Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen. Penguin Group, 1998.
Genre: Fiction
Someone Like You is a book about two girls who have been best friends since Scarlet moved across the street from Halley when they were eleven. Scarlet was the more outgoing friend while Halley was quieter and kept to herself. The summer before the junior year of high school, Scarlet got very close to her new boyfriend, Michael Sherwood. At the end of the summer when Halley is away at camp, she gets a call from Scarlett explaining that Michael was dead. This loss fazed the whole school, but especially Scarlet when she found that she was carrying his baby. Just juniors in high school, Scarlett has to decide between abortion, adoption, and keeping her baby and Halley gets her first serious boyfriend.
“Dessen has a perfect ear for the immediate daily details of a middle-class teenager’s home, school, job, party scene…. Many teenage girls will find themselves in this story.” I agree with this quote because I did find myself, a teenage girl, in the story. It wasn’t that I have the exact same life as Halley and Scarlett or that I do everything they did, but there were a few things that stood out. Like being nervous around a crush, or always being there for my best friends no matter what.
Sarah Dessen has a very engaging writing style. I’ve read books by her before, such as Along for the Ride, and once again notice the same style of writing, which I can’t wait to dig into every time I open one of her books. Dessen writes like she is a teenage girl who wrote in her diary and is now taking her diary entries and creating a book out of them. It’s relatable to any teenage girl, whether they think so or not.
“Everyone seemed to be eyeing Scarlett’s stomach, as if since second period she’d suddenly be showing, the baby ready to pop out at any minute.” (139) I chose this quote because I feel like what the author is saying, is what everyone would be thinking, even if they didn't want to. It's the feeling of knowing a physical feature about someone and not wanting to be rude but still stopping to take a quick glance, to see what everyone is talking about. As much as everyone denies it and calls it rude, everyone has done it.
I think that reading this book will actually affect my life. Many teenagers think that reading this book is never going to help them and that reading any book is a waste of time. This is an exception to me. This book taught me about mistakes and decisions that every teenager has to deal with. It will cause me to think twice in the future before I do anything that my effect my life.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1. Amanda found the book similar to her life. Her and the book had the state of adolesence in common.
ReplyDelete2. The writer writes as if she were a teenager.
3. The belly of Scarlett is the passage. It's noticed by many students at school.
4. Becca's blog was also about teenage life.
5. No, I couldn't connect. I'd relate easier if it was from a teenage boy's POV.
1. Amanda liked this book and found herself relating it to some aspects of her life.
ReplyDelete2. She noticed that the writing style was similar to another book she had previously read by Sara Dessen. She says that Dessen writes like it's a teenage girl's diary.
3. Yes, I think that Amanda did pick an interesting passage from the book to explain. She chose an excerpt that many people can relate to, because we're all guilty of being curious like that sometimes.
4. I think that this book review gave a good sense about what the book was like, and how she felt about the book. I think it was very good.
5. I would consider reading this book, because this review was very convincing in the sense that Sara Dessen is a good writer. Also, I think the topic of the book sounds very engaging.
1) Amanda enjoyed the book because she thought it was very easy to relate to. She also liked it because it taught her about mistakes and decisions every teenager has to make.
ReplyDelete2) She noticed that the reviewers writing style was a lot like a regular teenager girl. She liked it because that made it seem realistic.
3) I thought she picked an interesting passage because everyone, like she said, has been in that situation before. And the author described it perfectly so I think it was a good passage to pick.
4) I think it's similar to the others because everyone is following the same format. I think hers was very well written though.
5) I would consider reading this book because if every teenage girl can relate to it, I think it would be something I would like. Plus, many people seem to like books by Sarah Dessen.
1)Amanda enjoyed reading the book because she could realte it back to some parts of her life and it also taught her about choices that teenagers must make.
ReplyDelete2)She noticed that the writing style was very similar to another book she read by the same author, Sarah Dessen.
3)I think this quote is an interesting one because it's true and shows how easy it is to realte or connect to the book.
4)I think Amanda's essay compares to most of the other essays, however she does a good job explaining herself and giving us a taste of the book.
5)I would deffinatly consider reading this because i really enjoy reading books I can relate to and make connections to my own life.
1. Amanda thought the book was very good because it taught a lot about choices and she could also relate to it.
ReplyDelete2. Amanda noticed that Sarah Dessen seems to write the same way in all of her books.
3. I think that this quote is interesting because it showed how every one finds things out and how easy people can relate to the story.
4. I think Amanda's essay compares to other essays but she explained the book well.
5. I would consider reading this book because I've heard that Sarah Dessen's books are very good and it sounds interesting.
Amanda's impression of the book was absolutely stunning. It seems she enjoyed the book very much. She could also relate choices that teens must make to her life.
ReplyDeleteAmanda notices that Sarah Dessen uses the same voice in all her books even though they all have different story lines. Also saying it's like Dessen writes as a teenage girl, in a diary.
Yes. The passage provides a nice view of the story. I can see many girls would read this book.
I have read all of Sarah Dessen's books. She is a wonderful author, one of my favorites. I couldn't say I favored a specific book over another. (However, this is for you Amanda, I’m sure you maybe have looked at "Just Listen", alongside "Lock + Key", those are probably Dessen's most popular. I did like your outlook on this book; I absolutely admired it too.) :)
1. Amanda seems to have really enjoyed this book. She also seems to have related to it very well, and that it taught her a lot about life, and decisions.
ReplyDelete2. She said that the author's writing style was a lot like another book that she has read by Sarah Dessen, and that it related a lot to a real teenaged girl, so it was really realistic.
3. The quote that Amanda chose from her book was interesting, because it showed how realistic the author was, because I know that if this happened at a real school, this would be exactly what people were doing.
4. I think Amanda had a really good review, she gave a very good backround of the story and the writing style.
5. I would definately like to read this book. It seems like a book that would be very interesting to me.
1)Amanda's overall impression of this book would be positive because she learned a life lesson from this book.
ReplyDelete2)Amanda notice that she wrote the same in another book she read that Sarah Dessen wrote.
3)I think the quote was intreresting because it showed how the suspense of having a baby was building.
4)I think Amanda Ray Lachat wrote a good paper overall.
5)I probaly wouldn't read this book because to feminine for me.