[.ca] Brave New Girl (ISBN 0743407865)

profound truth:
I was not a big reader at all, not until I found this stunning book by Louisa Luna. I am a 21 year old University student, and thought I might be too old for this book. Turns out I was wrong, I think I became so personally attached to this book because I was ALOT like Doreen when I was her age. She is sarcastic, has only one close male friend, has nothing in common with her older popular sister, is a tom boy who acts so tough on the outside, but it is evident that she longs for more, she longs to be desired and she feels that she needs to make it her mission to save her long-lost brother (so to say, I don't want to give much away). She finds compfort in her favorite band, The Pixies. The most interesting thing about this novel is the way that Doreen reacts to a certain circumstance that occurs in the story; like most young girls her insecurities take over and she blames herself for what has happened, when really she was only an innocent, young girl trying to find her place in this world, thinking she was following her heart.The ending of this story is outstanding, it definatly pulled the whole thing together. Although this novel is small, I gave it 5 stars because the emotion was so true, and something I could relate to, and i found myself thinking about Doreen even when I put the book down. I imagine its not for everyone, but if you enjoy coming of age stories about young females trying to find a place for themeselves, I would highly recommened Brave New Girl.

Too far away:
OK, this book has a good ending with loads of actions BUT -unfortunately - everything that comes before kind of lacks something. I bought this book mainly because of the comparison to 'Catcher in the rye' (by JD Salinger), but this book is nowhere near it. Doreen, the main character seems mostly naïve and passive, with no ideas of her own. That makes her, and the story, a little strange and 'far-away'. Anyway, if you like 'Catcher in the Rye' and are thinking of buying Brave New Girl then you're probable better of just reading 'Catcher in the Rye' again.

In Your Face:
This is a pretty thin novel, but a well-compacted one at that. Louisa Luna aptly covers the most harrowing facets of a teenage lifestyle, through the lens of a rather stereotypical high school girl. Her hardboiled narrative edge is slightly dulled by the predictability of the storyline, although vivid and entertaining. Luna makes a valiant effort to shy away from the traditional aspects of an "angsty" novel, but that should be expected. What the novel lacks in scale and range is made up for by the compelling characters and viciously executed dialogue. A nice plot twist at the end caps off a quick and enjoyable read.

AWESOME!:
I truly ADORED this book... An amazing book that just about everybody can relate too. It began strongly, had and exciting middle, the only flaw was the end.. it's not that it ended badly or anything.. i dont know i was just expecting a teenie bit more. It's really good though. The plot's good and everything.. its predictable but the clever writing techniques totally make up for it. COMPLETELY. The character is a mirror image of what most 12-14 yr. old kids are. its hella good and when she feels somehting u feel it too. I highly recommend this book. It's a short, highly enjoyable read that i read in about 2 hours. i simply couldnt put it down!

A Fresh, Entertaining Book:
When I first picked up Brave New Girl, I thought it would be another dreadfully identical teenage angst book with a girl who hates her parents and hates her friends. But no, Brave New Girl never failed to amaze me. Following Doreen throughout her life is new and exciting, as she goes through the perils of childhood. It surprized me that Brave New Girl was actually laugh aloud funny, on numerous occasions because it doesn't look like it would be. The book is fun to read, and despite the fact that it isn't extremely long, the story is so captivating it's hard to put it down without wanting more.