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A review by bellefarren
Let it be Me by Barbara Speak
Did not finish book.
I could barely get through half this book, and even from the beginning I had a strong dislike for the main character Arianna. I'm usually quick to empathise with characters and her family situation should have been one to tug at the heart strings but the writing style just didn't portray any emotion. The writing was in first person, and the monologue was more immature and juvenile then I thought would be normal for a seventeen/eighteen year old.
Arianna was rude, snotty and self-entitled. She immediately was rude to the other students at her new school, and didn't seem to even try and be polite. In one scene she's talking to the 'queen bee' of the school and their conversation is cliche (typical, I was popular at my old school and so you should leave me alone), and for me, the whole school scene just rubbed me the wrong way and seemed incredibly unrealistic.
In another scene, Arianna is walking home from school after her car broke down and is attempting to hitch hike. As a car passes and ignores her, she throws a handful of gravel at it. This scene clearly highlights how immature and self-absorbed she is. The owner of the car has no obligations to pick up a stray hitch hiker they know nothing about, yet she thinks she's entitled to damage their property?
The owner of the car then gets out (turns out to be the oh-so-attractive neighbour she's been ogling), obviously furious, and Arianna react by throwing more gravel at him (Her actions seem more likely to be of a seven year old having a temper tantrum then a high-school senior). He then response by physically attacking her and pushing her roughly up against the car.
So many red flags for me that I honestly couldn't look past. The two main characters (and what I assume is a budding romance) left a sour taste in my mouth.
* I did not finish this story because of everything highlighted above, so I cannot speak for the ending of this book. *
Arianna was rude, snotty and self-entitled. She immediately was rude to the other students at her new school, and didn't seem to even try and be polite. In one scene she's talking to the 'queen bee' of the school and their conversation is cliche (typical, I was popular at my old school and so you should leave me alone), and for me, the whole school scene just rubbed me the wrong way and seemed incredibly unrealistic.
In another scene, Arianna is walking home from school after her car broke down and is attempting to hitch hike. As a car passes and ignores her, she throws a handful of gravel at it. This scene clearly highlights how immature and self-absorbed she is. The owner of the car has no obligations to pick up a stray hitch hiker they know nothing about, yet she thinks she's entitled to damage their property?
The owner of the car then gets out (turns out to be the oh-so-attractive neighbour she's been ogling), obviously furious, and Arianna react by throwing more gravel at him (Her actions seem more likely to be of a seven year old having a temper tantrum then a high-school senior). He then response by physically attacking her and pushing her roughly up against the car.
So many red flags for me that I honestly couldn't look past. The two main characters (and what I assume is a budding romance) left a sour taste in my mouth.
* I did not finish this story because of everything highlighted above, so I cannot speak for the ending of this book. *