clarkco's review
4.0
Three novellas about three different girls trying to adapt to new circumstances in their lives. The first two are snappily-written chicklit with appealing heroines. The last one is a dud, amateurishly written and full of cliches.
teebee's review
3.0
How to Be Down
Originally reviewed - 4/16/08
I started reading How To Be Down with many reservations in mind. After reading Gettin' Hooked by Nyaomi Scott I was a little nervous not about the story plot-- if I was I wouldn't be writing this blog post. I was nervous about the author's use of dialogue. Wondering if Felicia Pride captured the vernacular of the kids, and if she did was it used in the right context. Well, I'm happy to say, "Yes she did". Reading the dialogue of this story made me feel like I was interacting with the kids from my school. Nothing was forced, everything was smooth which made How To Be Down a fun, yet predictable, read.
Double ACT
Originally reviewed - 4/16/08
Mia Chambers is a character I can definitely identify with. Like with How To Be Down I was worried that everthing in this story wouldn't flow. And like the last story I'm happy to report that both the story and dialogue was good even if the plot was a bit predictable. I enjoyed reading Mia's story. And I don't think I'll be worrying about the last sory in this book.
The Summer She Learned to Dance How to Be Down
Originally reviewed - 4/23/08
The Summer She Learned How To Dance is my favorite story of all three in the Hallway Diaries book. It's a very touching story that sends the message of learning to love yourself for who you are and not letting anyone bring you down. Karen Valentin is an awesome job with the characters. She didn't just write from Giselle's and Juanita's POVs but from Kevin's (Giselle's dad) own too, Which made for an even better story. I would love to read a follow up to this story (maybe one with 200+ pages; hint, hint).
Originally reviewed - 4/16/08
I started reading How To Be Down with many reservations in mind. After reading Gettin' Hooked by Nyaomi Scott I was a little nervous not about the story plot-- if I was I wouldn't be writing this blog post. I was nervous about the author's use of dialogue. Wondering if Felicia Pride captured the vernacular of the kids, and if she did was it used in the right context. Well, I'm happy to say, "Yes she did". Reading the dialogue of this story made me feel like I was interacting with the kids from my school. Nothing was forced, everything was smooth which made How To Be Down a fun, yet predictable, read.
Double ACT
Originally reviewed - 4/16/08
Mia Chambers is a character I can definitely identify with. Like with How To Be Down I was worried that everthing in this story wouldn't flow. And like the last story I'm happy to report that both the story and dialogue was good even if the plot was a bit predictable. I enjoyed reading Mia's story. And I don't think I'll be worrying about the last sory in this book.
The Summer She Learned to Dance How to Be Down
Originally reviewed - 4/23/08
The Summer She Learned How To Dance is my favorite story of all three in the Hallway Diaries book. It's a very touching story that sends the message of learning to love yourself for who you are and not letting anyone bring you down. Karen Valentin is an awesome job with the characters. She didn't just write from Giselle's and Juanita's POVs but from Kevin's (Giselle's dad) own too, Which made for an even better story. I would love to read a follow up to this story (maybe one with 200+ pages; hint, hint).
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