Sunday, January 9, 2011

Everything I Was

Title: Everything I Was
Author: Corinne Demas
Release: April 2011
Publisher: Carolrhoda Books
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 264 (Hardcover)
Overall: 3/5
Source: Publisher (NetGalley)
                         Challenge: 111 in '11, WBC2011

From Goodreads:  "My walls were stripped, and all that was left in the room was a pile of boxes and my mattress propped against the wall."


So begins Irene's journey from an Upper West Side penthouse to—well, she's not entirely sure where. Irene's investment banker father is "downsized" when his company merges with another. When he can't find work, her family's lifestyle—and her socialite mother's spending—quickly catches up with them. Eventually, they're forced to move in with Irene's grandfather in the big family farmhouse upstate. But what begins as the most disastrous summer of her life takes a surprising turn when she meets a most remarkable family.

My Thoughts:  Honestly, this book wasn't what I was expecting.  When reading the synopsis from Goodreads, I expected to be reading about a spoiled rich girl turned average teen.  This wasn't the case at all.  I expected Irene to be upset about not being able to shop and have the best of everything.  Nope.  She was upset about losing her things from her room (which were put into storage), but that seemed to be more because they belonged to her and felt like home.  When it was suggested that she return to her expensive private school on scholarship, she refused.  It wasn't because she thought poorly of those on charity, but because she knew how others would think of her. 

This was a quick read for me.  The writing was simple and easy to understand.  I found the voice fit what I would expect from a 13 year old.  I liked that the author included other teenage struggles in the story, like making friends, crushes, and feeling disconnected from the parents.  Irene was easy to like, and it was hard to not root for her.  Even though the family in this story is wealthy, I could see this story being easy to relate to for any young person whose parent(s) have lost their job.  Making Irene easy to relate to instead of being a spoiled rich kid made this possible.

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