Title: Pretty Little Dirty
Author: Amanda Boyden
Publisher: Vintage
Pages: 419
Summary: This novel is about two girls, Celeste and Lisa, who moved to a small town in Kansas during the same year. They end up becoming best friends and do everything together. As they grow up, they get into drugs, and other mischief, leading them in a strange direction. Getting separated for the first time since sixth grade, when they meet, they go off to different colleges. The separation plays on them and they do unthinkable acts to be together.
Audience: The audience for this book is older teenage girls because it’s from Lisa’s point of view.
Author’s writing style: Amanda’s style of writing is very descriptive and straight forward. “You couldn’t miss Celeste’s eyes, their green-gold color alive with the notes of new leaves and lizards and lucky bamboo, rimmed in fat dark lashes and topped with finely arched brows(24). (Lisa)” She describes everything clearly and plainly, making it an easy novel to picture, and an interesting read.
Passages: “I decided I couldn’t wait any longer. Why do we do that? Not experience what we can when we can? We’re there, within thirty yards or thirty feet or thirty football fields of incredible, beautiful, natural treasures, and we just sit dumbly in a car. Look out at stuff like we’re watching a movie (370).”
This passage can apply to anyone, because we never appreciate things that we want to enjoy until it’s too late, and you miss out on your one and only change to do something great.
“’I’m sick of being a hippie.’ (Celeste)
‘You’re hardly an hi-‘ (Lisa)
‘I want to look like you (322).’(Celeste)”
This passage hit me the most because throughout the novel Lisa has been looking at Celeste as perfect as and always better than her, but then Celeste says she wants to look like Lisa. It set the whole novel into a different view for me. It was also important to the novel because that’s how the author ended the chapter, for you to linger on that thought.
“I married a nice, normal girl. Kinda like you (412).”
This passage was said by one of Lisa’s old friends who never knew of her “other life” after high school. It shows that people remember you for who you are when you’re with them and don’t think of you doing anything differently when you’re gone. He didn’t know that she dyed her hair, went to hardcore concerts, or did coke, he only remembered her as the “normal girl” she left him as.
Interaction with the book: I really enjoyed this book and I could relate to it in a lot of ways. It did involve drugs, and things that I’ve never experienced, but it was also about the power of friendship and love. It shows the risk you’re willing to take just to make sure someone is ok. It tells of crazy experiences with strange outcomes that you wouldn’t expect. In a way, this novel tells life as it is; crazy and unexpected, never knowing when someone will come along and change you forever. It made me think about a lot of experiences in my own life and was a great book.
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This book sounds good but i don't think i would ever read it. I liked your summary and it informed me a lot and got my attention. I might read it if i had nothing better to do because i don't usually read books like this....but good work...
ReplyDeletethis sounds like a good book. It is definatly something i would think about reading. I like how the book is very descriptive and it seems like it would be easy to imagine in your head. I really like the passage you picked about her eyes. I found it to be very descriptive and it drew my attention in. Good job and hopefully ill read the book!
ReplyDeleteDeidre Tocci did the blog above... forgot to put my name...
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds really good and I can definitely see myself reading it.I would enjoy reading this kind of a book. Your summary was great and short.It really got my attention. What I like about this book is that it is descriptive.
ReplyDelete-Rosina Sinigur
I really think that this sounds like and interesting book. i would deffinitly read it. what attracts me to this book the most is how discriptive she can be. it makes the story intersting but her plain way of discribing things makes it easy to understand her views. - sarah pouliot
ReplyDeleteThis book seems to be sad. Best friends get split up and need to be reunited. They act differently being apart and learn different things. I feel that they won't be the same as they used to later in life. Great description and summary was short but you summed it up great.
ReplyDeleteI have liked the idea of this book ever since you did your presentation in class. The author did a great job writing this book and it seems like a book I would really enjoy. I liked the quotes you chose, they really sum up the book well. Kayla Levreault
ReplyDeleteThis book seems like one I can get in to fairly quickly. I think I would like reading this book because of how it can make the reader relate to the main character's some way to get a better understanding of what they are going through. The author seems to have done a great job in capturing the character's emotions in this book and bringing them to life. I like the quotes you chose too, they help show how the novel would turn out.
ReplyDeleteKatie Belanger
This sounds like a really good book. It sounds like something I could really relate to because I have moved and that has split me from some of my best friends. You did a really good job of summarizing the story and your quotes were also good. This is definitely a book I am going to read.
ReplyDelete-Melissa Thornton