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M. Beth Bloom

Författare till Drain You

3 verk 72 medlemmar 11 recensioner

Verk av M. Beth Bloom

Drain You (2012) 36 exemplar
Don't Ever Change (2015) 35 exemplar
Don't ever change 1 exemplar

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So I imagine that if you were to time travel back to when I was a teenager, and somehow write everything I thought down into a book, it would be a chaotic mess. The sheer amount of thoughts that fly through the teenage brain at any given moment is insane. Truth be told, I'm pretty sure my stream of consciousness isn't any better now! It's just a little less focused on boys, confusing friendships, and fitting in. That chaotic mess of thoughts is essentially what this book is. Don't Ever Change is a look at the mind of Eva Kramer, in all its jumbled glory.

See, Eva is a writer. As such, she looks at the world through a different lens than most other people. She wants to live, to experience things that are worth writing about, but she doesn't know how. I'll admit, I have a soft spot for girls like Eva. That's what I was like as a teen. Lost in my own head most of the time. I loved watching her try to get out of her own way, and appreciate the last bits of being a high school graduate, before college and all the new things that it would bring. It's normal to feel afraid, and unsure, before heading off into something new. Eva just took that to the highest level possible, and it may have made her a little spastic at times.

Which, is actually one of the reasons this book started to go a bit off the rails for me towards the end. There is so much good stuff wrapped up in Don't Ever Change. High concepts like real friendship, judging others, and being accepting of your own faults. A lot of what comes out of Eva's mind, and mouth, is pure gold. The problem was that it's all jumbled. The closer it got to the end of the book, the less I was able to keep up with the manic pace that was Eva's stream of consciousness. There came a point where I just had to sit, breathe, and go back a few pages.

The ending itself really felt anti-climatic too. I think I was meant to see growth from Eva's character, but I didn't feel it. Plus, I felt like nothing was really wrapped up. No threads felt fully tied together at the end. It left me wondering if there will be more, or if this was a ploy to make the book feel like the one that Eva so desperately wants to write. A book that doesn't really have an ending, and starts in the middle.

So, overall I can happily give this book a 3-star rating. It's not perfect, but there's a lot about Don't Ever Change that is actually amazing. We need more real characters in the YA world. Ones who aren't afraid to admit that they're baffled by adult life. Because, really, who can blame them?
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
roses7184 | 4 andra recensioner | Feb 5, 2019 |
Eva Kramer graduates from high school with high hopes of becoming a writer, but is disappointed when her creative writing teacher gives her last work a less than stellar review, suggesting that she needs life experience in order to improve. So she picks up her bruised ego, and spends the rest of her senior summer planning to get a life worth writing about, following her motto "Walk Through Every Open Door". She takes a summer job as a camp counselor and tries to figure out how to relate to a pack of 9 year old girls. She toys with boys, taking on band-touring Elliot, considers sex with her friend's ex, and flirts with fellow camp counselor Foster. She annoys her two best friends by refusing to move into the future with them. Things have a way of working out in YA novels, and Eva ends up ready to head off to Emerson College.

I did not enjoy this book. Eva was incredibly self-centered and annoying, hard to identify with. Even when she tried to reconcile with people, she managed to find even more annoying things to say. I'll give the author a bit of credit - it may be that she intended for the writing in the beginning of the book to reflect her protagonist's lack of experience. I did find Eva more tolerable as the book drew to a conclusion - was this because the writing itself demonstrated Eva's own growth as a writer, or was I just happy that the book was ending?

There are some more mature references in the book, so this belongs in a high school, probably grades 10-12. She has phone sex with Elliot, although it is not graphically described. She also considers having sex with another boy, but changes her mind. The book contains under-age alcohol use as well.
… (mer)
 
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mikitchenlady | 4 andra recensioner | Jan 9, 2017 |
*Thank you Harper Teen for the ARC*

Hmmm.... this one was a tad too awkward for my taste. While the writing was very good and kept me reading, the storyline was just bizarre and bland.

The main character is a real piece of work. She has some redeemable traits, but overall she's pretty unlikable. Her thoughts are scattered and her attitude sucks. I thought with time she would grow on me, but as the title states... she doesn't change.

I really don't even know what to say about the storyline other than there really wasn't one. I felt like what happened could have happened in two pages. There was little climax and barely any plot development. I finished it because I expected a mind blowing ending, but it was quite average with nothing surprising.

Overall, I do not recommend this one... There were a few scenes that showed empowerment, but for the most part it was a story of a whiny, selfish girl that cared about herself.

Like stated above... the Author's writing was on point, but the plot was not.
… (mer)
 
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ReadersCandyb | 4 andra recensioner | Oct 7, 2016 |
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A young girl sets out to write a modern classic, but in her journey to gain more experiences, learn a few lessons along the way.

Opening Sentence: AMERICA, I, AMERICA is a play about freedom and being an American girl, and it’s the first thing I ever wrote.

The Review:

Don’t Ever Change by M. Beth Bloom is about Eva, a young girl determined to write a modern classic. A classic to appeal to peers in her own generation. But Eva quickly realizes that in order to write a modern classic, it would probably be best to have gone through a few experiences. And in hopes to experience life, she gets a job as a summer camp counselor, she reevaluates her current friendships, and she builds new ones with people that surprise her.

Eva’s life transitions from high school to college, where she decides to become a Writing, Literature & Publishing major. But her lack of adventures leads her towards a summer day camp for girls and Foster, who also works at the camp. To further step out of the box, she attends a graduation party, which leads her to Elliot. Elliot has a lot of swoony band moments that solidifies the budding friendship.

It was a little difficult for me to connect to Bloom’s Eva. To be fair, I’m in a different place now than where Eva is. Eva is young and filled with bright, vivid dreams. She speaks to the reader in an honest and poignant way. She shares her hopes, dreams, and ambitions. But along the way, there is a moment that she begins to grow. I feel that it’s difficult for any woman in her shoes, in the in-between, and more so when there is so much added self-pressure.

Bloom’s voice for Eva and the other characters were straightforward, and Eva can come out to sound pretentious. It felt that at times I didn’t appreciate everything she had to say, let alone her actions. I felt disconnected from her and couldn’t understand her actions for certain things. There was a turning point, where Eva decides to change her ways.

Don’t Ever Change is a good book. It had many different plot points and turning points for a coming-of-age young adult novel. But my personal preferences just didn’t get me to completely connect to the story.

Notable Scene:

“You bought me a soda?” I say.

“I know the bartender,” Elliot says. “It was free.”

“I only want it if it you bought it,” I joke. “If it took some effort.”

“Well, I tried pretty hard not to spill,” he says, and sticks out his tongue playfully. The cold of the ice has turned his tongue hot pink.

“Do you want to go and actually watch the band?” I say. “You know, see the music play?”

“You can’t see music,” Elliot says, like it’s his deep personal philosophy.

“What was the better one then?” I ask. “You were saying you had a better one. . . .”

“Oh yeah. It’s by A. A. Milne—know him?”

“The guy who wrote Pooh,” I say.

“C’mon, it wasn’t that bad,” Elliot says.

“Okay, what’s the quote?”

“So Christopher Robin asks what day it is and Piglet says, ‘It’s today,’ and then Pooh says”—here Elliot leans down, his face close to mine—“Pooh says, ‘Today. My favorite day.’”

“Is this a real date?” I ask, my eyes right beneath his, my nose just below his nose.

“It’s a little date,” he says. He chomps on another cube of ice. “A half date.”

“Still half to ask me,” I say, pretty pleased I left my bedroom for once in my whole life.

FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of Don’t Ever Change. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
… (mer)
 
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DarkFaerieTales | 4 andra recensioner | Oct 26, 2015 |

Statistik

Verk
3
Medlemmar
72
Popularitet
#243,043
Betyg
2.8
Recensioner
11
ISBN
4

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