About the book: Ingredients
-one rainy afternoon
-one huge crush on a boy
-a few secrets
-a kitchen, preferably somewhere in Brooklyn
-fresh laughter - as much as you want
-one or two broken hearts
-a pinch of salt
-a good friend - or even better, three
The love of Junie's life for the past year is suddenly acting like a crazed puppy.
Celia's dad has found the most ridiculous woman in all of Manhattan - and decided, after fifteen years of being single, to date her.
Danielle's hot-guy-in-a-band ex-boyfriend is trying to convince her that he's "changed."
Sometimes living life is a recipe for disaster.
Sometimes girls just have to make their own recipes.
Quote of the Book: "May you keep on cooking together for years to come." -Max Clarke
My thoughts and opinion: I loved this book when I first read it and if it's possible, I think I love it even more this second time! Junie, Celia, and Danielle's friendship is so hard to come by these days and I just loved how they clicked together by random or fate.
Food was a really cool part of this book, too. I'd love to cook with my friends and enjoy it like Celia, Danielle, and Junie do. It really seemed like so much fun!
I hated the guys in this book (well besides Max, Henry, and Rob). Steve was a big jerk and Brian was too desperate and needy and I just didn't LIKE them. What in the world did Junie see in Brian and what in the world did Junie NOT see in Rob? Poor Rob though, but I seriously hate smokers and in the book, Junie does, too. So, I guess Brian had to go. And why did Danielle give that piece of trash her time of day when old habits die hard? She should have known that Steve was going to cheat on her again!
Henry was really funny and a great guy for Celia. He spices up Celia's mature behavior a bit. Who doesn't love a nice, fun British person once in a while? Their departure at the airport was heartbreaking for me to read! The way Elliot wrote it and how Henry started tearing and Celia was already crying puddles.
Another thing that made me cry was Nonna's death. I really loved a grandma character for Danielle because it's just warm and nice! Nonna was so wise and I wish I could ask her for some tricks and tips for cooking. Now, there's a strong woman!
I love, love, love this book because of so many things! Just read it and you guys'll see what I'm talking about! It's a tasty, delicious, full of flavor book!
About the book: Annabel Greene is the girl who has everything. At least, that's what she portrays in her modeling shoots. But Annabel's life is far from perfect. Her friendship with Sophie ended bitterly, and her older sister's eating disorder is weighing down the entire family. Isolated and ostracized at school and at home, Annabel retreats into silent acceptance. Then she meets Owen -- intense, music-obsessed, and determined to always tell the truth. And with his guidance, Annabel learns to just listen to herself and gains the courage to speak honestly. But will she be able to tell everyone what really happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends?
Quote of the Book: "I'm just doing the best I can, under the circumstances." -Owen Armstrong
My thoughts and opinion: This book took me longer than I thought it would. Probably because I had first-day-of-school stuff to worry about. First of all, I love Owen and Annabel together. I thought Rolly and Clarke's relationship wouldn't last for a minute, but it was cute.
I'd like to be friends with Owen; he just seems like a cool guy who loves music (and has his own radio station! How cool is that!). He's such a patient guy, too. If I had a sister like Mallory, I wouldn't be able to stand her bubbly energy. Annabel frustrated me a bit in the story. She blocked out Owen so much that I was even feeling Owen's pain and hurt! I'm glad that Owen broke down Annabel's walls, even if it was a slow process.
Second of all, I was amazed at how Annabel was once friends with Sophie. Throughout the book, I thought, "She got you all these wonderful things like popularity, invitations to parties, and boys. So what?" I can't imagine ditching my best friend for someone who has Sophie's kind of attitude. The funny thing was, I kind of thought of Sophie as a younger version of Kirsten. However, that would be too mean to lump them together; Kirsten is not as horrible as Sophie is.
Finally, I loved seeing The Truth Squad again! That's one of the best things about reading books from the same author; he or she would most likely bring up other characters from other books. So, I was really happy I got to read about Remy, Dexter, and the rest; I got to read how they were doing. It is sort of like a sequel, but it's a sequel inside another book!
I recommend this book to quiet, shy people who love or don't love music. If you guys don't love music (I don't know what is wrong with y'all), but if you don't, that's okay. I did not think music was such a big part in this book; it was there, but it's not a major thing. Now, saying that, I still love Just Listen. Sarah Dessen did not disappoint because it was a musical read and eat; my taste buds are still singing!
