Truth Be Told |
| 7 Kinds of Ordinary Catastrophes by Amber Kizer Posted: 29 Mar 2011 11:07 PM PDT  7 Kinds of Ordinary CatastrophesWritten by: Amber Kizer Published on: April 5, 2011 Published by: Delacorte Press 304 Pages Format: ARC EBook Source: Author Series: Sequel to One Butt Cheek at a Time (Delacorte 2007) Synopsis Okay, so here's the deal: there are books about volcanoes erupting and meteorites hitting Earth and plane crashes where the survivors have to eat people—those are extraordinary crises. That's not what this book is about. I'm more the ordinary catastrophe type. This second semester of my sophomore year, there are basically 7 KINDS OF ORDINARY CATASTROPHES: high school, boys, heartbreak, family, job, friends, and the future. Well, I guess everyone's life is full of ordinary catastrophes. These are mine. Hi, I'm Gert Garibaldi. Welcome to my crazy life. My Review This book was not at all what I had originally expected; it blew me away with its witty sense of humor. This is the first book I read from this author, and let me tell you, I will definitely be reading more. 7 Ordinary Kinds of Catastrophes deals with many real-life, teen issues, but it handles them in a joking manner. The main character Gertrude is going through that adolescent phase where she is trying to figure out who she really is. I think this book has a lot of issues that most teens deal with and it really makes this book that much more relatable. Some of the content is for mature readers, so I suggest it for older teens, and also suggest that you get parent permission first. There is only one main character in this book, Gertrude, but readers are also introduced to other issues from other characters. There is Clarice, who is going through a hard time trying to figure out why a guy won't commit to her. I was able to relate to Gertrude in a way. Throughout most of the book this character is trying to deal with sexuality issues: Is she a bad kisser, should she have sex, is she straight (this is more jokingly than seriously), however, by the end of the book she has grown as a character and realizes that she has to do what is right for her, not what other people want her to do. The funniest areas to read dealt with the horrible kissing skills of her boyfriend, Stephen. If I had to narrow it down to one thing I enjoyed the most, it would definitely be the writer's style. Amber had a way of making conversations down right honest, but hilarious at the same time. The random words that this author created made the character unique, and fun to read about. I also loved the inclusion of Gert's "Rants and Raves" where she lists her rants and raves about certain things. Something else the author wasn't afraid to do was think like a teenager. In 7 Ordinary Kinds of Catastrophes, Gert is constantly going off on tangents and having serious meltdowns over not so serious things. It totally reminded me of my high school days and some of the things my high school sister may be feeling. The last chapters of the book where very emotional in comparison to the beginning of this novel. There was an unexpected family emergency that helped Gert realized who she was and what she wanted from life. Not in a meaningful, oh-my-gosh "revelation" way, but the kind of conclusion all teens come to at some point in their life. I thought the novel ended on a very good note with a happy but unexpected twist. 7 Ordinary Kinds of Catastrophes will have teens laughing out loud, and possibly crying along with the characters. This is a must read if you are going through a tough adolescent phase, or if you just want to recall those awkward teen moments.  Overall, 7 Ordinary Catastrophes earns a four lantern rating from Truth Be Told. I thought this was a hilarious, fast paced, very real read. I can't wait to read more from Amber, and I hope to read more about Gertrude at some point. Purchase Links: or add it on Goodreads GIVEAWAY Stop by our next post for a chance to win this book!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
|
No comments:
Post a Comment