Wednesday, July 23, 2008

How to Be Bad by E Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski, and Lauren Myracle

Now I know that if you are a blog-hopper like myself, you have probably seen about 976 reviews for this particular book (even one of them on this site, although that was written by a different set of bloggers-who just so happen to be amazzzzing). But let's make it 977 as I say that the reason you have seen so many reviews is because it is so totally awesome (or because the people who are handling the publicity are wizards). Could we expect any less from the likes of E Lockhart (The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks makes me want to fan-girl scream), Lauren Myracle (Rhymes With Witches- creepy girl clique pwnage), Sarah Mlynowski (confession- I have no idea who this is- but I am determined to find out), and E Lockhart?

Jesse has just discovered an earth-shattering secret about her mother. And its changed her whole perspective. Suddenly, she's gone gung-ho for religion and is so obsessed with keeping the revelation silent that she is building walls between herself and her best friend, Vicks. But Vicks is having troubles of her own. Her boyfriend has moved on to college and left her loveless in no-where-ville, Florida. And then there is Melanie Fine. New to Florida and missing Canada, she can hardly stand living in her hyper-critical wealthy household. Solution for all of the above problems? To steal Jesse's mom's car and drive down to seek out Vick's boyfriend at college, of course. But our three heroines could never have predicted the adventures and (cough) experiences, that wait for them on the road.


I really loved this book. The characters were fabulous and all had their own unique voice through the combined creativity of writing styles in every chapter. I loved watching them grow, throw hissy fits, break into museums, overcome fears, and find/lose/find love. And it was all done with hilarity thrown throughout. There were many moments I found myself laughing, only to be stared at strangely by the people on my porch. But it wasn't all fun and games. The sad things were handled as well and excellently. Those times gave a lot more depth to the backstory and the unpredictable plot line.


I supremely hope that these three authors will write together again some time in the future. And I will miss the protagonists of How to Be Bad as well. And I think alot of the charm in their story was because they were written so well and felt just like your friends. That mixture you adore and would go on a road-trip with in an instant. It was really great how HTBB wrapped up the feeling in 321 pages.


7 out of 7 lightnings. woahwaitwhat? 7? yes. 7.


Finding Sarah Mlynowski Books,

Aella

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sarah Mlynowski wrote ttyl and that series of books, actually.

So, i guess i should actually get around to reading this one already, eh?

Khy said...

I loved this book. <3

Sarah Mlynowski wrote the Magic in Manhattan series and has written like 5 adult books. Don't feel like finding an exact number.

Anonymous said...

My god, i am a total liar who has untrue facts. It's the other one who wrote TTYL, with the similar last name. oops...

Amee said...

I agree, this book was great! I too am going to have to check out Sarah's and Lauren's other books. :)

Anonymous said...

Do you realize you wrote E. Lockhart twice when talking about the authors? Was it deliberate?

Anyway, LOVED this book, and am so glad you did too.

Sarah's first YA book is Bras and Broomsticks, and you should totally check it out. It's all about witches, and such a fun series. The fourth one is coming out this December. Her adult books are pretty good too. I'd read books from all three of these authors before reading this one and was excited to see what they'd come up with together since I loved them all individually.

Great review!!