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Following Zippy
At fifteen most kids only have to worry about their homework or the style of their shoes. Gabe Perkins isn't most kids. When diagnosed with a terminal illness, he begins to make friends with a girl so ethereal, he starts to question his own sanity.
- GenresYoung Adult
281 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2014
275 people want to read
About the author
C.B. Burdette
6 books56 followersI grew up a gypsy at my parents hands. With a dad in the Air Force, I got to experience life on the road, soaking up culture. After spending 6 years working as a model, I realized that the industry wasn't much of what I was looking for in life. More often than not I felt like Jo Stockton in Funny Face and escaped into the world of film, where your job is based on something more than beauty. Though I do love 12 hour days on set, there's nothing like snuggling up with a warm laptop and letting my fingers dance away to create a whole new world.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
dnf
November 20, 2014Sorry. I just don't think thhis should be out in the world yet
September 20, 2014
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The concept of this book was an interesting one, which is why I was originally drawn to it.
There are a lot of obvious grammatical mistakes such as commas in the wrong place, the misuse of words - such as 'your', and other issues along those lines. Then there's some content issues - the dialog, the narrator giving detailed explanation of conversations that happened between two people when he was a toddler - as if he were there participating in it, mixing up character names, the list goes on.
Despite that, I did enjoy this story - but it needs work. There's some pretty heavy stuff going on in this book. The author is able to portray the emotions pretty well. Normally when a book has this many editing issues I cannot finish it, but this story was able to keep me captivated.
I give this 2.5 platypires. I would read it again and would be willing to increase my rating if the author made the necessary changes.
http://www.platypire.com/j-hooligan/f...
The concept of this book was an interesting one, which is why I was originally drawn to it.
There are a lot of obvious grammatical mistakes such as commas in the wrong place, the misuse of words - such as 'your', and other issues along those lines. Then there's some content issues - the dialog, the narrator giving detailed explanation of conversations that happened between two people when he was a toddler - as if he were there participating in it, mixing up character names, the list goes on.
Despite that, I did enjoy this story - but it needs work. There's some pretty heavy stuff going on in this book. The author is able to portray the emotions pretty well. Normally when a book has this many editing issues I cannot finish it, but this story was able to keep me captivated.
I give this 2.5 platypires. I would read it again and would be willing to increase my rating if the author made the necessary changes.
http://www.platypire.com/j-hooligan/f...
September 2, 2014
Following Zippy by C.B. Burdette takes you on a journey about life. Gabe is a fifteen and learns he has terminal cancer. This is when Zippy starts showing up at his favorite place to get away. Gabe seems to be the only one who can see Zippy. Gabe begins to look at his life and what is important. Gabe, along with his mom, best friend Tony, and Darla, the girl he has loved as long as he can remember take this journey with him. Gage starts out as your typical teenage boy but realizing with help from friends and family and of course Zippy that life is never about how long you life but how you live it. This book is very compelling and it reminded me not to take one day for granted. I would recommend this book.
September 20, 2014
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
I really liked the idea behind this book. I thought it was an interesting premise, and a potentially moving read. Unfortunately it was not executed well. I read about half of the book and then skimmed the rest. I wanted to find out what happened, but the writing had too many errors. I can usually forgive a fair amount of grammatical errors, but there were misused words, phrases, as well as other things like repetitive paragraphs and awkward scene changes. There was some good writing in there, and I think with a good editor and a major face lift, it could even be great. I think the story is worth it, and with some more work, I'd take another stab at it.
I really liked the idea behind this book. I thought it was an interesting premise, and a potentially moving read. Unfortunately it was not executed well. I read about half of the book and then skimmed the rest. I wanted to find out what happened, but the writing had too many errors. I can usually forgive a fair amount of grammatical errors, but there were misused words, phrases, as well as other things like repetitive paragraphs and awkward scene changes. There was some good writing in there, and I think with a good editor and a major face lift, it could even be great. I think the story is worth it, and with some more work, I'd take another stab at it.
October 17, 2014
I received a review copy of this book for my stop on the blog tour at Donnie Darko Girl.
Most likely the shortest synopsis I've seen for a novel, Following Zippy only intrigued me even more because so little is given away. I didn't know what to expect, and it was exciting to walk into the unknown. I sensed the book's theme was life and death, and stories with that kind of theme always draw me into them.
At only fifteen years old, Gabe finds out he has a terminal illness, and his reactions are realistic and heartbreaking. I can only imagine I'd deal with the diagnosis the same way he dealt with it. His wit and candor made me laugh at times and other times I wanted to slap him for hurting his mom's feelings. Around the same time he's diagnosed, he begins seeing a girl with wavy golden hair named Zippy and is the only one who can see her. People think he's hallucinating, and even he begins to think that himself due to the nature of his illness.
It's hard to have hope while things look so bleak, but Zippy gives Gabe something no one else has - the insight that he could be spending what he has left of his life in a way that gives meaning to him and those around him. My favorite scene between the two of them is when they're talking about whether fish know what purpose they serve, and the conversation turns to whether human beings know their purpose. I thought it was a clever comparison - aren't we like those fish? Couldn't we be like them with someone we might not even be able to see wondering if we know our purpose?
For me, Following Zippy is really easy to talk about and review, but I struggled with rating it. There are a lot of mistakes editing can fix - such as punctuation errors, you're versus your, and incorrect grammar - but the story was so compelling to me, I flew through the pages. I would have easily been able to give Following Zippy five stars had there not been the mistakes either missed by editing or if the book was edited at all. I wanted, no, I needed to know if Zippy was a hallucination and what was going to happen to Gabe. Just looking at the cover makes me happy knowing what story lies within its pages, and for that, I'm giving Following Zippy four stars.
Most likely the shortest synopsis I've seen for a novel, Following Zippy only intrigued me even more because so little is given away. I didn't know what to expect, and it was exciting to walk into the unknown. I sensed the book's theme was life and death, and stories with that kind of theme always draw me into them.
At only fifteen years old, Gabe finds out he has a terminal illness, and his reactions are realistic and heartbreaking. I can only imagine I'd deal with the diagnosis the same way he dealt with it. His wit and candor made me laugh at times and other times I wanted to slap him for hurting his mom's feelings. Around the same time he's diagnosed, he begins seeing a girl with wavy golden hair named Zippy and is the only one who can see her. People think he's hallucinating, and even he begins to think that himself due to the nature of his illness.
It's hard to have hope while things look so bleak, but Zippy gives Gabe something no one else has - the insight that he could be spending what he has left of his life in a way that gives meaning to him and those around him. My favorite scene between the two of them is when they're talking about whether fish know what purpose they serve, and the conversation turns to whether human beings know their purpose. I thought it was a clever comparison - aren't we like those fish? Couldn't we be like them with someone we might not even be able to see wondering if we know our purpose?
For me, Following Zippy is really easy to talk about and review, but I struggled with rating it. There are a lot of mistakes editing can fix - such as punctuation errors, you're versus your, and incorrect grammar - but the story was so compelling to me, I flew through the pages. I would have easily been able to give Following Zippy five stars had there not been the mistakes either missed by editing or if the book was edited at all. I wanted, no, I needed to know if Zippy was a hallucination and what was going to happen to Gabe. Just looking at the cover makes me happy knowing what story lies within its pages, and for that, I'm giving Following Zippy four stars.
October 8, 2014
When I saw this title at first what actually came to my mind was the old toy Rainbow which had a friend called Zippy. Turns out I was so completely off-track and that Following Zippy turned out to be a Lad Lit novel as the main character Gabe is a fifteen year old boy who is bullied for A) being different and B) his best friend Darla aka the girl he has had a long-time crush on , her boyfriend jock Jake has it in for him and one night he gives Gabe a beating which lands him in hospital. Turns out though , that in a way the beating saved Gabe's life just a tad as it is discovered he has more issues than he realised . Zippy starts to come in the novel, just after the beating and it soons is discovered that only Gabe can see her . Is Gabe going crazy or is there a reason why only he can see Zippy ? Following Zippy is the type of novel that combines reality and edginess with a hint of the supernatural as other forces come into play that the reader did not expect.
If you loved the book "The Fault in our Stars" and is wanting a male version - one that boys can relate to - in a way "Following Zippy" is that book for you.
If you loved the book "The Fault in our Stars" and is wanting a male version - one that boys can relate to - in a way "Following Zippy" is that book for you.
October 18, 2014
THE REVIEW
Why this book?
it showed up in my mailbox and it sounded like my kind of book
What I thought
obvious grammatical errors aside I enjoyed this book, Gabe is a 15 year old battling brain cancer and Zippy comes to him in his moment of need. There was alot of talk about God and living life to the fullest. At first Gabe is not a religious person but as the book goes on he starts having faith and he no longer wants to take life for granted. The premise was interesting and I found myself glued to the book. I also liked the characters even though sometimes the dialogue was awkward. With that said I thought this was a good book and with some editing could be a great book
"Everyone dies it's not the longevity of life that matters, rather the quality of a life you live in the time you're here. God has a plan for everyone and everything. He has a time for beginning and a time for ending, He has a purpose for everyone's life. He has a plan for you Gabe. He knows what he's doing,and while it may seem horrific that some your age
should have to face the possibility of death, his timing is best."
Overall it was a good read, that I recommend
Why this book?
it showed up in my mailbox and it sounded like my kind of book
What I thought
obvious grammatical errors aside I enjoyed this book, Gabe is a 15 year old battling brain cancer and Zippy comes to him in his moment of need. There was alot of talk about God and living life to the fullest. At first Gabe is not a religious person but as the book goes on he starts having faith and he no longer wants to take life for granted. The premise was interesting and I found myself glued to the book. I also liked the characters even though sometimes the dialogue was awkward. With that said I thought this was a good book and with some editing could be a great book
"Everyone dies it's not the longevity of life that matters, rather the quality of a life you live in the time you're here. God has a plan for everyone and everything. He has a time for beginning and a time for ending, He has a purpose for everyone's life. He has a plan for you Gabe. He knows what he's doing,and while it may seem horrific that some your age
should have to face the possibility of death, his timing is best."
Overall it was a good read, that I recommend
October 10, 2014
Following Zippy reminds me of the boys POV of TFiOS (The Fault in Our Stars), I really liked this book. First you meet Gabe, who I just adore. He is your typical high school student, who has a crush on this girl, who already has a boyfriend. After unfortunately incident, Gabe goes to the hospital, which is bad, but also good at the same time. Gabe finds something out....this changes his life forever. He then "meets" Zippy!
This book will leave you with a good sense of not taking things for granted, that you're not alone in this world. You're family and friends are there for you, no matter what.
I definitely recommend this book!
This book will leave you with a good sense of not taking things for granted, that you're not alone in this world. You're family and friends are there for you, no matter what.
I definitely recommend this book!
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November 13, 2014Review to come.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews