October 3, 2011

Ten Things We Did (and probably shouldn't have) by Sarah Mlynowski


Publisher: HarperTeen
Publish Date: June 2011
Source: Library

2 girls + 3 guys + 1 house - parents = 10 things April and her friends did that they (definitely, maybe, probably) shouldn't have.If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe "opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1 "Lied to Our Parents"). But she and her housemate Vi are totally responsible and able to take care of themselves. How they ended up "Skipping School" (#3). "Throwing a Crazy Party" (#8), "Buying a Hot Tub (#4), and, um, "Harboring a Fugitive" (#7) at all is kind of a mystery to them.


This. Book. Is. Awesome! I absolutely loved Ten Things We Did. It was fun and it hooked me from the very first page. April manages to get herself in some hilarious situations, but it doesn't really feel like Mlynowski is throwing comedy at you. It's more of a subtle hilarity. There's no obnoxious laugh track telling you when to laugh, but you'll find yourself smiling and laughing to yourself the whole way through (so maybe you should make sure you're alone first.)

Normally the format of a book isn't something to get all excited about, but I loved all the little headers in each chapter. Some of them create nice transitions and some of them are just downright hilarious. They also broke up the chapters a little bit which was nice since they could be rather long. Not to say I would have been bored otherwise. There's definitely no room for boredom here. Another little extra I liked was inclusion of all the emails. It was just a nice little extra touch.

The characters are all the bomb. I don't even know where to start with anyone, just know that they are awesome.

I really love how Ten Things deals with serious issues in such a way that makes them funny, but doesn't make light of the situation.

Final Thoughts: So, not the most eloquent review, but the book is quite fantastic. This is a fantastic contemporary with all the makings of something awesome: a cat named Donut, a pink hot tub, Valentine's day shenanigans, and awesome parties.

Pages: 368
Series: No
Rating 5 stars

2 comments:

  1. This sounds brilliant! I really want to read it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yay! I loved this book, too. I completely agree with you about how the book was structured! Loved all the flashbacks. :)

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