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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
I'm somewhat inclined to believe this book would be stronger if its central conceit were less dominant a component of it. It's at its most compelling when stories are being told in retrospect, and can get a bit repetitive when the author is just sarcastically reacting to every other line in something she wrote in middle school. That said, I can relate strongly to a lot of the angst here, it reminds me almost too much of my own thought processes in middle and high school. The book is generally interesting, entertaining, and at times even emotional (or harrowing, at least to me) despite its generally upbeat tone. Pamela Ribon spends a lot of time poking fun at her childhood self, but it's clear that she has a lot of compassion and sympathy for what that little girl went through.
I have very mixed feelings about this book.
On one hand, I absolutely love the idea of exploring a young woman's coming of age experience through love letters and other primary sources. That is why I was so disappointed to see Ribon use the commentary to bully her younger self in a way that not only invalidated young Pam as the writer of the letters but also invalidated the raw contents of the letters.
No one wants to read a book where the author begins by saying that what you're reading is ridiculous and inconsequential.
If Ribon had chosen to validate Pam's intense, fervent throw-it-all-away-for-a-man feelings rather than fault her for them, she would have given herself (and the reader) the opportunity to see the letters as lenses through which to view the chaotic, myriad of conflicting messages we as a society offer young people regarding how love and sex works, what it looks like, and what it should be.
In the later part of the book, Ribon develops a more empathetic approach, and I enjoyed reading more. I think the book was largely a disappointment for me, though. Not because it was bad but because I imagine it could have been so much more.
On one hand, I absolutely love the idea of exploring a young woman's coming of age experience through love letters and other primary sources. That is why I was so disappointed to see Ribon use the commentary to bully her younger self in a way that not only invalidated young Pam as the writer of the letters but also invalidated the raw contents of the letters.
No one wants to read a book where the author begins by saying that what you're reading is ridiculous and inconsequential.
If Ribon had chosen to validate Pam's intense, fervent throw-it-all-away-for-a-man feelings rather than fault her for them, she would have given herself (and the reader) the opportunity to see the letters as lenses through which to view the chaotic, myriad of conflicting messages we as a society offer young people regarding how love and sex works, what it looks like, and what it should be.
In the later part of the book, Ribon develops a more empathetic approach, and I enjoyed reading more. I think the book was largely a disappointment for me, though. Not because it was bad but because I imagine it could have been so much more.
Started as a truly laugh-out-loud book that was a contender for my favorite book of the year. Ended up as a pretty great book that was still hilarious. Mortifying, but if you were a teenaged girl in the 90s, you'll totally get it. And now I'm going to go burn all of my journals from those years, thank you very much.
Struggling between 3 and 4 stars for this one but since I have been a fan of Pamela Ribon (Pamie!) for many years I'm giving her the 4.
I listened to this as an audiobook and I think that's a good idea because she reads it herself and it's pretty hilarious to hear the drama of the old love notes read by Little Pam and the embarrassed, knowing voice of Grown up Pam interjecting from time to time.
Ribon does a great job letting you reimagine the total over-the-top drama and love sick nature of being a teenage girl. The real question is this: do you really WANT to remember that?
Her stories are funny but some are quite raunchy so that might not be everybody's cup of tea. She also uses code-names for all the boys in the book, which makes perfect sense, but gets a little annoying when read aloud because the names can be quite long "Super Mario Brothers Boy" for example.
My only real issue is that the book runs a little long. I don't think it actually IS a long book but the material is repetitive and after awhile I got the idea and I had had enough.
I listened to this as an audiobook and I think that's a good idea because she reads it herself and it's pretty hilarious to hear the drama of the old love notes read by Little Pam and the embarrassed, knowing voice of Grown up Pam interjecting from time to time.
Ribon does a great job letting you reimagine the total over-the-top drama and love sick nature of being a teenage girl. The real question is this: do you really WANT to remember that?
Her stories are funny but some are quite raunchy so that might not be everybody's cup of tea. She also uses code-names for all the boys in the book, which makes perfect sense, but gets a little annoying when read aloud because the names can be quite long "Super Mario Brothers Boy" for example.
My only real issue is that the book runs a little long. I don't think it actually IS a long book but the material is repetitive and after awhile I got the idea and I had had enough.
Written by the creator of the Oscar-nominated animated short film, “My Year of Dicks.” By far, that same chapter (on which the film is based) was the best in this entire book.
Remember all those mortifying notes that you thought were endearing that you wrote to boys pouring out your heart onto paper as a teenager? This book is a collection of the author's notes. When she wrote them to boys, she also kept a copy. This is her revisiting those words and sharing the stories behind them and reflections all these years later. It's funny and real and relatable. Also, this is affirmation that there's a reason I did not keep my journals and notes. However, it's also why I can respect and love that someone else was willing to share their "stuff" with the world.
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Sooo funny and emotional. I needed this.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm
Minor: Sexual assault
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Pam (of Pamie.com) shares her teenage journals and notes and stories with commentary from her current self. Little Pam wrote a lot of notes to boys, and she saved all her first drafts, which are funny and sad and very very (squirm in your seat) awkward. Pam unflinchingly shares the intense feelings and words of Little Pam with great affection and gratitude for the things that she has learned since these tumultuous times, and that’s what gives the book such heart. I would love to give Notes to Boys to high school girls so that they could see that they are not alone in the intensity of their feelings and also to remind them to hang in there because life after high school is very different. I think I would have loved a book like this in high school. It’s not targeted as specifically young adult or new adult but I think it will find a lot of fans there. I also recommend it for anyone who works with teenagers or remembers their teen years as being particularly rough.
Every so often I like to look up the current work of the various blog celebrities I knew from my early days on the internet, in high school (did you know that Dooce's firstborn is now a TEENAGER?!). I think I must've known of Pamie from TWoP and started reading her blog archives. The majority of this book, the funny-horror of someone else's awkward teenager intensity, is not for me, but I enjoyed the broader reflections on how being a teenage girl is difficult.