About This Book:
✥Series/Trilogy/Stand-Alone, etc: Stand Alone
✥Release Date: 4/15/14
✥Setting: New York; London, England; Lake Tahoe, CA; Edinburgh, Scotland; NY City, NY; Portland, OR; Chicago, IL; San Francisco, CA
✥Page Count: 337
✥Edition: Hardcover✥Genre(s): Young Adult, Realistic Fiction , Contemporary, Romance
✥Date(s) Read: 2/13-2/14
✥Rating: Book: 3/5 Audio: 3.5/5
Narrator(s): Leslie Bellair & Corey Bradberry
My Thoughts:
Audio:
(The 3.5/5 star rating is for Leslie and taking 1.5 stars taken off because of Corey's reading)
Leslie Bellair: I liked her a lot. She did her narrations very well and made it a lot more enjoyable to listen. Her voicing Lucy seemed to fit how I may have pictured her if I were reading the book without audio.
Corey Bradberry: He was annoying! The only reason I continued to listen to him was because 98% of the book, I was on the computer or doing something else so I just kept listening. He became a tiny bit more bearable as time went on but the emphasis is on a tiny bit!
He made everything seem so urgent & whiny and also like a hyper puppy that needs a swat on the tush with a newspaper! That's not how I saw Owen. I saw Owen as a thinker, smart, some what calm & a bit sarcastic.
He made Owen's dad seem so gruff and childish. Heck, he made all the adults sound gruff. Like some of the adults in the Curious George t.v. show is what I think of. Like that little kid and the chunkier guy on the show (I think I'm thinking correctly on that part). lol
I so wish they would find someone else to rerecord the Owen chapters. I looked through some of the reviews and it was "good" to see that I wasn't the only one who didn't take an issue with him. He truly did ruin Owen for me. I couldn't like him as much as I'd like to when he read.
If I were to rate them individually, Leslie would get a 5/5 & Corey would get a 1/5 and that's being generous! If I wanted to be totally mean, I'd give him a Zero!
☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼
Book:
(I was typing my thoughts as this book went along, so, if it seems to be all over the place, that's why. Hopefully I am making myself clear)
Teenagers being left alone for weeks at a time?
Parents in a whole other country?
Older brothers in another state?
What's the local number to C.P.S. please!?!?
Seems like so many Y.A. books have parents that are neglectful or borderline neglectful. Never around, always working, lushes, traveling without them (in this case, parents expecting kids to ask to go along instead of just waiting until school is out and travel with them. ugh), constant moving (and not military and/or staying a step ahead of abusive ex) etc. Or, they're mentally checked out even when they do try to be good parents. Just basically all around screwed up.
I guess there are many families like that in real life but sheesh, seems like Y.A. books have more parents with issues than good parents. No, I don't expect perfection as I am not the perfect mother but I do my best to be there even with anxiety and depression kicking my behind many days. I understand dealing with teenagers can be hard hell, I've got a teenager and a 21 year old who both sometimes can make me want to shake them and who don't always want to hang out with mom (I mean, it's so not cool to want to be around Mom and/or Dad right?!?! lol) but I do try my best to find a way to be together at least for a few minutes a day. This book had so many issues when it came to family, friends, feelings, etc that I just don't know what the heck to say about it.
I really wish I could have liked this book more than I did. It wasn't horrible, I mean, I did finish it but I think I finished it more because I had already traded in a previous audio book once in order to get this one and I wanted to know what happened.
I think I am gradually beginning to get my fill of Y.A. Contemporary Romance. All of them seem to be so much alike. Although I do have my favorite author (Kasie West) and will probably always read her (only two books I need to finish by her). I think I am feeling that way about YA period. Although I may never actually give up on it because it's just so easy to read and many times, it is actually fun and so many adult fiction can be a bit draggish for me, among many other reasons that I won't get into right now on why I don't read adult as much as I used to but I do miss it more and more now. Maybe that's what I need now, again. Grown ups! lol
I was able to finish this one because I was up all night and decided to listen to it while I was doing what I was doing. I hadn't planned on being up so long and wanted to lay down but by the time I was ready to settle in, I was already extremely close to being finished. So, well, I did. :)
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