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A review by selbs2004
She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was so close to being a 3-star read for me but those last couple of chapters won me over.
I would like to start by saying that Honey-Bell, Danielle and Irene deserve the world and we should work together to protect them at all costs!
Saying that this book (to me) had a lot to dislike at the beginning. The first-person narrative that didn't allow us to view Irene's perspective bothered me because I dislike viewing a person of color through the perspective of a white person no matter how well-meaning they are. Irene is this really complicated character that has so much to love about her and I didn't feel like we truly got to know her even through the banter and hijinks for 80% of the book. Her connection to her culture felt very much played to show diversity and less to show respect especially when most instances where her heritage is brought up is to either "school" Scottie or she is shown being the "defensive" person of color which I think is an unfortunate way to represent her and really only gets more frustrated due to her never getting her own perspective in the first place.
Then there was the very clear disparity in maturity between the two characters, which sometimes altered the chemistry between them. Irene seemed so much more emotionally mature compared to Scottie which I know was due to her own difficult situations, but since (again) we only really get to know Irene till the end of the book it taints a lot of thier scenes together and I overall wasn't rooting for them till much closer to the end of the book.
Then there is the dialogue that just screams an adult writing teenage characters that left a lot of the emotional and impactful scenes feeling unnatural, and was one of the reasons it took me so long to get through this one.
But my goodness the character growth and development of Scottie was really well down. Seeing a book discuss the true hardships of a break-up and heartbreak was not what I expected from this book and really blew me away, and I'm happy there is a YA novel that handles this topic so well despite the bumps along the way.
I loved all the side characters, especially Honey Bell and Danielle. And I love that Quindlen left the room to have Irene's relationship with her mom be explored though I wish we could've gotten a scene of them talking to each other and hugging it out.
Overall 3.5 stars rounded up
I would like to start by saying that Honey-Bell, Danielle and Irene deserve the world and we should work together to protect them at all costs!
Saying that this book (to me) had a lot to dislike at the beginning. The first-person narrative that didn't allow us to view Irene's perspective bothered me because I dislike viewing a person of color through the perspective of a white person no matter how well-meaning they are. Irene is this really complicated character that has so much to love about her and I didn't feel like we truly got to know her even through the banter and hijinks for 80% of the book. Her connection to her culture felt very much played to show diversity and less to show respect especially when most instances where her heritage is brought up is to either "school" Scottie or she is shown being the "defensive" person of color which I think is an unfortunate way to represent her and really only gets more frustrated due to her never getting her own perspective in the first place.
Then there was the very clear disparity in maturity between the two characters, which sometimes altered the chemistry between them. Irene seemed so much more emotionally mature compared to Scottie which I know was due to her own difficult situations, but since (again) we only really get to know Irene till the end of the book it taints a lot of thier scenes together and I overall wasn't rooting for them till much closer to the end of the book.
Then there is the dialogue that just screams an adult writing teenage characters that left a lot of the emotional and impactful scenes feeling unnatural, and was one of the reasons it took me so long to get through this one.
But my goodness the character growth and development of Scottie was really well down. Seeing a book discuss the true hardships of a break-up and heartbreak was not what I expected from this book and really blew me away, and I'm happy there is a YA novel that handles this topic so well despite the bumps along the way.
I loved all the side characters, especially Honey Bell and Danielle. And I love that Quindlen left the room to have Irene's relationship with her mom be explored though I wish we could've gotten a scene of them talking to each other and hugging it out.
Overall 3.5 stars rounded up