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yourfriendtorie's review
1.0
Horrible, horrible, horrible editing job. I know I'm not supposed to get mad about it because the copyeditor is a thing of the past, but the bad editing only enhances the seventh grade quality of the writing. Seriously, the profusion of ex!cla!ma!tion! marks! and ALL CAPS are not charming or cute. They make me want to claw my eyes out. The author writes as if she's suffering from the female version of Peter Pan syndrome, having permanently lapsed into the persona of a totally annoying intellectually precocious pre-adolescent girl. Am I not supposed to expect decent writing from this book because it's about YA novels?
33p3barpercent's review
3.0
I'm a faithful fan of Skurnick's Jezebel.com Fine Lines column, and I thought, hey, what makes bound pages any less worthy of my time than web pages?
It was enjoyable, I guess. I liked flipping the pages and going, "Oh, right! That book!" And I did pick up a couple of suggestions for future reading materials, but on the whole, I wouldn't buy Shelf Discovery. Check it out of a library, like I did.
It was enjoyable, I guess. I liked flipping the pages and going, "Oh, right! That book!" And I did pick up a couple of suggestions for future reading materials, but on the whole, I wouldn't buy Shelf Discovery. Check it out of a library, like I did.
kjboldon's review
5.0
Hey, join me to read Lizzie Skurnick's memoir of the books she read when she was coming of age--many by Judy Blume, Lois Duncan and Madeleine L'Engle--as well as re-reading some of them. Check out Shelf Discovery Summer 2012 for the details!
A fun and thought-provoking tour of many of the most popular books of childhood/teen years.
A fun and thought-provoking tour of many of the most popular books of childhood/teen years.
lindacbugg's review
4.0
This book brought back memories of tons of books I loved growing up in the 70's-80's. Anyone who loves Madeleine L'Engle as much as I did rocks!! This is a must read for girls born between 1960-1970.
kasiabrenna's review
4.0
This is a very entertaining read for those of us who read voraciously when we were young. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't more substantive commentary on each book, but it was great fun to revisit so many books I remembered, and some I had forgotten. Now I am feeling the need to read some Lois Duncan, etc.
pwbalto's review
5.0
RE: YA girls' novels of the 60s, 70s & 80s: "We were in the story, but you'd be hard-pressed to say it was OUR story, any more than Love Boat was a moving depiction of life at sea."
ms_aprilvincent's review
4.0
Remember the books you read in middle school? The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, Blubber, A Wrinkle in Time?
Well, it turns out that pretty much every woman you know has read them too, and loved them just as much as you did. Here, Lizzie Skurnick discusses some of the best-known selections from your 7th grade bookshelf.
I definitely remember reading most of these books. Re-reading them. And then reading them again. I'm sure I'll read them in the future. Books like Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret. Or Harriet the Spy. Fifteen.
And Skurnick doesn't just go with the wholesome stuff, either; there's a whole chapter about the books you had to sneak-read at school: Flowers in the Attic, Forever, Clan of the Cave Bear. You know ... the Sex Books.
Even better, she writes about books I'd read but forgotten I'd read, or whose titles I could't remember. The Girl with the Silver Eyes. Don't Hurt Laurie. Jane-Emily.
Pretty much, if you have nostalgic feelings about your school library, you've probably read most of the books discussed here. And if you haven't, well ... you've got a lot of catching up to do.
I've already started my Amazon searches myself.
Well, it turns out that pretty much every woman you know has read them too, and loved them just as much as you did. Here, Lizzie Skurnick discusses some of the best-known selections from your 7th grade bookshelf.
I definitely remember reading most of these books. Re-reading them. And then reading them again. I'm sure I'll read them in the future. Books like Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret. Or Harriet the Spy. Fifteen.
And Skurnick doesn't just go with the wholesome stuff, either; there's a whole chapter about the books you had to sneak-read at school: Flowers in the Attic, Forever, Clan of the Cave Bear. You know ... the Sex Books.
Even better, she writes about books I'd read but forgotten I'd read, or whose titles I could't remember. The Girl with the Silver Eyes. Don't Hurt Laurie. Jane-Emily.
Pretty much, if you have nostalgic feelings about your school library, you've probably read most of the books discussed here. And if you haven't, well ... you've got a lot of catching up to do.
I've already started my Amazon searches myself.
tuesday's review
2.0
I just got this and I'm so excited. I've been reading Fine Lines on Jezebel for over a year now and I'm so excited that the book finally came out.
mechapman80's review
3.0
Definitely entertaining. Some of the author's reviews would start to lose me a little...A little too much "her", a little less book. I'm not sure how else to describe it - I am not very eloquent. But I remembered and loved so many of the books mentioned.
crabbygirl's review
4.0
what a great idea - categorizing, listing and remembering the classics books of my generation's youth.
the author is uncanny in her selections, and she brings in guest writers to fill in additional book reports.
using her lists and book reports, i revisited books i'd read when i was 12, and read new titles as well.
i found some books didn't stand the test of time, and others deserved to be shoved into the daughter's arms.
i was shocked at some of the content (that must have gone over my head when i was younger) and reassurred that some things don't change: like the politics of girl friendships, the agony of 'does he like me?', and the propensity for young girls to devour paranormal novels.
the author is uncanny in her selections, and she brings in guest writers to fill in additional book reports.
using her lists and book reports, i revisited books i'd read when i was 12, and read new titles as well.
i found some books didn't stand the test of time, and others deserved to be shoved into the daughter's arms.
i was shocked at some of the content (that must have gone over my head when i was younger) and reassurred that some things don't change: like the politics of girl friendships, the agony of 'does he like me?', and the propensity for young girls to devour paranormal novels.