Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
FLASHCARDS OF MY LIFE is a great book, not just for it's story (which is a cute, funny one!) but because of the pictures and illustrations. This art was done, in fact, by the author herself, which means 1) she's so totally multi-talented; and 2) I'm so totally jealous!
Emily is a pretty typcial young teen. She has plenty of friends, most specifically--Sandra, her 24-hour friend, her best friend, the one she tells everything to; Becca, her best-friend runner-up, the one she tells almost everything to; and Sarah W. and Sarah J., two girls she hangs with, but mostly just at school. The Sarah's don't mix well with Sandra, though, so it's a balancing act of friendship.
Emily also has a set of pretty normal parents. Her mother stays on the narrow road of dieting by making only desserts with nuts in them, since she's allergic. Her dad, though a good guy, is still totally oblivious to her mom's moods, which ends in alternate "I'm ignoring you" =slash= "we're giddy in love" weeks at Emily's house.
Add to that the social dynamics at school, the crushes of Emily and her friends, and the endless demand of trying to figure out what to do, what to say, and how to act, and life is pretty complicated. But thanks to her Aunt Chester (yes, Chester is a nickname, and no, she's not really Emily's aunt), Emily now has a new way of figuring out life--a birthday present containing FLASHCARDS OF MY LIFE. Cards with headings such as Friends, Food, Love, Kiss, Clothing, etc. that Emily can fill in herself, any way she chooses. And as she does so, she comes to realize that, all in all, her life is pretty good. And we, the reader, realize that it's also pretty darn funny.
Aimed more towards the younger teen or pre-teen set, FLASHCARDS OF MY LIFE is a laugh-out-loud, quick read that will leave you with the feeling of having just read a good story.
FLASHCARDS OF MY LIFE is a great book, not just for it's story (which is a cute, funny one!) but because of the pictures and illustrations. This art was done, in fact, by the author herself, which means 1) she's so totally multi-talented; and 2) I'm so totally jealous!
Emily is a pretty typcial young teen. She has plenty of friends, most specifically--Sandra, her 24-hour friend, her best friend, the one she tells everything to; Becca, her best-friend runner-up, the one she tells almost everything to; and Sarah W. and Sarah J., two girls she hangs with, but mostly just at school. The Sarah's don't mix well with Sandra, though, so it's a balancing act of friendship.
Emily also has a set of pretty normal parents. Her mother stays on the narrow road of dieting by making only desserts with nuts in them, since she's allergic. Her dad, though a good guy, is still totally oblivious to her mom's moods, which ends in alternate "I'm ignoring you" =slash= "we're giddy in love" weeks at Emily's house.
Add to that the social dynamics at school, the crushes of Emily and her friends, and the endless demand of trying to figure out what to do, what to say, and how to act, and life is pretty complicated. But thanks to her Aunt Chester (yes, Chester is a nickname, and no, she's not really Emily's aunt), Emily now has a new way of figuring out life--a birthday present containing FLASHCARDS OF MY LIFE. Cards with headings such as Friends, Food, Love, Kiss, Clothing, etc. that Emily can fill in herself, any way she chooses. And as she does so, she comes to realize that, all in all, her life is pretty good. And we, the reader, realize that it's also pretty darn funny.
Aimed more towards the younger teen or pre-teen set, FLASHCARDS OF MY LIFE is a laugh-out-loud, quick read that will leave you with the feeling of having just read a good story.
