Thursday, October 27, 2011

Book Review: Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen





Title: Flipped
Author: Wendelin Van Draanen
# Of Pages: 224
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 9, 2001
Level: Middle Grade
Rating: 5 Hearts







Synopsis

(From Barnes&Noble.com)

Flipped is a romance told in two voices. The first time Juli Baker saw Bryce Loskie, she flipped. The first time Bryce saw Juli, he ran. That’s pretty much the pattern for these two neighbors until the eighth grade, when, just as Juli is realizing Bryce isn’t as wonderful as she thought, Bryce is starting to see that Juli is pretty amazing. How these two teens manage to see beyond the surface of things and come together makes for a comic and poignant romance.


My Verdict

You know when you have the TV on but you’re not really watching it; it’s more of just background? Well that’s what was going on one day when all of a sudden this movie started called Flipped. I got sucked in and soon my whole family was sitting there watching this movie. It was family friendly and super cute! It was actually one of those encore movies where they play it back to back. I’ll admit it. I watched it both times. Anyway, I found out the movie was based on a book, so of course I HAD to read it!

The book was awesome! I usually don’t like reading a book after I see the movie; I like to read the book beforehand. But in this case, I didn’t know about the book until after the movie and I just had to read it! I was actually very surprised at how similar it was to the movie because usually book-to-movie adaptations can be drastically different. It was pretty much word for word the movie but I still enjoyed every page of it.

The chapters alternate between Juli and Bryce’s point of view, which worked really well for this story, I can’t imagine it any other way. They do overlap each other, so for example, you’ll read about what happened at the basket boy auction from Juli’s perspective and then go back to that same event and read it from Bryce’s perspective. You would think this would be monotonous, but it wasn’t. I enjoyed getting to see what each character was thinking of the other at the same moments in time.

I loved how wholesome and honest this story was. Unfortunately, I feel like you don’t see too many stories like this anymore. It may have to do with the fact that it was set in the 60’s, which is another thing I loved about it.

So what you should take away from this review is that both the book and the movie are wonderful and you should go read/watch them now! 

14 comments:

  1. Nice review. I like wholesome and honest. Have never heard of the book or movie. Sounds like a book to check out. I was a teen in the 60s, so I'm sure I'd enjoy it.

    I have such a hard time postng to your page, as it doesn't recognize my google acct.
    Patricia

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Patricia, thanks for stopping by my blog! Flipped is a great book/movie you should definitely read/watch if your interested.

    I'm sorry to hear that its giving you such trouble posting, I went in and edited my comment settings so hopefully it will be easier now!

    -Amanda

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amanda,

    Glad I checked back. Yes, adding the URL will make it easier. It was bothering me I couldn't comment. Thanks.

    Not sure whether or not you'll check back on my WP blog, but I left a message with a question. But, will post it briefly here. Thanks for recommending "Reaching for the Sun." I've been looking for a book on CP to review. Read the reviews on Amazon. Is the girl in a wheelchair? No one says. A friend has a child with mild CP and she wears braces. Again, thanks for the recommendation -- It's definitely a book I'd like to review. If you click on my name when it appears, it will take you to my blog. Welcome any recommendations -- Patricia

    ReplyDelete
  4. This book is soo adorable. I spent one morning reading it and I was so absorbed no one dared to disturb me. Great review!

    Nice blog btw, new follower here. :)


    Dea
    Teen Readers' Diary

    ReplyDelete
  5. Patricia- I love receiving comments on my blog and I'm glad its not giving you trouble anymore!

    I'll pop on over to your blog and read your message.

    Dea- Thanks for stopping by my blog and for becoming a follower! =) I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Flipped as well.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I loved this book also. It was a great read bak when I read it in the 6th grade. I'm glad you read it too. Not many know about the book itself, just the movie. Great review.:]

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kandee- Thanks for checking out my blog! Glad to hear you enjoyed this book too =)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I can't even tell you how glad I am that I read your review for this book and decided to pick it up! I'm officially in book love.

    I linked to your review when I reviewed it on my blog here:
    http://thisxgirlxreads.blogspot.com/2012/04/flipped-by-wendelin-van-draanen.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay! I'm so excited to hear it! =) Heading over to read your review!

      Delete
  9. Actually just the other day I was talking to a friend about books and she brought up Flipped and I admitted that I hadn't read it yet and she was like "WHAT??" And it sounds like you really enjoyed it too. So apparently I'm missing out. Maybe I'll watch the movie first though, since I have this weird stigma against MG. I do like it's a period piece too. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Watch the movie and then if you love it as much as we did you'll be dying to read the book! =)

      Delete
  10. hey , i just watched the movie yesterday , pretty late huh ? btw , i love the movie , thinking bout buying the book soon , thanks for the review :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed it =) If you liked the movie you should definitely buy the book. There very similar so your bound to like it!

      Delete
  11. I also watched the movie before reading the book. I really had no idea at first that it was actually a film adaptation of the book with the same title. I was in 5th grade when I saw the movie. Now that I'm in 7th grade, I tried suggesting it with my friends and I'm so proud and glad that they liked it.
    Thanks Amanda for promoting the book and movie Flipped.

    ReplyDelete

What are you thinking? Let me know! I love hearing from you and read each and every comment. I always try to respond or visit your blog in return so leave a comment. I know you want to ;)