Justine's Thoughts: Dramarama by E. Lockhart

Dramarama
By E. Lockhart

Pages:

305

Book Description:

Two theatre-mad, self-invented, fabulositon Ohio teenagers.
One boy, one girl.
One gay, one straight.
One black, one white.
And SUMMER DRAMA CAMP.
It’s a season of
hormones,
gold lame,
hissy fits,
jazz ahnds,
song and dance,
true love,
and unitards
that will determine their future
-- and test their friendship.

A quote:

You can’t only do things because you know you’ll get a return on it later. You have to do them out of generosity. Be bighearted because you are, not because someone will pay you back somehow.

Any thoughts:

This is a tale of friendship during the summer at Wildewood, the drama camp that Sadye and Demi are staying at. It is also a time when she truly discovers herself and whether or not she belongs to the life of acting.

I found myself being neutral with Sadye (originally known as Sarah). Sometimes, I agree with what she does and say, but at other times, I just thought she should just let everything be. That’s her character. She’s bold, unafraid, outspoken and strong. She would often suggest ideas to the directors when she’s not supposed to, say things that she don’t mean, stand up to the teachers for the sake of the play, and most of all, take in the blame for something Demi did in order for him to get what he had always wanted.

However, I wasn’t very satisfied with Dramarama. I felt lost at certain moments and thought, “What is it we’re dealing with again?” Often, I would get a little confused, not because of the knowledgeable theatrical plays that are constantly popping up every few lines or so (I knew some of them and would get excited) and also not because of the various characters (whom I love for their bright personalities) throughout the book.

This isn’t the best of E. Lockhart, but this novel does send out a message of self-discovery and achieving one’s dream while encountering obstacles in the way.

Justine's Thoughts: How to Be Bad by E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski and Lauren Myracle

How to Be Bad
By E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle

Pages:

325

Book Description:

Vicks is the wild child whose boyfriend has gone suspiciously quiet since he left for college; Mel is the newcomer desperate to be liked; and Jesse will do anything to avoid a life-altering secret. Each one has her own reason for wanting to get the heck out of their nowheresville town, even just for the weekend. So they climb into Jesse’s mom’s “borrowed” station wagon and head south.

Hearts will be broken, friendships will be tested, and a ridiculously hot stranger could change the course of everything.

A quote:

“Not everything’s ‘okay’...People cheat, people lie, people die. And sometimes people treat their friends like crap. But that doesn’t mean you sit back and take it.”

Any thoughts:

Enough to say that I finished this book in one day, one thing is for sure - I loved it! These are my kind of books - the fun, adventurous, funny ones with a little bit of romance on the side. It’s perfect for me, I tell you. I enjoyed every word of it!

Before the road trip, these three girls weren’t exactly the best of friends. Actually, two of them were - Vicks and Jesse, but Mel’s the new one, who’s only trying to fit in. The road trip changes everything, though and they encounter so much in a weekend that it doesn’t even feel like a weekend has passed by.

Here’s a little brief description on the characters: Jesse is the Christian girl who’s holding back on that “life-altering secret”, the girl who is described as cranky (by Vicks) ever since she’s planned the whole road trip. Vicks is the girl with older brothers, the fierce girl who knows how to handle dirt from other people, and she even offers to be punched by one of the two! And Mel (who I was most like according to the Bad Girl Quiz I took at the end) is the middle child in the family, the girl who offered to pay for the entire road trip because she had the money and wished to fit in, the girl who mostly got stuck to deal with the arguments between Vicks and Jesse (which happened more than often), the girl who’s afraid to stand up for herself. These three are so believable, it’s crazy. I can relate to each one of them and it’s just so easy.

The plot interested me, that’s for sure. I like the idea of a road trip. It sounds daring, especially where the three characters plan to go to. It feels like you’re on the road trip as well. And the fact that the story is told in their own point of view makes it a whole lot realistic so that you understand the explanations of their choices and where their decisions are coming from.

So yes, I would recommend this to everyone. It’s one heck of a fun book.