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Maria Padian

Författare till Out of Nowhere

5 verk 502 medlemmar 26 recensioner

Verk av Maria Padian

Out of Nowhere (2013) 138 exemplar
Wrecked (2016) 118 exemplar
Jersey Tomatoes are the Best (2011) 64 exemplar
How to Build a Heart (2020) 63 exemplar

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I really wanted to read this book because it's not often that there's a book set in college that is about something of substance. I'm not going to go on a New Adult rant, but seriously there are so many important stories about the college experience that aren't getting told (I'm thinking more books like [b:Fangirl|16068905|Fangirl|Rainbow Rowell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1355886270s/16068905.jpg|21861351] and less books like [b:Beautiful Disaster|11505797|Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful, #1)|Jamie McGuire|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1358259032s/11505797.jpg|16441531]).

So, I was very interested to read a book about something as important as sexual assault on college campus. I don't have all my facts in line, but it's something like a quarter of women will be victims of sexual assault during their college career. And with the whole Brock Turner injustice happening recently.... well, books like this couldn't be more important.

Having said all that, this book gave me such odd feelings. I could not put the book down, but I felt so complicated about the characters. I felt like almost every single one was equally sympathetic and aggravating. I don't have to like the characters to like the book, which was sort of the case here, but it felt weird to feel so many different feelings towards the victim. The bottom line is no one should have to go through what Jenny went through, whether I love her as a person or not. That in of itself made me feel icky because I WANTED to love her as a person and I just couldn't... which is kind of messed up of me, but it was how I was feeling!! (See what I mean?? That's totally icky)

I kind of think that this book became more interesting because of the frustrating characters.

Haley was put in this really uncomfortable position of being Jenny's sole confidant when they weren't really friends at all beforehand. But she didn't just roll with it and came off as selfish at times.

Richard (the guy who lives with Jenny's rapist) was shown as the ignorant guy-- always saying offensive stuff, but not really knowing why it was offensive.

And then there's Carrie. She's this uber-feminist woman who Richard has a fling with pre-Jenny situation, but ultimately she became almost the villain of this book because of how harsh she was.

If I could change anything about this book it would definitely be Carrie. Her portrayal to me just enforces femi-nazi stereotypes that feminists are man-hating and unlikable and hard-headed. I also am a tad bit over the over-sensitivity of our society, and this book spotlights it. There's a lot of freaking out about things that Richard says that, yes most of it was super-dumb and inappropriate. Maybe I'm crazy, but to stop and have like a LESSON over it just feels a little contrived. People say dumb stuff all the time, and I just CAN'T stop every time it happens and have a reaction to it.

The hardest part for me was just realizing how hard it was for Jenny to prove her case. There was alcohol involved, the attack wasn't videotaped or photographed, and her grasp of all the details were foggy. BUT SO WHAT!!! It supremely sucks that we live in a culture that it has to be a perfect case for a rape victim to be believed and get justice.

OVERALL: Really great, unputdownable book that made me feel really conflicted about every single character. I loved the way the process was shown and it was super sad to see how hard it is for victims to just be believed. I think we need a lot more books like this!! It made me feel uncomfortable and I'm pretty sure that was the whole point.

My Blog:


… (mer)
 
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Michelle_PPDB | 5 andra recensioner | Mar 18, 2023 |
All sixteen-year-old Izzy Crawford wants is to feel like she really belongs somewhere. Her father, a marine, died in Iraq six years ago, and Izzy’s moved to a new town nearly every year since, far from the help of her extended family in North Carolina and Puerto Rico.
 
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managedbybooks | 3 andra recensioner | May 3, 2022 |
I really enjoyed Wrecked, the author's previous book, so when I saw this on the shelf at the library, I had to have it.

This was a very different story, but I enjoyed it. The characters are very real and the issues and problems they face felt authentic and fresh. I particularly liked the way the main character, Izzy, curates her life at school and with her boyfriend so they don't see the truth about her poverty.

At the same time, I also appreciated the way Izzy's wild friend from the trailer across the way is wholly unapologetic about who she is and where she comes from. The contrast between the two makes for an interesting and volatile friendship dynamic.

Izzy's family also feels very real with the struggles to survive and thrive at the forefront of the story. The contrast between her mother and brother at home and her dead father's extended family in the south makes for another interesting contrast.

The relationship between Izzy and her new boyfriend grows organically and the way she pulls together the various groups of people she cares about into a supportive community is something we can all learn from. The backdrop of Habitat for Humanity and what goes into building these houses for those that need them most is particularly relevant. Especially given the housing crisis where I live right now.

I did feel like the boyfriend was perhaps a little too good to be true, but Izzy points this out herself. No one can possibly be that perfect. But maybe she just hasn't known him long enough to see his flaws. Or isn't looking for them..

But overall, I enjoyed this. I read the whole thing in a single afternoon which is generally a good sign that I like something.
… (mer)
 
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Vampyr14 | 3 andra recensioner | Apr 21, 2021 |
This was a slow starter for me. I felt it was going to be a “message” book masquerading as a sports book, and I was right, unfortunately. There was a good message in place: accepting other people and trying to understand other cultures. But Ms. Padian also threw in skin-heads, rich vs. poor, drug and alcohol abuse, cyberbullying, and political activism. All of these things can be used to make a point, but it seemed like overkill to me. Not to mention that the romantic interest was a college sophomore girl falling for a 17 year-old-boy.

So will all of that, I’m glad I finished it, but I only did, because it’s on our Gateway possibilities list. I think I can target this to our few soccer players who are patient readers and willing to give a book time to get interesting.

Favorite Quotes:
Pg. 17 – Somali is a no-holds-banned language. Half the time it sounds like people are fighting each other, but it’s just that they get that animated. The hands go, too, emphasizing each word. I think you’d render a Somali person partially mute if you tied their hands.
(This is so me!)

Pg. 260 – Time is a lunging dog on a leash when you’re in an emergency room. It yanks you forward in ways you can’t control….

… (mer)
 
Flaggad
readingbeader | 8 andra recensioner | Oct 29, 2020 |

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Statistik

Verk
5
Medlemmar
502
Popularitet
#49,320
Betyg
3.8
Recensioner
26
ISBN
31
Språk
1

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