Been There, Done That

Book Title: Been There, Done ThatAuthor: Carol Snow
Pages: 329 Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Why did you decide to read the book? I decided to read this book because a friend recommended it to me and said that it was very good. Also, a different friend read it last term and enjoyed it.
Brief Summary of Book (6-8 sentences): This book was about a thirty-to year old journalist names Kathy that looks like she is eighteen, maybe nineteen. After her office receives a tip that there may be a Kathy is forcedprostitution ring going on at a local college, Mercer, to go undercover as a student to try and catch the story. Getting into the school was easy; all she had to do was talk to Dean Archer, head of admissions. When Kathy was in her college, she was conservative and lived in the shadows; when she got to Mercer she joined a choir that was supposedly filled with promiscuous girls in hopes of getting information, had a fling with Jeremy, her RA, and in the end, she solved the case. However, the case that she ended up solving had nothing to do with prostitution. The case she ended up solving had to do with Dean Archer, Troy, the school party animal, and a lot of dogs.
Audience: The audience for this book is intended mostly for female high school or college students interested in drama and love.
Writing Style:
Description - The author writes as most people speak and with a lot of fluidity. A dictionary is not necessary after each page.
Passage - “Any other girl on the floor would kill to be having breakfast alone with Jeremy. Truly, I just wanted to be left in peace, but it was clear he wasn’t leaving till he’d finished loading the carbs, As long as I was stuck, I figured I’d do some digging” (104).
Vocabulary:
Definition- large in quality or number; abundant.Word- Copious
Sentence & page it came from- “Throughout the day, I took copious notes, including my muffin among the details because you never know what might be relevant” (49).
Definition- characterized by assumption of dignity or importanceWord- Pretentious
Sentence & page it came from – “He stood up and leaned over his pretentious desk. His cologne assaulted my nose. His nostrils were so close, I could see the curly gray hairs that needed trimming” (284).
Passage #1: “I don’t know that a white minivan is the most innocuous of vehicles, especially in a college town where every other kid drives a spiffy little Volkswagen or mini SUV, but I worried that Troy had seen my car before (which also stood out, in that it was far crappier than the roadsters preferred by most Mercer students), so I suggested we take Marcy’s instead,” (268). *Considering that I drive a white minivan, I literally laughed out loud when I read this. I just found it really ironic that they would choose a a white minivan to represent Marcy’s car.
Passage #2: “I held him tight and told him that knowing what you want takes the fu out of life, that true joy comes from the surprise,” (329). *This was the last sentence of the book, and I thought that it was a really great ending. I think that it has a really great message, and I think she’s right about the surprises make life fun and interesting; if you knew everything that was going to happen in your life, you wouldn’t have a reason to experience anything.
Theme: The theme of this book is that if one gets a second chance, they should go after it to the fullest extent.
“When I was in college, all the boys were named Jeff or John or Steve: nothing cute like Jeremy. Then again, I didn’t have to put up with girls named Tiffany, so times weren’t all bad” (84). *Kathy has already been in college, and she is reflecting on how different things are now that it’s her second time there. As you will find out, she is a much different person her second time through college than the first time.
“Singing in a college a cappella group, I was doing something I’d always regretted missing out on,”(184). *This is a prime example of how Kathy didn’t live her first college experience to its fullest. She didn’t do all of the things that she wished she had, so her second time around wasn’t about to be a mistake again.
Letter Grade: I would give this book a B+/A- because it was a really good and fun read, but the beginning was so slow, it took me a very long time to into it. However, once you get past the beginning, the speed really picks up. The ending was my favorite part because it was very unpredictable.