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Precious Things edition by Stephanie Parent Literature Fiction eBooks

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Precious Things edition by Stephanie Parent Literature Fiction eBooks

I really enjoyed PRECIOUS THINGS. The biggest thing that stood out for me was how well-written it was...Isabelle's voice was consistent and authentic, and the writing "disappeared" within the story, which is a very, very good sign. It was very smooth and a joy to read. The plot took me a chapter or two to get into, but I didn't mind because I was really interested in Isabelle and getting to know her better. This is a "quiet" book, where the characters drive the action, not the other way around. I found that quite refreshing after reading several paranormals recently.

I really enjoyed all the characters and loved all the little details that helped them come alive on the page. The only relationship that confused me, a bit, was Isabelle's relationship with her father. She seemed especially hard on him, dismissive even, and the "but I love him anyway" I was hoping for seemed to kind of be missing. I was also waiting for them to have some kind of confrontation or resolution of their feelings for one another and that didn't end up happening. Ultimately, though, the book wasn't about their relationship, so it wasn't a huge issue for me as a reader.

I loved watching Isabelle and Evan get to know each other better. I can't say enough about Isabelle's voice...seeing Evan through her eyes felt so realistic. I related to a lot of her thoughts about him...and her situation at HCC.

Overall, I would happily recommend this novel to folks who enjoy a good romance, with a leading lady who has a personality, flaws, and depth...and who also has a point of view. I didn't always agree with her take on the world and her relationships, but I appreciated that she HAD a take and didn't seem to bend and change at the will of her creator. Isabelle feels like her own person from the beginning of the story and stays herself, even as she grows and changes throughout the book. So happy I picked this book up! I'll definitely be reading more from Stephanie Parent.


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Precious Things edition by Stephanie Parent Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews

This is a YA book that is quite different from other YA books I have read. Isabelle is a disgruntled teenager whose father used up her college fund to keep his business afloat and mother left when she was a child. She starts attending community college in a state of disbelief and despair. It's where she meets Evan, the TA for one of her classes that she did not really want to take. What makes this book different is the way music, and poetry is woven into the story to describe how Isabelle's perceptions of the community college experience change over time, and that Evan is not the perfect hero who always lands on his feet but also has real world problems that are not easily solved.
3.5 stars.......

I really liked this book. It was very well written. I really liked the character Isabelle. She was stubborn, but endearing, especially when dealing with her brother. She was a typical college student who was dealing with lots of disappointments.

I liked Evan, but I didn't fall in love with his character. I also did not understand their relationship. It was very underdeveloped and I don't know why they even liked each other. There was also random parts that could have been left out. Like the relationship between her and Shawn...the situation with her dad that was left unresolved..

I don't know, it just seemed a little rushed and a little unrealistic, but not a horrible book. I wish we would have gotten a better ending, maybe an epilogue??? But that's just my two cents!
The uncertainty of 'new adulthood' is as energizing and rapturous as it is bittersweet.

And that's how I felt about PRECIOUS THINGS by Stephanie Parent.

Isabelle is an excellent student. She's been accepted to Johns Hopkins and Georgetown and her freshman year should be one of excitement and adventure, but it's not.

Dad's business is in the toilet and her college fund? Poof.

And, mom? She poofed years ago leaving Isabelle to help raise her younger brother, Corey.

Having not considered this possibility, Isabelle neglected to apply to a safety school that she could afford--so she's wandering about Hartford Community College lamenting her extremely bad fortune and despairing over her ridiculous courses--not the least of which is Electronic Music Production which she abhors--that she only took because they were still open.

If life wasn't bad enough, her Music TA Evan Strauss is hot, but runs hot-and-cold, and Isabelle, hoping against hope for financial aid from her real colleges so she can leave at the end of term, doesn't want to reach out. She must however, because she's clueless in Music and knows a failing grade will strand her in Community Collegeville. FOREVER.

She develops a friendship with Lily, a beautiful dance major and fellow Music classmate, and warms to her English prof finding that there is more to college than a GIANT DEBT, I mean, name.

Especially when she doesn't just, ahem, warm to Evan...

Flames, people. Get the extinguisher.

And, of course there is conflict. Corey's hanging with all new kids and his disrespectful attitude is stronger than teen-boy-foot odor. Dad's poor business sense weighs on Isabelle, as does her resentment over high school friends finding their brighter futures. And Evan, delicious Evan, seems to be the next one to let her down.

Through it all, Isabelle develops an appreciation for being exactly where she is. Oh, and Depeche Mode. (Who doesn't, BTW?)

What I loved?

It gets real. There are millions of kids out there living Isabelle's disappointment right now--albeit without the hot TA who knows how to swing his hammer. It's an important life lesson. To borrow from The Stones You Can't Always Get What You Want in this life. And, yet, you must go on and do the best you can.

And sometimes, if you're lucky like Isabelle, you get what you need.

And that is very precious, indeed.
I really enjoyed PRECIOUS THINGS. The biggest thing that stood out for me was how well-written it was...Isabelle's voice was consistent and authentic, and the writing "disappeared" within the story, which is a very, very good sign. It was very smooth and a joy to read. The plot took me a chapter or two to get into, but I didn't mind because I was really interested in Isabelle and getting to know her better. This is a "quiet" book, where the characters drive the action, not the other way around. I found that quite refreshing after reading several paranormals recently.

I really enjoyed all the characters and loved all the little details that helped them come alive on the page. The only relationship that confused me, a bit, was Isabelle's relationship with her father. She seemed especially hard on him, dismissive even, and the "but I love him anyway" I was hoping for seemed to kind of be missing. I was also waiting for them to have some kind of confrontation or resolution of their feelings for one another and that didn't end up happening. Ultimately, though, the book wasn't about their relationship, so it wasn't a huge issue for me as a reader.

I loved watching Isabelle and Evan get to know each other better. I can't say enough about Isabelle's voice...seeing Evan through her eyes felt so realistic. I related to a lot of her thoughts about him...and her situation at HCC.

Overall, I would happily recommend this novel to folks who enjoy a good romance, with a leading lady who has a personality, flaws, and depth...and who also has a point of view. I didn't always agree with her take on the world and her relationships, but I appreciated that she HAD a take and didn't seem to bend and change at the will of her creator. Isabelle feels like her own person from the beginning of the story and stays herself, even as she grows and changes throughout the book. So happy I picked this book up! I'll definitely be reading more from Stephanie Parent.