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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

REVIEW: Lost It by Kristen Tracy

What would you do...

...if your best friend were plotting the annihilation of a small, furry neighborhood poodle? Or if your parents up and moved to an Outward Bound-type survival camp in the middle of the desert? How about if your grandmother bought you new bras and underwear -- and you actually thought they were a teensy bit, umm, sexy?

Most people would not react well.

Tess Whistle's junior year of high school is off to a fairly bizarre start. One might even say her life is spiraling out of control. But with her sense of humor firmly intact and her first real boyfriend on her arm, Tess is dealing with the ridiculous twists quite well, thankyouverymuch.

Just wait until her shoes explode.

Oh boy, did I love this book. I had it for a little while and always put it off thinking it was just a book about a girl losing her virginity. That's what the title refers to, doesn't it? Ah, no. Turns out the book is way more complicated than that.

Not only does Tess lose her virginity, and then the boy who she gives it to, she's also losing her way. Her best friend is losing her grip on reality after her parents get divorced, so she decides to build a bomb to blow a poodle. Tess's parents are losing their way and head off to some self-help camp in Colorado to 'find themselves.' Leaving Tess with her kooky grandma, a recent lottery-winner and carefree soul.

In all this chaos, there's Tess Whistle. And she's adorable and awkward and unsure of herself. She's kind of naive as her parents are a bit religious and Tess doesn't watch TV and doesn't really fit in with most other girls. I really loved that about her. She's got a lot of hang-ups. Her fear of wild animals and the unknown. She doesn't know how to go about her new relationship with Ben and so she tells a little lie. But that can be easily fixed, right?

My favourite part of the whole book? The grandmother. Anyone who can give relationship advice using a metaphor with a capuchin monkey is a win in my book. But the whole thing is filled with bizarre little tidbits, like hanging a brownie tin on the wall to replace the photo of Jesus that falls behind the couch. The hamster that burrows into the cast on her broken arm. I loved that Benjamin is interested in some old 70s game-show. I loved it all. A fun read, I recommend it.

3 comments:

  1. Sounds like a really fun read :D Thanks for sharing.

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  2. This sounds great! Definitely going on my to-read list - thanks for the review.

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  3. What size poodle does the friend plan to blow up? If it's a toy or teacup poodle, I can get on board, but if it's a miniature or particularly a standard, I'll have to register an objection. :p

    #hasstandardpoodle

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