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A review by papalbina
Adorkable by Sarra Manning
3.0
3.5
i've been totally uninspired for weeks, so don't be too hard on me if this review is not good at all v.v i will try to put some order in my thoughts:
what i like about [b:adorkable|10890319|Adorkable|Sarra Manning|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1332268356s/10890319.jpg|15806095]
+ Jeane's personality: she's sassy, bold and speaks her mind no matter what. She accomplished at 17 what most of people won't accomplish ever. She makes of dorkiness a way of living and not only a lifestyle. Her background is very interesting... worth a psychologic paper...
+ Scarlett and Barney: it was funny to read how these two passed so good together xD
+ Jeane isn't pretty: no ugly duck turning to swan, no beautiful face hidden under layers of ugly clothes. no, jeane is average, common, not beautiful, not gorgeous... She's like every other girl out there.
+ Jeanne and Michael's relationship and evolution: even if they spend more time arguing than actually talking, they have a positive effect in each other. He becomes more critical of the world around him, she downgrades herself a bit, comes down to the "normal" world and for once learns something.
+ The sex talk in the book: the scene when they're having their first time together it's so refreshing, because it's sooo real. it made me laugh. Sometimes it's shocking to find sex talk in a YA book, when it should be that way and not the other way around. I'm so used to books with chaste relationships than when i found one with a normal one, i almost get up and dance a happy dance. The best thing in this book is not only that the MC had sex is that they talk about it, about masturbation, boners, orgams and so on... I think it's the first time I read in a YA novel the word "clitoris". At this point in the story, I was giving [b:adorkable|10890319|Adorkable|Sarra Manning|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1332268356s/10890319.jpg|15806095] 6 stars
what i don't like so much about [b:adorkable|10890319|Adorkable|Sarra Manning|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1332268356s/10890319.jpg|15806095]
- Jeane is too judgmental for my taste. I don't like people being judge for the way they dress, although i have the impression that even I would judge Jeane for her choices in clothing. One thing it's to choose not to buy brands and mainstream/fashion clothes and another very different to assume that anybody wearing brands or listening to mainstream music is a stupid person. I don't like this kind of message in a book, and although Jeane at the end learns that her opinions are not always the law, for me it didn't sound sincere.
- Michael, i didn't get Michael at all. I don't know why he was in this kind-of-dysfunctional relationship with Jeane. He says repeatedly that she's not pretty, that she's not sexy, that her clothes were hideous and that he couldn't stand her. On top of that he's ashamed of being seen with her *head shake* He cared for her... sometimes... in her cute or exposed moments, but the rest of the time i had the impression that he wanted to kill her... for real not figuratively.
- The second half of the book: after they have sex for the first time and they get to know each other better, everything went downhill. at some point it was obvious were the story was heading, but i refused to believe that i was reading Lola and the boy next door 2. At the end, it was a pretty similar evolution and I was a bit disappointed. The rhythm got lost too and didn't recover, and the end came too quickly.
- The ending: not because how it ends, but because there are a couple of subjects not address and left to the imagination of the reader. Like,
things i couldn't make my mind about it:
+/- i can't say much about the style, but the tone was dry and not light for a so-called "chick-lit" (perhaps the MC is to blame for it) and a bit too adult. I don't know how to explain it. The characters talked like teenagers and so on, but the conclusions they drew were, i don't know, over-thought? for lack of a better word.
+/- the secondary characters were like a blur. I don't know if it was the book or me that wasn't paying them attention... It could be both too.
all in all, i liked the book, it was a good read and i will read it when i've the time. It was only a small disappointment since it started as a 5 stars and was losing stars all the way to the end. but that is probably just my viewpoint. Others find the book great. Me, even having pled dorkiness for most of my life, i couldn't relate to the MC and most of her actions :(
i've been totally uninspired for weeks, so don't be too hard on me if this review is not good at all v.v i will try to put some order in my thoughts:
what i like about [b:adorkable|10890319|Adorkable|Sarra Manning|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1332268356s/10890319.jpg|15806095]
+ Jeane's personality: she's sassy, bold and speaks her mind no matter what. She accomplished at 17 what most of people won't accomplish ever. She makes of dorkiness a way of living and not only a lifestyle. Her background is very interesting... worth a psychologic paper...
+ Scarlett and Barney: it was funny to read how these two passed so good together xD
+ Jeane isn't pretty: no ugly duck turning to swan, no beautiful face hidden under layers of ugly clothes. no, jeane is average, common, not beautiful, not gorgeous... She's like every other girl out there.
+ Jeanne and Michael's relationship and evolution: even if they spend more time arguing than actually talking, they have a positive effect in each other. He becomes more critical of the world around him, she downgrades herself a bit, comes down to the "normal" world and for once learns something.
+ The sex talk in the book: the scene when they're having their first time together it's so refreshing, because it's sooo real. it made me laugh. Sometimes it's shocking to find sex talk in a YA book, when it should be that way and not the other way around. I'm so used to books with chaste relationships than when i found one with a normal one, i almost get up and dance a happy dance. The best thing in this book is not only that the MC had sex is that they talk about it, about masturbation, boners, orgams and so on... I think it's the first time I read in a YA novel the word "clitoris". At this point in the story, I was giving [b:adorkable|10890319|Adorkable|Sarra Manning|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1332268356s/10890319.jpg|15806095] 6 stars
what i don't like so much about [b:adorkable|10890319|Adorkable|Sarra Manning|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1332268356s/10890319.jpg|15806095]
- Jeane is too judgmental for my taste. I don't like people being judge for the way they dress, although i have the impression that even I would judge Jeane for her choices in clothing. One thing it's to choose not to buy brands and mainstream/fashion clothes and another very different to assume that anybody wearing brands or listening to mainstream music is a stupid person. I don't like this kind of message in a book, and although Jeane at the end learns that her opinions are not always the law, for me it didn't sound sincere.
- Michael, i didn't get Michael at all. I don't know why he was in this kind-of-dysfunctional relationship with Jeane. He says repeatedly that she's not pretty, that she's not sexy, that her clothes were hideous and that he couldn't stand her. On top of that he's ashamed of being seen with her *head shake* He cared for her... sometimes... in her cute or exposed moments, but the rest of the time i had the impression that he wanted to kill her... for real not figuratively.
- The second half of the book: after they have sex for the first time and they get to know each other better, everything went downhill. at some point it was obvious were the story was heading, but i refused to believe that i was reading Lola and the boy next door 2. At the end, it was a pretty similar evolution and I was a bit disappointed. The rhythm got lost too and didn't recover, and the end came too quickly.
- The ending: not because how it ends, but because there are a couple of subjects not address and left to the imagination of the reader. Like,
Spoiler
is Jeane really not doing her A-levels? Is her sister going to let her go ahead with her plans? Is she really dropping school?I know that the school system is shit and pretty boring for someone like Jeane, but is it necessary to imply that she's doing so well in the internet that she doesn't need the degrees for the future? Call me traditional, coward or plain idiot, but I'd like to have something like a plan B in case the plan A goes wrong. And even if Jeane is very intelligent and "independent", even she must think sometimes even if only for a millisecond that perhaps something could go wrong. Am I too cautious? fO.othings i couldn't make my mind about it:
+/- i can't say much about the style, but the tone was dry and not light for a so-called "chick-lit" (perhaps the MC is to blame for it) and a bit too adult. I don't know how to explain it. The characters talked like teenagers and so on, but the conclusions they drew were, i don't know, over-thought? for lack of a better word.
+/- the secondary characters were like a blur. I don't know if it was the book or me that wasn't paying them attention... It could be both too.
all in all, i liked the book, it was a good read and i will read it when i've the time. It was only a small disappointment since it started as a 5 stars and was losing stars all the way to the end. but that is probably just my viewpoint. Others find the book great. Me, even having pled dorkiness for most of my life, i couldn't relate to the MC and most of her actions :(