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hannah_rosem's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed reading this! It was so refreshing to read something Australian that wasn't obnoxiously pushing the Australian aspect but still being distinctly Australian. I felt that Frankie was a very authentic character who responded to the difficulties she faced in a way which is realistic for a 16 year old, but isn't frustrating to read as an adult. I thought the concept of this book was very interesting and original, and that the pacing was spot on. Would definitely recommend as a good, quick read!
michhellongrace's review against another edition
4.0
I had wanted to read this book since I first saw the cover reveal on twitter a few months ago, don’t judge me we all love nice covers. Researching further I discovered that this book is an Australian YA Contemporary set in my home city of Melbourne. The beautiful cover, book set in my home city what else do I really need? I was already sold but then the book went deeper taking on topics of family and politics. I’ve been interested in politics for a while , I know it’s a subject that can bore a lot of people but trust me this book mixes it well with drama and family relationships that it is not boring at all.
A lot happens in this book, the main character Frankies mum runs for Premier of Victoria so everyone is under the pump trying to campaign. Hanging over everyone is the possibility a sleazy journalist has some real dirt on Frankies mum and when some questionable photos emerge of her mum and a young man together everything in her life shifts balance.
Frankie also has to try and manage her band of which she is the creator and guitar player to get organised before battle of the bands. However this proves difficult when her best friend Kessie is keeping a secret from her and acting distant and a new guy Jake shows up claiming to want to interview the band, but he may have other plans.
One of the things I loved most about this book was that even though it had a romantic aspect to it it focuses more on friendships and family relationships, but I didn’t like how Frankie treated her family a lot of the time. Things start to get really difficult for Frankies family with the media hounding them and Frankie blames it all on her mum. Atop that she is angry with her father for sticking by her mum instead of her and has to try and protect her younger brother from everything that’s going on. I found Frankie to be very selfish throughout most of the book. I have to admit I’d probably act a little bit selfish if I was in her situation and only 17 at the time but reading it I thought she overreacted a bit. She fought with basically every character in this book except her younger brother.
To be honest though Frankies selfishness and self-centered behaviour was the only thing that really pulled the story down for me and I feel that could all be attributed to the characters age. Other components of the book that are really note-worthy were that it had two lesbian characters in the form of Frankies friends Kessie and Tyler and they played an important part in the band drama that Frankie has to deal with but also supporting her in her life. Luke, Frankies younger brother also suffers terribly from asthma and the family is always worried about his breathing this is another reason why Frankie feels she has to protect him and I loved the bond between these characters.
Overall I’d recommend this book to people after a good family and friendship oriented contemporary and for those f you after more good Australian YA books. If you’d like to know more about my thoughts or the book in general please don’t hesitate to ask.
bethadele's review against another edition
5.0
Nicole Hayes is a magnificent rising force in Australian Publishing. One True Thing is an all encompassing tale of truths and untruths, perception versus reality and how to not go "Amanda-Bynes-Twitter-Melt-Down-crazy" when life hands you so many lemons you could create your own brand of lemonade.
Frankie is a 16 year old Rock Goddess with dreams of taking her band to great and dizzying heights. And whilst the music never lets her down, Frankie soon finds that people are a different story. Being the Premiers daughter is hard enough, but being the premiers daughter during an election when there's a shock jock out to take your Mum down, and a scandal with more heat than a volcanic eruption...no one would blame her if she DID go Amanda Bynes Crazy.
With what is becoming her trademark ability to create characters that are deeply complex and compelling Hayes explores a litany of themes. Identity, relationships, media, truth, life, love and family. There's a truly wonderful feminist bent to much of what Hayes writes (even in The Whole of my World though not as obvious as it is here in One True Thing) and the turbulent relationship through mothers and daughters is so wonderfully done.
On a side note, the character of Travis Matthews, he's both repugnant and deeply compelling, and I have to expect nothing less of Hayes who gives as much attention to detail to her background characters as she does to her main cast. Every word leaps off the page. If John Green has a contemporary then Nicole Hayes is it.
Frankie is a 16 year old Rock Goddess with dreams of taking her band to great and dizzying heights. And whilst the music never lets her down, Frankie soon finds that people are a different story. Being the Premiers daughter is hard enough, but being the premiers daughter during an election when there's a shock jock out to take your Mum down, and a scandal with more heat than a volcanic eruption...no one would blame her if she DID go Amanda Bynes Crazy.
With what is becoming her trademark ability to create characters that are deeply complex and compelling Hayes explores a litany of themes. Identity, relationships, media, truth, life, love and family. There's a truly wonderful feminist bent to much of what Hayes writes (even in The Whole of my World though not as obvious as it is here in One True Thing) and the turbulent relationship through mothers and daughters is so wonderfully done.
On a side note, the character of Travis Matthews, he's both repugnant and deeply compelling, and I have to expect nothing less of Hayes who gives as much attention to detail to her background characters as she does to her main cast. Every word leaps off the page. If John Green has a contemporary then Nicole Hayes is it.
thisgirl_writes's review against another edition
5.0
An enjoyable YA novel. Frankie was very relatable, as were the other characters.
kkyulkive's review against another edition
3.0
This wasn't anything amazing but it was really fun and easy to read. I loved the fact that it was set in my home town of Melbourne because you don't see many stories set here and it was exciting trying to identify the different places discussed!
I did really enjoy getting to know the characters and while Frankie did seem rather immature at times, she was still a likeable character who you could really see grow throughout the process of the story. I only wish there had been more development for some other characters, because while Frankie was portrayed really well, there were some other characters such as Kessie and Jake who are quite vague, despite their big role in her life.
Plot wise, it wasn't anything incredible. It could be slow at times, but even so, I loved how every character and everything that happened either had an obvious plot reason, or was there to build on a character.
All in all, while it wasn't as exciting as it sounded, I did really enjoy reading this!
I did really enjoy getting to know the characters and while Frankie did seem rather immature at times, she was still a likeable character who you could really see grow throughout the process of the story. I only wish there had been more development for some other characters, because while Frankie was portrayed really well, there were some other characters such as Kessie and Jake who are quite vague, despite their big role in her life.
Plot wise, it wasn't anything incredible. It could be slow at times, but even so, I loved how every character and everything that happened either had an obvious plot reason, or was there to build on a character.
All in all, while it wasn't as exciting as it sounded, I did really enjoy reading this!
melbsreads's review against another edition
3.0
This is another one of those OzYA books that I've been meaning to read for a thousand years and have only just gotten around to. And having just finished it, I'm left with "this was decent, but not great". Except here's the thing: for me? It probably SHOULD have been great.
Frankie's 16 in this book. I was 18 when I found out that I had a much older half-brother who was given up for adoption when he was born. Like Frankie, I did NOT handle it well. I mean, I didn't scream at my mother and stomp off to my grandmother's house for a week with my younger brother in tow. But that's mostly because my grandmother lived like 45 minutes away and her second husband used to flick his false teeth in and out of his mouth all the time and it was gross.
Anyway. The point is, I've been where Frankie was. I've felt the exact emotions that Frankie goes through in the course of this book (although I didn't meet my half-brother until I was nearly 22 where Frankie meets him almost immediately). I should have been able to relate to this book very, VERY strongly. And yet I couldn't. And I honestly don't know why...
Add in the fact that I can't stand Pearl Jam and the fact that the romantic relationship in here was about as exciting as watching paint dry and this came out to good but not great.
Spoiler
So the big plot point here is that Frankie's mother, who's running for Premier of Victoria, is photographed with a much younger man. The media assumes that she's having an affair. Except that the plot twist is that the much younger man is actually her son, given up for adoption at birth.Frankie's 16 in this book. I was 18 when I found out that I had a much older half-brother who was given up for adoption when he was born. Like Frankie, I did NOT handle it well. I mean, I didn't scream at my mother and stomp off to my grandmother's house for a week with my younger brother in tow. But that's mostly because my grandmother lived like 45 minutes away and her second husband used to flick his false teeth in and out of his mouth all the time and it was gross.
Anyway. The point is, I've been where Frankie was. I've felt the exact emotions that Frankie goes through in the course of this book (although I didn't meet my half-brother until I was nearly 22 where Frankie meets him almost immediately). I should have been able to relate to this book very, VERY strongly. And yet I couldn't. And I honestly don't know why...
Add in the fact that I can't stand Pearl Jam and the fact that the romantic relationship in here was about as exciting as watching paint dry and this came out to good but not great.
megsslibrary's review against another edition
3.0
I loved 25% of this book. Anytime there was family intersections with Colin I loved it. This is the story I wanted to read. I'm a sucker for non-nuclear family dynamics (step siblings, half siblings, long lost children etc) so I wanted more of this storyline. This should have been the main focus of the story but instead it was just one of many threads running through. I just personally didn't really care for the other plot points.
Didn't care about the band, or Frankie's insecurities about her friends, or the boyfriend.
I think that Hayes was trying to do a bit too much and none of it really landed.
Loved the family dynamics and felt that this should have been done more.
Frankie was also a very realistic teenager - meaning she was incredibly self centred, irrational and moody. Which means she wasn't a fun character for me to read about as I'm surrounded by teenagers daily.
I'm sure others will love this book - I loved 1/4 of it and thought the rest was fine but nothing great.
Didn't care about the band, or Frankie's insecurities about her friends, or the boyfriend.
I think that Hayes was trying to do a bit too much and none of it really landed.
Loved the family dynamics and felt that this should have been done more.
Frankie was also a very realistic teenager - meaning she was incredibly self centred, irrational and moody. Which means she wasn't a fun character for me to read about as I'm surrounded by teenagers daily.
I'm sure others will love this book - I loved 1/4 of it and thought the rest was fine but nothing great.
bookswithlou's review against another edition
4.0
This book was interesting. Most of the characters kind of bugged me and the blurb made it seem like there would be more of a focus on Frankie and Jakes relationship then I felt there actually was. But I loved all the chapter titles and the politics was interesting.
emilyjmead's review against another edition
3.0
I really loved the feminist elements to this, and the really unique exploration of politics and family. BUT I wasn't a big fan of Frankie as a main character, and the book itself felt quite long and a little disjointed with all the different issues going on. Still, if you want to read about Aussie politics, family and/or friendship, this is your book.
missusb21's review against another edition
4.0
Gah! This is the problem with reading one book after another. It's only been 5 days since I read this, and yet, the three books I have started and (some that) finished since then means I get all the characters and plot-lines confused in my head.
(note to self: Write the darned review right away).
Okay, so I started this on a plane, and had to keep reading and finish it that same night. SO I invested in Frankie's story, and liked that it was more about her family than her love interest.
I also very much loved that Frankie was a rocker, and was drawn into the passion she felt for her music and her band. The part about how much angst was caused by the other two band memberspotential relationship shows Frankie as a realistic teen, and I liked that she really needed to relinquish some control - very hard for Frankie.
However, there were a couple of scenes where the tension was built and my anticipation was high, only to be left a bit unsatisfied. And I wanted more Jake at the end, as his story seemed to left unresolved (although I understand the motivation behind the decision).
Another really great new Aussie YA read.
(note to self: Write the darned review right away).
Okay, so I started this on a plane, and had to keep reading and finish it that same night. SO I invested in Frankie's story, and liked that it was more about her family than her love interest.
I also very much loved that Frankie was a rocker, and was drawn into the passion she felt for her music and her band. The part about how much angst was caused by the other two band members
However, there were a couple of scenes where the tension was built and my anticipation was high, only to be left a bit unsatisfied. And I wanted more Jake at the end, as his story seemed to left unresolved (although I understand the motivation behind the decision).
Another really great new Aussie YA read.
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