty is subjective!
Bridget was SO amazing at soccer, and had the most beautiful hair that made everyone look at her. Sure she can be amazing at soccer, but she went to a competitive soccer camp in Mexico! How can she be the only one who's really good?! So good that her team completely falls apart when she can't play well?! And I don't believe that people would stare at her because of her hair. Lots of people have bleached blonde hair, it's not that awe-inspiring.
I was very uncomfortable with the love interests in these books, because the girls were fifteen and the guys they were going after were nineteen. Four years isn't a large age difference...when you're over twenty. These girls are minors and are still in high school! I found it very unrealistic and kinda creepy that these college guys were interested in them.
The girls' stories were entertaining, but were a little too fast-paced for me. I wished each girl had a whole chapter and the whole book was longer, so you could get more invested with what happened to them. Bailey's death was wrapped up so quickly, Lena and Kostos were all of a sudden in love, and Bridget wasn't ok and then she was? I would've liked the story more if things were more developed.
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
good YA novel if you ignore the intense fatphobia & doesn’t deal w race very well. nice for including struggles with mental health but super vague? rampant ephebophilia lol
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If Brashares had taken the pants out of the book entirely and called it the Septembers, this would have been exactly the same story.
This book skewed younger than I had anticipated, but otherwise it was unfortunately just as I expected. Four kind-of different girls go through Events and learn Things and grow to Live, Laugh, Love. Also, clothes are elevated to a hallowed place I don't quite understand. Basically, it's all the stuff that completely alienated me as a teenager and made me feel like less of a woman because I could not give less of a shit. I'm more well-adjusted now and realise that having a vulva doesn't mean I have to be like any other girl on the planet, but tell that to a fifteen-year-old.
I was expecting a lot more friendship, but the premise of the book kind of nixed that. Interesting, because the name of the book is literally a reference to their friendship, but we only see it in action at the beginning and end. The rest is about boys, mostly. Sexy boys. Boys you can falsely accuse of rape. Boys you can sexually harass until you coerce them into sleeping with you. It's fun.
Oh, and I guess there's a dying kid in there, but I'm a mother to two little girls and I can't handle holding that storyline in my brain for any longer than the time it will take to finish this sentence.
I most liked the storyline with the shitty dad who was so averse to conflict that he didn't even warn his daughter about his new family until he was introducing them to her, thus forcing her to take it with grace. What a piece of garbage human being that man was. His daughter was a true hero to force him to sit there and accept her upset feelings despite everything he did and failed to do. But I am definitely projecting, here.
The book peppered in a bunch of barely-related and self-important quotes to show us that it was Deep and About Something, rather than just a small collection of coming-of-age soap opera vignettes. The first one was "Not all who wander are lost", which made me roll my eyes into the back of my skull. The quotes were a mix of heartfelt and quirky, the result of which was that I felt like I was reading an array of cross-stitched cushions.
If you like cross-stitched cushions, you will like this book.
This book skewed younger than I had anticipated, but otherwise it was unfortunately just as I expected. Four kind-of different girls go through Events and learn Things and grow to Live, Laugh, Love. Also, clothes are elevated to a hallowed place I don't quite understand. Basically, it's all the stuff that completely alienated me as a teenager and made me feel like less of a woman because I could not give less of a shit. I'm more well-adjusted now and realise that having a vulva doesn't mean I have to be like any other girl on the planet, but tell that to a fifteen-year-old.
I was expecting a lot more friendship, but the premise of the book kind of nixed that. Interesting, because the name of the book is literally a reference to their friendship, but we only see it in action at the beginning and end. The rest is about boys, mostly. Sexy boys. Boys you can falsely accuse of rape. Boys you can sexually harass until you coerce them into sleeping with you. It's fun.
Oh, and I guess there's a dying kid in there, but I'm a mother to two little girls and I can't handle holding that storyline in my brain for any longer than the time it will take to finish this sentence.
I most liked the storyline with the shitty dad who was so averse to conflict that he didn't even warn his daughter about his new family until he was introducing them to her, thus forcing her to take it with grace. What a piece of garbage human being that man was. His daughter was a true hero to force him to sit there and accept her upset feelings despite everything he did and failed to do. But I am definitely projecting, here.
The book peppered in a bunch of barely-related and self-important quotes to show us that it was Deep and About Something, rather than just a small collection of coming-of-age soap opera vignettes. The first one was "Not all who wander are lost", which made me roll my eyes into the back of my skull. The quotes were a mix of heartfelt and quirky, the result of which was that I felt like I was reading an array of cross-stitched cushions.
If you like cross-stitched cushions, you will like this book.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Really good book and I love how the story just drew you in, allowing you to become good friends with all the characters and makes you sad that it's over by the end of the book.