Fotografía de autor

Lauren McLaughlin

Autor de Cycler

12+ Obras 550 Miembros 46 Reseñas

Sobre El Autor

Series

Obras de Lauren McLaughlin

Cycler (2007) 203 copias
Scored (2011) 168 copias
(Re)cycler (2009) 72 copias
The Free (2017) 18 copias
Send Pics (2020) 7 copias
La puntuación 2 copias
Sheila 1 copia
Saada pilte (2021) 1 copia

Obras relacionadas

Year's Best SF 11 (2006) — Contribuidor — 234 copias

Etiquetado

Conocimiento común

Miembros

Reseñas

Thanks to Edelweiss-AboveTheTreeline for the free ARC Kindle-ebook [b: The Free|30335358|The Free|Lauren McLaughlin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464847707s/30335358.jpg|50833450] by [a: Lauren McLaughlin|1281119|Lauren McLaughlin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361356038p2/1281119.jpg].

Haverland could be a dystopian society where juveniles are sentenced to punishment for their criminal behavior. It could be, or it is possibly a detention center where teens and young adults have a shred of hope for rehabilitation.

Isaac West is led by his attorney to take a six-month sentence. Six months could be a lifetime or death sentence for his younger sister Janelle. With him behind bars, he isn't sure she will get enough to eat or have what she needs for school.

Isaac agrees to participate in therapy. Believing it will guarantee his timely release he joins the small group of unlikely co-participants. Unlike the cops, his lawyer or the judge - these kids will not take any form of b.s. They do not let Isaac skate on the lies that got him a mere six months.

Haverland is no picnic, but there are worse facilities. Young Mr. West learns too late, he may not get out of jail for a long time. The truth is painful, but in some cases, it can save a life. Woe to the bystanders.

I will recommend this book for Y/A, Teens, and mature Juvenile readers. It will probably not mean much to kids who are privileged, but it could give them empathy if they are so inclined.

[b: The Free|30335358|The Free|Lauren McLaughlin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464847707s/30335358.jpg|50833450] had me glued from the first page, and continues to squirrel around in my brain. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book and review it.
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Denunciada
ourBooksLuvUs | Aug 20, 2023 |
I read this book to my 5-year-old neighbor, Everleigh. She enjoyed the mystery aspect and had fun guessing the answers along the way. Everleigh's review: "I like the birthday party!"

I appreciate that Mitzi is black, but I was surprised that all the other members of her family--parents and brother, as well as her doll--are white. My guess is that Mitzi is supposed to be adopted, but it was a little disconcerting since the topic isn't addressed in the book at all. Everleigh made no comment on it, though, so most kids probably won't even notice.

Note: I received an unbound galley from the publisher at ALA Midwinter 2016.
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fernandie | otra reseña | Sep 15, 2022 |
Wow, I could hardly wait for this book to be over. I had first read it in 2009 and had really liked it. I was a very different person back then, and society allowed a lot of stuff that they don't now. Eleven years after I first read the book, I was dismayed to discover that it was sexist towards both men and women, didn't mention anyone outside the binary, was incredibly homophobic and biphobic, was incredibly ableist and the author had never met anyone tall in her -life.-

Everyone in this book is a caricature. The mom is incredibly controlling and hates her husband, but won't initiate divorce. She seems to strongly dislike all men, which also explains why she has no interest in helping her daughter have a healthier relationship to Jack somehow. The dad has been exiled to the basement and fits a variety of hippie stereotypes, but he used to be a corporate lawyer. His wife hates him for this and other reasons, since she put him through law school. The dad is pointless as a character. He could have been cut entirely and nothing important would have changed. Jill's male love interest is so bland that I forgot his name. His only purpose was to establish that Jill was omg totes not attracted to icky Raimey leave her alone omg u guise. And the author gets to check a box saying there's a queer character in it. Jill's love interest has no character beyond enjoying skiing, needing math help, and being bisexual. He could have been replaced by a sexy lamp post and the story could continue. There was no real relationship between him and Jill.

And then there's Raimey. She is stated to be Jill's best friend. She's clearly supposed to be this free-spirited, ahead of the game fashionista who is relaxed around boys, and a supportive best friend. Raimey, the object of both Jack and Jill's sexual attraction, dresses strangely and is stated to be nearly six feet tall and weigh less than a hundred and twenty pounds. That is underweight, and her doctor would be asking her about eating disorders. The first thing that popped up in google about it was a pro-anorexia forum. No health issue is mentioned in the book that causes this IRL, such as a metabolic one. And of course, the author gives Raimey D cup breasts. On an underweight teenager. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it's -incredibly- rare. Jill fairly drools over Rainey's breasts. Due to the homophobia the book is drenched in, this wasn't the author's intent, but it -is- what she wrote. At one point in the book, Rainey distorts a corset dress of Jill's. by wearing it, due to their height and bust differences. She's described as stuffing her breasts into a dress fit for Jill. She would not be able to breathe. The outfit would likely tear irreparably if she were able to fit into it. She would be dizzy and lightheaded, not rushing out the door. I don't know how Raimey feels about Jill herself since the book is mostly from Jill's POV and Jill is always drooling over her. Jill insists that she's also interested in a guy at school. When she reacts negatively to him coming out as bisexual, I instantly understood Jill to have massive confusion over and contempt for her own sexuality. She's always going on about how hot and "doable" Raimey is, but insists it's the guys at school who say it. Such was repetitive, annoying, and had no substance. I'd feel sorry for her if she weren't so annoying. "If You Could Be Mine" by Sara Farizan has the trope as well of being in love with and sexually attracted to your best friend, and it's done much, much better.

Jack has no such hesitation over his own sexuality or expressing it. He engages in stalking Raimey and is a voyeur towards her, actually falling off her roof with his hand down his pants. That is Jack's only personality, couched in deep bitterness at his lot in life: he's trapped in a teen girl's body every day except four days out of each month, and the teen girl and her family hate him. No one else knows he exists. The book opens with an attempt at explaining this, but it reads like a teenage girl giving birth and referring to male anatomy using words appropriate for five-year-olds. The girl, Jill, is actually shapeshifting into a boy, Jack, which she does for four days before she gets her period every month. "Blood and Chocolate" by Annette Curtis Klause describes shapeshifting more realistically and vividly, but that is a book about wolf-shifters. I seriously wonder if the author of this book, Lauren McLaughlin, got the premise from the Season 4 Episode "Phases." In it, Willow attempts to comfort her boyfriend, Oz about his newfound werewolf status by saying, "It's okay. Three days out of the month, I'm not much fun to be around either." That's awful specific, Zev, you the reader might be understandably thinking. But the book is full of Buffy-speak, and jokes that would be considered funny at Sunnydale High. BTVS originated the dialogue. Here, it's jarring and tries too hard.

The plot of this novel is not "What happens if Jack is discovered as part of Jill?" No, this is "ZOMG clothes prom ugh Jack prom planning for prom." What a waste of opportunity, considering what the premise supposedly was. I expected a book with such premise to be able to use medical terms for genitals, and to treat PMS symptoms matter-of-factly, which it did not. Back to Jack and Rainey briefly. Rainey has no regard for her safety. She doesn't know who Jack is, and lets him itno her room because he's hot. They have never met before. She lets a stranger in after he taps at her window, and she kisses him and it progresses. EW. This in no way pardons Jack's crimes. It's more of, "both of you suck." As the page count increased, so did the homophobia. The whole book was deeply unpleasant. The ending was a clear setup for a sequel in an annoying way..
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Denunciada
iszevthere | 21 reseñas más. | Jul 6, 2022 |
Lauren McLaughlin's text is an ideal read aloud singsong for toddlers, full of welcome and hope, but it's Meilo So's pictures that make Wonderful You so delightful. Melding serene blues with pops of orange, lime, and pink, the characters and landscapes float across the pages like Chagall paintings, anchoring this fairy tale of an adoption story in a dreamy everyday world ripe with possibility.
 
Denunciada
slimikin | 3 reseñas más. | Mar 27, 2022 |

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Estadísticas

Obras
12
También por
1
Miembros
550
Popularidad
#45,355
Valoración
½ 3.6
Reseñas
46
ISBNs
44
Idiomas
2

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