Hi everyone! If you’ve read my last blog post, or have read the book I was talking about (A Good Kind of Trouble), the book I’ll be discussing today (Something to Say) is written by the same author and is also pretty entertaining to read.
To start, I’ll give basic information so you can visualize. The main character, Jenae, is starting middle school and she’s pretty shy. Ok- that's definitely an understatement. She is incredibly shy and avoids drawing any form of attention to herself at all costs. As a result, she doesn’t really have friends, but she’s okay with that, in fact, better than ok. She prefers not having friends and she doesn’t mind being by herself. However, when she gets to school there's this one guy, Aubrey, who has flaming red hair (it’s dyed) and he seems to be very interested in getting to know Jenae for some reason... Unfortunately for him, she’s not really interested in getting to know him. However, it seems like he can’t take a hint because as much as Jenae tries to push back- he keeps on following her and talking to her. Which is not so great for Jenae. She hates attention- and he seems to love it, I mean, the dude has (clearly unnatural) flaming red hair and talks super loudly- how would he do all that and not like attention? Not to mention his super long introduction on the first day of school in front of the entire class! As the story progresses, you get the chance to see Aubrey and Jenae’s relationship dynamics change (I won’t say how as that would probably be a spoiler). You also get to see their character development and how that impacts a decision she has to make later in the book…
So, why do I like Something to Say? Well for starters, the main character’s personality seemed relatable to me when I was in middle school (I wasn’t as shy as the main character is, but I was still quite shy and introverted). Secondly, the main character isn’t some super hero or perfect person who’s incredibly hard to relate to, which goes along with being more relatable. Aside from the character not being perfect, it’s relatable because she goes through things anyone can easily experience (for example, she feels guilty for stuff that isn’t her fault- yet she constantly blames herself). I also love how the dialogue between the characters (and thoughts Jenae has) are both serious at times but also entertaining and funny, creating the perfect balance for a realistic fiction book in my opinion. Finally, the detail and effort the author puts into the book really helps you almost feel like you’re there. In addition to the amount of details she added into the setting which I always like about books.
Ultimately, my overall rating of the book is probably 9.5/10. I will note that the book is intended for a younger audience, so it’s a fairly easy read. However, if you don’t mind that and enjoy the information I gave you then it’s definitely worth checking out!
This book sounds really good! I wonder how Jenae and Aubrey's relationship dynamics change. I also wonder why Aubrey is paying Jenae so much attention, even when Jenae clearly doesn't like it at the beginning of the book.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that the main character is introverted in the book. I have never read a book where the hero is so withdrawn! That must be a rather difficult thing to write, but I imagine the author provides a lot of interior dialogue where Jenae is thinking through her situations? Thanks for a great review!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really interesting book! I think it is important for the protagonist to be somewhat relatable so that the reader can see themselves in the book and, if they are extremely shy like you mention Jenae being, feel less alone.
ReplyDeleteHi Naomi! This book sounds great! I like how you mentioned the character development in the book. Character development is so fun to read as the story unfolds! I also think it's great that the book has a relatable main character. You did an amazing job of summarizing the book and describing your favorite aspects!
ReplyDeleteNice blog post! I really love realistic fiction books and this one sounds super cool! I like novels that are a balance of funny and serious, and this one sounds like the one! I think it is kind of funny that Aubrey is like the total opposite of Jenae but he is so interested in her.
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