by Ned Vizzini
I didn’t know that this was the first book that he wrote. I loved the quirky stories of his teen years and seeing perhaps the nostalgic look back on high school. I think we always kind of look back on who we were in the most positive light. Vizzini sees himself as staying true to himself and the friends he had. I kind of wonder if we all do that and we just choose to forget the times we faltered or betrayed ourselves.
But I’m glad that there are people like Vizzini out there writing about a more realistic portrayal of life and teen life. There are times when we all get down and need some help and sometimes the best lesson you can learn is that everyone at one point or another needs help.
by Annie Leonard
I liked the book in the sense that it explained a lot of back story about what happens with all the stuff we have today and how it’s all made. It’s pretty fascinating when you think of how outside your control most everything is. You can control whether or not you buy something, but in the end, you may or may not even know the truth about what’s in the product, who made it or how it was made. I think the level of toxins in our products is scary, but more so is the fact that most everything we have in our lives sooner or later will be trashed and that not too many people see anything wrong with it.
I just recently called to have our satellite TV service canceled and I was asking the guy on the other end of the phone when someone would be coming by to take down the satellite. His reply? Oh, that’s yours, we don’t want it back. What? They don’t want it back, it’s trash to them. It does me absolutely no good and I can’t even give it back. What a waste. Our society and culture sucks. First off, what am I to do with it and secondly, why can’t they just use it on the next guy who signs up with Bell?
So, in this whole Bell satellite TV thing, I really get what Leonard is talking about. What I couldn’t really stand or enjoy was her tone. I’m not sure why most environmentalists and activists have to take on this condescending tone, but I find it really quite a turn off. She was telling stories of her daughter (never mentioned the father) and how even she could recognize PVC. She told stories of her little community and her bike riding and her solar panels. Sure, I totally believe in leading by example, but bragging by example is annoying. I’m glad she’s out there in the world, but I have no interests in ever befriending or meeting the lady.
by Emily Giffin
For whatever reason, I liked this book so much more than Something Borrowed. Perhaps because it wasn’t about someone supposedly perfect who had a bit of a fall from grace. I think there’s something more redeeming and interesting about someone trying to improve themselves than someone feeling justified in her wrongdoing. In Something Borrowed, Rachel kind of felt justified because she had been a doormat her whole life and she was sick of it. But in reality, if you’re a doormat, it’s really your fault for letting people treat you that way without ever saying anything about it. You can’t justify awful behavior based on how you’ve been treated.
I liked Darcy’s fall from grace and the true friendship she had with Ethan. Only a true friend will tell you your faults, because only through confrontation can you ever really become a better person. Rachel never tried to help Darcy become a better person, maybe she just felt good being treated badly so she could feel more saintly. Maybe, maybe not. But I liked how Darcy and Ethan’s relationship evolved and how they were able to find happiness by being open, honest and willing to change.
by Leonard Sax
I really don’t like this author much. I find the insights he’s having pretty common sense and he’s not really eroding a lot of insight into why girls act the way they do and what society and parents can REALLY do to change any of it. I find that he has a pretty nostalgic look on society and is completely biased. I guess as a doctor he must see a lot of f*ed up cases, but I don’t find the book positive or engaging. More like a bitter lecture.
The 2 things I thought were cool and will try to keep in mind if I have a girl is that she should drink milk and do a lot of jumping. Apparently there’s something in specifically milk that help build strong bones. And jumping repeatedly helps to strengthen bones and make them denser than if you don’t jump a lot. Interesting. But that was really the only 2 things I walked away with that I really appreciated. Most of the other information was I felt shallowly researched and more of his personal opinion than fact. Would not recommend.
by Emily Giffin
I picked the book up because I’m looking forward to the movie (which won’t be out for another few months). And all I can really do is hope that the movie is better than the book. It looks like it will be. It has a good cast and seems to be funny in all the right places (trailer style), but more I just hope it brings a little bit more to the story, makes the characters a bit more likable and people I can empathize with.
Because honestly, in the end I didn’t like any of the characters. I don’t think any of them were victims, I don’t think any of them were heroes. In the end, I thought they were all a little ugly. I got really tired of Rachel’s self-pity and how she’s the constant victim of Darcy’s selfishness. Yes, Darcy is selfish and self-centered, but Rachel never stood up for herself, she never had the courage to do anything. She really led a life of a coward and just used Darcy as a scapegoat for all her past wrongs. Darcy was bitchy and used people and so I never really felt that sorry for her, especially when you find out that she cheated as well and is going to have a baby with another guy. And Dex, he was such a coward as well. Just kind of went with the flow, but never really put himself out there till the end. I guess I’m glad they all kind of made it right in the end.
Yet, somehow I’m intrigued enough to want to read the follow up, Something Blue. I guess there are always two sides to every story and I’d like to hear Darcy’s. Because has evil as she seems in Something Borrowed, I don’t really believe that she is the ultimate bitch.
by Joshua Braff
I often wonder how autobiographical some books are. Did the author use this experience as an opportunity to heal parts of his childhood? Did a little digging and he’s the second of four siblings. Older brother, Adam, himself, younger sister and youngest brother. Seems pretty familiar. Parents remarried and his father was an attorney who did stage work…
But all I can really say is what a horrible father. And quite a selfish mother as well. I can understand her trying to escape and gain a sense of self, but it seems like she did it at the expense of her children. She’d run off to all these conferences and enjoy this life of purpose, but meanwhile, she would just dump her children with their abusive father so she could go off and enjoy her interests. And it wasn’t even like she gave them any tools to deal with him. Just off she went.
I liked the way the book ended. You don’t really know where that boy is running, but you get the sense that he’s not running for anyone else but himself this time. I liked how his older brother had to tell him that it was his time to go and that he had to go alone. Sometimes you can’t save anyone else but yourself. But I think what was different about what he did and what his mother did was that he admitted it. And it was never his responsibility to save his brother. It was just fact that it was his time to move on. But he did try and help Jacob find his own way.
“‘I get to go alone.’”
“I look down at the floor, trying not to cry, trying to see who I am without this parachute I’ve stitched. And it’s vicious I’m afraid, this lonesome I taste.”
by Chris Crutcher
Wow, what an intense book. I have to admit, I’m glad they have a new cover out for it. I didn’t really get how the main character is a Japanese-black-white teen, but the cover picture is a pure white guy. I mean at least they got it right with the C on the letter jacket (unless they decided to portray Mike), but in the end TJ doesn’t even get a letter. Anyway, small technicality, but I’m glad that they have updated the cover to be a little more correct.
It’s pretty unbelievable the amount of hate in this world. And it’s great to see books being published that talk about race and hate and abuse in such an upfront and honest way. You can see how Crutcher’s experience as a social worker has really led to some profound insight that people might never really be exposed to, except in the darkest of places. I wonder how much of this is his own personal means of therapy. That maybe somehow he writes of the horrors he’s witnessed to try and pay something forward. I wish these books were more popular, I don’t even know if they’re on the shelf at work.
It was pretty heartbreaking how Heidi wanted to try and scrub away her color. How someone would feel so small that they were threatened by the existence of a little girl. And then try and kill her. But I think a lot of this stuff can’t be made up, it happens everyday.
“My parents have always encouraged me to be loud when I run into racism, but I can’t count on racism being loud when it runs into me.”
by J.K. Madigan
I liked Blake’s point of view. I didn’t think he was that funny, but I liked how he tried to use his humor to get him through some tough situations. I thought that overall he was a pretty honest character who suffered some honest and real situations. I think it’s quite common to fall into other people’s lives and try and save them or try and help them out of their fucked up situations. I think Marissa was lost and couldn’t really accept the help from the people who were healthy enough to help her. She kept wanting her mother to do everything.
I feel like the ending was too abrupt. We never really find out what happens to Marissa or her mother. But I guess that’s how life is sometimes, people just fall out of our lives and we never really know what happens to them. Facebook and other digital forms of communication make it a little easier, but still, I feel like sometimes, once people are gone, they’re gone for good. And all we can do is hold on to the time that was spent together.
