nanaboo's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable, but a lot of bad language and sex... especially for a young adult book.
aldersons's review against another edition
4.0
As a fan of the first book in this series (Bass Ackwards and Belly Up), I was thrilled to learn there would be a sequel to it. Now that I've read it, I'm sad that it's (probably) over.
I felt like I was friends with Becca, Harper, Kate, and Sophie. Even though it's just a book, I sometimes wished I could jump in and give advice, hug, or sometimes even slap someone. I wanted the best for them, always, and was so sad when something went wrong for them.
As someone in a previous review said, it's a shame that this series doesn't get more recognition. It's better than a majority of the popular books out there now.
I felt like I was friends with Becca, Harper, Kate, and Sophie. Even though it's just a book, I sometimes wished I could jump in and give advice, hug, or sometimes even slap someone. I wanted the best for them, always, and was so sad when something went wrong for them.
As someone in a previous review said, it's a shame that this series doesn't get more recognition. It's better than a majority of the popular books out there now.
catcervone's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars! Super cute; I liked it just as much as the first book! Great character development and story lines!
klongtine's review against another edition
5.0
makes you think about what you want to do with your life
celebrin's review
3.0
This was a clever sequel to Bass Ackwards and Belly Up. I liked the first one better, but this was clever, kept me interested and I liked the end to the Year of Dreams.
bookoala's review
4.0
Second half of the year was just like the first and everything falls in place in the end.
booksandbosox's review
4.0
In this sequel to "Bass Ackwards and Belly Up," we find the four friends finishing out their Years of Dreams. Harper continues to work on her novel and renews her friendship - and possibly more? - with Judd; Kate arrives in Africa and immediately makes som enemies; Becca's dream of falling in love with Stuart said nothing about staying in love; and Sophie has to figure out if L.A. can still work for her after her big break turns out to be a direct-to-German-video movie.
I really liked the first book and this was definitely a worthy follow-up. These characters are mostly realistic (though I found myself wondering, 'where is the ugly friend?!') and I really like that they engage in pretty typical teenage behavior without being chastised for it. I guess most people would be upset about the depiction of underage drinking with no real consequences but I'd say in most cases, that's reality. These characters are just really fun to read about. They're endearing and enjoyable. I think the authors have a really good grasp on teen fiction and I'm surprised - and pleased - that they are able to find success in screenwriting as well. The one thing that bothered me was at the end when we find out that Harper's Great American Novel is allegedly the previous book. Just seemed too easy of a way out.
I really liked the first book and this was definitely a worthy follow-up. These characters are mostly realistic (though I found myself wondering, 'where is the ugly friend?!') and I really like that they engage in pretty typical teenage behavior without being chastised for it. I guess most people would be upset about the depiction of underage drinking with no real consequences but I'd say in most cases, that's reality. These characters are just really fun to read about. They're endearing and enjoyable. I think the authors have a really good grasp on teen fiction and I'm surprised - and pleased - that they are able to find success in screenwriting as well. The one thing that bothered me was at the end when we find out that Harper's Great American Novel is allegedly the previous book. Just seemed too easy of a way out.
arisbookcorner's review
4.0
This cover is a joke. It's about four best friends. Sure one of them is in Africa so technically she doesn't need to be on the cover, even though they are all four separated....but guess who isn't on the cover? The biracial character, Sophie. LAME does not even begin to describe how I feel about this cover. I asked my mom and sister to "pick out the African American girl on the cover" and they both said that there were no Black people on the cover. I even flipped to the back cover to see if she was there (horrifying still but not as awful as not having her on the cover AT ALL) but no, Sophie is simply not represented on the cover. Yet another case of whitewashing. I don't blog much anymore but hopefully I will be able to write about this more in-depth in a few weeks, its ridiculous. Aside from the atrocious cover (that Sophie herself would be outraged over for not including her fabulousness) I adored this book.
IQ: Judd 'If I say something will you promise not to get mad?'
'I promise I won't hit you.' It was the best she [Harper] could do. Getting mad was an involuntary reaction." pg. 222
I was greatly saddened by one character's ambiguous romantic future. We spend basically two whole books rooting for these two characters to get together and then they spend ONE NIGHT together and we are left to wonder if one of the characters still moves away from the love interest. Gahhh. The ending of Harper's story was a bit hokey but hey, she deserved it. Especially since her romance life didn't turn out so hot either. Becca's character was frustrating. I liked the peak at college athletics, especially since skiing is not one of the big-televised sports. But ugh she was the most frustrating character for sure. And yet I understood her problems even if I bemoaned her reactions to these problems.
Becca, Harper, Kate and Sophie are still great characters. They make mistakes that you don't always see coming (i.e. I could see myself making similar mistakes) and engage in intense trial-and-error experimentations. In this book I think my favorite character was Kate. Harper was still immensely funny but I felt that Kate's character not only grew a lot but the authors also really delved into Kate's life. Her relationship with not just her parents but also her sister, Habiba. Furthermore I liked how the "abroad/overseas/traveling romance" aspect was handled, realistic but still sweet. And I loved that Kate was on a humanitarian trip. And I love Kate's other love interest, of course
"Kate let him get the last word. If this kept up, she was starting to think she might grab the gun and club him in the teeth with it, or dump him out of the car and let the rebel/militia have their way with him." pg. 159-160
Or this bit about classic Kate-Darby exchange: "When she was done there was a long silence. Then finally Darby nodded slowly 'he sounds like a pussy to me'
Kate clenched her fists. She really was going to kill him. And she wouldn't need a gun. Her bare hands would do just fine."
Sophie grew the most and while she is not 100% likable for much of the two books (she's rather selfish), I loved her determination and grit and the fact that she really was an optimist.
"She didn't want Sam to leave. But she didn't want to hold him back either. She knew what it was like to be living in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing. It was stifling and frustrating and generally horrible all around. She'd be okay on her own. Hell she'd be better than okay. She'd be great" (pg. 108), atta girl!
Still one of my favorite books about the Young Adult age. And I presume its one of the best books about gap years too.
IQ: Judd 'If I say something will you promise not to get mad?'
'I promise I won't hit you.' It was the best she [Harper] could do. Getting mad was an involuntary reaction." pg. 222
I was greatly saddened by one character's ambiguous romantic future. We spend basically two whole books rooting for these two characters to get together and then they spend ONE NIGHT together and we are left to wonder if one of the characters still moves away from the love interest. Gahhh. The ending of Harper's story was a bit hokey but hey, she deserved it. Especially since her romance life didn't turn out so hot either. Becca's character was frustrating. I liked the peak at college athletics, especially since skiing is not one of the big-televised sports. But ugh she was the most frustrating character for sure. And yet I understood her problems even if I bemoaned her reactions to these problems.
Becca, Harper, Kate and Sophie are still great characters. They make mistakes that you don't always see coming (i.e. I could see myself making similar mistakes) and engage in intense trial-and-error experimentations. In this book I think my favorite character was Kate. Harper was still immensely funny but I felt that Kate's character not only grew a lot but the authors also really delved into Kate's life. Her relationship with not just her parents but also her sister, Habiba. Furthermore I liked how the "abroad/overseas/traveling romance" aspect was handled, realistic but still sweet. And I loved that Kate was on a humanitarian trip. And I love Kate's other love interest, of course
"Kate let him get the last word. If this kept up, she was starting to think she might grab the gun and club him in the teeth with it, or dump him out of the car and let the rebel/militia have their way with him." pg. 159-160
Or this bit about classic Kate-Darby exchange: "When she was done there was a long silence. Then finally Darby nodded slowly 'he sounds like a pussy to me'
Kate clenched her fists. She really was going to kill him. And she wouldn't need a gun. Her bare hands would do just fine."
Sophie grew the most and while she is not 100% likable for much of the two books (she's rather selfish), I loved her determination and grit and the fact that she really was an optimist.
"She didn't want Sam to leave. But she didn't want to hold him back either. She knew what it was like to be living in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing. It was stifling and frustrating and generally horrible all around. She'd be okay on her own. Hell she'd be better than okay. She'd be great" (pg. 108), atta girl!
Still one of my favorite books about the Young Adult age. And I presume its one of the best books about gap years too.
jemarillo's review
4.0
Loved this book. Surpassed my expectations because it was definitely even better than the first book, which is quite a feat since it can't get any better than that. I was actually equally interested in all four girls' storylines when usually I'd favor one over the other.
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