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A review by arisbookcorner
Bass Ackwards and Belly Up by Sarah Fain, Elizabeth Craft
5.0
I had such a fantastic time reading this book! I could not set it down (I have the bags under my eyes to prove it). More on the whitewashed paperback covers for this book and the sequel later via the blog
A unique aspect of this novel is that the girls aren't in constant contact with each other. I thought that made the story more interesting. Let's be honest if one friend is in college, another one still lives in their hometown, one is traveling throughout Europe and the other is in L.A. you aren't going to talk everyday. It's just not possible. I am slightly biased in that, like Harper, I didn't get into NYU and I didn't tell my friends. But unlike Harper I did apply to other schools but as someone who is not as excited about college as I would have been if I was attending a certain other school, I was positively green with envy at the courage Harper, Kate, Sophie (who is biracial) and even Becca exhibited in going for their dreams. Sometimes I imagine 'what if' I worked for a political camapign during the fall instead of going to college right away....and then reapplying to my dream schools. But I digress. I was really glad the authors kept Becca's story interesting, I was worried she would fall by the wayside since she was going to Middlebury but they kept the storyline fresh. I only wish they had gone into more detail about her college experiences (ski training, other extraccuriculars, mention of her classes, other dating experiences). I was also quite pleased that Kate didn't drop everything when she met a hot Swiss guy, her storyline was very impressive because it was atypical of many YA books out there set in foreign countries. And BIG UPs to the author for making Sophie a well-rounded character and not some Black character from a 'problem household'. She was funny, conceited and knowledgable about her heritage but not overly so (as in she didn't think about it every waking minute, solidly middle class), in other words she was a breath of fresh air.
I think it should have been made more clear that there was going to be a sequel. I already knew there would be but if I read this book in 2006 and had to wait till 2008 for the sequel I would have been furious! There are so many loose ends. Other than that nothing I disliked about this book, it's perfect in terms of being a read for recently-graduated-high-school-students.
Favorite Quotes: "Harper had started as the engine of the Dream Train, but now she was officially the caboose." (pg. 225).
"She had taken success for granted so many times in her life, that she'd never stopped to consider the circumstances under which she could fail, and whether she would have the ability to get back on her feet again." Late, pg. 262
PS I'm reading the sequel now and aside from my irritation at the whitewashed cover I must admit I don't like it as much so far.
A unique aspect of this novel is that the girls aren't in constant contact with each other. I thought that made the story more interesting. Let's be honest if one friend is in college, another one still lives in their hometown, one is traveling throughout Europe and the other is in L.A. you aren't going to talk everyday. It's just not possible. I am slightly biased in that, like Harper, I didn't get into NYU and I didn't tell my friends. But unlike Harper I did apply to other schools but as someone who is not as excited about college as I would have been if I was attending a certain other school, I was positively green with envy at the courage Harper, Kate, Sophie (who is biracial) and even Becca exhibited in going for their dreams. Sometimes I imagine 'what if' I worked for a political camapign during the fall instead of going to college right away....and then reapplying to my dream schools. But I digress. I was really glad the authors kept Becca's story interesting, I was worried she would fall by the wayside since she was going to Middlebury but they kept the storyline fresh. I only wish they had gone into more detail about her college experiences (ski training, other extraccuriculars, mention of her classes, other dating experiences). I was also quite pleased that Kate didn't drop everything when she met a hot Swiss guy, her storyline was very impressive because it was atypical of many YA books out there set in foreign countries. And BIG UPs to the author for making Sophie a well-rounded character and not some Black character from a 'problem household'. She was funny, conceited and knowledgable about her heritage but not overly so (as in she didn't think about it every waking minute, solidly middle class), in other words she was a breath of fresh air.
I think it should have been made more clear that there was going to be a sequel. I already knew there would be but if I read this book in 2006 and had to wait till 2008 for the sequel I would have been furious! There are so many loose ends. Other than that nothing I disliked about this book, it's perfect in terms of being a read for recently-graduated-high-school-students.
Favorite Quotes: "Harper had started as the engine of the Dream Train, but now she was officially the caboose." (pg. 225).
"She had taken success for granted so many times in her life, that she'd never stopped to consider the circumstances under which she could fail, and whether she would have the ability to get back on her feet again." Late, pg. 262
PS I'm reading the sequel now and aside from my irritation at the whitewashed cover I must admit I don't like it as much so far.