By Laurie Halse Anderson
Source I own it
Pages 208
Recommended by Everyone!
First Sentence It is my first morning of High School.
Synopsis
Ostracized by her friends for calling the cops at a party, Melinda starts high school with more problems than just the loss of her friends. Why did she call the cops? Why is she seeming to lose the ability to speak?
General thoughts
I pretty much got was I expected with this one. I thought the paragraph breaks were weird but it was easily forgotten. What I liked most was the simplistic way the story was told; there's no fancy fluff to distract from the story and every thing was raw and real. I think it's a tough issue for a writer to tackle but Laurie handled it well. Sheesh, what else can I say? I enjoyed it for what it was, and thought it was well done. I loved the symbolism littered throughout and the realistic feel of the book.
Characters
I'm not going to break them down. I'll just say I thought all the characters were realistically captured. Believe me...that's a hard thing to do. Apparently. ;)
Would I recommend it?
Yes, I didn't think anything was handled in a way that would only be appropriate for older teens.
I really love Anderson. Wintergirls was another one of her books that I thought was magnificent.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fantastic book. There's so much good it can do for people in the same position as Mel. I wish people would quit challenging it although it does get more publicity that way.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked it. :)
you know what I thought of it. I was impressded with the way she told the story. Without a bunch of uneccessary vulgarity and crude stuff. I'vealso read her book, "Fever" It made you think from a whole bunch of different view points.
ReplyDeleteBekka, I think I might try that one but I have such a hard time relating to anorexic people. I eat way too much for that!
ReplyDeleteJenni, I know, I'm actually mad that this one gets challenged.
Cowboy mom, I was impressed that she managed a book with this issue without all that stuff too.
Am putting this on my TBR! The Goodreads summary doesn't say much but I am going to guess at the reason why Melinda isn't talking. I'm looking forward to seeing how the author deals with these difficult issues. Plus a good review from Jenny ;P This book must be great!
ReplyDeleteYou should watch the movie, it is surprisingly almost as good as the book. The differences are minimal, which is practically a shocker considering movies made from books usually aren't done well much. I am glad you enjoyed it! :)
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to read this one...just never have.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. I've had this on my list for a while and I really need to get to it.
ReplyDeleteHave you read most of her other books? I love them all. And they are all so different.
ReplyDeleteLan, Yes, it is rare that I like anything. ;)
ReplyDeleteJessica, I'll have to see if I can find the movie.
Sarah, Yeah, I felt the same so I figured I better get to it.
iwriteinbooks, It's so short and fast it won't take you any time at all.
Suey, Actually this is the first book of hers I've read. I need to try some others now.