Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely Lost Itby Lisa Shanahan
Syndetic Solutions - [Book Review for 9780385735162] Book Review : Publishers Weekly
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Australian picture-book author and middle-grade novelist Shanahan's first book for teens is an uproariously funny, surprisingly intense read; a savvy blend of sharp wit and weight grounds its otherwise over-the-top humor. As 14-year-old Gemma Stone explains, In our family, when anyone starts riding the big wave of their emotions, we say they're chucking a birkett, Birkett being the name of her older sister Debbie's last disastrous boyfriend. Most of the birketts are thrown by Dad and Debbie, Gemma's soon-to-be-married older sister. But now that Gemma's getting older and trying to figure out who she is and what she wants, her propensity for blowing an emotional circuit have increased exponentially—especially in matters of love. When she's cast as Miranda in her school's production of The Tempest, along with handsome, popular Nick Lloyd as Prospero, Gemma can hardly contain her excitement, even when troublemaker Raven De Head is cast as Caliban. Shanahan goes to town with no-holds-barred caricatures. Debbie's fiancé proposes on his knee in the spice department of the supermarket (Will you spice up my life and be my wife?), the opening salvo in the author's sendup of brides (and grooms) who ought to be blushing. The heavier side of the story, in which Gemma realizes just how wrong her impressions of Nick and Raven are, comes close to predictability, but thoughtful characterizations of the De Heads (and gleeful views of the Lloyds) save it. An unexpectedly painful showdown ends the novel with Gemma achieving emotional clarity. Ages 12-up. (Aug.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Syndetic Solutions - [Book Review for 9780385735162] Book Review : School Library Journal
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Starred Review. Gr 7–10—Life has spun out of control for Gemma Stone, a 14-year-old Aussie. Her older sister is engaged to be married and has turned into a bridezilla; the new in-laws, particularly Brian's Lieutenant Colonel's father, are scarily obsessed with the Queen and military discipline; and Gemma attempts to overcome her urge to vomit while speaking in public by auditioning for the school production of The Tempest and getting the role of Miranda. If that's not enough to drive her berko, she's torn between two boys—Nick, who's perfect and popular, and Raven, a social outcast with more depth and soul than anyone gives him credit for. Amid the chaos, Gemma is learning who she really is, what matters most, and that "Love is doves and dog poo." Shanahan's quirky characters are a riot, but the depth of Gemma's growth and heartbreak is genuinely profound.—Terri Clark, Smokey Hill Library, Centennial, CO Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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