Helpful Score: 1
I wanted TEN MILES PAST NORMAL to be a delightfully quirky contemporary read along the lines of Catherine Gilbert Murdocks D.J. Schwenk series. Sadly, it fell short of my expectations, but then again, I know that my expectations had been set pretty high, for there are still some elements of the book that charmed me.
Janie is a protagonist youll like to like. Shes definitely unusual in her breadth of interests and thoughts, teetering right at that age where weve all struggled with fitting in versus letting our natural differences shine. At the same time, her character didnt feel nearly complete enough to me. It was like she said she felt different and wanted to fit in, but in reading about her it seemed like she was more ordinary than the book wants to lead us to believe. I wanted MORE QUIRKINESS! MORE COOL-CRAZY MOMENTS! I didnt get as much as Id liked. Janie never entirely struck me as a truly unique girl enmeshed in the struggles of farm life and high school.
The elements of a winningly quirky contemporary read were there, but it didnt come together for me. A less picky reader, however, might find the many details that I felt didnt piece together well enough, to be great just as they are.
Janie is a protagonist youll like to like. Shes definitely unusual in her breadth of interests and thoughts, teetering right at that age where weve all struggled with fitting in versus letting our natural differences shine. At the same time, her character didnt feel nearly complete enough to me. It was like she said she felt different and wanted to fit in, but in reading about her it seemed like she was more ordinary than the book wants to lead us to believe. I wanted MORE QUIRKINESS! MORE COOL-CRAZY MOMENTS! I didnt get as much as Id liked. Janie never entirely struck me as a truly unique girl enmeshed in the struggles of farm life and high school.
The elements of a winningly quirky contemporary read were there, but it didnt come together for me. A less picky reader, however, might find the many details that I felt didnt piece together well enough, to be great just as they are.
Helpful Score: 1
To be quite honest, I did not like this book at the beginning. Janie got on my nerves because all she did was complain. Complained about her home, her parents, her lack of friends, her lack of popularity, the fact that she was teased at school; the list goes on. After a while, you wondered if there was anything more to Janie than a complaint box of teenage angst. However, about half way through the book, she starts to talk to a girl while hiding out in the library at lunch. A strange girl herself, but quite honestly more interesting than Janie. This did start to get Janie out of her comfort zone a bit and later while trying to be supportive of her best friends newest scheme, she finds herself willing to try something new. Now, this is where I started to become interested again in the story.
She starts to meet new people and also starts to learn more about herself. Janie grows from this point on and even learns quite a bit about the important history of the small town she is a part. History that is almost forgotten and she decides that she won't allow it to be forgotten. This is the book I wanted to read. This is the story I was finally glad to get! I really enjoyed the secondary characters as well. I enjoyed the growth of Janie into a person I would have loved to have been friends with in HS or even in life.
I give this book 3 stars. It would have been much higher if the beginning was shortened quite a bit. However, the second half of the book just rocked. Almost literally. ;)
She starts to meet new people and also starts to learn more about herself. Janie grows from this point on and even learns quite a bit about the important history of the small town she is a part. History that is almost forgotten and she decides that she won't allow it to be forgotten. This is the book I wanted to read. This is the story I was finally glad to get! I really enjoyed the secondary characters as well. I enjoyed the growth of Janie into a person I would have loved to have been friends with in HS or even in life.
I give this book 3 stars. It would have been much higher if the beginning was shortened quite a bit. However, the second half of the book just rocked. Almost literally. ;)
