Life by Committee

by Corey Ann Haydu

Some secrets are too good to keep.

Tabitha might be the only girl in the history of the world who actually gets less popular when she gets hot. But her so-called friends say she’s changed, and they’ve dropped her flat.

Now Tab has no one to tell about the best and worst thing that has ever happened to her: Joe, who spills his most intimate secrets to her in their nightly online chats. Joe, whose touch is so electric, it makes Tab wonder if she could survive an actual kiss. Joe, who has Tabitha brimming with the restless energy of falling in love. Joe, who is someone else’s boyfriend.

Just when Tab is afraid she’ll burst from keeping the secret of Joe inside, she finds Life by Committee. The rules of LBC are simple: tell a secret, receive an assignment. Complete the assignment to keep your secret safe.

Tab likes it that the assignments push her to her limits, empowering her to live boldly and go further than she’d ever go on her own.

But in the name of truth and bravery, how far is too far to go?

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Young Adult Contemporary

304 pages, Hardcover

First published May 13, 2014

Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads

Eh. That is probably the best way to sum up my feelings towards Life By Committee. This was actually one of my most highly anticipated novels from Harper, but hopes can only go so far before reality kicks it in the butt. I felt rather apathetic towards Corey Ann Haydu's latest novel, and most of the nit-picks I had all led back to my thoughts on the characters.

So lemme talk about the characters first, since that's the case. I didn't care for them. Not Tabitha, Elise, Devon, Joe, Cate, Sasha etc. Sure, they had distinguishable personalities and traits such as being a cheater, stoner, caring best friend, considerate ex-best friend's brother, but them and I didn't click. I found Tabitha to be painfully blind to the reality that is around her, many issues just didn't seem realistic. Take trusting and letting strangers guide your life online for example--who in their right mind?

ASSIGNMENT: Weed. Your dad's weed. Tell the counsellor at your school. Show the evidence.

I mean, these online people (the people at Life By Committee) already torn the family into shatters and now they want to make it worse by getting more people involved. Would you listen? Looks like naïve young Tabby would. I get that you want the main character to learn a lesson or two in the end, but this just was not the ideal lesson to learn when 10 year olds already know this stuff.

Did you hear Bitty's [Tabitha's] post? Her parents? We, like, destroyed a family.

Another problem I had with Life By Committee was the relationships. I did find the family dynamic to be highly exceptional but the friendship and romance was not pleasing at all. Tabitha used to be friends with Jemma and some-chick-whose-name-I-forgot-already but apparently she was dumped because she was too hot/pretty. Like honestly, implausible, much. The romance was not better, if not worse. There was no chemistry between Tabitha and Joe but Tabitha would occasionally say: "We're soul mates." (I'm paraphrasing here.) It's like she was trying to convince her, not us. I mean, Joe's just there for the hot body! He's got a girlfriend, for god's sake.

Hey Tabby,
So, that was weird. Today.
Weird good.
Weird hot.
You're hot.
Crap. What are we doing?
- Joe

Oh, I dunno. Maybe cheating on your girlfriend that you love by leading on a hot girl who you only have platonic feelings for.

Mainly, I felt like there was too much convincing us things by telling as opposed to showing it. The author says things such as: "Elise is a good friend." "We're soul mates" "I have feelings for Joe" "We're in love" but we never have it actually shown/acted out. It's like were expected to just believe all this because the characters in the book say so.

Overall, I felt indifferent towards Life By Committee and struggled as I had quite a lot of suspension of disbelief moments. The characters, story idea, relationships and logic just couldn't click with me.

[Shoshana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a tough read. I put it down several times, and came pretty close to not finishing it. Crux of the issue: I found Tabitha really hard to sympathize with.

At first, there was a lot I liked about her situation/set-up: her childhood friends dumped her because she developed (physically, style-wise, and boy-interest-wise) ahead of them, but she still feels she's the same person and their judgements are way too, well, judge-y; her very young parents (she was an "oops" baby, so to speak) are having another baby and trying to "do it right this time;" and she's completely hung up on a boy who seems to return her affections - but he's also got a girlfriend.

But things slowly fell apart for me. Tabitha continually pursues decisions that are self-destructive (AND hurtful to others) with this wounded holier-than-thou attitude that gets old quickly. Also, EVERYONE jumps on board the Tabitha Is An Angry Slut train which made it confusing, to me as a reader, as to how right her old friends were or weren't. The story is told from Tabitha's perspective, and aside from her raging crush on Joe, she doesn't SEEM that boy crazy, and doesn't seem intent on ditching friends for boys, and her clothing and make-up (as described) don't sound that off-the-wall-slut-tastic. And yet EVERYONE - peers, parents, teachers - is on her for how she dresses and acts. Her guidance counselor gets on her for wearing a short dress - that she's paired with tights and flats. This IS high school, right?

And then of course there's the main plot, where Tabitha shares secrets online and gets given "assignments" meant to help her live life to the fullest. I can see how this could be compelling, especially for a confused teen. But as the ante ratchets up, Tabitha can clearly SEE the destructive nature of the assignments - they stress her out, freak her out, and she does not want to do them to the point of feeling ill. But... she still does them. And kind of flip-flops back and forth between hating it and feeling like This Is The Way. (And not like... flip-flopping where you recognize the previous feeling and acknowledge the change in heart. Flip-flopping like, two pages ago she was about to puke, and now she's all cult-happy and there's no reflection between the two.)

So. I guess that sums it up? Interesting set-up, pretty much failed execution. I also don't know that I buy that a tiny school of 500 people would take 5 hours to share secrets.

[Glass · Rating 3 out of 5]

So many mixed feelings. I don't remember last time I'd been this torn about rating a book. Or simply deciding did I like it at all. Life by Committee is a second novel written by Corey Ann Haydu and it was one of my anticipated reads after all great things I've heard about OCD Love Story. What I got in the end? Let's make a list, shall we?

Fangirling moments:

- All the parts about reading. As a bookworm, I could relate with all Tabitha's thoughts about reading and descriptions of how much she enjoys this activity. I was blown away with the idea of "active reading" - taking a notes, marking your favorite parts, drawing similes and hearts on the margins of your current read and then you forward that book to someone else. Reading books with other people's notes in it. I want to do that!

- LBC webpage. "Tell a secret, receive assignment. No pictures. Just your feet or shoes." I found this part of the story the most original for young adult contemporaries. I've started to take pictures and writing down all this crazy thoughts I have. I'm not sure that I am ready to reveal them to the world.

- Lesbian best friend. Finally!!! Why does girls always have to have gay best friend and not lesbian best friend?

Why do you have to rain on my parade moments:

- My ex-best friend hates me because I have boobs and I like to talk/flirt with boys. I had a feeling like this whole part of plot supposed to be a serious approach to the subject of self-respect and the way teenagers come to the terms with their bodies and all social implications. What I got in the end is a story about hormonal girl, not that much serious dealing with the subject - just a lot of drama, drama, drama. Also, I am still not completely sure that I understood why her friends stopped talking with her.

- Cheating. Okay, we should not be judgmental, we should not support double standards about male and female sexuality, we should stop slut-shaming - I agree with all that wholeheartedly - but that is really hard to do when you have main character who acts without thinking, who whines about how other girls treat her and at the same time she does everything to prove them right and she judges other girl for the same thing. I understand how cruel place high school can be and that teenagers can be really naive, but that is not excuse for what Tabitha (and Joe) did. And she's not even that sorry. Okay...

- Parenting skills. Tabitha's parents are horrible. I am not sure if this was attempt to make them "hip" and "modern" or whatever, but I really do not care if some countries legalized marihuana or that there are a lot of people who thinks that it is not a big deal. Marihuana is a drug like any other that leads to an addiction and first step to more dangerous drugs. I do not think that this part of the story is something I'd ever want my kid to read and think how it is okay. I respect if there are people who do not agree with me, but I do not accept any drug as something normal or harmless (including cigarettes).

- Mean Girls. At some point Life by Committee lost "serious" part completely and turned into Mean Girls. It was like watching a slightly different scenes from the movie - especially ending of the novel.

To finish this up...

Life by Committee is a novel that started promising , but ended up as a read with much more issues than positive things. This doesn't mean that there are no readers who will enjoy in this story, but, unfortunately, it was not a good choice for me.

Review posted at Ja čitam, a ti?

***Copy of this book was provided by publisher, Katherine Tegen Books, via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.***

[Wortmagie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die Schriftstellerei ist bereits Corey Ann Haydus zweiter Karriereweg. Davor arbeitete sie als Schauspielerin, die ihre Ausbildung an einer Musikhochschule abschloss. Mit 26 merkte sie jedoch, dass sie sich auf dem falschen Pfad befand und wagte einen Neuanfang mit ihrer anderen Leidenschaft, dem Schreiben. Sie ergatterte ein Praktikum in einer auf Kinder- und Jugendromane spezialisierten Literaturagentur und verliebte sich in diese Gattung. Nach dem Praktikum nahm sie weitere Jobs in der Branche an und entschied, ihren Master of Fine Arts in einem Programm für das Schreiben von Kinderliteratur zu absolvieren. In dieser Zeit erschien auch ihr erstes Buch OCD Love Story. „Life by Committee“ ist ihr zweiter Roman.

Manchmal wünscht sich Tabitha, ein anderer Mensch zu sein. Sie wäre gern furchtlos, bereit, Risiken einzugehen und über die Stränge zu schlagen. Vielleicht könnte sie Joe dann endlich überzeugen, seine Freundin zu verlassen. Leider ist sie kein anderer Mensch. Ihre nächtlichen Chats, so voller Intimität und Sehnsucht, müssen ein Geheimnis bleiben, das sie nicht einmal ihrer besten Freundin mitteilen kann. Sie hat keine Freundinnen mehr. Nicht, seit sie anfing, sich für Jungs und ihr Aussehen zu interessieren, was offenbar ein Schwerverbrechen ist. Gerade als Tabby glaubt, keinen Tag länger schweigen zu können, stolpert sie über die Website Life by Committee. Die Regeln der LBC-Community sind einfach. Verrate ein Geheimnis. Erhalte deine Aufgabe. Erfülle deine Aufgabe, um dein Geheimnis zu schützen. Tabby ist fasziniert. Sie lässt sich auf LBC ein und genießt es, mehr zu wagen als jemals zuvor. Doch schon bald wird aus harmlosen Aufgaben bitterer Ernst und Tabby muss einsehen, dass das Beste für sie nicht immer das Richtige ist.

Ach, ich bin ein Softie. Das emotionale Drama von Teenagern reißt mich immer noch mit, besonders, wenn es so einfühlsam, anschaulich und plastisch beschrieben ist wie in „Life by Committee“. Corey Ann Haydu leistete mit diesem Buch wirklich gute Arbeit. Ich war von der ersten Seite an angefixt und war beim Lesen so vertieft, dass ich einmal beinahe meine Bushaltestelle verpasst hätte. Es störte mich nicht, dass die Geschichte aus der Ich-Perspektive der etwa 15-jährigen Tabitha ein wenig vorhersehbar geriet und Haydus Botschaft leicht durchschaubar ist. Dieses Risiko besteht immer, liest man Jugendliteratur, wenn man nicht mehr zur Zielgruppe zählt. Mir machte das nichts aus, weil ich trotz dessen so schön mit Tabby mitfühlen konnte. Für ihr Alter ist sie verblüffend selbstreflektiert, wodurch es mir überhaupt nicht schwerfiel, mich in sie hineinzudenken. Sie hat keine Skrupel, sich ihre unangenehmen oder negativen Gefühle einzugestehen, was ich erfrischend ehrlich fand. Anlass dazu hat sie mehr als genug, denn in ihrem Leben läuft einiges schief: sie vergraulte ihre besten Freundinnen, indem sie quasi über Nacht die Pubertät erreichte; sie ist eifersüchtig auf ihre ungeborene Schwester, bei der ihre jungen, hippen Eltern fest entschlossen sind, einfach alles besser zu machen und hat sich auf eine Liebelei mit einem vergebenen Jungen eingelassen. All diese Punkte zermürben ihr Selbstwertgefühl, weil sie dazu neigt, die Schuld an ihrer Situation bei sich selbst zu suchen und irrationale Erklärungen zu akzeptieren, statt die Wechselseitigkeit ihrer Beziehungen zu hinterfragen. Sie erkennt nicht, dass nicht sie allein das Problem ist, was Haydu meiner Meinung nach leider nicht ausreichend betonte. Einsam und deprimiert sucht Tabby Trost in der Online-Community Life by Committee, deren Konzept ich wahnsinnig spannend fand. LBC ist das faszinierende soziale Experiment einer Basisdemokratie. Wer auf der Seite ein Geheimnis postet, übergibt sich dem Willen der Gemeinschaft, die geschlossen entscheidet, welche Aufgabe erfüllt werden muss. Die Aufgaben haben immer einen Bezug zum Geheimnis, wodurch dem Mitglied geholfen werden soll, ein erfüllteres Leben zu führen. Obwohl die Gefahren, die sich daraus ergeben, Fremden die Kontrolle zu überlassen, „Life by Committee“ von Anfang an überschatten, kann ich den Reiz dieser Website absolut nachvollziehen. Geheimnisse zu verraten, ohne verurteilt zu werden, die eigenen Bedürfnisse zu priorisieren und untypisch aus der Rolle zu fallen, wirkt sicher befreiend. Zuerst sind die Aufgaben auch tatsächlich konstruktiv, aber schon bald entwickeln sie sich in eine fragwürdige Richtung, weil ihre Konsequenzen nicht mehr absehbar sind. Der Druck von LBC entpuppt sich als toxisch und destruktiv, was Tabby glücklicherweise gerade noch rechtzeitig einsieht. „Life by Committee“ zu lesen, war ein bisschen, als würde ich einen Zug beobachten, der kurz davor ist, zu entgleisen und in allerletzter Sekunde zurück auf die Schiene springt: schockierend, nervenaufreibend und schlussendlich erleichternd.

Es wäre zu einfach, „Life by Committee“ als offensichtliche Warnung vor den Risiken des Gruppenzwangs zu interpretieren. Natürlich spielt diese Facette hinein, aber meiner Ansicht nach gräbt Corey Ann Haydu tiefer und legt die Wurzel dieses Phänomens frei, die sich nicht ausschließlich in der Gruppendynamik von LBC äußert. Im Kern geht es in diesem Roman um Erwartungsdruck. Die Probleme der Protagonistin Tabitha sind das Ergebnis des Konflikts zwischen ihren inneren Bedürfnissen und äußeren Erwartungen. Anhand ihres Beispiels illustriert die Autorin, wie wichtig es ist, eine gesunde Balance zwischen diesen beiden Faktoren zu finden und dass man diese Herausforderung nur allein meistern kann. Sie lehrt Tabby, dass weder ihre Eltern noch ihre ehemaligen Freundinnen, Joe oder LBC über ihre Identität entscheiden können. Aufgrund dieser Botschaft fand ich „Life by Committee“ nicht nur spannend, sondern auch wertvoll. Ich kann es guten Gewissens weiterempfehlen, besonders an Softies wie mich, die sich (immer noch) gern von Teenagerdrama berühren lassen.

[Lisa (lifeinlit) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been so conflicted on my thoughts about this book, so writing this review has been very time-consuming and, honestly, a little difficult. I keep going back and forth. I liked it. No, I really didn’t like it. Well, I kind of liked it. Parts were awesome and I didn’t want to put it down. Then I hated it. Yes, it was one of THOSE kinds of books.

First let’s talk about the characters. We have Tabitha, who is all kinds of a hot mess. She’s hooking up with a guy she’s completely infatuated with who, by the way, has a girlfriend. (Cheating = angry Lisa) I don’t normally mind cheating in books. It’s a very real thing in our world. But seriously, she wasn’t even sorry about it. Not one bit. She would mention feeling bad, and then two seconds later was back at it again. I just didn’t believe Tabitha or really care for her at all. And the other characters were pretty similar. None of them really stole my heart or had a lasting impression on me. I finished this book a couple weeks ago and honestly can’t even remember most of their names at this point. I just didn’t feel these characters, as cliche as that may sound.

The story line – well, it’s basically along the lines of a cult convincing people to ruin lives. It’s sad actually. I can see how these somewhat broke characters thrive on someone telling them what to do, forcing them to “live a little” and do things they normally would never have done. I’m sure it helps with their self esteem, confidence, etc. But really, the things they were doing were extremely hurtful at times and really affected others in a bad way. It just felt so cultish to me, having to do whatever you were told to do without a word. Kind of gave me the chills. Yes, Tabitha at times would consider her assignment and whether it would hurt others, but I just didn’t feel she was being realistic about it all and wasn’t taking into account others as much as she should have been. She seemed almost numb to it all at times.

But even after saying all of that, there were parts of the story I really enjoyed. It did have a very realistic teenage vibe to it, which I do normally really like. Some of the situations the characters were placed in definitely had me remembering high school at its worst. It was harsh, and real, and at times a very accurate portrayal.

Can you see why I’m having difficulty rating this book now?? >.<

OH! And Tabitha's parents... *cringe* I get the whole new "modern and hip" parents in books thing, but really, Tabitha's parents were ridiculous! I'm not going to get into marijuana and it being legalized, etc., but I'm just not a fan of drug use in books in general, especially when the drug use is by the parents. That's just my personal preference. Her father was high more often than not, and her mother was snarky and mean most of the time. Two parents that I didn't find helping their daughter in this difficult time AT ALL.

Something I REALLY liked in this book was the idea of writing notes in a book while reading it. They would take notes, draw pictures, etc., about the book they were reading, then pass the book on to someone else. I would love to read a book someone else read and see their thoughts written in the margins and little pictures they drew while reading it. The idea of that is so awesome to me! (At first I freaked out at the thought of WRITING in a book, since I'm a freak about the condition of my books... but I rationalized it with having a keeper copy that was perfect, and then writing in one to pass on to others. :D )

One thing I'm still not sure I really understand is why Tabitha's friends stopped talking to her. She was friends with these girls, and now all of a sudden she's not anymore, and they're definitely bordering on Mean Girls at this point. They say and do really mean things. Tabitha is constantly saying how she misses her friends, etc., but what happened to make them be so mean to her now? I guess I missed it....

I THINK I enjoyed this book. I THINK it was more entertaining than not. I was so excited to read this book. It was one of my most anticipated reads this year. So maybe that's why I'm having difficulty. I guess I just expected more. But still, I can't say it was bad. It was well written and definitely had several redeeming qualities. Overall a middle-of-the-road book for me.

Audiobook Impressions:
This this is the first book I’ve listened to narrated by Allyson Ryan. She really did a great job of creating these characters and portraying them as realistic teenagers. She definitely redeemed this book a bit for me. I think if I was reading it, as opposed to listening, I may not have enjoyed it as much. She added to the book and really kept me listening, even when I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue. I’m so glad Harper picked such a good narrator for this book.

(Thanks to HarperChildrens for the audiobook review copy!)

Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

[Macarena Yannelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,75 en realidad.
Este libro es something else. Es tan diferente y original. Y lo le doy completamente 5 estrellas porque no es un libro perfecto, pero es ese tipo de libro imperfecto que me encanta.
Reseña completa en Gracias a los Libros.

[Dahlia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will leave a review when I am no longer mad over the fact that even when I thought I was dying of exhaustion at 1 am last night I could not put this book down and proceeded to finish it over the next two hours.

[Defne · Rating 3 out of 5]

See the original review @ Creased Book Spines
I feel like this book could have been much, much better.

Life by Committee had one of most intriguing plots I've ever seen these days and that's probably why I just couldn't wait to start reading it. I don't start reading a new book before I publish the review of the previous one so I kept opening the cover of it and closing it again.

Our main character is Tabitha -Tabby- who has been left by her best friends because she apparently "changed", which means that her bra size changed and she started wearing make up and catching boys' attention -and liking it. She is now left with no one, excluding Elise who is kind of her best friend but doesn't give the same feeling of comfort being around Jemma and Alison gave to her.
I loved how different this book started off as, compared to other contemporary YA novels. We all read about the girl who ditched her best friend because she became someone different -she grew up and got prettier. Now we get to read about the girl who was ditched by her best friend(s) because she became someone different.

"'I haven't changed at all,' I say. And this I actually mean. Because a sudden jump in cup size isn't the same thing as changing who I am."

I thought, "Hey, a different point of view and a very interesting plot. Could this book get any better?" and apparently, it couldn't. *shrugs*

Tabitha a different character indeed. I didn't like her as a person, to be honest, maybe mainly because I couldn't relate to her. First of all, the whole relationship-slash-not-a-relationship thing with Joe clashes with my supportive partnership and loyalty and faithfulness concept/logic. The fact that she knew Joe had a girlfriend yet still didn't do anything to fix the mess between him and her made me look at her in a different way. I don't mean to "judge the book by its cover" or anything but I just really hate anything that has to do with cheating so Tabitha started off with a minus one point.

She also couldn't control herself or her actions, no matter what those actions led her to. And it is not innocent or naive or anything, believe me. Sure, the excitement maybe made her mind go all blurry and inactive and I'd tolerate that, I really would, but it wasn't just that. Her actions became too selfish for me to handle after some time.

The only common point between me and Tabitha is our love of books, probably. I loved the idea of reading someone else's book -a used book- with notes and highlights on it. I hate writing on my books so I probably wouldn't be able to participate in it that much but I still think learning what someone, a different person, thinks while reading the same paragraph or quote as you do.

"This is why I love books. They so often address exactly what I'm going through at that precise moment."

One other thing I liked about the book was Life by Committee. I loved that it was full of anonymous people, using nicknames to hide their true identity. I also liked that the assignments given after the secrets were solely dedicated to make the person make bolder decisions and act upon them. Of course, that was before the whole thing got out of hand and crashed.

I didn't like Tabitha's parents, Paul and Cate at all. They were horrible parents. I understand where they're coming from, they were young when they had Tabitha and weren't ready to grow up so the birth must have been very shocking to them, but come on, you're 32 with another baby on its way, isn't it time to get a grip? And I don't only mean the new baby but also Tabitha included? Your daughter has been going through a lot of things and needs you, probably needs you more than ever and you're still trying to figure out what to do with your life?

I hated the slut-shaming Jemma and Alison did. More cleavage or more make up or shorter dresses or tighter pants do not mean that the person in front of you has become a "slut" so it was incredibly rude of them to jump to conclusions, especially given that the person in front of them was their best friend. I think it made her feel insecure about her clothing a bit, she started doubting her choice of clothing after some time.

"It's [the dress] short and I feel good in it, which I've decided must be wrong."

Sure, Tabitha liked the attention boys gave to her and it probably made her heart race and her mind became fuzzy, but it doesn't mean anything besides that. No!

To conclude, I can say that this book had potential to be great but especially with the childish main character, it was hard for me to like this book. Still, I didn't hate it and it had its moments where I went, "Oh my God yeees!". If you don't mind hard-to-like main characters, you can give it a go, I guess. :'D

[Jenni Arndt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Upon finishing Life By Committee all I can think of is that I am... indifferent to it. I breezed through the novel and did enjoy reading it, but I failed to connect to it in any way so it was a very passive experience. This is a bit of a disappointment to me because I was such a huge fan of Haydu's OCD Love Story, but at least I did manage to enjoy the reading a bit.

I think my inability to really connect with the story was mostly due to the fact that I never felt like I got a real understanding for our MC Tabitha. Tabby was a very cold, closed off character. This attitude is really understandable in her story because of what she had been through. Her life long best friend randomly dropped her at a dance because she didn't feel she was a good person and didn't like how she had changed over the summer and that really left her with no one in her life. There is this weird judgey thing going on at Tabby's school. Because she got pretty over the summer and started wearing clothes that were a bit more revealing she was judged pretty harshly. People thought she was a huge slut and that she was this boy crazy girl that she really wasn't. I mean she had crushes sure, but it was nothing out of character for a teenaged girl. The reasoning for everyone in the school shutting her out was one that never really resonated with me because it was really silly.

A big part of the novel was the one relationship that Tabby did manage to maintain with her best friend Elise and this also failed to emotionally affect me in any way. See, I never felt like Elise was a good friend to Tabby at all so when they had their falling out I didn't really care because it was kind of like, well, good riddance to bad rubbish to me. Tabby never felt like she could be honest with Elise (though Elise was honest with her about some pretty private stuff) but Tabby always feared judgment from Elise and to me that is not a quality I would ever want in a best friend. As far as love interests go, we are shown a mostly one sided relationship as Tabby pines for Joe, a boy at her school who already has a girlfriend. I didn't much like Joe at all, I mean he was using Tabby and he was a cheater and that's not exactly a turn on in my eyes. For me relationships and the way they are built and maintained is a large part of my enjoyment in a novel and that just wasn't present here so it definitely left me longing for a lot more in that department.

We are also treated to a lot of family life in Life By Committee. This was one part of the novel that I did really enjoy. Tabby's parents were very young when they had her and are now pregnant with another baby and wanting to do things differently the second time around. I did feel bad for Tabby as she prepared for the big change in her home life. I mean, being an only child for 16 years and then being faced with a new sibling is pretty huge in the life of a teenager. I also was left feeling pretty bad for her as she witnessed her parents intense need to "do things differently" for this second baby which left Tabby wondering why they felt they screwed up so badly with her. I mean I understood the viewpoint from the parent's mind, they were young with Tabby and definitely didn't raise her in the most mature of environments but I totally understood why it would hurt Tabby.

Through all of these changes and shut outs in Tabby's life she ends up finding solace in a Life By Committee website after she finds the web address written in a used book. She gets immersed in this weird web where members tell secrets to the other members and are then given a mission to help them deal with it by the site runner. Some of the things these people do are hefty and I had a hard time believing people would listen to this random person from the internet as they fly around the world and make incredibly revealing things public.

Upon finishing this review my feelings toward the book are really no more clearer than they were prior to writing. This was definitely not one of my new favourites but it was interesting and kept me entertained all the way through. I do think that OCD Love Story was a much stronger story and I am still excited to see what topic Haydu tackles next.

--

For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
16-year-old Tabitha is having a rough time. Her mother is pregnant, her father is a stoner, her friends aren’t talking to her because they think she’s too sexy, and the boy she’s falling in love with already has an overly-needy girlfriend.
When Tabitha finds the URL for an internet group in the back of a used book, she joins to find a site known as ‘life by committee’. Every week, members must post a secret about themselves, and the guy who runs the site responds with an assignment that must be completed within 24 hours.
Tabitha admits that she kissed another girls boyfriend, only to find that her assignment is to do it again, and she’s not sure if she should.
Should Tabitha follow what the kids on life by committee tell her to do? Should she kiss Joe again? And will he ever leave his girlfriend for her?


This was a cute story, and I actually found it really entertaining.

I really liked Tabitha. She was an ordinary girl, with ordinary teenage problems, and I really felt sorry for her the way her friends victimised her. I liked that she found support in ‘Life by Committee’, and really wanted things to work out for her. I also loved Tabitha’s love of reading. I thought her ‘active reading’ idea where she wrote notes in one of her favourite books about what her thoughts and feelings were as she read it was really quite beautiful, and I loved how passionate she was about it. I also loved the way she then passed these books along and tried to find books that other people had marked up so that she could see how they viewed the same book. This kind-of reminded me of buddy reading which I also love, and even almost made me want to start doing the same myself.

The storyline in this wasn’t quite what I expected, but it really worked. This was more of a coming-of-age story than anything else, and I liked how Tabitha coped with her problems.
There were some really interesting parts to this story, and I loved some of Tabitha’s observations and ideas.
“I make myself throw up in the bathroom just to see if it will clear the feelings out of my chest. It doesn’t. I’m so not cut out for bulimia.”

I thought that the way that Tabitha and Joe interacted at the start was really sweet, and I liked how he made Tabitha feel loved, although I also thought that he started to use her at points as well.

The ‘Life by committee’ stuff was also quite interesting, although some assignments were more interesting than others. I loved the one where a girl gate-crashed her father’s wedding wearing her mother’s wedding dress, but some of the others were more risky than bold, and I wasn’t sure that everyone on the site should have just followed their assignments so blindly.

There were some twists and turns in this book that I didn’t see coming, and I really liked the way Tabitha grew as a person and learned to stand on her own two feet. The ending reminded me of a scene from a certain film, and I’m not sure how realistic it was, but it was still a pretty good ending for this story.
Overall; an enjoyable coming-of-age story.
7.5 out of 10.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled to decide what to rate this book but after thinking it over I decided I didn't really enjoy it. I didn't hate it but it wasn't great.

When I first read the blurb I was really intrigued and I was so convinced I'd love it. It definitely misled me; it wasn't what I expected. I desperately wanted to love it but it was pretty difficult.

Tabitha wasn't a main character I could connect with but the way everyone treated her because she "changed" was insane. Just because she grew boobs and her hair got blonder, or whatever, everyone believed she was a slut all of a sudden? What the fuck? That makes no sense whatsoever.

Her relationship with Joe was not what I was expecting either. I expected some great romance but that wasn't really the case. I was confused as to why she liked him at all but I thought about and I guess he was just pretending to be somebody else when they talked; someone she had built up and thought she could love. But eventually it was crystal clear that he was just some kind of sleaze. It took her a while to realise this but I'm glad she finally came to her senses. I liked Devon but it seemed he was just like an afterthought, being thrown in towards the end but, oh well.

The story overall didn't hold my interest very well. However, I did find the LBC part to be interesting; I'm pretty sure that's what kept me wanting to read further on. It all seemed so dreamlike and impulsive and exciting but it turned out to be pretty fucking crazy. Some of the assignments were life-altering to the extreme.

This book was okay, I kept reading because I wanted to see how things played out. I'm not sure how I felt about the ending though? It was pretty vague but I suppose that's not necessarily a bad thing. Overall, an okay read in some ways but not amazing, unfortunately.

[Debbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

0.5 Clouds because I'm feeling generous.


I don't even know why I tried with this one. I really don't. Everything is just everywhere and I had no clue what was going on. And I actually tried to like this one, reading until the very last page despite my many groans and screams of anger and frustration and head banging and almost throwing my E-Reader at the fucking wall.

The whole concept of Life by Committee is stupid. The whole community is insane, the rules aren't explained well and the assignments are so juvenile and stupid. They aren't realistic nor do they support 'living life to the fullest'. The characters suck, Joe is as interesting as a fucking toaster. Moreover, the romance is complete shit. Nothing about it explained. They're just fucking together. What is this, Kindergarten where people bump into each other and are like, "We're dating now."

On top of this, the ending is dumb and pretty plain and kindergarten like.

However, the writing is all right. There's nothing completely horrendous about it.

Life by Committee is not by any means a good, fun, enjoyable read. If anything, it's dull, frustrating, and childish. Don't read this book. It's boring and nothing explained.

[Stacee · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars

I love the idea of a secret society type thing based on secrets. Honestly, it's that part of the premise that kept me holding on. The rest of it, I didn't really care for.

I struggled with Tabitha's monologue. She comes across as manic and flighty and sort of mean and I just didn't like her. She was the main reason I wanted to DNF almost immediately. Even with the shitty way she was being treated, I couldn't bring myself to care about her.

And don't get me started on Joe. He's a sleezeball. There were absolutely no redeeming qualities about him. I don't understand WHY she was so obsessed. Devon had a lot of potential, but he seemed to be thrown in as an after thought.

The idea that everyone in Tabitha's school thinks she's a slut because she wore a v-neck shirt and some eyeliner is absolutely ridiculous. Yes, she does kiss another girl's boyfriend, but the slut part and her being ostracized by the entire student body happens before that. In one scene, she's even called to the counselor's office to discuss her actions...because she grew some size C boobs, that automatically means she's sleeping with everyone. Sigh.

The entire LBC part of the book was interesting. I would have liked a bit more of a background, but I also really enjoyed the mysteriousness about it.

There is a bit of a twist ending, but it was far too little too late. Overall, this book just wasn't for me.

**Thanks to Katherine Tegen and Edelweiss for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**

[B.A. Malisch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stayed up all night reading this one. I couldn't separate myself from the characters or the story, and I think that pretty much says it all.

[Sara Grochowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot has changed for Tabitha in the last few months. Suddenly, guys have started to notice her… and she can’t say she doesn’t like the attention. Her friends, on the other hand, are less than thrilled. Tabitha insists she’s still the same person, just, ya know, better looking and with a sense of style, but her friends are convinced she’s traveling down a dark and dangerous path. Still, it’s hard not to wonder if maybe there is something wrong with you when you’re constantly being judged and critiqued by your former best friend. Plus, Tab does have a secret that might damn her if others new about it… She’s falling for a boy. A boy that has a girlfriend. And he might be falling for her too. To distract herself from her all too complicated life, Tab loses – and finds – herself in the annotations of used classics. When her father brings her home a copy of The Secret Garden, Tab finds the previous owner is a kindred spirit with secrets of her own. Within the pages of the book, Tab finds an online community that will change how she lives her life – for better or worse.

One of the reasons I adored Life by Committee so much was because of the strength of the main character, Tabitha. Not only is she ridiculously bookish, which I’m sure many readers will relate to, she’s also very honest and strives to stay to herself. Even when Tabitha’s ex-friends have disowned her and are constantly attacking her choices (how she dresses, who she is friends with, who she is), she never apologizes being herself – flaws and all! This book perfectly illustrates the oft used phrase friends and parents use any time situations like this arise: “Don’t worry, they’re just jealous.” Tab’s ex-friends make a valiant attempt at slut shaming her and, while it’s obvious that Tab is hurt by it, she never lets them win.

I especially loved that one of the reasons Tabitha was so comfortable with being herself was because of her parents. I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book in which the main character’s parents were like Tabitha’s… They were teen parents and, though they definitely made (and make) some mistakes throughout the novel, you can tell that they really try to understand and support her.

Tabitha definitely has a flaw or two as well. Namely her relationship with a very taken guy. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to really judge her. To me, he was the one who was being sleazy and playing on her feelings. What she did wasn’t right, but Tabitha’s situation showcases how difficult it can be to make smart choices when your emotions take over and you feel like you’re in love for the first time. And, I think Tab provides a perfect example of why slut shaming is not okay. She didn’t set out to hurt anyone, nor did like being with someone in a relationship. Not once is the boy, who is also participating in the affair, called a slut or shamed at all for his actions. I think it’s incredibly important that teens (and adults!) realize that there is always more to a situation. And even if a girl does set out to ruin a relationship or have an affair, there are always two participants. And slut shaming will never undo the damage or help in any way.

Life by Committee has a Post Secret vibe happening that I adored. There is something incredibly liberating about anonymously sharing your secrets with strangers. And something horribly terrifying about the possibility of someone you know finding out your secrets. It’s easy to imagine Tabitha being pulled in to the secret-driven community she finds online, especially with the burden of her inappropriate relationship that she’s been holding in. When Tabitha joins the community and spills her secret – that she’s kissed a boy who has a girlfriend – she’s given the assignment of kissing him again. She feels completely adrift… being given direction (and permission to pursue the relationship) would have been intoxicating. Plus, Tab is painfully lonely. Sharing secrets bonds people, giving Tab a sense of companionship, something she desperately missed.

[Nara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Secret: I kissed someone else's boyfriend.
Assignment: Do it again.

Wow. I honestly did not expect this book to be so amazing. I have to admit, the book did start off a bit shakily- the initial chapters were basically just Tabitha pining over Joe, a classmate who she communicates with frequently online and who she apparently loves, despite his having a girlfriend. This initial drama was a bit much, to be honest. But then she found the Life by Committee website and she began testing her boundaries, and woooow. I was hooked.

Joe was a freaking douchebag. Seriously, the entire book, I had no idea why Tabitha "loved" him. He kept making these stupid excuses about why he wouldn't break up with his girlfriend, yet continued to string Tabitha on. Such excuses included: "it's complicated", "you know I can't leave her, she's fragile", "we'll talk about it later" and other such no nos. NOT ON, MATE. NOT ON.

You know who else was freaking annoying? Tabitha's former friend- Jemma. OH MY GOD. GTFO GIRL. She was so self-righteous and so bitchy and ugh. Every time there was an interaction between her and Tab, I couldn't help but feel angry. Bit of background: Jemma tells Tab that she doesn't want to hang out with her because Tab is "a bit of a slut". Seriously, all that Tab did was gain some curves and get a bit more interested in guys. It was nowhere near "slutty" behaviour. STOP WITH THE PERSECUTION, JEMMA. MY GOD.

Well, we should move on from the shitty characters and talk about Life by Committee. Which is this website where you have to tell people a secret to be able to remain a member of the site- and the moderator, who goes by the name of Zed, will set "assignments" to do with your secret. Holy crap, half of the assignments were ridiculous. Things I would literally never ever do. I won't spoil the surprise of what they were (well, there's obviously the "do it again" one from above, but I won't spoil the others) but seriously. Never. I really loved seeing how Tabitha didn't immediately jump into the tasks- she deliberated. She felt conflicted. She was entirely realistic.

The ending did tie things up nicely, but my god, it was cheesy. Basically, think Mean Girls. And sunshine and rainbows and everyone being happy. But you know what? I didn't really care. So it was cliched. So it was super cheesy. What's more important was that it was cheesy and cliched in a way that was supremely satisfying. Which probably doesn't make sense. So ignore this paragraph and basically know that the ending was awesome. Kthxbye.

Secret: I loved this book
Assignment: Push this book on anyone and everyone. EVERYONE.



Ratings
Overall: 9/10
Plot: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Cover: 4/5

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I start with my review of Life by Committee, there’s one important question to consider. Do you need to like the main character to enjoy a book, or can you overlook the likability factor for a unique storyline? Life by Committee is definitely in the latter camp, because although I found it very difficult to like Tabitha, I loved where Corey Ann Haydu went with the plot.

Tabitha is struggling with who she is and how her looks influence how people perceive her. It’s interesting to read from the perspective of a character who found herself becoming more attractive as she grows up, and being acutely aware of it. And Tabitha knows that’s what caused her friends to ditch her – and as a girl who was previously part of the more laid back group at school, she finds herself stuck in social limbo.

What I didn’t enjoy about Life by Committee is Tabitha’s obsession with Joe. Although she mentions several times the depths of their online communication, it didn’t feel like it was demonstrated enough to make me understand where she was coming from. I don’t even care so much that she didn’t really have a moral dilemma of kissing the boyfriend of another girl (because, let’s face it, some teenagers DON’T think about morality all that often), I just didn’t get why she was so obsessed.

Tabitha’s parents were so prominent in LBC, and the relationship was so complex and unusual that it was actually the highlight of the whole book for me – Haydu does something rather unique with them that brings a completely different dynamic to the story – as well as some additional drama.

I did love Tabitha’s obsession with books, and reading the notes written in second-hand books. On a complete aside, I’ve never bought a second-hand book with markups, but now it has me curious. And Tabitha’s habit of collecting them was actually a pretty cool hobby. It’s when she finds Life By Committee (LBC) from one of her second hand books that things start to get interesting.
There are probably going to be some people that won’t like the seeming lack of morality of Tabitha, and the fact that she finds herself crumbling under some pretty strong peer pressure and doing some silly things, but I liked that aspect a lot – it really showed how her confidence had taken a beating at being ditched by her friends over her looks, and that she really just wanted to find someone that liked her for the person she was.

I was impressed with Corey Ann Haydu’s debut, OCD Love Story, and I found Life By Committee equally readable, covering some difficult issues that are ripe for discussion and a main character that wasn’t perfect. Only the rather cheesy and contrived ending felt a bit odd – but if you like things wrapped up neatly at the end of a book, I think it’s a big plus.

[malayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY OPINION: *****

This is one of the first books that I actually liked in a long time. I guess my view on books after reading Black City soured for a while. But I'm good again.

This was a really strong book that was unlike other contemporary novels. Let's just do a list of what I liked...

*Devon. He was AMAZING. I just loved him.
*The day when they all shared the secrets in front of the whole school. That was amazing and something that I wish could happen in real life.
*All the books in the book
*Elise
*The fact that she finally got over Joe after forever
*The LBC

So yeah. It's not very long but those were the highlights of the book by far.

Some quotes:

"People keep smiling at me on their way up the ramp, but I am so heart-poundingly stupefied by the response to my outpouring of secrets that I don't smile back. I can't get my head around the way one action done for a totally selfish reason has caused something so large and generous and profound." Page 284

"He makes eye contact with me. He is all haunted blue eyes and skinny arms under his long-sleeve tee. He smiles and waves, and first I think: cute." Page 180 (Talking about Devon and not Joe for once)

So the one thing I disliked about this book was Joe. I do not understand what Tabitha saw in Joe, but I hated him. He was annoying and he was fake and just ugh. I could not handle reading about him.

Tabitha was also kind of annoying at times. It was like, all she could think about was Joe and she never thought about anything else. And hasn't she heard of Internet safety? Why would you just share that your dad is addicted to weed and that you kissed someone else's boyfriend on the Internet to completely random strangers?

We never did get to know who Zed or Star was or any of the other people on the website except for Agnes.

Did anyone else think that Sasha Cotton was annoying? She was so clingy and just irritating.

Okay, so I know this was short but I have another review to write and some other stuff to do so...

I would recommend this book to realistic fiction lovers.

Main Character: Tabitha
Sidekick(s): Devon, Elise, Joe, etc
Villain(s): Jemma, Sasha, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life.

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)]

Life by Committee is sort of Gilmore Girls meets Mean Girls. There were things I really liked a lot about this book, and a few I liked less well, but overall I'm a fan.

I loved that Tabby was going through so many changes, both actual life events and shifts in the way she saw herself as a person. These changes, and how they affect her friendships, were portrayed in a extremely moving and realistic way. I also thought Tabby's relationship with Joe was a necessary and powerful part of the book, even though cheating plots are usually a huge turn-off to me. (Why do girls fall for guys with girlfriends, and why do guys with girlfriends not break up with those girlfriends if they're interested in someone else? It happens, and it's always a mess.)

But in this story, I think Joe's emotional and romantic unavailability was an important part of the story. A lot of the book centered around Tabby's desire to be attractive to boys, and how she's shamed by her friends for that. I think the fact that she's fixated on Joe emphasizes her ambivalence about growing up and owning her choices and desires, even if they are derided by others. Joe's taken, so in a certain sense, he's "safe." He's also a huge jerk, but that's a whole other issue.

I was less crazy about the whole Life by Committee aspect, which to me felt out of place in a book that was otherwise really subtle. LBC felt gimmicky to me and served mostly as a reason for Tabby to do things that were often self-destructive and/or flat-out wrong, things that added tension to the story but things I'm not sure were in character for her. I did like the twist toward the end -- though I totally saw it coming.

The assembly scene toward the end seemed painfully fake to me and like something I'd seen before in a teen movie -- Mean Girls, maybe?

But all in all, I really enjoyed this. I think that it beautifully captures the insecurity that teenage girls go through as they grow up.

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tabitha is the girl everyone loves to hate. It's the classic story of the average girl ending one school year seemingly unnoticed and returning in the fall totally transformed and suddenly the girls all hate her because she's hot and too many guys are noticing. The so-called friends she had totally drop her because they've decided she's not someone they want to be around anymore. Her hippie, stoner dad is too high to know what to do and her pregnant-again mom is too focused on the new baby and doing things "right" this time around. Tabitha starts chatting online with Joe, a boy who already has a girlfriend, and eventually stumbles upon the Life by Committee group. The rules are simple: tell a secret, receive an assignment, complete the assignment to keep your secret safe. I can't exactly pinpoint why, but most aspects of this book just didn't click with me. Why would Tabitha's friends ditch her just because of her looks? What was so great about Joe that she risked her reputation even further? And, most importantly, why did she listen to the committee? She admitted she didn't want to, she was upset enough to the point of almost being ill, but still did her tasks. There was a cult-like mentality at play that I couldn't understand. I also didn't believe in the conclusion. A lot of secrets are revealed and Tabitha seems to have learned a lot about herself, but I'm still walking away unsatisfied.

[Christina (A Reader of Fictions) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

For more reviews, Cover Snark and more, visit A Reader of Fictions.

Back in May, I started Life by Committee and quickly set it aside. It’s not a reflection on Haydu’s sophomore novel or on any of the others I picked up and abandoned while in New York City for BEA. I just wasn’t in the mood for anything then. Haydu’s was, perhaps, especially hard to take. I was afraid that I wouldn’t enjoy Life by Committee, which I’d so much been looking forwards to after Haydu’s hard-hitting and painful debut novel, OCD Love Story. Coming back to it a few months later, I was in the right head space to appreciate Haydu’s unflinching look at the painful parts of teenage life.

As she doesn’t look like trouble, she can have all the sex she wants and still have friends.

Two things I think can be counted on when embarking on a Haydu book: 1) the main character probably won’t always be the most sympathetic character in the world and 2) the things the main character is dealing with are going to be big and painful. On the surface, I think it would be easy to dismiss Life by Committee as a novel of teenage infidelity. Certainly, that’s the issue that presents itself right away, and the one from the cover. Tabitha is engaging in a flirtation with Joe, a hockey player, who claims to be equally smitten, despite the girlfriend. They have epic late night chats and talk about everything. She thinks she’s in love and that he’ll dump his girlfriend Sasha for her any day now.

I am a new shape. They hate that shape.

It is obvious, to the reader, that this is not a good situation. Sure, it’s not Tabby’s job to worry about the health of Joe’s relationship; the cheating is his fault and his alone. However, Tabby’s not aiming just for kisses; she wants love. Tabby actually even knows that she’s probably making mistakes, but she’s too into Joe and too desperate for someone to love her that she can’t think rationally about it.

Tabby only has one friend now, Elise. They’re not as close as Tabby was with Jemma, her former best friend. The loss of a best friend can be as painful as any break up and Tabby’s suffering. Jemma dumped her for not staying the same, for becoming pretty, for dressing differently, for wanting to do things with boys. Tabby grew some large breasts and suddenly she has a reputation to go with them and even her best friend won’t stand by her side. While she changed physically, Tabby doesn’t feel different on the inside and, in fact, tries very hard to remain true to the core of herself, if only to prove how shallow Jemma’s being. Unfortunately, it’s not really working for Tabby, because no one is paying attention to who she is rather than what she looks like except for Joe. Elise might, but Jemma’s too afraid of losing her only friend to risk that with honesty about the Joe situation.

Further destabilizing Tabby is the baby on the way. Tabby’s parents, Cate and Paul, raised Tabby sort of as an equal. Think of the as cool parents, who had her when they were teens themselves. Now, though, with the new kid on the way, there are changes happening. Cate wants Paul to smoke less pot, for one, which is resulting in a lot of fights in what has previously been a low key family. Also, Tabby feels like she’s being replaced. She was the test run, but they’re going to do things right with this baby. She feels like she’s lost everyone except for Joe. She thinks he sees her. It’s a heady, powerful thing.

It’s short and I feel good in it, which I’ve decided must be wrong.

How much does this quote make you ache? This. THIS is Tabby. Everything she is seems to be wrong. All of Tabitha is disappointing and upsetting to friends and family. When Joe doesn’t fulfill her dreams, she feels entirely rootless. In this desperate condition, Tabby finds a copy of The Secret Garden with notes in the margins by someone else (finding such used books is a favorite hobby of Tabby and Paul). The notes speak to her and include a link to a strange website. In a fit of sadness after something doesn’t go as desired with Joe, Tabby joins the site.

Here is where the title comes in. The site is called Life by Committee. To be a member, you must share at least one secret every week. The small community offers feedback and support until the moderator, Zed, gives you an assignment. The assignment must be completed within 24 hours, no matter what it is. Life by Committee is intended to help them out of their rut and make them dare everything. They’ll live better. That’s the promise.

As you might expect, Tabby becomes obsessed with Life by Committee. While I have some minor suspension of disbelief issues with the website itself, I one hundred percent get Tabby’s obsession with such a thing. A girl who thinks everything she does is wrong would crave this sort of assistance. She doesn’t feel like she can trust herself and these people will tell her the magical secret way to happiness. Obviously, most people are going to immediately look askance at all of this, but for people like Tabby it appears a safe haven. Within LBC, she finds acceptance and motivation.

“The way you’re dressing, Tabitha,” Mrs. Drake says, uncrossing her legs and leaning in closer to me. “The way you’re carrying yourself. Now, we’re not stodgy old fuddy-duddies here. We’re not conservatives, of course. And you have the freedom to dress how you want.”

“But?” I say.

“But I’m concerned about your relationships with other girls and maybe that you are being …naive.”

“Naive,” I say. No question mark. No need for her to answer. My legs itch all of a sudden, and I try to scratch with just one finger, but it’s not enough. I start scratching my thigh kinda voraciously.

“Do you feel comfortable with the way you’ve been dressing?” Mrs. Drake says. Her eyes go to my thighs. It doesn’t seem to matter that they are covered in tights.

This was a conversation between Tabby and her school guidance counselor, who called Tabby into her office. She’s being slut-shamed even by the administration of the school. Haydu’s dealing heavily with slut-shaming and gossip in Life by Committee. They wear Tabby down and bring everything to Tabby breaking down. You can see the slut-shaming from others and the way that it affects Tabby’s own opinion of herself.

The resolution for Tabby is a beautiful thing. Though I wasn’t really emotionally tied into Tabby, I teared up during the big scene in the auditorium. I have trouble imagining something like that happening outside of fiction, but it carries a powerful message nonetheless: often, the secrets we keep end up being a bigger burden than honesty. On the other hand, I really don’t like the lack of resolution with the LBC site. View Spoiler »

Haydu’s Life by Committee is the perfect read for readers who enjoy novels that get at the painful truths of high school. If you’re into Courtney Summers’ stuff, you’ll probably enjoy Life by Committee.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

// Worum es geht //

Tabithas Leben gleicht einem Trümmerhaufen. Sie fühlt sich allein und verlassen. Von allen unverstanden. Von allen, bis auf Joe. Joe, dem sie alles erzählen kann. Mit dem sie jedes noch so kleine Geheimnis teilen kann und dessen Berührung ihr eine Gänsehaut über den Körper jagt. Joe, der eine Freundin hat.
Gerade, als Tabitha denkt, sie müsse explodieren, stößt sie auf die Website "Life by Committee".

Auf dieser Seite gibt es nur drei Regeln:
Poste jede Woche ein Geheimnis.
Erfülle die dazugehörige Aufgabe innerhalb von 24 Stunden.
Nur wenn die Aufgaben erfüllt werden, sind deine Geheimnisse sicher.

// Was ich davon halte //

Bei einer Aktion des dtv Verlags habe ich dieses Vorab-Leseexemplar zur Verfügung gestellt bekommen und möchte mich auf diesem Wege noch einmal herzlich bedanken.
Ich hätte auch nie gedacht, dass mich dieses Buch derart fesseln und mich zum nachdenken bringen kann. Gleichzeitig hat es mich überrascht und in Atem gehalten. Ein Buch, das mich wirklich absolut überrascht hat.

Die Geschichte beginnt damit, dass Joe und Tabitha chatten. Mitten in der Nacht, wie schon seit längerer Zeit. Es wird sofort deutlich, dass das Mädchen ihn sehr gern hat. Sogar davon überzeugt ist, ihn zu lieben. Ihn und seine wunderbaren Worte, die ihr ein Kribbeln in der Magengegend bescheren. Er findet sie toll. Er findet sie heiß. Und Tabitha lässt sich davon mitreißen. Ist begeistert von seinen Worten und genießt die Aufmerksamkeit. Und den Nervenkitzel. Denn Joe ist vergeben. Er hat eine Freundin und trotzdem sagt er ihr, wie wunderbar er sie findet.

Man merkt sofort, dass Tabitha eigentlich eine gute Seele ist. Sie lässt sich leicht beeinflussen und versucht trotzdem irgendwie gut zu sein. Das Richtige zu tun. Und sie braucht diese Bestätigung. Sie braucht sie wirklich dringend. Ihre Mutter ist nämlich schwanger und alles scheint sich nur noch um das ungeborene Baby zu drehen. Vor allem, weil Tabitha selbst ein ungeplantes Kind war. Sie kam auf die Welt als ihre Eltern gerade so alt waren wie sie jetzt und daher möchten Paul und Cate natürlich bei dem anderen Baby alles anders machen. Richtiger. Und das spürt Tabitha.
Sie fühlt sich allein. Unverstanden. Vielleicht sogar weniger wert als das Kind, das bald da sein wird, schließlich scheint sie der ungeplante Fehler gewesen zu sein, der nicht das ist, was ihre Eltern gerne hätten.
Zumindest nimmt Tabitha es so wahr.
Gleichzeitig hatte sie eine Auseinandersetzung mit ihren besten Freundinnen, die ihr den Rücken gekehrt haben. Tabitha hat nur den Chat mit Joe. Das Spiel mit dem Feuer. Die Aufmerksamkeit eines Jungen, den sie eigentlich nicht haben kann. Und gerade, als sie denkt, es bald nicht mehr aushalten zu können ohne Joe zu sein, findet sie in einem gebrauchten Buch die URL zu der Website "Life by Committee".

Bis dahin war Tabitha ein Mädchen, welches von ihren Eltern nicht genügend Aufmerksamkeit bekommt. Welches von ihren ehemals besten Freundinnen gemieden wird und kaum Anschluss an andere Jugendliche hat. Sie lässt sich auf ein Spiel mit einem vergebenen Jungen ein, in den sie sich nach und nach verliebt.
Dann kommt "Life by Committee" in ihr Leben und alles steht plötzlich Kopf. Sie ist fasziniert von dem Zusammenhalt der Community. Fasziniert davon, wie sich völlig fremde Menschen, die nichts oder besser kaum etwas voneinander wissen, unterstützen können.
Jedes gepostete Geheimnis wird in der Gruppe diskutiert. Man postet Ratschläge, Meinungen, spendet Trost und spricht Ermutigungen aus.
Bis dahin vielleicht ein netter Gedanke, wenn man sich nicht anders zu helfen weiß. Wenn man nicht weiß, mit wem man sonst sprechen soll.
Der Gründer der Website, Zed, überlegt sich anhand der Diskussionen eine Aufgabe, die innerhalb von 24 Stunden erfüllt werden muss, ansonsten könnte Regel 3 in Kraft treten.

Kaum hat Tabitha ihr erstes Geheimnis gepostet, steht sie die ganze Zeit unter Druck.Sie möchte die Aufgabe erfüllen um dazu zu gehören. Sie will Zuspruch, Aufmerksamkeit, Ratschläge und Hilfe, ihr Leben irgendwie wieder in den Griff zu bekommen. Tabitha braucht Halt und eine Stütze, der sie alles anvertrauen kann. Dieser Halt wird die Website.
Doch ist wirklich alles gut, was dort geschieht? Ist wirklich alles richtig, was diskutiert und letztendlich auch verlangt wird? Kann eine Website voller anonymer Fremder tatsächlich Halt bieten? Und wie will "Zed" bei Missachtung der Regeln die Geheimnisse der Mitglieder verraten?

Viele Fragen sind mir beim Lesen dieses Buches durch den Kopf gegangen und einiges blieb unbeantwortet. Gerade diese dritte Regel hatte für mich als Druckmittel zwar Sinn, aber nicht wirklich, wenn jemand tatsächlich seine Aufgabe nicht erfüllt.
Denn die Teilnehmer sind anonym. Es werden keine Namen gepostet, keine Bilder, zumindest nichts, was auf den Aufenthaltsort oder das Umfeld der Teilnehmer hinweisen könnte. Natürlich ist man im Internet nicht immer komplett anonym aber die Personen kennen sich nicht. Wie also kann der Betreiber der Seite die Geheimnisse an die Öffentlichkeit bringen? Oder sind die Mitglieder gar nicht so anonym wie Tabitha denkt?
Gleichzeitig wirft sich während des Lesens die Frage auf: Wer ist dieser Zed und was will er wirklich? Denn während Tabitha immer tiefer in diese "Life by Committee" Spirale gerät, kommt ihr ganzes Leben ins wanken. Ihre Aufgaben werden krasser und haben nicht nur auf ihr eigenes Leben Auswirkungen, denn wenn sie sie erfüllt, dann betrifft es auch das Leben ihrer Mitmenschen.

Ich muss sagen, dass die Autorin die Verzweiflung von Tabitha wirklich toll beschrieben hat. Das Mädchen klammert sich so unglaublich an diese Website, dass sie völlig vergisst was in der Realität abläuft. Dort, wo sie eigentlich sein sollte. In ihrem Leben. Alles scheint den Bach runter zu gehen und "Life by Committee" wirkt auf sie wie ein rettender Anker.
Eigentlich möchte sie ihr Leben wieder in Ordnung bringen, doch werden die Aufgaben, die sie erledigen soll, ihr dabei auch wirklich helfen?

Gegen Ende des Buches habe ich regelrecht mitgefiebert. Mein Herz hat schneller geschlagen, ich habe eine Gänsehaut bekommen und hätte das Buch an manchen Stellen am liebsten gegen die Wand geklatscht. Und trotzdem hat die Autorin es geschafft einen Weg zu finden es so Enden zu lassen, wie es am Besten war.
Ich musste mir letztlich sogar Tränen aus dem Gesicht wischen, weil das Ende mich überrascht aber auch fasziniert hat. Es ist gut, wie es ausgegangen ist und es hat Spaß gemacht diese Reise mit Tabitha anzutreten.

// Fazit //


"Don't tell me lies" ist ein Buch über ein verzweifeltes junges Mädchen, das versucht irgendwie Halt in ihrem Leben zu bekommen. Sie stürzt sich kopfüber in eine Website, von der sie nicht weiß ob sie etwas gutes oder etwas schlechtes bewirkt. Die Autorin hat einen tollen Schreibstil, der mich gefangen gehalten hat und die Ideen, die sie im Buch umgesetzt hat, haben mir gut gefallen. An manchen Stellen blieb dennoch ein Fragezeichen in meinem Kopf hängen, doch das Ende hat mich wieder vollends begeistert. 4 / 5 Sterne für dieses Buch.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

My original review of this title can be found here on The Book Hookup.

**SPECIAL NOTE:** An eARC of this title was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. However, that did not influence this review in any way. All thoughts, quotes, and opinions will be of this version and not of the published edition.

♦ Initial Thoughts and Rating: 3 stars! There were so many aspects that I liked about this novel, but sometimes I actually disliked how they were executed. At times I found myself rooting for the protagonist, but other times I wanted to shake some sense into her. Overall, I have to say that I liked and disliked this book in equal measure, which is why I settled for a “good” three stars.

♦ The Lowdown: Deserted by her former best friends for finding interest in boys, growing curves, and acting “different,” Tabitha’s closest friends are her parents and she finds her escape in the pages of her favorite books that have been marked by others’ thoughts. It’s in a copy of The Secret Garden that Tab discovers a kinship with its former owner, gravitating to the person’s thoughts on love and life that can found through highlighted sections and the pretty red penmanship swirled in the margins. It’s at the end of that copy that Tab also discovers a website, Life By Committee. It’s a site where members have to divulge secrets and Zed, the creator, gives assignments based on the secret, and then the community of secret-keepers offer their support and thoughts on both the secrets themselves and the completion of the missions. For someone like Tab, who has felt the strain of her evolving life weighing her down and her secrets are becoming more of a burden, this space feels like the exact thing she needs at the exact right time. These people will become her friends and they’ll help her guide her life.

The secret that marks her membership: I kissed someone else’s boyfriend.

Her assignment: Do it again.

And then, before the day is up, I need to do my Assignment and kiss Joe again. Not because I have to. Not because I’m scared of the Rules. But because I want to, and now I have permission.

Sasha Cotton can be as weird and artsy and as naked as she wants. But I have something better. I will be part of something bigger. I will do things and be more.
~quote taken from the eARC of Life by Committee at 34%

♦ My Thoughts: Honestly, this will probably be the most confusing, mixed review I’ve written to date. There were elements of this story that I liked and disliked simultaneously. For example, I loved her parents, how they were present and treated her like a friend at times, but when they suddenly wanted to drop that friendship and be “parents” it came off as forced and out-of-character for them. Additionally, I liked Tabitha and thought she came across genuinely, like any other teen on the cusp of growing up- being uncomfortable with her changing body, having mixed feelings about boys, and learning to deal with growing apart from lifelong friends. It was in those moments, these things that most teens deal with at some point in life, that really allowed me to connect to her as a reader. But then, she would do or say things for extended periods of time that aggravated me so much that I would find myself almost hating being inside her head. Lastly, I liked the idea of this secret community and initially I really liked that it was this driving force in Tab making decisions for herself, but somewhere along the way, Zed and the other members started becoming the source of all the drama and it become less fun and more… unnaturally complicated? Like all the other parts of this book, it felt like a giant mood swing halfway through book. Or, perhaps, the fault lies with me and I had the giant mood swing. However, the ending really pulled it out for me. I like that Tabitha was brave, cut her losses, stood up for herself, and wasn’t afraid to let the chips fall where they may. She took control of her life again and I fistpumped the air so hard for her.

♦ Rec It? Yes, but I would probably recommend waiting for it to go on sale or getting it from the library. I didn’t love it enough to shove it in everyone’s hands, but I appreciated a majority of the story and what it represented: Being yourself and not being afraid to tell people your thoughts is important. Sharing your opinion and letting others see the real you doesn’t make you weak. That adults can be assholes, and maybe they don’t always know the right way to handle things all the time either. But mostly, you can’t let other people tell you how to live or act, you have to make those decisions yourself because ultimately that’s the best part about growing up and learning and evolving. It’s what’s going to make you you.

♥ A very special thanks to Katherine Tegen Books and Edelweiss for providing me with an early copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

[Naoms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally Posted on: Confessions of an Opinionated Book Geek


Tabitha has secrets. Big and small secrets. The one that occupies her mind the most is the fact that she is having a secret relationship. He tells her all of his secrets, tells her he wants her and kisses her. But, it’s all behind closed doors, because, Tabitha is the other girl in his life.

There are several things about this book that I enjoyed. The first one is the reason that you should read this book; Tabitha, the main character. Tabitha is not a good girl, but she’s not a bad girl, either. She is feisty, self conscious, lonely, nervous around boys, and brave. She makes really stupid mistakes, puts her trust in the wrong people and lets her world spiral out of control. Basically, Tabitha is just a girl trying to figure it out. That’s a great distinction in a genre filled with goodie two shoes and sacrificial lambs.

This book deals with the problem of slut shaming and the manic pixie dream girl, brilliantly. Corey Ann Haydu flips both of those tropes on it’s head. Tabitha is slut shamed and not for reasons you might think. No one knows about Joe. No one knows anything about Tabitha with any boys, because there’s nothing to know and yet, the school names her “slut.” Why? Because nature had the nerve to give this girl curves. Oh, and when she filled into her curves, Tabitha began to dress herself accordingly. Nothing too dramatic, because she shops at the GAP for god’s sake!

Still, there are rumors, she’s an outcast and everyone looks down at her. It’s all very trite, which is good, because slut shaming is trite. Tabitha is the only girl in literature, that I can think of, who gets less popular when she gets hot. It’s usually the other way around and I really loved that this author gave us a new perspective and a new twist on the same old story.

LIFE BY COMMITTEE is a very interesting concept. Not only, because of the LBC itself, but because Tabitha is the other POV in stories like this. For example, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl in this novel is actually Joe’s girlfriend. In another novel, Tabitha would be the short skirt wearing blonde girl who bats her baby blues at Joe and steals him away from the perfect, beautiful and misunderstood heroine. In the hands of another author, Tabitha would be the villain, the mistress, the slut. I am very pleased that Ms. Haydu gave us a different perspective.

Then there is LBC. I found the idea of the committee to be very interesting, because it’s true to life. Tumblr is a perfect example of a website where people find each other. I sincerely, consider many of my followers, etc on tumblr to be my friends. It’s obviously not the sort of friendship I have with my friends in normal life, but people on tumblr know a lot about me. When I am devastated or hurt by someone in my normal life, I turn to my blogs, because there is something empowering about a world where you are known and yet anonymous.

That is what “Life by Committee” gives Tabitha. She is finally able to show people the scars she hides from the world without being vulnerable. Without being shamed. The Committee gives Tabitha assignments. These assignments are meant to empower. They are meant to give these guys and girls the courage to take bold moves. Unfortunately, LBC is sometimes the blind leading the blind and while Tabitha’s actions are sometimes empowering, other times they are destructive.

The reason this book gets 4 stars and not a full 5 is, because I personally could have used another twenty pages. I’d like to see the aftermath of Tabitha’s choices a bit more. I’d like to see this new world that she has created for herself and her classmates. I’d like to see if her family makes it through the turmoil. I smiled, laughed and cried at the end, so it’s completely worth it. I am just not 100% satisfied, because I wanted to see everything wrapped up a bit better.

Honestly, I just highly recommend it. This book is a breath of fresh air.

Recommended for anyone sick of the normal YA tropes and could use something new. Also for fans of books that focus more on coming of age, or growing up and less on romance. (Although there is romance in there)

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, that was my first thought after finishing this book. I read an awesome review (kicking myself for not remembering which one) for this book and seeing it was about cheating kinda made me want to move along to another review bit something told me to read it. Needless to say, I ended up buying it that day and finished it pretty quickly.
Life by Committee is one of the best books I've read this year, it didn't involve anything paranormal or fantasy. It's about a girl who does make some not so great decisions, but ultimately just wants her life to be somewhat normal. I hate how alone she is, her parents are there but they have their own stuff going on. She's kinda pushed off to the side because everyone thinks she is so independent. I think that has a lot to do with some of her terrible choices. I believe Tabitha could easily be someone that I could relate to and I love her method of reading. It's called active reading and you make notes in the margins, and write down how something made you feel. Questions you want to ask. Only problem with it is my being OCD about writing in my books...
Her one friend that she had throughout (mostly) the book was awesome and didn't pull any punches. But she was also there to listen and be there. Her previous friends, well, I have nothing nice to say about them. How they treated Tabitha and why, just unreal to me.
To me, cheating is wrong on so many levels, and I know a lot agree and it may be the reason to not read this. But it is so much more than that. It's about someone coming into their own, finding their path, and obviously making mistakes along the way. I love this book, it's a beautiful story and I can't wait to check out more from this author.

[Jessica G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the best way to describe this book is to compare it to a light circuit or a bunch of synapses.
So, at the start of the book, I had made only a few connections and I didn't feel very understanding or sympathetic for the protagonist.
As the story progressed, I found more and more connections where right at the end, it was a complete circuit and all the connections between synapses were running smoothly. No tip of the tongue funny business.

There were definitely things that I thought that were left unresolved and whether that was on purpose, I couldn't say, but I was a bit disappointed.
Star had left an impression on me, and like Tabitha, I wanted to know more about her, and what happened to her.
I wanted to know about Zed and all the other members of LBC.
I suppose we can assume that another member of LBC was also there during the announcements at the end of the book. Or maybe the site discontinued to exist.
There were lots of things that I questioned at the end, but I am very happy with the ending.
Admittedly I felt unsure of the end relationship between Tab and Jemma, but I don't think it really matters, because she has Elise and Devon anyway.

The idea of LBC was intriguing and I was so fascinated by that idea I couldn't help but spend too many late nights trying to get extra reading in.

A great read, highly recommended for anyone looking for an interesting, contemporary read.

[PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grade: D
First 80%- B
Last 20%- F

Tabitha has issues. Her former friends hate her. Her father's a pothead. Her 32 year old mother is pregnant. And she's kissing a boy who has a girlfriend. Then she stumbles upon a website Life By Committee. Tell a secret. Get an assignment. Report back. Tabitha first tells about kissing Joe. Her assignment: kiss him again. Then the assignments escalate.

I enjoyed the first 4/5th of LIFE BY COMMITTEE. Tabitha wasn't the most insightful or likable character, but I found her sympathetic in that when she acted selfishly. She had major self esteem issues, or she wouldn't be okay being Joe's secret and she wouldn't seek out an anonymous group of Internet strangers to tell her how to act. I found the whole LBC too far fetched to be believable. What 18 year old flies across the country to show up on her crush's doorstep unannounced? Then they tell her to propose and she considers it?

The ending ruined the story for me with incongruous coincidences that were just plain corny and the dumbest school assembly that would never happen. If I didn't enjoy reading the first 80% the ending alone would have made this a one star review.

THEMES: friendship, family, parents, dating, drugs, peer pressure

The ending of LIFE BY COMMITTEE is so bad the book isn't worth reading. Message me if you want to know more.

[Erica]

I really loved this book, and it wasn't at all what I was expecting.

From the cover (which actually is very fitting with the story in the end), I was expecting a fun, light contemporary about a girl who joins a mysterious club that makes her do crazy and daring things. But in my reading, the life by committee aspect became almost incidental and more of a metaphor. From a quick perusal of Goodreads reviews it seems that some people didn't connect with Tabitha, but I loved her. And what I connected with most was the way Haydu portrayed a key element of my high school experience--the sense that your identity within the ecosystem of high school has been carved out for you and that it's not something that can be changed, the way that this time of your life that's supposed to be all about exploration is actually a time when almost everyone you know wants you to stay the same, and the way that that feeling can drive you to do things to almost "test" if they're really you--even if those things are horrible or seemingly out of character.

I'm now looking forward to reading her other books.

[Jamie (The Perpetual Page-Turner) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Taken from the "Final Thoughts" portion of my review:

Corey Ann Haydu’s Life by Committee is one of my favorite books I’ve read so far this year. It’s addictive, well-written and the way in which it constructs and deconstructs these characters just drives home the fact that PEOPLE and interactions are complex and life is messy. There are a lot of really thought-provoking themes that kept me up late at night that are woven together brilliantly with the page-turning plot that never became predictable. Highly recommend!

For my full review check out the blog

[Mississippi Library Commission · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life by Committee takes a look at the world of online communities. Tab's friends have dumped her and she feels like she has nowhere to go. But, LBC is open and accepting--to a point. She has friends cheering her on again, but she doesn't necessarily like what they're encouraging her to do. Author Corey Ann Haydu explores the concepts of bravery, secrecy, and what it means to grow up. Even though Tab's decisions are sometimes pretty poor, her motivations and struggles to find her place are definitely relatable. Older teens will like this one --it's a 9-12 grade Magnolia Award nominee!