2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge

J. Kaye's Book Blog is hosting this year's yearly Young Adult Challenge. For more information about the rules, or to join, please visit: here. This challenge is valid for the entire year of 2010. (January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010)

I read fairly often, but I only read or finish a single book whenever I like it. So this'll be quite a challenge for me. :) I promise to play this challenge effectively and truthfully. Scout's honour. ;D I am going to take it to the next level and join the 'Stepping it Up' Level. My aim is to be able to finish reading 50 books. :)

THE BOOKS:

Review: Get Well Soon

TITLE: Get Well Soon

AUTHOR: Julie Halpern

PUBLISHER: Feiwel and Friends

PUBLISHING DATE: October 2007

COPY INFO: Hardbound || Personally Owned/Bought

SUMMARY: Anna Bloom is depressed - so depressed that her parents have committed her to a mental hospital with a bunch of other messed-up teens. Here, she meets a roommate with a secret (and a plastic baby), a doctor who focuses way too much on her weight, and a cute, shy boy who might just like her. But wait! Being trapped in a loony bin isn't supposed to be about making friends, losing weight, and having a crush, is it?

MY REVIEW:

Since I'm such a book shelf scanner, I've spotted Get Well Soon in the bookstore for ages. I never really bought it because it was expensive, seeing as it was in hardcover. So, I had to wait for quite awhile, until I asked for it from my parent's this year Christmas. :) It was so worth it, however. It's strikingly yellow cover art is easily noticeable and striking. I adore the simplicity of the design, as if it is shaped out to be a typical 'get well soon' card. Moving on, I found the first parts of the book rather quick at first. I felt rather bombarded with all the information about Anna and her situation in the first few chapters. The readers are immediately presented with her situation, something that I found rather unappealing. I would've rather preferred to delve right into Anna's emotions and thoughts of being in the mental ward instead of what was already happening to her surroundings at that very chapter.

However, despite my disputes with the first parts of the book, I enjoyed the succeeding chapters. Over-all, I found Anna's character very likable. She thought of the same things as a normal female teenager does, and is rather a rebel in many ways. Anna has her own thoughts and opinions. This is what made me like her quite a lot. Sadly, I do think that the other characters were quite undeveloped. Because Anna was the book's POV, you could barely have a more in-depth characterization of the other characters. Somehow, all that was seen about the other characters was how Anna saw them, and how she perceived them to be. I would've like to see their POVs most of all, just to see how they felt to be in a 'loony bin'. :)

Get Well Soon is a light read, spanning only a total of 193 pages. Although there were some parts that absolutely begged to be expanded (Anna and Justin's development, yes?), this book is definitely worth your time. My favorite character has got to be Matt O. Did I mention that this book was quite entertaining? It didn't make my eyes burn from tears of laughter, but good enough. If you like books with very expressive narrators, I suggest picking this up.