Summary:
Iris's family has been torn apart. Her mom left and her dad doesn't seem to be handling things really well. Her brother has become withdrawn and she is left taking care of everything. She's feeling lonely when all of a sudden a family of gypsies moves into the area illegally. She secretly gets to know Trick, a boy from that family, but when things get to be a little more, she discovers that her father is trying to get them evicted.
My thoughts:
This is a story that investigates several large subjects. It deals with grief, abandonment, role reversal of a child taking care of the family, and prejudices. Honestly, it was way more than I expected. Iris is a well developed character that makes you love her. There are times where I teared up, but others where I chuckled here or there. The relationship between Iris and trick is slow to develop. It grows from a friendship into more, which I appreciated. I liked how everything took time but did not feel like it was slow. This really is a compelling read that I would highly recommend.
Iris's family has been torn apart. Her mom left and her dad doesn't seem to be handling things really well. Her brother has become withdrawn and she is left taking care of everything. She's feeling lonely when all of a sudden a family of gypsies moves into the area illegally. She secretly gets to know Trick, a boy from that family, but when things get to be a little more, she discovers that her father is trying to get them evicted.
My thoughts:
This is a story that investigates several large subjects. It deals with grief, abandonment, role reversal of a child taking care of the family, and prejudices. Honestly, it was way more than I expected. Iris is a well developed character that makes you love her. There are times where I teared up, but others where I chuckled here or there. The relationship between Iris and trick is slow to develop. It grows from a friendship into more, which I appreciated. I liked how everything took time but did not feel like it was slow. This really is a compelling read that I would highly recommend.
I read this book in one sitting! It's a very easy read, well-detailed and rings true for teenagers who are struggling to keep their friendships intact and trying to grow up at the same time.
I liked the bucket list idea that the entire book had centered on. It encourages people to try something different and room for personal growth.
Good read!
I liked the bucket list idea that the entire book had centered on. It encourages people to try something different and room for personal growth.
Good read!
THE RUN-DOWN
For the past two years, Emily and Sloane are best friends. That is, until Sloane disappears without any warning. Emily is lost without Sloane. Sloane's the social one, Emily's the shy girl. And now that Sloane is gone, Emily doesn't know what to do. But then, the list appears. A list of 13 crazy, risky things that Emily would never dare to do. But what will happen if she follows the list?
MY THOUGHTS
It is official! Morgan Matson is now one of my all-time favorite authors! I have read, and adored, both Second Chance Summer and Amy & Roger's Epic Detour! Now I can add Since You've Been Gone onto the list!
To be perfectly honest, I wasn't that excited about this book when I first saw it. Just based on the synopsis it just didn't seem like my kind of book. But I picked it up anyway, since I loved Morgan's other books. And boy was I wrong about this not being my kind of book! I adored this book!
One of the amazing things of this book was how Emily changed throughout the book. At the beginning, Emily is the shy girl. There are scenes where she wants to ask something, but to scared to start a conversation with a stranger. There are also scenes where she stands around awkwardly because being social is not her thing. (I an relate to both of these things by the way. I am a shy girl as well) But when Emily goes outside of her comfort zone by crossing off things on the list, she becomes less shy and earns some friends along the way. And it's really amazing seeing how this happens. Thus bringing me to another thing that I liked about this book: How the list played out. I really liked the list and thought it was a really cute idea, but what I liked even more was how the list was not just "go do this". Sure, that's basically what the list said, but the way that Emily tried to do the things on the list played out in completely different ways than expected. That is what I loved!
I also want to touch up on the friendship between Emily and Sloane. At first, I did not believe that Emily and Sloane were truly best friends. What kind of best friend would leave without any warning? But as the book went on, I realized that they were absolute best friends and that Sloane, while I do think that her reasoning was stupid, she did have her reasons. All in all, they do have a beautiful friendship.
IN CONCLUSION
This was such a great read! Full with a fun, entertaining story along with an amazing character transformation and a beautiful friendship! I highly recommend this book and any book by Morgan Matson!
For the past two years, Emily and Sloane are best friends. That is, until Sloane disappears without any warning. Emily is lost without Sloane. Sloane's the social one, Emily's the shy girl. And now that Sloane is gone, Emily doesn't know what to do. But then, the list appears. A list of 13 crazy, risky things that Emily would never dare to do. But what will happen if she follows the list?
MY THOUGHTS
It is official! Morgan Matson is now one of my all-time favorite authors! I have read, and adored, both Second Chance Summer and Amy & Roger's Epic Detour! Now I can add Since You've Been Gone onto the list!
To be perfectly honest, I wasn't that excited about this book when I first saw it. Just based on the synopsis it just didn't seem like my kind of book. But I picked it up anyway, since I loved Morgan's other books. And boy was I wrong about this not being my kind of book! I adored this book!
One of the amazing things of this book was how Emily changed throughout the book. At the beginning, Emily is the shy girl. There are scenes where she wants to ask something, but to scared to start a conversation with a stranger. There are also scenes where she stands around awkwardly because being social is not her thing. (I an relate to both of these things by the way. I am a shy girl as well) But when Emily goes outside of her comfort zone by crossing off things on the list, she becomes less shy and earns some friends along the way. And it's really amazing seeing how this happens. Thus bringing me to another thing that I liked about this book: How the list played out. I really liked the list and thought it was a really cute idea, but what I liked even more was how the list was not just "go do this". Sure, that's basically what the list said, but the way that Emily tried to do the things on the list played out in completely different ways than expected. That is what I loved!
I also want to touch up on the friendship between Emily and Sloane. At first, I did not believe that Emily and Sloane were truly best friends. What kind of best friend would leave without any warning? But as the book went on, I realized that they were absolute best friends and that Sloane, while I do think that her reasoning was stupid, she did have her reasons. All in all, they do have a beautiful friendship.
IN CONCLUSION
This was such a great read! Full with a fun, entertaining story along with an amazing character transformation and a beautiful friendship! I highly recommend this book and any book by Morgan Matson!
