Sherino Mokhtar Mokhtar itibaren Klinets, Leningradskaya oblast', Rusya, 187507 itibaren Klinets, Leningradskaya oblast', Rusya, 187507

I absolutely adored this book. I already knew that there was a movie with the story, but I didn't know it was based off of a book. I grabbed it the second I saw it on Miss Beckett's bookshelf. Anyway, one of the things that really stood out for me in this book was that all the characters were so unique and unlike anyone else in this book or just about every other book that I've read. Just Gilbert's family alone is so different from each other - their mother, a heavy smoker who is so obese that the floor under her is sagging; Amy, who at 34 is the oldest child in the family and has a serious obsession with Elvis; Gilbert, who spends just about the whole book wanting to leave his family behind and get out of his hometown of Endora, Iowa; Arnie, a mentally challenged young man whose 18th birthday defies all medical predictions; and Ellen, the manipulative, whiny, girly 16 year old sister who is the youngest in the family. And those are just the family members who share the same house in Endora. Larry and Janice, the second and third oldest children, respectively, live and work elsewhere, and their father killed himself when Gilbert was seven years old (he is 24 in the book). Another reason why I loved this book so much is because it effortlessly captures your attention and entertains you until the very last word. Peter Hedges does an amazing job of keeping your interest but is not screaming for your attention. Overall, this was an excellent book and I highly recommend it to anyone who feels that they are actually mature enough to handle some of the dialogue and events that go on.

It’s Lillian’s last summer before college, and the last way she expects to spend it is by searching for her sort-of-friend Penny who may or may not have faked her own kidnapping to meet someone across the country. But when Lil receives a message from Penny right before her disappearance, Lil realizes that she may be the only one who can figure out Penny’s true whereabouts. So she and her best friend Josh decide to take a road trip in pursuit of Penny. They figure with Josh’s car, his dad’s credit card, and Lil’s phone and wits, they’ll make their sweet way over to the west coast, enjoying their time while also doing a good deed. But it’s not that simple. Lil has a massive crush on Josh, but he’s afraid of ruining the great relationship they already have. How’s Lil supposed to find Penny when she can barely sort through her feelings for her best friend? And when the police and the FBI start phoning, the friends could enter a whole new world of trouble. Can Lil sort through all these problems before the road trip and her last real summer come to an end? Don’t Stop Now is a sweet and thoughtful story that deviates somewhat from the playful combination of seriousness and hilarity that I became accustomed to in Halpern’s earlier novels, Get Well Soon and Into the Wild Nerd Yonder. Though Don’t Stop Now is sprinkled with random fun facts about all the states Lil and Josh travel through that add some lightness to the story, I felt the overall tone was a lot more serious. Halpern skillfully deals with some very important social issues that many teens face, such where the line between friend and boyfriend falls, how to maintain good relationships with both friends and boyfriend, and the fear of putting oneself out there, to name a few. She portrays this wonderfully through Lil and Josh’s relationship as well as sparse narrations from Penny’s point of view. I really got to know Lil and Penny, and this connection to them made me appreciate their struggles even more. I feel like there aren’t very many novels that address the issues of the high school-college transition as well as Halpern does, and while I do miss the outright laughter I got from Get Well Soon and Into the Wild Nerd Yonder, and although Don’t Stop Now didn’t quite grab me in the same way those other novels did, this is very well written and worthwhile story to read. I do deeply love what Halpern has done with this book. Fans of Get Well Soon and Into the Wild Nerd Yonder, also by Julie Halpern, should not miss Don’t Stop Now. This novel is also sure to be enjoyed by fans of Swoon at Your Own Risk by Sydney Salter, Beauty Shop for Rent by Laura Bowers, and Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian. I can’t wait to see what Halpern writes next. reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com