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Emily is not happy with her life the way it is, but her discontent lurks beneath the surface. In her attempt to sweep away her dissatisfaction, she slowly becomes immersed in this new artistic world, letting go of her life in Cherry Grove little by little. I think her reaction to the vastly different worlds she travels is a common one. It’s the old adage that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Because things are getting difficult in Cherry Grove, she teeters to the other side of the spectrum, somehow convinced that things will be better if she leaves her past behind her. But problems creep in, and instead of dealing with one set of problems, she’s forced to deal with two. Her story is about her figuring out that she needs to balance who she was with who she is becoming, and discovering how to do just that.Emily is fairly passive, afraid to really speak her mind for fear of not being understood or upsetting someone. Because of this, the book is powered by her internal reactions and perceptions. As the story progresses Emily slowly finds her voice. She doesn’t make a radical personality change; she’s still low-key and quiet. But she’s grown as a person and come to a greater understanding of who she really wants to be.Meg and Fiona, her friends representing Cherry Grove and Philadelphia, respectively, both annoyed me, to be honest. I don’t mean that they were written poorly, but the characters themselves were annoying. Meg was whiny and clingy; I could see why she would be hurt by Emily’s absence and changes, but she was pretty selfish herself and wasn’t willing to listen to Emily until she yelled loud enough to be heard. Fiona was overbearing and arrogant; even though Emily found her to be inspirational, I think Emily’s personality was too weak for Fiona and she’d always feel somewhat inferior and submissive to Fiona. Vivian does a good job of exploring the reasons behind both her friends’ behavior, and I think the way the relationships stand at the end of the book fits the story well.Because, for better or worse, I was a lot like Emily when I was sixteen, I found the story to be a quick and attractive read. The development of Emily’s talent for art over the course of the book gave me something to grab onto. However, I can see how others might find the pacing to be too slow. There is a romantic subplot to the story that I thought was a sweet addition, but Emily’s struggle to find herself was the real draw for me.
Emily is not happy with her life the way it is, but her discontent lurks beneath the surface. In her attempt to sweep away her dissatisfaction, she slowly becomes immersed in this new artistic world, letting go of her life in Cherry Grove little by little. I think her reaction to the vastly different worlds she travels is a common one. It’s the old adage that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Because things are getting difficult in Cherry Grove, she teeters to the other side of the spectrum, somehow convinced that things will be better if she leaves her past behind her. But problems creep in, and instead of dealing with one set of problems, she’s forced to deal with two. Her story is about her figuring out that she needs to balance who she was with who she is becoming, and discovering how to do just that.Emily is fairly passive, afraid to really speak her mind for fear of not being understood or upsetting someone. Because of this, the book is powered by her internal reactions and perceptions. As the story progresses Emily slowly finds her voice. She doesn’t make a radical personality change; she’s still low-key and quiet. But she’s grown as a person and come to a greater understanding of who she really wants to be.Meg and Fiona, her friends representing Cherry Grove and Philadelphia, respectively, both annoyed me, to be honest. I don’t mean that they were written poorly, but the characters themselves were annoying. Meg was whiny and clingy; I could see why she would be hurt by Emily’s absence and changes, but she was pretty selfish herself and wasn’t willing to listen to Emily until she yelled loud enough to be heard. Fiona was overbearing and arrogant; even though Emily found her to be inspirational, I think Emily’s personality was too weak for Fiona and she’d always feel somewhat inferior and submissive to Fiona. Vivian does a good job of exploring the reasons behind both her friends’ behavior, and I think the way the relationships stand at the end of the book fits the story well.Because, for better or worse, I was a lot like Emily when I was sixteen, I found the story to be a quick and attractive read. The development of Emily’s talent for art over the course of the book gave me something to grab onto. However, I can see how others might find the pacing to be too slow. There is a romantic subplot to the story that I thought was a sweet addition, but Emily’s struggle to find herself was the real draw for me.
Emily has discovered she likes art and feels suffocated in her upscale suburban town. She enrolls in a summer art program in Philadelphia, and is especially wowed by Fiona, a really cool and confident classmate. As she pulls away from her best friend at home to spend more time with Fiona, she becomes baffled that not everyone else is quite so dazzled with Fiona. A touching story with very real characters and feelings.
Emily has discovered she likes art and feels suffocated in her upscale suburban town. She enrolls in a summer art program in Philadelphia, and is especially wowed by Fiona, a really cool and confident classmate. As she pulls away from her best friend at home to spend more time with Fiona, she becomes baffled that not everyone else is quite so dazzled with Fiona. A touching story with very real characters and feelings.
I started out completely disliking this book. The main character came off as completely shallow, describing and judging peoples' clothing obnoxiously, discussing her rich kid life as if it was no big deal. It was only later that I found out that the book is designed to make you hate her, and in a way, to make her hate herself, setting up for all the big changes she goes through. One thing that struck me from the beginning was the setting--an art camp. I believe I've read other books set at art camps, but this is the first that actually describes their exercises and not just life at camp. It's written in a way that both experienced artists and complete novices would understand what is going on in her art world. It's just incredibly unique as a book. The characters, too, are extremely three dimensional. I have jotted down in my notes "Fiona would have been a good main character", but going back, I don't know, I kind of feel like she already was. The book was more about her than anything, and I love that. This is why I was disappointed by the ending, where Fiona, the character that so much revolved around, got no resolution whatsoever. The book clearly has its ups and downs, but overall, it's one worth picking up.Rating: 4/5
I started out completely disliking this book. The main character came off as completely shallow, describing and judging peoples' clothing obnoxiously, discussing her rich kid life as if it was no big deal. It was only later that I found out that the book is designed to make you hate her, and in a way, to make her hate herself, setting up for all the big changes she goes through. One thing that struck me from the beginning was the setting--an art camp. I believe I've read other books set at art camps, but this is the first that actually describes their exercises and not just life at camp. It's written in a way that both experienced artists and complete novices would understand what is going on in her art world. It's just incredibly unique as a book. The characters, too, are extremely three dimensional. I have jotted down in my notes "Fiona would have been a good main character", but going back, I don't know, I kind of feel like she already was. The book was more about her than anything, and I love that. This is why I was disappointed by the ending, where Fiona, the character that so much revolved around, got no resolution whatsoever. The book clearly has its ups and downs, but overall, it's one worth picking up.Rating: 4/5
