Prom (2005)

did not like ( )

Not my favorite Laurie Halse Anderson book but it was a quick easy read. The main character is deeply flawed but not a horrible person. I could identify with her in more than one way. Nice read though not up there with Speak or Catalyst.

Possible spoilers.

This was a semi-engaging read, but nothing spectacular as I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. I couldn't connect with Ashley and I didn't understand her relationship with TJ nor her break-up with him. There were hints as to why he might be a bad guy, but I felt that these were negated by his helping her father finish the kitchen. Even now, I don't know why everyone was so against TJ. I wonder if the writer wasn't misguided in having TJ help to reconstruct the kitchen. She obviously felt like he should be a bad guy, a fall guy, but he did something miraculous and never received the accolades. Instead, he showed up in a suit to take Ashley on a grand date that he was semi-paying for and yet again he was not the good guy. The scenes before the "prom" seemed forced, to make him a bad guy,.

My take is that if I were writing this story, somehow TJ would have worked out and have been something great for Ashley. The fact that other characters were denigrating his persona is just not enough. He did more to aid his character, except for the scenes immediately before the prom in which I think the author was diligently trying to prove a weird case, trying to prove that he was just a jerk, which I didn't buy. He did a lot for Ashley. He wanted her. He wanted her enough in his life that he was doing all kinds of things to bring her into it.

The author doesn't seem to understand that people who do things like this don't easily substitute. Her world is easy. My world, after many years of experiencing it, doesn't work that way. In my world, people acknowledge that what they do have consequences.

I am willing to admit that I missed something, something extremely important. But, I doubt it. The prose was not that good. The thought was just not that good. The characterizations were forced.

I did, however, like the idea of a grandmother who would devise a dreamy pink creation that would make a girl feel and look spectacular. I wish I had had a grandmother like that. ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters are so varied and well-developed, they come across as real people and not the idealized versions of characters that are so prevalent in books today. While Laurie Halse Anderson tends to write about very serious subjects, this is more light-hearted fare. That being said, the characters are still flawed and have problems to work out. Overall though it's a fun read and I recommend it to anyone who reads YA fiction or is a fan of the author. ( )

Quick Thoughts/ Mini Review: I really liked this book- it was a quick read and it had a lot going on but in a good way. There are a few characters and side stories but they keep the story moving. I loved ash's family- I thought that they were described very well and that they were "crazy" (doesn't everyone think their family is crazy?) but loving and supportive. I enjoyed the characters and the story- I and I really loved the end (shhhh no spoilers- although there isn't much to spoil).

Favorite Line? from page 40 (Ashley's dad) - "I sort of dropped that old punch bowl that we never use anymore. But don't tell your mother. You know how she gets." ( )