showlola's review against another edition
2.0
This felt very much like a middle grade author tackling YA with meh results. I still think the premise had promise but no one really rises above cutout characterization and Maybe didn't feel like a high school age kid to me - just a 6th grader with grownup problems.
I haven't read Yee's middle grade books, but I'd be willing to try them. I just don't think she's quite acclimated to YA yet.
I haven't read Yee's middle grade books, but I'd be willing to try them. I just don't think she's quite acclimated to YA yet.
quietjenn's review against another edition
2.0
Pretty disappointing, because I like Yee's middle grade novels so much. In a lot of ways this book reads very similar to them, except that the protagonist is older and has more serious problems. And yet, it doesn't feel like, as a character, she is that much more evolved or mature - she certainly didn't feel like a sixteen or seventeen year old to me. I also felt like she - Maybe - is a character to whom things happen and reacts, but does very little proactively. She's really passive when left to her own devices, not taking an active role in the way her live evolves, which doesn't really match what the other characters in the book tell us about Maybe - how she's such an dynamic, individual girl. Finally, there's entirely too much coincidence and things that seem to happen merely as plot devices. At best, said occurrences merely made me role my eyes in a sort of "yeah, right, like that would happen" manner, while at worse, they actually made me angry. So, at least there was some strong response happening. Points for that. Finally (and this is just for Laura), while it did make me want to eat some good Mexican food, I have a hard time with a book - on the foodie level and maybe on any other level - that seriously uses the line "it was like a party in my mouth" to describe the taste of something.
cluelessandrea's review against another edition
1.0
This book looked good, but as i read more it became boring,
"maybe" whines througout the whole book, the characters are unrealistic and very annoying. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME
"maybe" whines througout the whole book, the characters are unrealistic and very annoying. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME
nerfherder86's review against another edition
5.0
Seventeen year old Maybe, short for Maybelline ( her mother is a former beauty pageant queen and runs a charm school, so naturally she would name her daughter after her favorite makeup!), wants to find her biological father, whom she has never met. Her alcoholic mother has been married 6 times,but none of them were to maybe's dad, and chunky, frumpy Maybe is tired of the constant bullying from the charm school girls and even her own mother. But when she leaves florida for los angeles, things don't go as well as she had planned. Instead she finally finds her true self, with help from her friends, new and old. I loved the character of Maybe and her two best friends, Daniel "Hollywood" the wannabe film director and Ted the pint- sized big-hearted Asian. The 3 of them are hilarious together. The book is also a bit of a love letter to los angeles, and when I finished it I was hungry for real tacos!
eupomene's review against another edition
2.0
Completely charming -- a bit of a train wreck at first but then it completely sucks you in. I still recommend her middle grade fiction more -- starting with Millicent Min, Girl Genius -- but this was a fun diversion.
dairyqueen84's review against another edition
3.0
Maybelline Chestnut, also known as Maybe, leaves Kissimmee, FL for Los Angeles, CA, after her mother’s latest fiancé attempts to rape her and her mother sides with him instead of her daughter. One of her best friends, Hollywood, is on his way to UCLA Film School and Maybe and her other best friend, Ted go along for the ride. Getting away from her critical, alcoholic mother, Chessy, and her groping fiancé, is one reason Maybe heads for California, but she also wants to find her biological father, the one man serial marrier Chessy did not marry. The trio has several interesting adventures along the way and when they get to California. The novel has several subplots and is populated with many quirky characters making for a mostly lighthearted read.
foreveryoungadult's review against another edition
Graded By: Poshdeluxe
BFF Charm: YAY!
Swoonworthy Scale: 3
Talky Talk: Straight Up
Bonus Factors: Duckie, Tasty Business
Relationship Status: Romp
Read the full book report here.
BFF Charm: YAY!
Swoonworthy Scale: 3
Talky Talk: Straight Up
Bonus Factors: Duckie, Tasty Business
Relationship Status: Romp
Read the full book report here.
maidmarianlib's review against another edition
3.0
Theme is nothing new but the teen characters are vivid and wonderful.
karinan99's review against another edition
5.0
Finally remembered the name of this book.
Fell in love with it a long time ago in like middle school and glad I found it again.
Fell in love with it a long time ago in like middle school and glad I found it again.