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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
Didn’t want this one to end, actually hoping she writes a sequel. Aris is a great main character (and writer)
Really cute book. Not at all the sort of novel I normally read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. Aris, our main character, is charming. Through her clever-but-inexperienced 12-year-old descriptions, we get to know the people in her life, who are all flawed, some even pathetic, but likeable. And you wish things would just work out for them. But life is hard, random, and often unfair. Still, you get the feeling that they could keep their heads above water if they would just come together. And you spend the book fervently hoping that they will.
It's a book about accepting people, and ourselves, even if they/we are not the way we wish.
It's a book about accepting people, and ourselves, even if they/we are not the way we wish.
I actually snorted a few times while reading this book; not only is Aris, the narrator and main character, absolutely hilarious, but so are the other characters in this highly entertaining story of a young girl and her belief that "the fate of the Montgomery-Thibodeau family rested on my literary success." She is a little bitter about the fact that all of the "therapy money" is spent on her younger brother, due to his "unique sensitivity to the world," and she sees this as a way to earn a spot with Dr. Dhang, the family therapist, among other things. Her mother is a widow and, according to Aris, "Diane is the only Montgomery to ever lose a job. At fifteen, she was dismissed from the Avon sales force for convincing women that they were more beautiful without cosmetics."
Her brother, Max, "has been searching for his talent for quite some time. Bypassing the more conventional art forms (too much competition), he has tried squirting milk out of his nose for long distances, training snails to swim (that was a sad one), and squeezing himself through a tennis racket. We're still searching." And then, amidst the family chaos, there is Penn, the PMI (acronym for Positive Male Influence), with whom Aris would really like her mother to fall in love.
"Penn is allowed to cuss because he was in the navy. Diane says taking the cuss out of a sailor is like taking the shine out of the sun. He has a terrible, terrible tattoo that he got one night when he was drunk with some sailors, but he won't let anyone see it, not even Diane. In the summer, when he takes us to the river to jump off rocks, he blackens it with a permanent marker. I'm always trying to imagine it."
This is definitely the most wildly entertaining book I've read this summer; I realize that the author is not, in actuality, "12.5 years old," but it was so much fun to embrace a little suspension of disbelief and read this story from Aris' perspective. I would love to hear about the experience of a reader who has a child around this age (or children of any age!) so, if you're out there, please keep me posted! I would highly recommend this one to readers of all ages and I think it makes for a fun discussion piece; you should prepare yourself for lots of laughs that you will not be able to contain.
Her brother, Max, "has been searching for his talent for quite some time. Bypassing the more conventional art forms (too much competition), he has tried squirting milk out of his nose for long distances, training snails to swim (that was a sad one), and squeezing himself through a tennis racket. We're still searching." And then, amidst the family chaos, there is Penn, the PMI (acronym for Positive Male Influence), with whom Aris would really like her mother to fall in love.
"Penn is allowed to cuss because he was in the navy. Diane says taking the cuss out of a sailor is like taking the shine out of the sun. He has a terrible, terrible tattoo that he got one night when he was drunk with some sailors, but he won't let anyone see it, not even Diane. In the summer, when he takes us to the river to jump off rocks, he blackens it with a permanent marker. I'm always trying to imagine it."
This is definitely the most wildly entertaining book I've read this summer; I realize that the author is not, in actuality, "12.5 years old," but it was so much fun to embrace a little suspension of disbelief and read this story from Aris' perspective. I would love to hear about the experience of a reader who has a child around this age (or children of any age!) so, if you're out there, please keep me posted! I would highly recommend this one to readers of all ages and I think it makes for a fun discussion piece; you should prepare yourself for lots of laughs that you will not be able to contain.
I've had bad luck with books lately. I really tried to give this one a chance, but I simply don't like the characters. The style of narration is interesting. I would recommend it to anyone who liked the memoir The Glass Castle. I didn't like it, though it is incredibly popular, and though this novel has a lighter tone, the mothers are similar.
I received an ARC from NetGalley!
I received an ARC from NetGalley!
I wanted to like this book, and it's occasionally charming, but the white savior tone was really off-putting.
Charming, wise and funny as hell, especially if you've tried to write any fiction of your own.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received this book through the First Reads program.
The narrator of this book is very precocious. This book is reads like an autobiography, where the narrator is writing about the process of writing this book. The storylines are slow to develop, and end a bit abruptly. It is definitely a cute story, but I don't think it will be a re-read.
The narrator of this book is very precocious. This book is reads like an autobiography, where the narrator is writing about the process of writing this book. The storylines are slow to develop, and end a bit abruptly. It is definitely a cute story, but I don't think it will be a re-read.