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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Great book! It had an interesting story about Reality Tv and how damaging it is to the people on the other side of the tv.
Probably more of a 3.5. I liked most of it okay, but the romance was annoying. It loses a half a star because Chloe's (gay) brother is constantly regulating her virginity and I just could. not. handle. that.
Full review coming soon.
Full review coming soon.
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2014/02/2014-book-33.html
Bought this book on vacation when I saw it on the highlights table at the bookstore. Bonnie is looking forward to her senior year until her mom announces that the family is returning to its reality hit show, Baker's Dozen (Bonnie was born on TV and didn't know what it was like to live off the air until 4 years earlier). Bonnie will have to become Bonnie™ again and lose the normal life that she had finally achieved after changing her name and moving to a small town on the opposite coast. Bonnie resists every step of the way and has to navigate the changing relationships with her family, friends, and community. Demetrios conveys the powerlessness teens feel when adults make the decisions and dictate to teens about to become adults. It has a high rating on Goodreads and is selling well in book stores as the premise interests and speaks to teenagers.
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-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
I don't give out my 5 stars lightly so this is a big deal. I love this book and I'm not even sure when to start.
I guess the simplest explanation is that it all felt very real to me, and to be honest, what the heck do I know. I'm only one of 3 and I don't even live there anymore, but I believed ever word of this book with my whole heart. I was so sad for Chloe that I didn't know what to do with myself. I've always thought that growing up in front of a camera had to be a hard way to live but watching Chloe was almost uncomfortable for me. I haven't read any other reviews on this book, but I have a feeling that there are going to be some who are upset with the portrayal of Chloe and Benny's parents and step father. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but there are parents in the world who are exactly like them. I know because I've seen it. I've watched parents neglect their kids is a ridiculous amount of ways and I can only imagine that it's worse in the privacy of their own home. I'm glad that Chloe and Benny were able to stand up for themselves and do what was best for them. To be honest, there were a few moment when I was worry that Chloe would so something stupid... again.
It was really nice watching her character develop, watching her slowly take control of her life, watching her struggle to figure out what to do with her life. (I've had a few melt downs myself figuring all of that out). Snaps to Patrick for not letting Chloe take the easy way out of their relationship. Speaking of their relationship, I hope I don't stumble across posts about insta-love. Those guys were head over heals for each other for over a year, just because we didn't read it, doesn't mean that we can discount that it was there. I love the two of them as a couple. Not a lot of guys could have handled the baggage that she came with. I also liked how different Chloe and Patrick's home lives were. At first, I would have though Patrick came from some broken home or something when he was described to us. Plot twist, he was a great family, and great ambitions.
Yay Benny and Matt, I like reading about more and more gay characters in fiction. Those two are lovely, and did anyone else catch on to the fact that Matt is black. Yay interracial relationships. Take that Cheerios haters.
I could go on and on about what I loved in this book... but I wont. I give it 5 stars and that's that!!
I guess the simplest explanation is that it all felt very real to me, and to be honest, what the heck do I know. I'm only one of 3 and I don't even live there anymore, but I believed ever word of this book with my whole heart. I was so sad for Chloe that I didn't know what to do with myself. I've always thought that growing up in front of a camera had to be a hard way to live but watching Chloe was almost uncomfortable for me. I haven't read any other reviews on this book, but I have a feeling that there are going to be some who are upset with the portrayal of Chloe and Benny's parents and step father. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but there are parents in the world who are exactly like them. I know because I've seen it. I've watched parents neglect their kids is a ridiculous amount of ways and I can only imagine that it's worse in the privacy of their own home. I'm glad that Chloe and Benny were able to stand up for themselves and do what was best for them. To be honest, there were a few moment when I was worry that Chloe would so something stupid... again.
It was really nice watching her character develop, watching her slowly take control of her life, watching her struggle to figure out what to do with her life. (I've had a few melt downs myself figuring all of that out). Snaps to Patrick for not letting Chloe take the easy way out of their relationship. Speaking of their relationship, I hope I don't stumble across posts about insta-love. Those guys were head over heals for each other for over a year, just because we didn't read it, doesn't mean that we can discount that it was there. I love the two of them as a couple. Not a lot of guys could have handled the baggage that she came with. I also liked how different Chloe and Patrick's home lives were. At first, I would have though Patrick came from some broken home or something when he was described to us. Plot twist, he was a great family, and great ambitions.
Yay Benny and Matt, I like reading about more and more gay characters in fiction. Those two are lovely, and did anyone else catch on to the fact that Matt is black. Yay interracial relationships. Take that Cheerios haters.
I could go on and on about what I loved in this book... but I wont. I give it 5 stars and that's that!!
You can find more of my reviews here at my blog: Take Me Away...
In my family there's mostly girls. From me, to my sisters, to my cousins, to my cousin's children. And to make it even worse we're all exactly seven years apart. (It's a little weird lol) And trust me, we couldn't be more different if we tried. I used to think that with all our personalities and girlie meltdowns life couldn't get any worse. But then, I read this. And now, let me just say.... THANK GOODNESS FOR MY FAMILY.
Bonnie™ Chloe is from a family of 13 children. To add to the chaos, her huge family stars in its own reality tv show. Of course this means there is no such thing as privacy in thier home. (This is where I started feeling thankful for my family.) Everything Chloe does is scrutinized and it's unfair. Chloe is a teen that never gets to be a teen and constantly gets reminded of the worst time in her life. As soon as she begins to feel the slightest bit normal, her world is turned upside down again. No one understands why she doesn't want her most private moments filmed for the world to see. No one understands that all she wanted was some things to herself. It's such unfortunate situation.
But even though no one else is listening, there is someone who sees how unhappy she is. Patrick. And let me tell you, ladies and gentleman, he is way too perfect. Everything he does centers around Chloe. Normally, I'd be all for that, but their relationship was a little intense for them to be in high school. But, no judgement because there are high school sweethearts out there in the world. I'm actually thankful she had him to go to because she really had it rough. She really deserved to get her happily ever after. Both her and her brother.
What I loved most about the book was the characters. For there to be 13 children, 3 parents, 2 boyfriends, 2 BFF's, about 3-4 camera/production people, and countless paparazzi, none of them felt flat to me.It really seemed like everyone had a purpose. Yes it was a bit chaotic, but look at the type of story this it. There was no way it wouldn't be... My favorite character was Benny. I liked the MC, but Benny was such a strong character. In the way he handled some things I was a little reminded of myself and I had to go back and evaluate some things.
It's funny, I put this book on my TBR because of its bright, beautiful cover. I wasn't really expecting the inside pages to affect me like they did. Demetrios' writing style sucked me in completely. I felt all types of emotions while reading this. I swooned, laughed, and even got a little misty eyed! (That scene with the boyfriend shirt?! Yeahhhh...)
From the amazing characters, to the chaos that is her family, to the emotional wild ride I was on while reading this, I enjoyed every bit of it. So much so I stayed up until 5 am finishing it (ON THE DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME DAY SO I HAD ALREADY LOST AN HOUR OF SLEEP MIND YOU!) and I don't regret it. Now I'm just a little shocked that this is a debut.
In my family there's mostly girls. From me, to my sisters, to my cousins, to my cousin's children. And to make it even worse we're all exactly seven years apart. (It's a little weird lol) And trust me, we couldn't be more different if we tried. I used to think that with all our personalities and girlie meltdowns life couldn't get any worse. But then, I read this. And now, let me just say.... THANK GOODNESS FOR MY FAMILY.
Bonnie™ Chloe is from a family of 13 children. To add to the chaos, her huge family stars in its own reality tv show. Of course this means there is no such thing as privacy in thier home. (This is where I started feeling thankful for my family.) Everything Chloe does is scrutinized and it's unfair. Chloe is a teen that never gets to be a teen and constantly gets reminded of the worst time in her life. As soon as she begins to feel the slightest bit normal, her world is turned upside down again. No one understands why she doesn't want her most private moments filmed for the world to see. No one understands that all she wanted was some things to herself. It's such unfortunate situation.
But even though no one else is listening, there is someone who sees how unhappy she is. Patrick. And let me tell you, ladies and gentleman, he is way too perfect. Everything he does centers around Chloe. Normally, I'd be all for that, but their relationship was a little intense for them to be in high school. But, no judgement because there are high school sweethearts out there in the world. I'm actually thankful she had him to go to because she really had it rough. She really deserved to get her happily ever after. Both her and her brother.
What I loved most about the book was the characters. For there to be 13 children, 3 parents, 2 boyfriends, 2 BFF's, about 3-4 camera/production people, and countless paparazzi, none of them felt flat to me.It really seemed like everyone had a purpose. Yes it was a bit chaotic, but look at the type of story this it. There was no way it wouldn't be... My favorite character was Benny. I liked the MC, but Benny was such a strong character. In the way he handled some things I was a little reminded of myself and I had to go back and evaluate some things.
It's funny, I put this book on my TBR because of its bright, beautiful cover. I wasn't really expecting the inside pages to affect me like they did. Demetrios' writing style sucked me in completely. I felt all types of emotions while reading this. I swooned, laughed, and even got a little misty eyed! (That scene with the boyfriend shirt?! Yeahhhh...)
From the amazing characters, to the chaos that is her family, to the emotional wild ride I was on while reading this, I enjoyed every bit of it. So much so I stayed up until 5 am finishing it (ON THE DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME DAY SO I HAD ALREADY LOST AN HOUR OF SLEEP MIND YOU!) and I don't regret it. Now I'm just a little shocked that this is a debut.
Really good, except the love interest was too perfect to be believable and tensions with her friends resolve themselves too quickly. Excellent story about a teen taking control of her life despite her position of powerlessness.
