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albon's review against another edition
2.0
(Review from 2014)
Eeeh. The romance between Tara and Riley was good and so was the parts with Pinkie and her step-mom, but those two things combined make up like 1/6th of the book. Other than that this book was full of homophobic friends who never actually became accepting and who had super annoying boring "problems", that we never got answers to anyway.
Eeeh. The romance between Tara and Riley was good and so was the parts with Pinkie and her step-mom, but those two things combined make up like 1/6th of the book. Other than that this book was full of homophobic friends who never actually became accepting and who had super annoying boring "problems", that we never got answers to anyway.
proffy's review against another edition
2.0
Of All the Stupid Things is narrated by three girls, each with their own parental issue: absent father, unconcerned parents, dead mother. While the situations and voices used in the story were interesting, I was disappointed with the lack of a central focus which would have allowed for full development. I am looking forward to future works by Diaz, however, because I think she has the potential for truly unique stories.
jteach's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
dtaylorbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it. I was hooked pretty much immediately. The book starts right at that moment when Tara finds out about Brent and it just keeps peddling from there. You watch as this once immovable friendship starts to crack and each of the three girls is chipping away at the glass, eroding its integrity. They all have the best of intentions but you know what road those are paved with. So those best intentions are the collection of hammers that ends up shattering the glass. But, in the end, at least someone's there that's willing to attempt to glue the pieces back together.
Tara I liked pretty much all the way through the story. I can't imagine what it would be like to hear a rumor that my boyfriend had cheated on me with another guy. Personally I expected to see a lot more self-doubt. You know, the kind of thoughts that go "did I turn him gay?" or others like it. It seems to be a natural reaction but Tara didn't have that. Instead she ran away, literally and figuratively. She ran until it hurt, she ran away from her friends and she ran to someone new and fresh that gave her a new lease on life. Someone else that she could relate to on a bunch of different levels. I liked Tara the most really because I thought she was the best character. I found her the most relatable and her story the most compelling.
Whitney (sorry, I refuse to call her by her full name, far too annoying), I didn't like her drama. Plus I thought she was too typical. The spoiled rich girl that gets everything she wants but what she really wants/needs are parents that love her. I was over it. I've been over it. While her drama to sabotage Riley kept me turning the pages rather quickly, I just didn't like her type. Her mould, I guess is what it would be. Her character was okay but she was a little too typical for me.
Pinkie got to a point where I just couldn't stand her. Overbearing, mothering, constantly apologizing. I can't stand those people. Spineless, weak-willed individuals that I want to just scream at. I will say, though, she did come around in the end. There is a redemption for Pinkie so if you find people/characters like this equally as grating, just wait it out. She gets a reprieve. She breaks the stranglehold she has on herself and realizes the type of person she is. Those types of people I love, even if they're new to it: self-realization. They have the ability to look at themselves from the outside and fix their shit. Pinkie gets there. Eventually.
Riley's just kind of there so I'm neither here nor there about her but her presence is what propels the plot. Riley really did shake up the threesome Tara, Whitney and Pinkie had. Without her, Tara would have just ran back to her friends like normal. Running to Riley was the catalyst of everyone's issues. Whitney's scheming rolls back to Riley. And because neither Tara nor Whitney are around, Pinkie is forced to stand on her own, something that she desperately needed.
I wanted something light and I definitely got it. It touches upon some pretty major issues but in a light way. Yeah, they can be major. But they don't have to be. Not everyone is going to throw feces at the fan when they get a wrench in their spokes. Some just brush themselves off and keep going. I'm glad this book didn't dive too deeply into what could have been some steep issues. It kept it light. Does that make it disingenuous? I don't necessarily think so. It just resolves the issues in a non-major way, since I'm sure that can be called realistic for some people. It had its dramarama moments, its blowout fights and its life-changing epiphanies. And I couldn't get enough of them. I swallowed them up and then greedily wanted more.
Yeah, it's a light read but it touches on subjects that a lot of teens are going through so I don't think it should be brushed aside as fanciful simply because it doesn't make you want to slit your wrists by the time you've finished reading it. It's a quick read but you'll remember a lot; about how the characters felt, how you felt reading them. I know they elicited some emotions in me. At work, of course. So if you're looking for something light, it's good for that. If you're looking for something realistic, it's good for that too. It's just an all around good book.
Tara I liked pretty much all the way through the story. I can't imagine what it would be like to hear a rumor that my boyfriend had cheated on me with another guy. Personally I expected to see a lot more self-doubt. You know, the kind of thoughts that go "did I turn him gay?" or others like it. It seems to be a natural reaction but Tara didn't have that. Instead she ran away, literally and figuratively. She ran until it hurt, she ran away from her friends and she ran to someone new and fresh that gave her a new lease on life. Someone else that she could relate to on a bunch of different levels. I liked Tara the most really because I thought she was the best character. I found her the most relatable and her story the most compelling.
Whitney (sorry, I refuse to call her by her full name, far too annoying), I didn't like her drama. Plus I thought she was too typical. The spoiled rich girl that gets everything she wants but what she really wants/needs are parents that love her. I was over it. I've been over it. While her drama to sabotage Riley kept me turning the pages rather quickly, I just didn't like her type. Her mould, I guess is what it would be. Her character was okay but she was a little too typical for me.
Pinkie got to a point where I just couldn't stand her. Overbearing, mothering, constantly apologizing. I can't stand those people. Spineless, weak-willed individuals that I want to just scream at. I will say, though, she did come around in the end. There is a redemption for Pinkie so if you find people/characters like this equally as grating, just wait it out. She gets a reprieve. She breaks the stranglehold she has on herself and realizes the type of person she is. Those types of people I love, even if they're new to it: self-realization. They have the ability to look at themselves from the outside and fix their shit. Pinkie gets there. Eventually.
Riley's just kind of there so I'm neither here nor there about her but her presence is what propels the plot. Riley really did shake up the threesome Tara, Whitney and Pinkie had. Without her, Tara would have just ran back to her friends like normal. Running to Riley was the catalyst of everyone's issues. Whitney's scheming rolls back to Riley. And because neither Tara nor Whitney are around, Pinkie is forced to stand on her own, something that she desperately needed.
I wanted something light and I definitely got it. It touches upon some pretty major issues but in a light way. Yeah, they can be major. But they don't have to be. Not everyone is going to throw feces at the fan when they get a wrench in their spokes. Some just brush themselves off and keep going. I'm glad this book didn't dive too deeply into what could have been some steep issues. It kept it light. Does that make it disingenuous? I don't necessarily think so. It just resolves the issues in a non-major way, since I'm sure that can be called realistic for some people. It had its dramarama moments, its blowout fights and its life-changing epiphanies. And I couldn't get enough of them. I swallowed them up and then greedily wanted more.
Yeah, it's a light read but it touches on subjects that a lot of teens are going through so I don't think it should be brushed aside as fanciful simply because it doesn't make you want to slit your wrists by the time you've finished reading it. It's a quick read but you'll remember a lot; about how the characters felt, how you felt reading them. I know they elicited some emotions in me. At work, of course. So if you're looking for something light, it's good for that. If you're looking for something realistic, it's good for that too. It's just an all around good book.
lowkeybooks's review against another edition
1.0
I love the fact that this was kind of a LGBQT book. I don't see enough of those. However, I think that was the only redeeming quality about this book. First of all, the book is told from three povs. Completely unnecessary because the girls aren't saying anything important by themselves. This could have easily been told from a 3rd person point of view and simplified a lot of things. Second, the characters are very one-dimensional ( well maybe except for David, but he is a little stupid at times). Tara, one of the three main girls is horrified to find out that her boyfriend could be gay. So she dumps him. That's cool and all Pinkie is a hot mess that is constantly call people and worrying after them like an annoying mother hen. Whitney Blaire? I just can't deal with this girl. I felt like half the time I was reading stories told from a playground and I was constantly checking to make sure that these people were in fact in high school.
Spoiler
but umm aren't you in a lesbian relationship later on?saragrochowski's review against another edition
1.0
I was originally drawn to OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS because of the interesting title. It definitely caught my attention and the interesting cover art was also enticing. Unfortunately, I simply couldn't get into this book.
I've read a lot of mixed reviews for this book and I'm finding it hard to write my review as well. I liked that the story was told in alternating points of view, it kept it interesting, but I just wasn't a fan of the novel overall. Perhaps if the characters would have been a bit further developed - if there weren't so many characters to switch back and forth from.
I think that if this book interests you, you should give it a try. But borrow it from a friend or the library before you decide to purchase it.
I've read a lot of mixed reviews for this book and I'm finding it hard to write my review as well. I liked that the story was told in alternating points of view, it kept it interesting, but I just wasn't a fan of the novel overall. Perhaps if the characters would have been a bit further developed - if there weren't so many characters to switch back and forth from.
I think that if this book interests you, you should give it a try. But borrow it from a friend or the library before you decide to purchase it.
pussreboots's review against another edition
2.0
Though presented as a teen LGBT romance, Of All the Stupid Things by Alexandra Diaz is a story of the long term friendship of three girls, nearly torn apart by rumor and the entry of a new girl into the mix. The three friends are Tara — the popular girl and health nut, Whitney Blaire — the wealthy snob, and Pinkie — the girl who keeps everyone together.
The book opens with the same shocker as Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend by Carrie Jones — Tara's popular, jock boyfriend is said to have been seen making out in his car with another boy. Whether or not the rumor is true is inconsequential to the book — it's all about the reaction to the rumor.
In Jones's book, her boyfriend really does come out of the closet and the remainder of the book is her very personal coming to terms with his outing. In Of All the Stupid Things, the arrival of Riley (the new girl) in the middle of the drama, stirs up feelings in Tara that she's never had before. In this regards, the book reads like Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters (link to review) with the negative reaction being more from Tara's friends than from her family.
The thing, though, that prevented the book from working for me was the reliance on three points of view. Each of the three main characters — the original friends — gets her own chapters. The points of view cycle through from Tara to her friends and back. These alternating chapters hinder the development of any one protagonist as a fully realized character and doesn't give enough time for Tara and Riley's relationship to grow.
After all the drama circling around the rumor and Tara realizing she has feelings for Riley, the book's conclusion focuses on a completely insignificant plot thread. Having read the book cover to cover I hoped all the threads would come together in some sort of satisfying conclusion. But it doesn't. It just sort of stops with Tara reaching one of her goals.
The book opens with the same shocker as Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend by Carrie Jones — Tara's popular, jock boyfriend is said to have been seen making out in his car with another boy. Whether or not the rumor is true is inconsequential to the book — it's all about the reaction to the rumor.
In Jones's book, her boyfriend really does come out of the closet and the remainder of the book is her very personal coming to terms with his outing. In Of All the Stupid Things, the arrival of Riley (the new girl) in the middle of the drama, stirs up feelings in Tara that she's never had before. In this regards, the book reads like Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters (link to review) with the negative reaction being more from Tara's friends than from her family.
The thing, though, that prevented the book from working for me was the reliance on three points of view. Each of the three main characters — the original friends — gets her own chapters. The points of view cycle through from Tara to her friends and back. These alternating chapters hinder the development of any one protagonist as a fully realized character and doesn't give enough time for Tara and Riley's relationship to grow.
After all the drama circling around the rumor and Tara realizing she has feelings for Riley, the book's conclusion focuses on a completely insignificant plot thread. Having read the book cover to cover I hoped all the threads would come together in some sort of satisfying conclusion. But it doesn't. It just sort of stops with Tara reaching one of her goals.
onceuponabookcase's review
2.0
Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.
Of All the Stupid Things by Alexandra Diaz is one of the books that I realised I had already when it came up when I was doing my research for LGBTQ YA Month. I had been looking forward to reading this book for a while, so I was glad I now had to read it. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it that much.
Tara, Pinkie and Whitney Blaire have been friends for as long as they can remember, and each has a problem. Tara's boyfriend may or may not have been cheating on her. Pinkie's mother died when she was very young, and holds on to hard to every other relationship she has. Whitney Blaire's parents are hardly ever about, and she has a "screw it all" attitude to hide how abandoned she feels. When new girl Riley starts at their school and Tara quickly forms a strong friendship with her, it causes a rift between the three friends. Tara soon realises she has feelings for Riley, but is this something her friends could ever accept?
I didn't like Whitney Blaire. Fine, she has her problems, but that's no excuse for her being a cow. She treats most people like crap, and leads nice, good guys on because she likes the attention. When Riley starts, for pretty much no reason I can see, she takes an instant dislike to her, and is the cruelest person whenever she's around. Also, what's with everyone calling her by her full name? She doesn't have a double-barreled first name, Blaire is her surname. Yet everyone has to call her Whitney Blaire the whole time. It's ridiculous, and it really wound me up. Pinkie is pathetic. Her heart may be in the right place, but she's 16, not 12. She obsessively calls everyone over and over if she doesn't hear from them, because she convinces herself they must have been in some kind of accident. She can't just let people be. Pinkie is just too nice, and worries far too much. It's because of these two girls that I didn't really like the story.
Tara was the only one I liked. She's an athlete, and obsessed with training and nutrition, so I didn't really understand her as I have no interest in those things whatsoever, so got pretty bored during the running parts. However, she's a nice girl. She is majorly hurt by the accusations that her boyfriend has cheated on her, and has trouble dealing with it, despite his denials. She takes a break from him, and starts up her friendship with Riley. Riley, being an athlete herself, really gets Tara, and Tara feels she can completely be herself around her. Spending time with Riley starts seeming like more fun than spending time with the others, as Pinkie is constantly mothering everyone obsessively, and Whitney Blaire will take every opportunity to insult her new friend. Cue more problems.
The focus of the story is the friendship of the three girls, and how it's affected by Tara's relationship with Riley. We don't see as much of Tara and Riley together as you would think, so I can't really comment much on the romance aspect. However, some of the opinions in the book about their relationship can't go unmentioned, specifically Pinkie's opinion that '"...it's just wrong."' (p172). Oh my gosh, her reaction made me so angry! Despite being incredibly annoying, Pinkie is the most caring out of all of them, and her attitude is shocking, and disgusting. This one line says it all, '"I have nothing against gays. I just don't like them near me."' (p174) But the other things she says are just unbelievable.
There are just no words.
There are some better opinions. When Tara tells her mother about her relationship with Riley, her mum is shocked, and not sure how she feels about it, but she doesn't react badly at all. She's still supportive of her daughter. And when Tara confides that she doesn't really understand what's going on, she comes back with a sweet response.
This book really isn't my cup of tea. However, despite all the things I didn't like about it, I can't deny that it kept me turning the pages. I don't know why exactly, but I was gripped. Be sure to read other reviews of Of All the Stupid Things, don't decide not to read it based on my review alone.
Thank you to International Book Tours for the review copy.*
*I don't think International Book Tours are running anymore. The reason why I've had this book so long despite it being part of the tour is because I was the last person to get the book on the tour, and was allowed to keep it.
Of All the Stupid Things by Alexandra Diaz is one of the books that I realised I had already when it came up when I was doing my research for LGBTQ YA Month. I had been looking forward to reading this book for a while, so I was glad I now had to read it. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it that much.
Tara, Pinkie and Whitney Blaire have been friends for as long as they can remember, and each has a problem. Tara's boyfriend may or may not have been cheating on her. Pinkie's mother died when she was very young, and holds on to hard to every other relationship she has. Whitney Blaire's parents are hardly ever about, and she has a "screw it all" attitude to hide how abandoned she feels. When new girl Riley starts at their school and Tara quickly forms a strong friendship with her, it causes a rift between the three friends. Tara soon realises she has feelings for Riley, but is this something her friends could ever accept?
I didn't like Whitney Blaire. Fine, she has her problems, but that's no excuse for her being a cow. She treats most people like crap, and leads nice, good guys on because she likes the attention. When Riley starts, for pretty much no reason I can see, she takes an instant dislike to her, and is the cruelest person whenever she's around. Also, what's with everyone calling her by her full name? She doesn't have a double-barreled first name, Blaire is her surname. Yet everyone has to call her Whitney Blaire the whole time. It's ridiculous, and it really wound me up. Pinkie is pathetic. Her heart may be in the right place, but she's 16, not 12. She obsessively calls everyone over and over if she doesn't hear from them, because she convinces herself they must have been in some kind of accident. She can't just let people be. Pinkie is just too nice, and worries far too much. It's because of these two girls that I didn't really like the story.
Tara was the only one I liked. She's an athlete, and obsessed with training and nutrition, so I didn't really understand her as I have no interest in those things whatsoever, so got pretty bored during the running parts. However, she's a nice girl. She is majorly hurt by the accusations that her boyfriend has cheated on her, and has trouble dealing with it, despite his denials. She takes a break from him, and starts up her friendship with Riley. Riley, being an athlete herself, really gets Tara, and Tara feels she can completely be herself around her. Spending time with Riley starts seeming like more fun than spending time with the others, as Pinkie is constantly mothering everyone obsessively, and Whitney Blaire will take every opportunity to insult her new friend. Cue more problems.
The focus of the story is the friendship of the three girls, and how it's affected by Tara's relationship with Riley. We don't see as much of Tara and Riley together as you would think, so I can't really comment much on the romance aspect. However, some of the opinions in the book about their relationship can't go unmentioned, specifically Pinkie's opinion that '"...it's just wrong."' (p172). Oh my gosh, her reaction made me so angry! Despite being incredibly annoying, Pinkie is the most caring out of all of them, and her attitude is shocking, and disgusting. This one line says it all, '"I have nothing against gays. I just don't like them near me."' (p174) But the other things she says are just unbelievable.
'...and [Whitney Blaire] thinks Tara and Riley are a... are doing... No, I can't even think about that. It is too gross. I mean, what if Tara has always been that way? Oh my God! I've changed clothes around her.' (p169)
'...I can't talk to Tara when Riley is sitting on the wall behind behind her with her arms around Tara's shoulders. It's bad enough thinking of them as a couple, I don't need them to flaunt it. And in public! It's revoltng! Small kids walk by the high school and what are they going to think if they see two girls behaving like normal couples do? If Tara and Riley act like that where everyone can see, what's going to keep them from forgetting where they are and actually kissing in public? I don't think I could keep my breakfast down.' (p210)
There are just no words.
There are some better opinions. When Tara tells her mother about her relationship with Riley, her mum is shocked, and not sure how she feels about it, but she doesn't react badly at all. She's still supportive of her daughter. And when Tara confides that she doesn't really understand what's going on, she comes back with a sweet response.
'"I never thought this would happen to me. Riley says she was born gay. But I never liked girls before I met Riley."
Mom reaches over and squeezes my hand. "So maybe you're someone who falls in love with a person, not a gender."' (p201)
This book really isn't my cup of tea. However, despite all the things I didn't like about it, I can't deny that it kept me turning the pages. I don't know why exactly, but I was gripped. Be sure to read other reviews of Of All the Stupid Things, don't decide not to read it based on my review alone.
Thank you to International Book Tours for the review copy.*
*I don't think International Book Tours are running anymore. The reason why I've had this book so long despite it being part of the tour is because I was the last person to get the book on the tour, and was allowed to keep it.
amdame1's review
3.0
Tara, Whitney Blaire, and Pinkie have been friends ever since grade school. Now they are in high school and an interwoven set of issues threatens to tear them apart. Not the least of these is new girl Riley since it appears Tara has a crush on her even though she just broke up with her boyfriend.
Not the best writing ever, but pretty realistic handling of the LGBT theme and consequent reactions from students and most of the adults.
Not the best writing ever, but pretty realistic handling of the LGBT theme and consequent reactions from students and most of the adults.
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