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Me, Penelope
Sixteen-year-old Penelope Yeager tries to find love, and to graduate from high school a year early, as she comes to terms with her little brother's death ten years before, and the resulting changes in her family.
200 pages, Hardcover
First published April 23, 2007
4 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Jahn-Clough
20 books97 followersLisa Jahn-Clough has published picture books, early readers and young adult novels. Her work has won awards from Child Magazine, Parent’s Choice, Bank Street, Raising Readers, and Entertainment Weekly. Her upcoming book, THE KIDS OF CATTYWAMPUS STREET is released July 2021.
Lisa went to Hampshire College and has an MFA from Emerson College. She is now Associatev Professor at Rowan Univ, and also teaches at Hamline Univ. in the Writing for Children and YA low-residency program.
She lives with her husband and their Sato dog in Portland, Maine in a little yellow house in the summer, and across from a cornfield in southern New Jersey in the winter.
Lisa went to Hampshire College and has an MFA from Emerson College. She is now Associatev Professor at Rowan Univ, and also teaches at Hamline Univ. in the Writing for Children and YA low-residency program.
She lives with her husband and their Sato dog in Portland, Maine in a little yellow house in the summer, and across from a cornfield in southern New Jersey in the winter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
August 18, 2024
My OG Weird Girlhood novel
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January 12, 2018Penelope Yeager or Lopi has the life of a normal 16 year old girl. She lives with her single mother Viv. her father moved away and started a new family, after the accident. Although Lopi lives a normal life she wants to be more like other teenagers around her. She wants to accomplish what others have, in many different ways. With her best friend Toad by her side she can accomplish anything and hopefully get out of school a year early.
Over the course of the book Lopi faces many obstacles involving Toad, Viv, and Viv's new boyfriend Josh. The biggest obstacle she faces is coping with the accident. Everything Lopi does revolves around the accident. Lopi is the person she is now because of what happened and how it affected her.
Overall, I thought this was an amazing book. If you like drama and romance this is a book for you. This is a book that would be suitable for young adults. it does have some strong topics that are discussed in this book but it was an amazing book. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes to read books that make them think and experience true emotion.
Over the course of the book Lopi faces many obstacles involving Toad, Viv, and Viv's new boyfriend Josh. The biggest obstacle she faces is coping with the accident. Everything Lopi does revolves around the accident. Lopi is the person she is now because of what happened and how it affected her.
Overall, I thought this was an amazing book. If you like drama and romance this is a book for you. This is a book that would be suitable for young adults. it does have some strong topics that are discussed in this book but it was an amazing book. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes to read books that make them think and experience true emotion.
September 26, 2017
This book was pretty freaky, the book itself was definitely a book you would want to keep reading, I was able to predict a lot of the twists that were going to happen, but there are definitely a few that are out of no where. A very quick read, each page you had to flip to figure out what was going to happen next, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book to friends, but if you find it and like it, you may just be in for a treat.
June 8, 2013
I didn’t initially have the intention of reading Lisa Jahn Clough’s novel, Me, Penelope. I was attending a book singing for her new young adult novel, Nothing But Blue at the Rowan University Barnes and Noble. Professor Jahn-Clough was my Writing Children’s Stories professor at Rowan. I haven’t really read any of her work before but she was one of my favorite professors during my time at Rowan. I actually began writing my current work-in-progress young adult novel about teenage depression and suicide in her class.
I heard nothing but good things about her latest novel and was eager to read it. I couldn’t hear to well at the book reading/singing (I’m hearing impaired so these things are always a bit of a challenge for me), but it was nice to see her once again and I was excited to finally read some of her published work.
Unfortunately her latest novel, Nothing But Blue, sold out quickly and I wasn’t able to get a copy. She brought several other novels/published works with her for sale, so I picked up a copy of her other young adult novel, “Me, Penelope” and had her sign that for me. It seemed to be written in the young adult style that I was always a big fan of and I thought it may even help me with writing my own young adult novel.
I had very high expectations for this novel since I view Professor Jahn-Clough so highly as a professor. She has taught me so many valuable lessons when it comes to writing young adult novels and she always seemed to have such a strong grasp on the art. However, I found myself extremely disappointed in this novel.
I debated on whether or not I should review this novel. I feel GUILTY for not liking it very much since my professor wrote it. But then I remember I went to school to learn how to critique literature an discuss what I like and don’t like and why and ways to make it better. I’ve done this with my classmate’s work several times, so why should I go and do it to a former professor now?
First off, I like most of the characters. Penelope is your typical teenager, I guess. She feels a bit lost and confused in the sea of high school. She just wants to be loved and she is ready to experiment with sex. This is one of the biggest things I don’t like with the novel. Penelope seems way too sex-crazed for me. I know 16 year olds are bound to think about sex and possibly experiment with it, but I have trouble believing people go through the same measures as Penelope with it. She tried to have sex with like three different guys one after the other. This seems really odd for a 16 year old girl.
Toad might be one of my favorite characters. He is the classic best friend of the opposite sex that is in love with Penelope. Penelope doesn’t see it until the end when she ultimately loses her virginity to him. I liked this part, really I did, but at the same time it seemed incredibly cliched to me. I wish Toad would’ve spoken out more about Penelope and her affairs with the other men or that Toad and Penelope would’ve gotten together in a more-than-friends way earlier on.
I hated Penelope’s mom and I hate Josh. That whole part seemed so unbelievable to me. I understand there are moms out there that go for younger men and maybe aren’t the greatest moms to their daughters. But she freely smoked pot in front of her daughter? She flirts with her daughter’s boyfriend right in front of her? She is way too apathetic for me to believe. It seems weird to me that Josh loves her so much, too. Josh seems a lot different from her. I just have trouble believing their relationship.
Tina was an okay character but I think Professor Jahn-Clough could’ve easily cut her out and it wouldn’t have made a difference. She just seemed like an extra character.
I was probably the most interested in hearing about Penelope’s deceased brother, Adam. It is obvious that she feels an immense amount of guilt over his death. She thinks that she is to blame for not stopping him from getting out of the car or telling her parents he was gone. I wish this played a stronger role in the story. I wish the desire to have sex was a small part of the story and this the main focus. I wanted to see more of Penelope’s depression and hear more about how the family dealt with Adam’s death or maybe a bit more about what life was like before. Professor Jahn-Clough just barely touches on these subjects,but I think if she pushed more she’d see that’s where the real story lies.
I don’t think I understood this novel very well. It kind of felt like “Yeah Penelope wants to lose her virginity” and then, “Okay Penelope lost her virginity to Toad…so what?”. I didn’t see what the big deal was. I didn’t feel like Penelope have met a big milestone in her life or that she was a whole new person or much of anything in the end. It felt more like the book just ended.
I didn’t HATE this book. I couldn’t put it down. I kept thinking it would get better. I was just incredibly disappointed. I think a sequel or even a rewrite could make this book a lot better. That is why I gave it 3 stars instead of just 1 or 2. I still look forward to reading more of Professor Jahn-Clough’s works, especially Nothing But Blue.
I heard nothing but good things about her latest novel and was eager to read it. I couldn’t hear to well at the book reading/singing (I’m hearing impaired so these things are always a bit of a challenge for me), but it was nice to see her once again and I was excited to finally read some of her published work.
Unfortunately her latest novel, Nothing But Blue, sold out quickly and I wasn’t able to get a copy. She brought several other novels/published works with her for sale, so I picked up a copy of her other young adult novel, “Me, Penelope” and had her sign that for me. It seemed to be written in the young adult style that I was always a big fan of and I thought it may even help me with writing my own young adult novel.
I had very high expectations for this novel since I view Professor Jahn-Clough so highly as a professor. She has taught me so many valuable lessons when it comes to writing young adult novels and she always seemed to have such a strong grasp on the art. However, I found myself extremely disappointed in this novel.
I debated on whether or not I should review this novel. I feel GUILTY for not liking it very much since my professor wrote it. But then I remember I went to school to learn how to critique literature an discuss what I like and don’t like and why and ways to make it better. I’ve done this with my classmate’s work several times, so why should I go and do it to a former professor now?
First off, I like most of the characters. Penelope is your typical teenager, I guess. She feels a bit lost and confused in the sea of high school. She just wants to be loved and she is ready to experiment with sex. This is one of the biggest things I don’t like with the novel. Penelope seems way too sex-crazed for me. I know 16 year olds are bound to think about sex and possibly experiment with it, but I have trouble believing people go through the same measures as Penelope with it. She tried to have sex with like three different guys one after the other. This seems really odd for a 16 year old girl.
Toad might be one of my favorite characters. He is the classic best friend of the opposite sex that is in love with Penelope. Penelope doesn’t see it until the end when she ultimately loses her virginity to him. I liked this part, really I did, but at the same time it seemed incredibly cliched to me. I wish Toad would’ve spoken out more about Penelope and her affairs with the other men or that Toad and Penelope would’ve gotten together in a more-than-friends way earlier on.
I hated Penelope’s mom and I hate Josh. That whole part seemed so unbelievable to me. I understand there are moms out there that go for younger men and maybe aren’t the greatest moms to their daughters. But she freely smoked pot in front of her daughter? She flirts with her daughter’s boyfriend right in front of her? She is way too apathetic for me to believe. It seems weird to me that Josh loves her so much, too. Josh seems a lot different from her. I just have trouble believing their relationship.
Tina was an okay character but I think Professor Jahn-Clough could’ve easily cut her out and it wouldn’t have made a difference. She just seemed like an extra character.
I was probably the most interested in hearing about Penelope’s deceased brother, Adam. It is obvious that she feels an immense amount of guilt over his death. She thinks that she is to blame for not stopping him from getting out of the car or telling her parents he was gone. I wish this played a stronger role in the story. I wish the desire to have sex was a small part of the story and this the main focus. I wanted to see more of Penelope’s depression and hear more about how the family dealt with Adam’s death or maybe a bit more about what life was like before. Professor Jahn-Clough just barely touches on these subjects,but I think if she pushed more she’d see that’s where the real story lies.
I don’t think I understood this novel very well. It kind of felt like “Yeah Penelope wants to lose her virginity” and then, “Okay Penelope lost her virginity to Toad…so what?”. I didn’t see what the big deal was. I didn’t feel like Penelope have met a big milestone in her life or that she was a whole new person or much of anything in the end. It felt more like the book just ended.
I didn’t HATE this book. I couldn’t put it down. I kept thinking it would get better. I was just incredibly disappointed. I think a sequel or even a rewrite could make this book a lot better. That is why I gave it 3 stars instead of just 1 or 2. I still look forward to reading more of Professor Jahn-Clough’s works, especially Nothing But Blue.
October 22, 2018
More 2 3/4 stars and I can definitely tell why it is on a banned book list. Still, I think there is some substance in the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2025
I too have an imaginary therapist. fortunately, it is not because my brother got run over and my mother refuses to pay for a therapist
January 7, 2013
~2-2.5/5
[Also available on my blog.]
I did not enjoy this book much at all. At several points, I would have happily stopped reading, but because I don’t like leaving anything unfinished, especially when the book is so short, I finished it.
I did not like Penelope, also known as Lopi. When the book first started, I thought that it would be a bit charming, that her whole wanting to find someone special and have sex with someone and her understanding that those things did not have to be with the same person, would make me like her. And that thinking last for, probably, a couple of chapters. And then I found that, actually, I did not like her.
First off, I understand her not liking her mother, what with how her mother is always trying to be fun and ignoring all the important stuff, like how her daughter needs some help. But beyond that, she loses all my sympathy. She’s a jerk to her mother, even when she doesn’t need to be, she’s a jerk to her only actual friend, Toad, and she’s constantly pushing herself at all these men that are not realistic for her. Plus, there’s the fact that, near the beginning of the book, which is only stated, like, once, she said that the person she has sex with and the person she loves don’t have to be the same person, and then she’s constantly trying to find those two things in one person. That doesn’t match up, if you ask me.
Now, Toad. I liked Toad; he was sweet and always there for her, even when I didn’t understand why, because she was a total dick to him. I didn’t love Toad, didn’t personally feel too much for him, really, but he was sweet and I understood that she was going to end up with him. But she was such a jerk to him, all the time, and he sometimes sulked a bit but was always there for her. I didn’t understand why he just took it and always came back. Particularly after they’d had a fight, and she got depressed about something else, but he showed up at her house to cheer her up. Why would he do that? She didn’t deserve it. He should have been at least a little mad.
At the end of the book, I guess Lopi got a bit better, but I just have a hard time forgiving her, or getting over, all the things she did at the beginning. The ending was good, and how she acted and what happened with Toad and with her mother makes me bump the rating up maybe half a star, but I just have a hard time really liking her.
I wouldn’t say that this book was painful to read, but I really didn’t enjoy it.
[Also available on my blog.]
I did not enjoy this book much at all. At several points, I would have happily stopped reading, but because I don’t like leaving anything unfinished, especially when the book is so short, I finished it.
I did not like Penelope, also known as Lopi. When the book first started, I thought that it would be a bit charming, that her whole wanting to find someone special and have sex with someone and her understanding that those things did not have to be with the same person, would make me like her. And that thinking last for, probably, a couple of chapters. And then I found that, actually, I did not like her.
First off, I understand her not liking her mother, what with how her mother is always trying to be fun and ignoring all the important stuff, like how her daughter needs some help. But beyond that, she loses all my sympathy. She’s a jerk to her mother, even when she doesn’t need to be, she’s a jerk to her only actual friend, Toad, and she’s constantly pushing herself at all these men that are not realistic for her. Plus, there’s the fact that, near the beginning of the book, which is only stated, like, once, she said that the person she has sex with and the person she loves don’t have to be the same person, and then she’s constantly trying to find those two things in one person. That doesn’t match up, if you ask me.
Now, Toad. I liked Toad; he was sweet and always there for her, even when I didn’t understand why, because she was a total dick to him. I didn’t love Toad, didn’t personally feel too much for him, really, but he was sweet and I understood that she was going to end up with him. But she was such a jerk to him, all the time, and he sometimes sulked a bit but was always there for her. I didn’t understand why he just took it and always came back. Particularly after they’d had a fight, and she got depressed about something else, but he showed up at her house to cheer her up. Why would he do that? She didn’t deserve it. He should have been at least a little mad.
At the end of the book, I guess Lopi got a bit better, but I just have a hard time forgiving her, or getting over, all the things she did at the beginning. The ending was good, and how she acted and what happened with Toad and with her mother makes me bump the rating up maybe half a star, but I just have a hard time really liking her.
I wouldn’t say that this book was painful to read, but I really didn’t enjoy it.
March 18, 2010
I didn't really like the book. I don't think it didnt have a point in to it. I didn't really get it or anything like it jumped from on topic to another, and its like Penelope is weird. I dont know how to explain it but I didn't like the book. If it wasn't so confusing then maybe I would. But other wise it's going to be hard to explain because I like skipped pages that I didnt get. There was no point in reading the book I think.
Date released 2007 by Lisa Jahn-Clough. Penelope was a 16 year old girl and was a junior. Penelope didn't like school at all and she had some weird things she was to do so she made a list.
1.Get out of High School.
2.Have sex
3.Fall in love
4.Get her drivers License
5.Forget what happened ten years ago.
6.See her mother happy.
Penelope wanted to forget that her brother died and get her mother to be happy. So she went to a meeting at school and told them she wanted to graduate with the seniors this year and the school told Penelope that she had enough credits to graduate but all she would have to do is run four times a week because she didnt take all the gym classes she needed. Penelope started to talk about how she had to see a therapist when she was eight years old. She quit going there but now she doesn't and so all she does is act like she is talking to him in her head and ask her own questions. Penelope is learning how to drive and Tina is going to teach her how to. Penelope tries her hardest even though she doesn't like cars at all. Penelope was saying how she had her own fanatsy kiss dream but she didn't know where it was but she wanted it to come true. Penelope always thought about sex when she was 12 years old. Penelope wanted Viv to tell her if Josh proposed to her, so she was wait for Viv to tell her about it but it never came up.Penelope started to smoke pot and then Penelope met this guy Andrew and the next day she is waiting for him to call, and he never did. It eneded up that Andrew lied about who he was and he wasn't as old as he said he was.
Josh called Penelope about 10 times. Penelope finally answered and Josh told her they got into an accident and Penelope was all confused so he explained the story to her. Penelope then found out that it was Vivan that had been the one to get hurt and Josh just got some bruises. Penelope tried to call everyone so she could get a ride to the hospital and no one answered there phone so she drove her self. Penelopes mom ended up to be okay and she is still living.
Date released 2007 by Lisa Jahn-Clough. Penelope was a 16 year old girl and was a junior. Penelope didn't like school at all and she had some weird things she was to do so she made a list.
1.Get out of High School.
2.Have sex
3.Fall in love
4.Get her drivers License
5.Forget what happened ten years ago.
6.See her mother happy.
Penelope wanted to forget that her brother died and get her mother to be happy. So she went to a meeting at school and told them she wanted to graduate with the seniors this year and the school told Penelope that she had enough credits to graduate but all she would have to do is run four times a week because she didnt take all the gym classes she needed. Penelope started to talk about how she had to see a therapist when she was eight years old. She quit going there but now she doesn't and so all she does is act like she is talking to him in her head and ask her own questions. Penelope is learning how to drive and Tina is going to teach her how to. Penelope tries her hardest even though she doesn't like cars at all. Penelope was saying how she had her own fanatsy kiss dream but she didn't know where it was but she wanted it to come true. Penelope always thought about sex when she was 12 years old. Penelope wanted Viv to tell her if Josh proposed to her, so she was wait for Viv to tell her about it but it never came up.Penelope started to smoke pot and then Penelope met this guy Andrew and the next day she is waiting for him to call, and he never did. It eneded up that Andrew lied about who he was and he wasn't as old as he said he was.
Josh called Penelope about 10 times. Penelope finally answered and Josh told her they got into an accident and Penelope was all confused so he explained the story to her. Penelope then found out that it was Vivan that had been the one to get hurt and Josh just got some bruises. Penelope tried to call everyone so she could get a ride to the hospital and no one answered there phone so she drove her self. Penelopes mom ended up to be okay and she is still living.
September 29, 2015
Unfortunately I left writing this review until a few days after I'd finished reading it and no matter how many times I read the summary or my review notes, I couldn't for the life of me remembering reading this. Memorable? I think not. I feel like in all of my "under 3 star" reviews I always comment on the same things. A lack of creative characters, an unoriginal plot, and something literary that I didn't particularly like.
Once again I beg authors to think about their parental characters. Not every parent is irresponsible, flimsy, rude, self-centered, or ignorant of the main character. It's very typical in YA books for grieving parents to completely disregard parenting their other children and just wallow in self pity for years. While this is a legitimate and realistic reaction to a child's death, it's boring to read over and over again. It would be awesome to have a strong, reflective parent or perhaps even a family that discusses events before the climax of the book?
I found it very intriguing that Lisa Jahn-Clough chose to have a very sexually-driven plot and main character. Often in YA literature the protagonist is a virgin wary of sex. Instead Penelope is eager to "get it over with" and feels left out that all of her friends and classmates have already had sex. While her perception is obviously biased based on her own virginity and her friends' sexual lives, I'm glad that it was finally expressed that protagonists can be eager to have sex without being sluts or whores. Wanting to have sexually experiences can be liberating, and even if it's illegal at 16, there's nothing wrong with exploring those feelings and emotions.
Once again I beg authors to think about their parental characters. Not every parent is irresponsible, flimsy, rude, self-centered, or ignorant of the main character. It's very typical in YA books for grieving parents to completely disregard parenting their other children and just wallow in self pity for years. While this is a legitimate and realistic reaction to a child's death, it's boring to read over and over again. It would be awesome to have a strong, reflective parent or perhaps even a family that discusses events before the climax of the book?
I found it very intriguing that Lisa Jahn-Clough chose to have a very sexually-driven plot and main character. Often in YA literature the protagonist is a virgin wary of sex. Instead Penelope is eager to "get it over with" and feels left out that all of her friends and classmates have already had sex. While her perception is obviously biased based on her own virginity and her friends' sexual lives, I'm glad that it was finally expressed that protagonists can be eager to have sex without being sluts or whores. Wanting to have sexually experiences can be liberating, and even if it's illegal at 16, there's nothing wrong with exploring those feelings and emotions.
November 2, 2010
I piked this book because it looked interesting and by reading the 1st page it just sounded interesting.This book is a fiction book. The main problem is that her mom is alcoholic and that her mom does not feed her and only feeds the little ones.The probles is resolved by a person coming and taking penelope and her brothers to a very good home.My opinion about this book is that it is a sad book because the mom does not really pay any attention to Penelope and her brothers but at the time it is a good book because Penelope is with her brothers and they were not alone if they were alone the little kids would of died.Me penelope is about a girl that is 16 years old and that she lives with her mother and her mother is addicted to alcohol her friend's name is holly she is with her in the good times and the bad times. So they are talking about who are they dgoing to home coming with and they cant find any dates because all the guys are taken by other girls in the school so they have to go and get there stuff before homecoming week is right in the corner so they want to go with a guy to home coming.
March 16, 2012
Not being a teenage girl, nor ever having been a teenage girl, I am sure that my read of this book was far different from that of the "fairer sex." However, a good story is a good story and a great voice is a great voice. Lisa succeeds in both of these ventures. Her protagonist, Penelope, leaps from the pages with a voice of her own. It is has been said that true art is when you (in this case the reader) forget you are experiencing art to begin with. In this case, I didn't hear Lisa telling Lopi's (Penelope) story, I heard Lopi telling me her story. It was honest, it was appropriately frenetic, and it was emotional. I found myself involved in the emotional turmoil of Lopi and her world and I blazed through the book, wanting to turn the pages to follow Lopi on her journey.
This is an honest story, a captivating character, and an environment that is no stretch at all to find fairly well entrenched in America. In other words, it's relatable.
It's also fairly honest, no pulled punches. It talks issues teens are confronted with (sex, divorced families, alcohol, death) and meets them head on.
A good read!
This is an honest story, a captivating character, and an environment that is no stretch at all to find fairly well entrenched in America. In other words, it's relatable.
It's also fairly honest, no pulled punches. It talks issues teens are confronted with (sex, divorced families, alcohol, death) and meets them head on.
A good read!
October 12, 2007
This was not the book that I thought it was (I was looking for the book Penelope - soon to be a major motion picture starring Christina Ricci - a whimsical tale of a young girl cursed with a pig snout until true love finds her). I figured it out soon enough, but kept reading as I was intrigued.
Penelope "Lopi" Yeager is bright sixteen year old girl caught up in guilt, self-esteem issues, internal sexual pressures and ideas, and anger at her mother who dates men young enough to interest her daughter. Lopi goes through embarrassing incidents with her first time making out, her first time smoking pot, her first time getting drunk - but still stays resilient and though she lies, stays true to herself.
A love story (without being overly gooey - though definitely sexual), a story of healing (without being preachy) and a story of teen angst (without being depressing), Me, Penelope, is an enjoyable read with cute little illustrations at the chapter heads and likeable characters you feel like you've met before.
Penelope "Lopi" Yeager is bright sixteen year old girl caught up in guilt, self-esteem issues, internal sexual pressures and ideas, and anger at her mother who dates men young enough to interest her daughter. Lopi goes through embarrassing incidents with her first time making out, her first time smoking pot, her first time getting drunk - but still stays resilient and though she lies, stays true to herself.
A love story (without being overly gooey - though definitely sexual), a story of healing (without being preachy) and a story of teen angst (without being depressing), Me, Penelope, is an enjoyable read with cute little illustrations at the chapter heads and likeable characters you feel like you've met before.
Read
December 7, 2008I wasn't familiar with this book until I read recently that it was removed from a middle school in Florida, due to sexual content. So, of course I'm curious!
ETA: I didn't care much for this book; the main character is hard to warm up to, and the short, declarative sentences didn't pull me into the story. Also, I felt there was too much going on: sex issues, mother issues, divorce issues, grieving-and-feeling-guilty-about-brother-who-died-in-car-accident issues. I would probably place it at high school level for content, and I don't think it would interest my middle schoolers anyway. (Though that's my professional opinion, and I support the right of other librarians to make professional decisions about their collections.)
ETA: I didn't care much for this book; the main character is hard to warm up to, and the short, declarative sentences didn't pull me into the story. Also, I felt there was too much going on: sex issues, mother issues, divorce issues, grieving-and-feeling-guilty-about-brother-who-died-in-car-accident issues. I would probably place it at high school level for content, and I don't think it would interest my middle schoolers anyway. (Though that's my professional opinion, and I support the right of other librarians to make professional decisions about their collections.)
June 4, 2009
This book is about yet another teenager trying to find herself. She thinks she in no way fits in with the "high school crowd" so she manages to find a way around it. She is acts strangely around all guys and tends to get to attached to them. She even goes as far as to flirt with her 40 something year old mothers boyfriend. Throughout this story Penelope talks to herself. She has this thing that is called "the hole" which is when she shuts herself off from the whole outside world. At first when I read that part I couldn't imagine why she would do something like that. Reading further into the book I managed to figure out that she thought she was the cause of her brother's death so many years back. Great description and I loved that it had a happy ending.
May 24, 2010
Okay, now this book didn't reel me in as most books I have read do. But for what it was I found it sweet and ringing with truth. Her relationship with her mother was a struggling one and all through her quest for 'the one' I loved knowing that he was there all along. I think by far that that was my favourite part. It is definitely a book for teens who are trying to find themselves, as that is really what the book is about. But for a first read I think it would be reccomendable. It wasn't terrible but then again, I think it could've had a little more 'oomph'.
May 27, 2012
A junior in high school, Lopi is trying to finish high school a year early, due to the fact that she feels like she doesn't fit in. Her beautiful young mother doesn't pay much attention to her, there the secret that Lopi feels she is to blame for the death of her 2 yr old brother, when she was 6. Lopi also wants to experience sex in a loving way with someone. Will it be the cute boy she sees at a college party, her soon to be step-father or her best friend Toad? A bit on the mature side for reading, but a good read.
February 4, 2016
The fallout from an accident that killed Penelope's baby brother when she was six comes to a full bore as a teenage Penelope wrestles with her needs to be independent; to be loved by a boy; to have sex; and to get away from high school, her mother and the secret about the accident she's borne all her life. The solutions she seeks are never quite right until she finally opens up about the accident to her best friend Toad and her mother. Penelope's angst is well-drawn and felt. Lib notes: pot-smoking and alcohol scenes, Penelope's sexual fantasies.
December 29, 2007
16 y.o. Penelope (aka Lopi) wants to get out of the prison that is high school. She wants to get away from her mother, who is dating a 26 y.o. named Josh. And she wants to have sex. So she makes a plan to graduate a year early, develops more than a crush on Josh, gets drunk at her mother's birthday party, and tries to seduce Josh but instead vomits all over his shirt. Written in the first person, the short chapters reads like someone's diary.
December 24, 2008
Yet another book I'm only reading because it's controversial (and banned in a Tampa, Florida middle school).
Update: I finished, and while there's a little bit of sex... it's certainly far less explicit than many of the other Young Adult novels I've read. And I'm happy to know that the main character is a SMART young lady who does not get sidetracked from her plans by "luv." Phew. (I don't think that's a spoiler.)
Update: I finished, and while there's a little bit of sex... it's certainly far less explicit than many of the other Young Adult novels I've read. And I'm happy to know that the main character is a SMART young lady who does not get sidetracked from her plans by "luv." Phew. (I don't think that's a spoiler.)
October 5, 2012
I think I liked it so much because very few young adult books realistically approach sex and a teenage girl's understanding of relationships without making them into caricatures. I really liked Penelope's voice, and I enjoyed how the author handled her serious desire to have sex by also showing that she has this romantic idea built up inside of her head that makes her second guess losing her virginity as casually as she had planned. That kind of conflict felt real.
July 29, 2008
i really liked the book. i thought it was a bit clique but in the end it was magnificent. it was so sad how shes depressed cause of the lack of response ability in her parents that lead to a terrible accident. at first i wasnt that interested but it turned out great i wouldnt put the book down i had to finish the whole book today though it was pretty easy since it was so short.
September 14, 2014
I'm only half way through this book and I already enjoy it a lot! Being a teenage girl myself, I understand a lot of the points it has. Penelope and I actually have a lot in common. Hopefully when I finish this book it'll have a special place inside me. I love those types of books, the ones that stick. :)
March 6, 2016
Lopi is an endearing character; by the final pages, I feel like I know her well. Her adolescent angst goes through its hormonal, psychological, emotional pulls and pushes and she still manages to arrive at where she wanted to go. This novel confronts the realities that teenagers face and does not try to hide anything; it's candor I thought invigorating and recommend it.
March 20, 2008
Teenage story.A girl graduates early but wants to get her life going and lose her virginity. The problem is who with? She also feels guilty about an accident that killed her sibling. What will she do? Interesting for a teen story. Fairly short so those with short attention spans can get into it.
June 6, 2010
this book was really point less and annoying...I didnt like it at all...I thought it was going to be better than it actually was...Penelope was too sex crazy and just not relatable...
June 19, 2012
i really liked this, although I don't remember even why i liked it so much. I guess because it was such an honest written book. Not like most novels that keep praising the protagonist.
December 1, 2012
I really liked this book; it's that simple.
July 25, 2014
Bleh. The main character in this book was soooo annoying.
June 19, 2013
very dark but ultimately sweet
May 3, 2017
Enjoyed the book. Glad I didn't let others reviews stop me from reading it
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