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mehsi's review against another edition
2.0
1.5 stars.
Sorry, but I hated Tabitha, for most of the book I just wanted to smack her for kissing a guy (no matter how sleazy he is) who has a girlfriend and even going to his home and even doing all the things she did. Sorry, but no. Also I didn't like how she treated Elise (like Elise should just show up and all that)(sure Elise was a total blergh friend at times too, but more on that later), I didn't like how she treated people. I also don't understand why she would sign up for such a website without more research, just posting her secret to the world and hoping it will be safe.
9780062294050Elise, I don't know, I didn't particularly like her. I also feel that is more because we get in the middle of some story and she also has another friend that gets more attention (at least it seems like that), you never know if Tabitha was her first and best friend, or that that friend was the first one. We also don't know exactly why Elise is acting like this, why she picks Tabitha at times, but other times the other person and doesn't chat much with Tabitha then. It was all a bit weird.
Joe, ugh, most hated character of all the book. It doesn't help that nobody ever goes against him, and he can just screw girls around without consequences. I truly hated him, and I felt sorry for Sasha (even though I also didn't like her).
And yes, I practically disliked... well all the characters. There were just so many characters and so many faults that they had, it just didn't feel good. Paul was just not really a father-character, Jemma was a bitch and so on. :\ The only one that was somehow interesting was Devon and sadly he didn't get much showtime, only when he was needed for the story (urgh, hate it when that happens).
We also have the part that Tabitha is dumped by her friends (we get reasons, but who knows if they are truly the reasons, we see only Tabitha's point of view about it), I felt it would have been better if we had seen Tabitha lose those friends, see her before all went down to hell. Now it feels (like I said earlier) like we just stepped in a story that already begun. You know, like when you get to a movie too late and missed all the beginning things that explains everything. That is how I felt. And that was not the only thing. I also didn't get what the whole fuss with Tabitha was about, seriously, someone is NOT a slut or a whore or whatever just because she starts to wear make-up and wears different (and more adult) clothes or when her boobs grow (not much she can do about that, now, can she?). I think everyone was just overreacting. Especially the part with the whole guidance counsellor and how Tabitha was chewed out because she wore a beige dress which was a bit short, but (big BUT) she wore tights and also flats. I mean, it might be a bit different if, say, she wore nothing under the dress, but she wore tights. What is this town, what is this school that girls get chewed out because a few short things (with decent stuff under it). I also disliked the counsellor, she didn't, not once, listen to Tabitha.
I did like the whole committee thing, though I feel the assignments were over the top at times (especially those of Tabitha). I am sure they are meant to do something, but sorry, quite a few of those are just bad things. Like pushing Tabitha to Joe, or like the assignment were she had to get high with her dad. Like wait? What? NO.
And the whole twist at the end? With Sasha? Loved it. It was a nice twist and it fitted with the story, it was quite predictable there would be a twist, but I didn't imagine it to be this. Nice. :)
The whole books and notes in them
were fun, however I am very much against doodling or writing in books, so I was also cringing at times. If you want to write something about a book, or add a note, please use post-its or something else. Poor books. :(
There were also a few spelling/grammar errors or sentences which didn't sound/read right which is a shame. For example this sentence: "Cate's no dummy - he knows I've called in backup." Cate is a she, she is the mother of Tabitha.
The ending, was awesome, but it was too late by then. I was happy for Tabitha, happy for Sasha, but I still didn't like them.
All in all, a book I wouldn't recommend.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Sorry, but I hated Tabitha, for most of the book I just wanted to smack her for kissing a guy (no matter how sleazy he is) who has a girlfriend and even going to his home and even doing all the things she did. Sorry, but no. Also I didn't like how she treated Elise (like Elise should just show up and all that)(sure Elise was a total blergh friend at times too, but more on that later), I didn't like how she treated people. I also don't understand why she would sign up for such a website without more research, just posting her secret to the world and hoping it will be safe.
9780062294050Elise, I don't know, I didn't particularly like her. I also feel that is more because we get in the middle of some story and she also has another friend that gets more attention (at least it seems like that), you never know if Tabitha was her first and best friend, or that that friend was the first one. We also don't know exactly why Elise is acting like this, why she picks Tabitha at times, but other times the other person and doesn't chat much with Tabitha then. It was all a bit weird.
Joe, ugh, most hated character of all the book. It doesn't help that nobody ever goes against him, and he can just screw girls around without consequences. I truly hated him, and I felt sorry for Sasha (even though I also didn't like her).
And yes, I practically disliked... well all the characters. There were just so many characters and so many faults that they had, it just didn't feel good. Paul was just not really a father-character, Jemma was a bitch and so on. :\ The only one that was somehow interesting was Devon and sadly he didn't get much showtime, only when he was needed for the story (urgh, hate it when that happens).
We also have the part that Tabitha is dumped by her friends (we get reasons, but who knows if they are truly the reasons, we see only Tabitha's point of view about it), I felt it would have been better if we had seen Tabitha lose those friends, see her before all went down to hell. Now it feels (like I said earlier) like we just stepped in a story that already begun. You know, like when you get to a movie too late and missed all the beginning things that explains everything. That is how I felt. And that was not the only thing. I also didn't get what the whole fuss with Tabitha was about, seriously, someone is NOT a slut or a whore or whatever just because she starts to wear make-up and wears different (and more adult) clothes or when her boobs grow (not much she can do about that, now, can she?). I think everyone was just overreacting. Especially the part with the whole guidance counsellor and how Tabitha was chewed out because she wore a beige dress which was a bit short, but (big BUT) she wore tights and also flats. I mean, it might be a bit different if, say, she wore nothing under the dress, but she wore tights. What is this town, what is this school that girls get chewed out because a few short things (with decent stuff under it). I also disliked the counsellor, she didn't, not once, listen to Tabitha.
I did like the whole committee thing, though I feel the assignments were over the top at times (especially those of Tabitha). I am sure they are meant to do something, but sorry, quite a few of those are just bad things. Like pushing Tabitha to Joe, or like the assignment were she had to get high with her dad. Like wait? What? NO.
And the whole twist at the end? With Sasha? Loved it. It was a nice twist and it fitted with the story, it was quite predictable there would be a twist, but I didn't imagine it to be this. Nice. :)
The whole books and notes in them
were fun, however I am very much against doodling or writing in books, so I was also cringing at times. If you want to write something about a book, or add a note, please use post-its or something else. Poor books. :(
There were also a few spelling/grammar errors or sentences which didn't sound/read right which is a shame. For example this sentence: "Cate's no dummy - he knows I've called in backup." Cate is a she, she is the mother of Tabitha.
The ending, was awesome, but it was too late by then. I was happy for Tabitha, happy for Sasha, but I still didn't like them.
All in all, a book I wouldn't recommend.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
rikerandom's review against another edition
2.0
Diese und weitere Rezensionen findet ihr auf meinem Blog Anima Libri - Buchseele
Zum ersten Mal ist mir „Don’t tell me lies“ von Corey Ann Haydu auf der Leipziger Buchmesse dieses Jahr begegnet – und hat da schon für sehr gemischte Gefühle und eifrige Diskussionen gesorgt.
Das Problem? Der Klappentext – bzw. die eindeutigen Gegensätze darin. Da wäre zum einen die Sache mit „Joe, dessen Berührungen sich so elektrisierend anfühlt.“ Den Part haben wir faszinierenderweise allesamt beim ersten Blick auf den Klappentext überlesen und uns stattdessen auf den die andere Sache mit „Life by Committee“ konzentriert, denn die ist wirklich faszinierend, während das mit Joe eher schreckliches erahnen lässt – zumindest für mich.
Im Endeffekt ist es aber leider diese schreckliche Vorahnung gewesen, die sich bewahrheitet hat, denn „Don’t tell me lies“ ist eins dieser Bücher, die randvoll mit guten, vielversprechenden Ideen sind, deren Umsetzung aber gelinde gesagt miserabel ist. Die einzige Frage ist also: Zuerst die guten oder die schlechten Nachrichten – die Mischung macht’s, hier also die guten Ansätze inklusive schlechter Umsetzung:
Eins meiner größten Probleme war die ganze Prämisse mit Tabithas Außenseiter-Status. Ihre Freunde haben sich von ihr abgewendet, die ganze Schule hat sich gegen sie verschworen und warum? Weil sie dabei ist erwachsen zu werden. Ernsthaft. Es geht hier darum, dass ihre Brüste wachsen, sie sich auch mal etwas auffallender schminkt, Skinny Jeans trägt (wie alle anderen auch?), T-Shirts mit tieferem Ausschnitt, kürzere Sommerkleider (mit Leggings und Ballerinas?) und weil sie mit Jungs redet… Was für eine Unverschämtheit von ihr, einfach so erwachsen zu werden und wie absolut logisch, dass sie deshalb von allen gehasst wird – NICHT!
Allerdings konnte ich mit Tabitha selbst auch nur herzlich wenig anfangen, denn auch wenn ich es ziemlich gut fand, dass es hier einmal eine Protagonistin gibt, die nicht zur unschuldigen Jungfer hochstilisiert wird, wie sich alle gegen sie verschwören und sie als dreckige Schlampe abstempeln, erschien mir übertrieben und fürchterlich konstruiert – wie oben ja bereits erwähnt. Allerdings ist Tabithas Verhalten nicht gerade hilfreich. Sie hat eine fürchterlich selbstgerechte Art, sieht sich als armes, armes Opfer, tut aber ständig Dinge, die das Bild, das die anderen von ihr haben, nur unterstreichen bzw. stürzt sich in Entscheidungen, die nicht nur ihr selbst sondern auch den Leuten um sie herum schaden.
Die ganze Sache mit dem Leben nach Komiteeentscheidung ist an sich richtig spannend. Ich verrate euch ein Geheimnis, ihr gebt mir eine Aufgabe, die ich erfüllen muss, damit ihr mein Geheimnis für euch behaltet, immer mit dem Ziel, dass ich mein Leben dadurch besser und voller lebe. Doof nur, wenn diese „Aufgaben“ mehr Qual sind als sonst was – bzw. wenn die Protagonistin zwischen „OMG, das ist die geilste Sache ever“ und physischen Ekelreaktionen schwankt und das ohne jemals über diese Reaktionen und die riesigen Unterschiede dazwischen zu reflektieren.
Überhaupt ist ein ganz großes Problem von Corey Ann Haydu in „Don’t tell me lies“, dass sie die Dinge immer nur erzählt und versucht den Leser von allem möglichen, ziemlich unglaubwürdigen Kram zu überzeugen, ohne jemals irgendetwas davon wirklich zu zeigen – „Show, don’t tell“ ist eindeutig nicht die Stärke der Autorin, so zum Beispiel auch bei Tabithas Schwärmerei für Joe, die ich nicht einmal ansatzweise nachvollziehen konnte.
Schade, aber für mich war „Don’t tell me lies“ von Corey Ann Haydu ein totaler Reinfall – top Idee, grässliche Umsetzung durch eine Autorin, die eindeutig beim nächsten Versuch mehr über das Konzept „Show, don’t tell“ nachdenken sollte. Eine Empfehlung gibt es für diesen Roman daher von meiner Seite aus absolut nicht.
Zum ersten Mal ist mir „Don’t tell me lies“ von Corey Ann Haydu auf der Leipziger Buchmesse dieses Jahr begegnet – und hat da schon für sehr gemischte Gefühle und eifrige Diskussionen gesorgt.
Das Problem? Der Klappentext – bzw. die eindeutigen Gegensätze darin. Da wäre zum einen die Sache mit „Joe, dessen Berührungen sich so elektrisierend anfühlt.“ Den Part haben wir faszinierenderweise allesamt beim ersten Blick auf den Klappentext überlesen und uns stattdessen auf den die andere Sache mit „Life by Committee“ konzentriert, denn die ist wirklich faszinierend, während das mit Joe eher schreckliches erahnen lässt – zumindest für mich.
Im Endeffekt ist es aber leider diese schreckliche Vorahnung gewesen, die sich bewahrheitet hat, denn „Don’t tell me lies“ ist eins dieser Bücher, die randvoll mit guten, vielversprechenden Ideen sind, deren Umsetzung aber gelinde gesagt miserabel ist. Die einzige Frage ist also: Zuerst die guten oder die schlechten Nachrichten – die Mischung macht’s, hier also die guten Ansätze inklusive schlechter Umsetzung:
Eins meiner größten Probleme war die ganze Prämisse mit Tabithas Außenseiter-Status. Ihre Freunde haben sich von ihr abgewendet, die ganze Schule hat sich gegen sie verschworen und warum? Weil sie dabei ist erwachsen zu werden. Ernsthaft. Es geht hier darum, dass ihre Brüste wachsen, sie sich auch mal etwas auffallender schminkt, Skinny Jeans trägt (wie alle anderen auch?), T-Shirts mit tieferem Ausschnitt, kürzere Sommerkleider (mit Leggings und Ballerinas?) und weil sie mit Jungs redet… Was für eine Unverschämtheit von ihr, einfach so erwachsen zu werden und wie absolut logisch, dass sie deshalb von allen gehasst wird – NICHT!
Allerdings konnte ich mit Tabitha selbst auch nur herzlich wenig anfangen, denn auch wenn ich es ziemlich gut fand, dass es hier einmal eine Protagonistin gibt, die nicht zur unschuldigen Jungfer hochstilisiert wird, wie sich alle gegen sie verschwören und sie als dreckige Schlampe abstempeln, erschien mir übertrieben und fürchterlich konstruiert – wie oben ja bereits erwähnt. Allerdings ist Tabithas Verhalten nicht gerade hilfreich. Sie hat eine fürchterlich selbstgerechte Art, sieht sich als armes, armes Opfer, tut aber ständig Dinge, die das Bild, das die anderen von ihr haben, nur unterstreichen bzw. stürzt sich in Entscheidungen, die nicht nur ihr selbst sondern auch den Leuten um sie herum schaden.
Die ganze Sache mit dem Leben nach Komiteeentscheidung ist an sich richtig spannend. Ich verrate euch ein Geheimnis, ihr gebt mir eine Aufgabe, die ich erfüllen muss, damit ihr mein Geheimnis für euch behaltet, immer mit dem Ziel, dass ich mein Leben dadurch besser und voller lebe. Doof nur, wenn diese „Aufgaben“ mehr Qual sind als sonst was – bzw. wenn die Protagonistin zwischen „OMG, das ist die geilste Sache ever“ und physischen Ekelreaktionen schwankt und das ohne jemals über diese Reaktionen und die riesigen Unterschiede dazwischen zu reflektieren.
Überhaupt ist ein ganz großes Problem von Corey Ann Haydu in „Don’t tell me lies“, dass sie die Dinge immer nur erzählt und versucht den Leser von allem möglichen, ziemlich unglaubwürdigen Kram zu überzeugen, ohne jemals irgendetwas davon wirklich zu zeigen – „Show, don’t tell“ ist eindeutig nicht die Stärke der Autorin, so zum Beispiel auch bei Tabithas Schwärmerei für Joe, die ich nicht einmal ansatzweise nachvollziehen konnte.
Schade, aber für mich war „Don’t tell me lies“ von Corey Ann Haydu ein totaler Reinfall – top Idee, grässliche Umsetzung durch eine Autorin, die eindeutig beim nächsten Versuch mehr über das Konzept „Show, don’t tell“ nachdenken sollte. Eine Empfehlung gibt es für diesen Roman daher von meiner Seite aus absolut nicht.
hannahlv's review against another edition
3.0
I didn’t mind this book - the concept is interesting, but the plot is a little over explained and the characters a bit predictable - a good read if you’re looking for something fluffy to read
thetiredmagician's review against another edition
1.0
Only a few quotable segments, one LOL, but no love for this story. Promising premise but just not my style.
maggiemaggio's review against another edition
4.0
I’m not going to lie, the thing about Life by Committee that originally caught my eye was the pretty cover with the ballet flats. This is also the rare book where I liked the cover before, but it means even more now that I’ve read the book, something I love. Anyway, then I read OCD Love Story and got to know Corey Ann Haydu’s writing and was even more interested in her sophomore book.
Going into this book I wasn’t sure what to expect. When I first heard about it I thought it would be more of a fun story about a girl getting wacky assignments from strangers on the Life By Committee website. Like Postsecret, but with advice on how to move on from your secret. Then I heard that it had a sinister aspect to it in that if you didn’t follow through on one of the Life By Committee assignments they would tell your secrets to everyone. I am not a fan of sinister things, they make me really nervous and overall take away from my enjoyment of books/movies/TV shows. Plus, Tabitha, the main character here is interested, and pursues, a guy who already has a girlfriend, one of my least favorite things.
The story does involve all of those things, but it was also so much more. Tabitha lives in a small Vermont town that’s very crunchy, but also conservative in some ways. Her parents had her when they were 16-years-old so they’re more like older siblings, she calls them by their first names and her father especially smokes a lot of pot, than parents. Her mom is pregnant and the soon-to-be sibling is really shaking up Tabitha’s nice little world. It’s never explicitly said, but it was pretty clear that many of Tabitha’s issues came from fear of her life and relationship with her parents changing once the new baby is born.
Tabitha has also had a recent falling out with her best friends. She started to experience what seemed to me like normal teenage things such as getting breasts, wearing makeup, and liking boys, but her friends decided that made her a slut and pretty much cut her off and ostracized her. This is kind of the dark side of living in a crunchy, liberal place, that if you do more conventional things you’re sometimes judged for them.
Between the situation at home and with her friends at school and not to mention with Joe, the guy she has late night chats and constantly exchanges text messages with, but who’s dating someone else, Tabitha is kind of ready to explode. Then she finds Life By Committee, a secret online community where you share a secret, get support from members, and then get an assignment from the website’s leader that’s supposed to make you a better person. When Tabitha admits to kissing someone else’s boyfriend the assignment she gets is to do it again. Tabitha becomes addicted to the site, and she starts seeking out validation from the members and obsessing about the things assigned to other members and then hearing about how their assignments made their lives better.
There were two things that really stuck with me from the whole Life By Committee website. First, just how lonely and sad Tabitha was. Maybe it’s a teenage thing, but the people on the site were obviously just as sad and alone as Tabitha and trying to give importance to their lives and make themselves feel better. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, from what the members said some of the assignments did improve their lives, but in some ways it seemed like bullying and taking advantage of vulnerable people. Second, how easy it is to get caught up in some online world and ignore the people right in front of you. As Tabitha gets deeper and deeper into LBC she has trouble concentrating on conversations with her parents and friends because she’s so focused on how she’s going to complete her next assignment. Many of us have online lives in addition to in-person lives and I’m not trying to devalue online lives, I love mine, but I think it’s also important to remember that even though your online life can always be present in the palm of your hand it’s also important to give time and attention to those in our offline lives.
At the end of Life By Committee I felt very similarly to how I felt at the end of OCD Love Story, I really liked it, but there was something that held me back from really loving it. I enjoy Corey Ann Haydu’s writing tremendously, there’s nothing about the characters or settings or actual writing that’s completely unique, yet it all feels very different from what’s out there in other YA books. That’s a good thing, but maybe that’s also what’s holding me back? Tabitha’s parents were much more present than Bea’s parents in OCD Love Story (that was one of my issues with that book), but I still felt a distance from Tabitha’s parents. I also found the idea that Tabitha was ostracized for being pretty and into boys really interesting and I wish that had been explored more, maybe by an adult like a teacher. I really enjoyed the way that Heather Demetrios wove the story of 1984 into Something Real and I think a comparison like that could have worked really well here and added another layer to the story.
Bottom Line: This is another strong book from Corey Ann Haydu. She combined several themes I tend to struggle with, lusting after someone’s boyfriend and a sinister situation, in a way that really worked for me. The main character, her family situation, and the online community she becomes a part of where all really fascinating and gave me a lot to think about.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss (thank you!). All opinions are my own.
This review first appeared on my blog.
Going into this book I wasn’t sure what to expect. When I first heard about it I thought it would be more of a fun story about a girl getting wacky assignments from strangers on the Life By Committee website. Like Postsecret, but with advice on how to move on from your secret. Then I heard that it had a sinister aspect to it in that if you didn’t follow through on one of the Life By Committee assignments they would tell your secrets to everyone. I am not a fan of sinister things, they make me really nervous and overall take away from my enjoyment of books/movies/TV shows. Plus, Tabitha, the main character here is interested, and pursues, a guy who already has a girlfriend, one of my least favorite things.
The story does involve all of those things, but it was also so much more. Tabitha lives in a small Vermont town that’s very crunchy, but also conservative in some ways. Her parents had her when they were 16-years-old so they’re more like older siblings, she calls them by their first names and her father especially smokes a lot of pot, than parents. Her mom is pregnant and the soon-to-be sibling is really shaking up Tabitha’s nice little world. It’s never explicitly said, but it was pretty clear that many of Tabitha’s issues came from fear of her life and relationship with her parents changing once the new baby is born.
Tabitha has also had a recent falling out with her best friends. She started to experience what seemed to me like normal teenage things such as getting breasts, wearing makeup, and liking boys, but her friends decided that made her a slut and pretty much cut her off and ostracized her. This is kind of the dark side of living in a crunchy, liberal place, that if you do more conventional things you’re sometimes judged for them.
Between the situation at home and with her friends at school and not to mention with Joe, the guy she has late night chats and constantly exchanges text messages with, but who’s dating someone else, Tabitha is kind of ready to explode. Then she finds Life By Committee, a secret online community where you share a secret, get support from members, and then get an assignment from the website’s leader that’s supposed to make you a better person. When Tabitha admits to kissing someone else’s boyfriend the assignment she gets is to do it again. Tabitha becomes addicted to the site, and she starts seeking out validation from the members and obsessing about the things assigned to other members and then hearing about how their assignments made their lives better.
There were two things that really stuck with me from the whole Life By Committee website. First, just how lonely and sad Tabitha was. Maybe it’s a teenage thing, but the people on the site were obviously just as sad and alone as Tabitha and trying to give importance to their lives and make themselves feel better. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, from what the members said some of the assignments did improve their lives, but in some ways it seemed like bullying and taking advantage of vulnerable people. Second, how easy it is to get caught up in some online world and ignore the people right in front of you. As Tabitha gets deeper and deeper into LBC she has trouble concentrating on conversations with her parents and friends because she’s so focused on how she’s going to complete her next assignment. Many of us have online lives in addition to in-person lives and I’m not trying to devalue online lives, I love mine, but I think it’s also important to remember that even though your online life can always be present in the palm of your hand it’s also important to give time and attention to those in our offline lives.
At the end of Life By Committee I felt very similarly to how I felt at the end of OCD Love Story, I really liked it, but there was something that held me back from really loving it. I enjoy Corey Ann Haydu’s writing tremendously, there’s nothing about the characters or settings or actual writing that’s completely unique, yet it all feels very different from what’s out there in other YA books. That’s a good thing, but maybe that’s also what’s holding me back? Tabitha’s parents were much more present than Bea’s parents in OCD Love Story (that was one of my issues with that book), but I still felt a distance from Tabitha’s parents. I also found the idea that Tabitha was ostracized for being pretty and into boys really interesting and I wish that had been explored more, maybe by an adult like a teacher. I really enjoyed the way that Heather Demetrios wove the story of 1984 into Something Real and I think a comparison like that could have worked really well here and added another layer to the story.
Bottom Line: This is another strong book from Corey Ann Haydu. She combined several themes I tend to struggle with, lusting after someone’s boyfriend and a sinister situation, in a way that really worked for me. The main character, her family situation, and the online community she becomes a part of where all really fascinating and gave me a lot to think about.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss (thank you!). All opinions are my own.
This review first appeared on my blog.
sarahonthecoast's review against another edition
3.0
In Tabitha's mind, her problems are huge and overwhelming. I think it will be hard for most teens to empathize with someone whose life has fallen apart because she has been deemed "too pretty" for her old friends. Especially when that same someone spends all of her time reading fantastic books given to her by her cool, hippy dad, in a coffee shop run by her young, hip mom, waiting for texts from the super hot guy she's fooling around with behind his girlfriend's back. Tabitha's problems grown tenfold with her decision to join the online, anonymous, truth or dare community that pushes her to her boundaries and further alienates her from everyone around her. Haydu wants us to believe the stakes are high (there's a lot of mystery around what happens to committee members who don't complete their tasks) but just like this book, there's a whole lot of build-up with not a lot of pay-off (unless being blocked from the website is your worst fear.)
Despite the one-dimensional main character and predictability, Life by Committee did not make for an unpleasant reading experience. Tabitha's actions online, where people weren't as anonymous as she thought, may have teens thinking twice about how much of themselves they're willing to divulge to strangers. Tabitha ends up learning the error of her ways and does her best to correct her mistakes (and is rewarded with a bright and sunny happy ending hand delivered by a much more appropriate love interest). It's an interesting concept that just wasn't as well-developed or executed as I would have hoped.
Despite the one-dimensional main character and predictability, Life by Committee did not make for an unpleasant reading experience. Tabitha's actions online, where people weren't as anonymous as she thought, may have teens thinking twice about how much of themselves they're willing to divulge to strangers. Tabitha ends up learning the error of her ways and does her best to correct her mistakes (and is rewarded with a bright and sunny happy ending hand delivered by a much more appropriate love interest). It's an interesting concept that just wasn't as well-developed or executed as I would have hoped.
blakehalsey's review against another edition
5.0
Every now and then, you read a book that just HITS you. This book was one of those for me. I loved Tabitha in all her imperfections and found myself in her more than once.
sc104906's review against another edition
3.0
Girl turns to an anonymous website and people to help her resolve her problems. Tabs posts a secret on the website, then is given an assignment. The Life By Committee website preaches that the committee can help a person live their life better than just one person making decisions on their own. Will this new risk taking Tabs really be able to land the boy she likes and deal with her new baby sister?
This book was okay. It was an interesting concept, but I don't think that the moral and ethical implications were really grappled with. While this idea was touched on, I would have liked more discussion about it. I do think that it clearly presents how people are more apt to turn to online strangers for advice, than making real connections. The characters irritated me. I would not want to know these people in real life. The drama that set the plot in motion really didn't seem to fit the ripples of action. It was just many different were instances performed by annoying/quirky characters.
This book was okay. It was an interesting concept, but I don't think that the moral and ethical implications were really grappled with. While this idea was touched on, I would have liked more discussion about it. I do think that it clearly presents how people are more apt to turn to online strangers for advice, than making real connections. The characters irritated me. I would not want to know these people in real life. The drama that set the plot in motion really didn't seem to fit the ripples of action. It was just many different were instances performed by annoying/quirky characters.