”Maybe happiness was just a matter of the little uptickes – the traffic signal that said ‘Walk’ the second you got there – and the downticks – the itchy tag at the back of your collar – that happened to every person in the course of a day. Maybe everybody had the same allotted measure of happiness within each day.” (312)

I liked the movie better – that goes without saying (I absolutely loved the movie). Reading the book after seeing the film was interesting – usually, when I read a book, my mind creates the scenes and the characters. In this case, the movie replayed in my mind.

Rather than evaluate this book by the same standards I would apply to Toni Morrison or Anne Tyler, I’ll use a more appropriate measure: I’ll compare it to other novels in the young adult genre and by that measure it’s very good. The language, the style, the spirit of this book is teen spirit – no mistake. The ‘teen-speak’ occasionally irked me, but I’m sure it resonated with the target audience.

I like the way it grapples with values and family and relationships and grief with a deft hand. The plot flows along. The characters are real and I loved the friendships and bond between the girls. The girls are potrayed vividly, with flaws, insecurities and quirks that make them believable.

And yes, parts of it made me cry. A good read – great for girls and a quick, entertaining read for grown-up girls. I do plan to read the sequel.

Well, I never like to see a movie before I read a book because it’s kind of ruins the imagery for me. But I say this movie before I read the book. I loved the movie so much that it actually inspired me to read the book in the first place. It was a good, or decent book yes, but the movie was much better. I can’t believe I said that, but really. The movie rearranged a few things VERY WELL and really smoothed it out. I was disappointed with the way the timeline and whatnot went in the book I guess. I just figured that the movie held a great story, and I couldn’t even imagine how great of a book it must be. So I was very disappointed by the dialog as well. It was written very…teeny-bopperish almost? It was just written in too young of a dialect if you will, for me I guess. I’d say if you’re going to read this book, know that the movie is better, and look forward to the movie instead.