Hi guys, I’m not dead! I was on a much needed vacation last week at the beach and got in a lot of reading 
Not much internet access though, so I wasn’t able to post, or leave comments. Anyways, here’s a review of my most recent LTER book.
Title: “Cruel Summer“
Author: Alyson Noël
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 240
ISBN: 978-0312355111
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Date of Publication: May 27, 2008
2 stars: There are better teen books out there
“Message: This is the last txt msg Ull get from me bcuz IM packed N ready N lvg 4 LAX soon so I wanna say bye N also 2 say last nite was soooo fun but it also makes lvg that much harder I still cant believe my rents R doing this 2 me O well Plz say bye 2 Levi 4 me N plz give him m y email cuz I 4got 2 K, ttfn, Colby” (pg 4 “Cruel Summer“)
I’ve never read anything by Noël before, and after this, I’m not likely to. It’s not that the book was horrible, but it was definitely not meant for me. It’s clearly young adult- but not really written in a way that is enjoyable for adults too. If I had to classify it, I’d call it a bad cross between “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” (with the whole girl going to Greece thing) and books by Meg Cabot (which by the way I very much enjoy).
Not many of the characters are likable, especially not the main ones. Colby is a spoiled girl who gives teenagers a bad reputation. Granted her (in mid-divorce) parents aren’t great, but Colby is whiny, shallow, and self-centered. After a few pages I had no desire to read any more about her. And her ‘text speak’ made me want to throw the book across the room- thankfully the whole book wasn’t like that or I probably would have. I also felt that everything that happened was predictable. Without spoiling anyone more than the book cover does, basically a girl is forced to spend a summer in Greece with her aunt- hates it in the beginning, but grows to love it. Really who didn’t see that coming? From her acceptance of her aunt, to the identity of ‘anonymous’ on her blog, there were very little surprises. There was one twist, which I found didn’t fit in with the rest of the book at all- and in fact interrupted what little flow there was.
The one redeeming quality of this story was that it was told through emails, journal entries, and letters- all of which flowed quite nicely and kept the readers informed of what was going on. Not everyone can pull off this type of writing, but Alyson Noël did. But overall I would not recommend this book. Not even for young adults or teens. It’s easy reading, but believe it or not it took me awhile to get through it- simply because I found it so boring and Colby so annoying!
(Thanks to LTER and St. Martin’s Griffin)
Missed my last post? It was BOOK CLUB CLASSICS- CLASSICS MEME.
Missed my last review? It was REVIEW, INTERVIEW, AND GIVEAWAY: “SURVIVING BEN’S SUICIDE” BY C. COMFORT SHIELDS.
Hi Kathleen, welcome back! It’s nice to take a break off-line every once in a while!
I wanted to comment how refreshing it is to see a “I wouldn’t recommend this book” … most of the reviews I read are generally positive, I think we (me?) are reluctant to say “no, stay away from this one”. Thanks for an honest opinion!
I’m glad that you’re back and had a nice vacation. I’m sorry that this LTER wasn’t something that you would recommend. That’s always disappointing, but it helps you to appreciate the good books that you read.
Dawn- Lol thanks! Most of my reviews have been overwhelmingly positive but every once in awhile I have to give a bad one.
LH- It does indeed
Hopefully my next LT book will be better!
Huh…I’ve read this book, Cruel Summer, and I’ve actually enjoyed it. But, I have to admit it that the bad “text talk” through emails and text messages are pretty anoying, even for me( a teenager!). I would recommend the book, but I am only saying that because after reading this book, I am dying to go to Greece or anywhere islandy. Thanks for your interesting review.
A Normal Teen,
xD