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A review by shhchar
Roomies by Tara Altebrando, Sara Zarr
3.0
Roomies was fun to read as someone who will be going off to college in less than two years. It had interesting, dynamic relationships and wasn't as fluffy as the reader is led to believe by the cover.
Oddly enough, one of my favorite things about this book was when the two girls didn't get along. It was a lot more realistic than having them hit it off immediately. When one of them would take forever to respond to an email, I really felt their pain.
BUT, there were a few things that nagged me the entire time I was reading. One, the preoccupation of Keyon being a name that a black person would have. And how awful the gay dad was for leaving EB behind. I felt like this book tried to have an opinion on socially relevant issues today, but failed at it pretty hard. Reasons like, it's San Francisco, so this stuff should be normal, didn't really excuse it for me.
Note: I'm having trouble articulating my thoughts in the above paragraph. I think it's easier to discuss with someone else who has actually read the book, so don't let me discourage you away from it.
Those reasons knocked off two stars for me, and would've knocked off more, but I did enjoy the second half of the book. This author is very good at writing relationships, and the side ones between EB and Justine, and Lauren and Zoe were the most intriguing. I recommend it for any high school student wondering about college!
Oddly enough, one of my favorite things about this book was when the two girls didn't get along. It was a lot more realistic than having them hit it off immediately. When one of them would take forever to respond to an email, I really felt their pain.
BUT, there were a few things that nagged me the entire time I was reading. One, the preoccupation of Keyon being a name that a black person would have. And how awful the gay dad was for leaving EB behind. I felt like this book tried to have an opinion on socially relevant issues today, but failed at it pretty hard. Reasons like, it's San Francisco, so this stuff should be normal, didn't really excuse it for me.
Note: I'm having trouble articulating my thoughts in the above paragraph. I think it's easier to discuss with someone else who has actually read the book, so don't let me discourage you away from it.
Those reasons knocked off two stars for me, and would've knocked off more, but I did enjoy the second half of the book. This author is very good at writing relationships, and the side ones between EB and Justine, and Lauren and Zoe were the most intriguing. I recommend it for any high school student wondering about college!