Scan barcode
jerrica's review against another edition
3.0
So I tried this book after I read "Keeping You a Secret", which was just, amazing. This book, not so much.
The beginning starts out pretty straight forward, but with good potential and good heart. I can't deny that Mike is a good character, deep and thoughtful, however, the author had about a million plotlines at once, from Mike's baseball career, to her Dad's suicide, to her issues with her mother, to her brother problems, to Jamie and his search for love, Mike's plumbing business, and of course, Mike and Xanadu's relationship. It was very jumbled, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. The ending was kind of vague, too.
And Xanadu, jeesh. The author obviously wanted her to be an enigma, but she was way too detached from the story to be in the title. There was so much going on, and after awhile the author drifted away from her to focus on Mike and her softball dreams conflicting with her plumbing gift. Basically, every chapter went like this:
1. Mike and Xanadu.
2. Something to do with Jamie.
3. Plumbing/softball
4. Mike's revelations about her dad's suicide.
There were a few exceptions, but mostly every chapter was structured the same. And obviously with Coalton, Julie Anne wanted a quaint, distant, Southern town, but all I kind of got was a trash heap with poor people and lots of trucks. But hey, I've never been to Kansas so I don't know.
And with the romantic stuff, the author seemed to lose her touch a little. I loved, in "Keeping You a Secret", Holland's struggle with her identity and who this girl, Cece, is. With Mike, she was all figured out and there was little description of how she figured herself out except for one little passage of her hanging out with Jamie in his house and watching "Tomb Raider". But okay. It was a different approach.
I'm wavering between 3 and 4 stars, I'm just going to go with 3 on this one. I still want to read more of this author, though.
The beginning starts out pretty straight forward, but with good potential and good heart. I can't deny that Mike is a good character, deep and thoughtful, however, the author had about a million plotlines at once, from Mike's baseball career, to her Dad's suicide, to her issues with her mother, to her brother problems, to Jamie and his search for love, Mike's plumbing business, and of course, Mike and Xanadu's relationship. It was very jumbled, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. The ending was kind of vague, too.
And Xanadu, jeesh. The author obviously wanted her to be an enigma, but she was way too detached from the story to be in the title. There was so much going on, and after awhile the author drifted away from her to focus on Mike and her softball dreams conflicting with her plumbing gift. Basically, every chapter went like this:
1. Mike and Xanadu.
2. Something to do with Jamie.
3. Plumbing/softball
4. Mike's revelations about her dad's suicide.
There were a few exceptions, but mostly every chapter was structured the same. And obviously with Coalton, Julie Anne wanted a quaint, distant, Southern town, but all I kind of got was a trash heap with poor people and lots of trucks. But hey, I've never been to Kansas so I don't know.
And with the romantic stuff, the author seemed to lose her touch a little. I loved, in "Keeping You a Secret", Holland's struggle with her identity and who this girl, Cece, is. With Mike, she was all figured out and there was little description of how she figured herself out except for one little passage of her hanging out with Jamie in his house and watching "Tomb Raider". But okay. It was a different approach.
I'm wavering between 3 and 4 stars, I'm just going to go with 3 on this one. I still want to read more of this author, though.
grace_06_29's review
Got a couple chapters in and wasn't a fan of the internalized misogyny that seemed to be endorsed by the author.
lemonflower's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
neenor's review against another edition
4.0
If you've been following me for a while, you'll know that I love Peters books, and even though I have a stack of books on the waiting to be read pile, I couldn't wait to start reading it when I got it last week. And I really enjoyed it. Admittedly, I didn't click with it when I first started, which I usually do - but after a while, I was hooked.
It's basically a novel about this girl, Mike, who is a lesbian and has lived in this small town in Kansass her entire life. So it's a bit of a typical storyline - how would the town take her when they found out she was gay? But actually, that wasn't the storyline at all. The storyline dealt with a lot more problems than just liking the same sex - it was about liking someone who couldn't love you back; about coming to terms with living without someone; about learning to accept who you are; about learning that dreams can come true, you just have to believe. And at the end, I did look back on the novel and felt this wave of emotion, like I do with all her novels. I can guarantee you that after reading just one book, you will learn something new about yourself - or accept it. And I think that is a pretty amazing thing for a book to do.
However, there were some things I didn't like - another first. I'm pretty used to adoring all of the characters in a Peters novel, but it took a while with Mike. I think that is probably because she's very sporty and active, and I'm...well. I'm a couch potato. But one thing that really put me off was how harsh she was to everyone. Of course, she was going through a lot, and I would say that she is one of the strongest characters I have ever read about. But she was horrible a lot of the time - to Jamie, to Darryl, to her mum, her teachers...The only person she was nice to was Xanadu, which got me rather annoyed - though I won't say why, because spoilers. But she did annoy me a bit, which is why I wouldn't give this book a ten.
But despite it not being a ten, I would recommend it if you like books by Peters and David Levithan and John Green, and are interested in learning more about what it is to be LGBT. I still really enjoyed it, and I can't wait till I get my hands on another novel of hers.
It's basically a novel about this girl, Mike, who is a lesbian and has lived in this small town in Kansass her entire life. So it's a bit of a typical storyline - how would the town take her when they found out she was gay? But actually, that wasn't the storyline at all. The storyline dealt with a lot more problems than just liking the same sex - it was about liking someone who couldn't love you back; about coming to terms with living without someone; about learning to accept who you are; about learning that dreams can come true, you just have to believe. And at the end, I did look back on the novel and felt this wave of emotion, like I do with all her novels. I can guarantee you that after reading just one book, you will learn something new about yourself - or accept it. And I think that is a pretty amazing thing for a book to do.
However, there were some things I didn't like - another first. I'm pretty used to adoring all of the characters in a Peters novel, but it took a while with Mike. I think that is probably because she's very sporty and active, and I'm...well. I'm a couch potato. But one thing that really put me off was how harsh she was to everyone. Of course, she was going through a lot, and I would say that she is one of the strongest characters I have ever read about. But she was horrible a lot of the time - to Jamie, to Darryl, to her mum, her teachers...The only person she was nice to was Xanadu, which got me rather annoyed - though I won't say why, because spoilers. But she did annoy me a bit, which is why I wouldn't give this book a ten.
But despite it not being a ten, I would recommend it if you like books by Peters and David Levithan and John Green, and are interested in learning more about what it is to be LGBT. I still really enjoyed it, and I can't wait till I get my hands on another novel of hers.
liralen's review against another edition
4.0
Probably my favourite Julie Anne Peters book so far. I find her books hard to read sometimes - not because they're bad (they're really, really good), but because I keep wanting to reach out to the characters and say "honey, no, don't."
It was that way with Mike - she's so obviously setting herself up for a major letdown, and she just can't let herself see it. Painful - and worth reading.
It was that way with Mike - she's so obviously setting herself up for a major letdown, and she just can't let herself see it. Painful - and worth reading.
bibliowrecka's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this one. I think it's showing its age a bit, and it isn't the best of Peters' books, but Mike is an easy person to root for. I have to admit that I kind of hated Xanadu all along, though. She was so obviously reveling in Mike's attention and using her without much regard for Mike's feelings. I know Mike will be okay, though, and eventually she'll find that perfect girl to bring home.
bethreadsandnaps's review against another edition
3.0
The title of this book completely gives away the plot. I believe the other title of this book, "Far From Xanadu," is a better title.
Mike (Mary-Elizabeth) Szabo is a lesbian teen in a very small Kansas town. I was shocked by how supportive this small town was of Mike and Jamie, who was her male gay friend. I've lived in very small towns, and they were not at all accepting of homosexuality back in the 80s and 90s. Maybe times really have changed?
Though the story was predictable and the town was far more supporting than seemed plausible, the writing was good enough to evoke a considerable amount of empathy for both Mike and Jamie.
Mike (Mary-Elizabeth) Szabo is a lesbian teen in a very small Kansas town. I was shocked by how supportive this small town was of Mike and Jamie, who was her male gay friend. I've lived in very small towns, and they were not at all accepting of homosexuality back in the 80s and 90s. Maybe times really have changed?
Though the story was predictable and the town was far more supporting than seemed plausible, the writing was good enough to evoke a considerable amount of empathy for both Mike and Jamie.
raven9949's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this book as a kid. Now tho its a source of painful memories. This book tied into two years of my life and became my obession then, why? because I was mike and my best friend was Xanadu.
~
On a different note if you're reading this book for the first time I encourage you to read it while listening to a cd called "Details" by Frou Frou, you'll find that it ties in really well. I'm sad that Mike didn't get the girl and ride off into the sunset, but its probably for the best, Xanadu was a user. I liked the story, but I guess from generations of being raised with the happily ever after, riding into the sunsets it was a disappointment. Mike didn't get the girl. Mike didn't get any girl. Her family still hated her. She was alone except for her best friend, and even then he wasn't really there....
~
On a different note if you're reading this book for the first time I encourage you to read it while listening to a cd called "Details" by Frou Frou, you'll find that it ties in really well. I'm sad that Mike didn't get the girl and ride off into the sunset, but its probably for the best, Xanadu was a user. I liked the story, but I guess from generations of being raised with the happily ever after, riding into the sunsets it was a disappointment. Mike didn't get the girl. Mike didn't get any girl. Her family still hated her. She was alone except for her best friend, and even then he wasn't really there....
tangerineteeth's review against another edition
2.0
I found this somewhat difficult to like and intended to give up on it about 90 pages through. I would describe the writing style as heavy on the YA cliches. There are a lot of things about the main character that felt awkward or hard to relate to - e.g. Mike keeps pausing to address bitter internal comments to her dead father, Mike keeps describing her own muscles, Mike has a frustrating and almost inexplicable sense of pride about being beholden to no one...
I kept reading because 1) it was there, and fast, and 2) I did want to know what was going to happen with her best friend straight girl crush. We've all been there, after all.
I kept reading because 1) it was there, and fast, and 2) I did want to know what was going to happen with her best friend straight girl crush. We've all been there, after all.