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A review by emma_mo
Everything I Was by Corinne Demas
2.0
I picked up this book because the cover was so intriguing to me. An older girl, who looks like she is going to drown in her own sorrows, sigh. Sounds wonderful, right? I like covers, and this is one case where the cover betrayed me.
Things I liked: There was very little in this that I enjoyed and I think it's being targeted for the wrong audience. I guess what I liked best was the whole concept of this book. As a kid who moved around alot, I can relate to the feelings of displacement and confusion that come along with moves. I was the shy kid, just like Irene, but I feel as though she was almost too passive. I also liked Meg and Jim's entire family. I thought that they were one of the bright shining points of the novel. They brought personality and spunk to an otherwise dreary plot.
Things I didn't like: The entire plot was unmotivated and bland. Irene's parents were hardly explored at all. We get no real interaction between Irene and her parents, unless it's an argument. We know precious little about them - save that her mother is incredibly superficial and a social climber. Even at the end of the novel, there is no redemption for her. Irene's father learns to better understand his daughter, however it almost seems like her mother is happy to have another child out of her life. I was really disappointed by the lack of communication and resolution that the family reached. The story felt very stagnant, moving slowly from one idea to the next. Irene's voice was more like the voice of a 12 year old, as opposed to a teenager - very immature and childish. I was very disappointed. The romance between Jim and Irene also felt very underdeveloped and, to be honest, kind of unmoving. I think a good romance should make you want to move heaven and earth for the couple to end up together, or at least have some tension. There was none. No tension, no love triangle, nothing to make me root for the characters.
My rating: 2 out of 5, I can't even express how much the cover let me down.
Things I liked: There was very little in this that I enjoyed and I think it's being targeted for the wrong audience. I guess what I liked best was the whole concept of this book. As a kid who moved around alot, I can relate to the feelings of displacement and confusion that come along with moves. I was the shy kid, just like Irene, but I feel as though she was almost too passive. I also liked Meg and Jim's entire family. I thought that they were one of the bright shining points of the novel. They brought personality and spunk to an otherwise dreary plot.
Things I didn't like: The entire plot was unmotivated and bland. Irene's parents were hardly explored at all. We get no real interaction between Irene and her parents, unless it's an argument. We know precious little about them - save that her mother is incredibly superficial and a social climber. Even at the end of the novel, there is no redemption for her. Irene's father learns to better understand his daughter, however it almost seems like her mother is happy to have another child out of her life. I was really disappointed by the lack of communication and resolution that the family reached. The story felt very stagnant, moving slowly from one idea to the next. Irene's voice was more like the voice of a 12 year old, as opposed to a teenager - very immature and childish. I was very disappointed. The romance between Jim and Irene also felt very underdeveloped and, to be honest, kind of unmoving. I think a good romance should make you want to move heaven and earth for the couple to end up together, or at least have some tension. There was none. No tension, no love triangle, nothing to make me root for the characters.
My rating: 2 out of 5, I can't even express how much the cover let me down.