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Nulle et Grande Gueule
Rare Book
325 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 14, 2002
143 people are currently reading
3008 people want to read
About the author
Joyce Carol Oates
854 books9,624 followersJoyce Carol Oates is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Her novels Black Water (1992), What I Lived For (1994), and Blonde (2000), and her short story collections The Wheel of Love (1970) and Lovely, Dark, Deep: Stories (2014) were each finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. She has won many awards for her writing, including the National Book Award, for her novel Them (1969), two O. Henry Awards, the National Humanities Medal, and the Jerusalem Prize (2019).
Oates taught at Princeton University from 1978 to 2014, and is the Roger S. Berlind '52 Professor Emerita in the Humanities with the Program in Creative Writing. From 2016 to 2020, she was a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught short fiction in the spring semesters. She now teaches at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.
Oates was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2016.
Pseudonyms: Rosamond Smith and Lauren Kelly.
Oates taught at Princeton University from 1978 to 2014, and is the Roger S. Berlind '52 Professor Emerita in the Humanities with the Program in Creative Writing. From 2016 to 2020, she was a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught short fiction in the spring semesters. She now teaches at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.
Oates was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2016.
Pseudonyms: Rosamond Smith and Lauren Kelly.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 514 reviews
October 12, 2008
"Ugly Girl" is a high school student (aka Ursula Riggs) who has built up walls around herself. Walls that protect her from the insensitivity of others (including her own disinterested family), and from changes and emotions that she doesn't want to (or can't) deal with in her life. Ugly Girl isn't afraid of anyone, and doesn't care what anyone thinks about her. She has black or fiery moods, and depends on no one but herself. She's a Warrior.
"Big Mouth" is another high school student - a boy named Matt Donaghy who talks too much, and sometimes says things that he shouldn't... words spill out of him without thinking.
When Big Mouth "innocently" jokes about bombing his school, he quickly learns the consequences of speaking without thinking, and sees his life turned upside-down as he's suspended from school and investigated by the police. He learns who his real friends are.
Strangely enough, one of them turns out to be Ugly Girl.
As she comes to his aid, they learn a lot from each other. Ursula, a loner, reaches out to Matt to do what she believes is right. And in turn, Matt reaches back and helps Ursula to reconnect with things and people that she's left behind.
In this novel - written for young adults by Joyce Carol Oates - everything extraneous is stripped away as two unlikely friends figure out what really matters, and they change from kids to young adults (and not the easy way).
I thought it was pretty well-written, although at times Oates' terminology and slang seemed more like how she thought high school students would act and speak rather than how they really would (sometimes the dialogue seemed a little stilted to me). Also, I found it a little lacking in depth, and the story-lines wrapped up somewhat tidily at the end. I think that in a really good young adult novel, these issues can be dealt with in a way that doesn't seem like the author is taking things down a notch for the audience (teens rather than adults) and I found this novel wasn't quite at that level. I also wish Matt's character had been better developed, because Ursula's character pretty much blew him out of the water.
There were definitely gems, though. I loved this part, by Ugly Girl:
Life consist of facts, and facts are of two kinds: Boring, and Crucial.
I figured this out for myself in eighth grade. Wish I could patent it!
A Boring Fact is virtually any fact that doesn't concern you. Or it's just trivial. A nothing fact. (Like the annual rainfall in, let's say, Bolivia. Crucial to the Bolivians, but Boring to everyone else.)
I know the Crucial Facts of Ugly Girl's life are Boring Facts to others. Yet, to Ugly Girl, they are Crucial.
There's one test of a Crucial Fact: It hurts.
All in all, a pretty good coming-of-age novel dealing with freedom (or the lack) of speech, and the ramifications of speaking carelessly in a world of zero-tolerance policies.
"Big Mouth" is another high school student - a boy named Matt Donaghy who talks too much, and sometimes says things that he shouldn't... words spill out of him without thinking.
When Big Mouth "innocently" jokes about bombing his school, he quickly learns the consequences of speaking without thinking, and sees his life turned upside-down as he's suspended from school and investigated by the police. He learns who his real friends are.
Strangely enough, one of them turns out to be Ugly Girl.
As she comes to his aid, they learn a lot from each other. Ursula, a loner, reaches out to Matt to do what she believes is right. And in turn, Matt reaches back and helps Ursula to reconnect with things and people that she's left behind.
In this novel - written for young adults by Joyce Carol Oates - everything extraneous is stripped away as two unlikely friends figure out what really matters, and they change from kids to young adults (and not the easy way).
I thought it was pretty well-written, although at times Oates' terminology and slang seemed more like how she thought high school students would act and speak rather than how they really would (sometimes the dialogue seemed a little stilted to me). Also, I found it a little lacking in depth, and the story-lines wrapped up somewhat tidily at the end. I think that in a really good young adult novel, these issues can be dealt with in a way that doesn't seem like the author is taking things down a notch for the audience (teens rather than adults) and I found this novel wasn't quite at that level. I also wish Matt's character had been better developed, because Ursula's character pretty much blew him out of the water.
There were definitely gems, though. I loved this part, by Ugly Girl:
Life consist of facts, and facts are of two kinds: Boring, and Crucial.
I figured this out for myself in eighth grade. Wish I could patent it!
A Boring Fact is virtually any fact that doesn't concern you. Or it's just trivial. A nothing fact. (Like the annual rainfall in, let's say, Bolivia. Crucial to the Bolivians, but Boring to everyone else.)
I know the Crucial Facts of Ugly Girl's life are Boring Facts to others. Yet, to Ugly Girl, they are Crucial.
There's one test of a Crucial Fact: It hurts.
All in all, a pretty good coming-of-age novel dealing with freedom (or the lack) of speech, and the ramifications of speaking carelessly in a world of zero-tolerance policies.
November 22, 2012
Give this book to every tween and teen you know. Adults, you should read it too. It's a fast read, a day or two at most, and the pages are filled with a sparse, honest prose that creates two characters who somehow manage to be outcasts and everygirl/boy at the same time. You know that teenage experience of feeling totally alone and different from everyone around you but then as an adult you realize everyone was feeling that way and so you were all actually together in that aloneness? This book explores that experience with kindness and sympathy. It's a book I wish I'd had at that age. Ugly Girl is accepted by some and rejected by most at her school, but her awesomeness is readily apparent to readers, and that's not because this book carries the trite, ham-fisted message to be nice to the outcasts, they are people too! It's because Joyce Carol Oates is so skilled at laying out the intricacies of Ugly Girl's personality in a subtle and truthful way -- from her fierce devotion to doing the right thing to her shaky, but deep confidence despite an outward uncertainty. Please read it, and remember that the teenagers you know have inner lives just as complex as any adult.
March 20, 2009
Big mouth and Ugly girl was not really a good book at all in my opinion. Ursula was just an annoying character that needs to get over herself and just drop her tough girl act. The fact that the guy got in trouble for saying something was really ridiculous as well. I thought the story in the beginning was interesting until it began to repeat itself. Since the story is so fast pace it just goes on and on and doesn't make sense. Well maybe im just not into these kinds of stories but all I know is that the structure of the book could have been different. Not a favorite of mine but an easy read.
July 19, 2012
I had high hopes for this book. I hadn't heard much about it, but it sounded great, and Joyce Carol Oates is a renowned author. (I haven't read any of her adult novels, but I do know a few of her essays and some of her poetry.) Big Mouth & Ugly Girl might not be all that hypable, but I was expecting a quiet gem, one of those unassuming but good books. But sadly, that is not what I got.
The feel of this book is very immature, which surprised me, since Joyce Carol Oates usually writes for adults. Maybe it's one of those adult-author-tries-to-write-YA kind of problem, the author dumbing down her style for a younger audience, which I'm never a fan of. Either way, the writing is very basic - short sentences, lots of exclamation points, that kind of thing. Writing like that might fit some stories, but I thought it was kind of strange and didn't fit the serious subject-matter.
What bugged me most, I think, was the portrayal of good and evil, which is very black and white in Big Mouth & Ugly Girl. Each character is either all good or all bad and, well, that's not how real life works. I found it a little unrealistic how everyone turns on Matt. Reading the synopsis, I'd thought Ursula would spend the whole time trying to prove Matt's innocence, but that's just the first part. Matt's innocence is proven pretty far at the beginning, but people still treat him badly afterwards, and that's what the book is mainly about. I'd get that a lot of people would feel weird around him, and that some would even harrass him. But everyone turning on him, even his friends, who were there when Matt cracked those jokes that made someone report him? I can't imagine that happening, to be honest.
It also frustrated me how negatively the school was portrayed. They were told that Matt had threatened to blow up the school, and immediately got the police involved. Yes, that tip they received was crap, but that's not the school's fault! What were they supposed to do, ignore it!? School shootings are no joke, and I'd prefer a school administration that acts immediately, getting the police involved to protect the students, to one that'd do nothing. People kept repeating how the school should have known the scare was false because Matt had always been such a good guy, but it's not like you can tell beforehand who's gonna go and blow up the school. The way that whole issue of school shootings is handled, how the characters don't understand at all that the administration would be scared and tried to protect the students, frustrated me.
I didn't love the characters, either. Matt and Ursula are okay, I guess, but nothing special. I did not like how their relationship developed, at all. Ursula speaks up for Matt, and then they're immediately best friends. Their connection was deep and profound, supposedly, but I didn't see it. And that ending.... just, no.
Maybe I'm too old for this kind of book - I could see Big Mouth & Ugly Girl working a lot better for the younger YA set. But for me, it didn't work - an immature writing style and very basic plot and character development made it hard for me to enjoy Big Mouth & Ugly Girl.
Reviewed at http://www.paperbacktreasures.blogspo...
The feel of this book is very immature, which surprised me, since Joyce Carol Oates usually writes for adults. Maybe it's one of those adult-author-tries-to-write-YA kind of problem, the author dumbing down her style for a younger audience, which I'm never a fan of. Either way, the writing is very basic - short sentences, lots of exclamation points, that kind of thing. Writing like that might fit some stories, but I thought it was kind of strange and didn't fit the serious subject-matter.
What bugged me most, I think, was the portrayal of good and evil, which is very black and white in Big Mouth & Ugly Girl. Each character is either all good or all bad and, well, that's not how real life works. I found it a little unrealistic how everyone turns on Matt. Reading the synopsis, I'd thought Ursula would spend the whole time trying to prove Matt's innocence, but that's just the first part. Matt's innocence is proven pretty far at the beginning, but people still treat him badly afterwards, and that's what the book is mainly about. I'd get that a lot of people would feel weird around him, and that some would even harrass him. But everyone turning on him, even his friends, who were there when Matt cracked those jokes that made someone report him? I can't imagine that happening, to be honest.
It also frustrated me how negatively the school was portrayed. They were told that Matt had threatened to blow up the school, and immediately got the police involved. Yes, that tip they received was crap, but that's not the school's fault! What were they supposed to do, ignore it!? School shootings are no joke, and I'd prefer a school administration that acts immediately, getting the police involved to protect the students, to one that'd do nothing. People kept repeating how the school should have known the scare was false because Matt had always been such a good guy, but it's not like you can tell beforehand who's gonna go and blow up the school. The way that whole issue of school shootings is handled, how the characters don't understand at all that the administration would be scared and tried to protect the students, frustrated me.
I didn't love the characters, either. Matt and Ursula are okay, I guess, but nothing special. I did not like how their relationship developed, at all. Ursula speaks up for Matt, and then they're immediately best friends. Their connection was deep and profound, supposedly, but I didn't see it. And that ending.... just, no.
Maybe I'm too old for this kind of book - I could see Big Mouth & Ugly Girl working a lot better for the younger YA set. But for me, it didn't work - an immature writing style and very basic plot and character development made it hard for me to enjoy Big Mouth & Ugly Girl.
Reviewed at http://www.paperbacktreasures.blogspo...
January 22, 2008
Joyce Carol Oates, Big Mouth and Ugly Girl (Harper, 2002)
Okay, I admit it. I'm a sucker for books like this. Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy gets girl into pickle. Boy gets girl out of pickle. Boy gets pickle into girl. They all live happily ever after.
Now turn that formula on its head.
Big Mouth is Matt Donaghy, class clown. Popular guy, suddenly arrested one afternoon as a suspect in a bomb scare. Ugly Girl is Ursula Riggs, captain of the basketball team, anything but popular, a witness to the events surrounding Matt being a suspect. As with many high school kids, Ursula and Matt know each other by sight, but have never really talked. Still, Ursula feels compelled to go to Matt's defense, immediately sparking rumors that the two of them are an item. Which is ludicrous, right? Despite Ursula's growing feelings for Matt, that seem to be reciprocated when she can pull her head out of her posterior long enough to notice.
In other words, your basic coming of age novel. Which is all well and good but, well, this is Joyce Carol Oates we're talking about. And this is the first Oates novel I've read that's missing the common Oates (and Rosamond Smith, too) thread-the overwhelming sense of dread and despair that culminates in the horror of human tragedy. The house burning in Beasts. The child molestation in Cybele. The son killing his father in A Garden of Earthly Delights. Teddy Kennedy plunging off the Chappaquiddick bridge in Black Water. Oates novels end with a massive display of human-tragedy fireworks, don't they? Well, they all have up till now. Oates fans will be expecting the other shoe to drop, and will likely be sorely disappointed.
Not to say the ending that's here is bad, it's just, well, somewhat predictable.
What is classic Oates in this novel are the characters and their development. Oates is a master at subtleties of character, and Ursula Riggs is one of the most real high school students to come along in a novel in a very long time. She alone is worth the price of admission, all the other good stuff is just icing on the cake. ***
Okay, I admit it. I'm a sucker for books like this. Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy gets girl into pickle. Boy gets girl out of pickle. Boy gets pickle into girl. They all live happily ever after.
Now turn that formula on its head.
Big Mouth is Matt Donaghy, class clown. Popular guy, suddenly arrested one afternoon as a suspect in a bomb scare. Ugly Girl is Ursula Riggs, captain of the basketball team, anything but popular, a witness to the events surrounding Matt being a suspect. As with many high school kids, Ursula and Matt know each other by sight, but have never really talked. Still, Ursula feels compelled to go to Matt's defense, immediately sparking rumors that the two of them are an item. Which is ludicrous, right? Despite Ursula's growing feelings for Matt, that seem to be reciprocated when she can pull her head out of her posterior long enough to notice.
In other words, your basic coming of age novel. Which is all well and good but, well, this is Joyce Carol Oates we're talking about. And this is the first Oates novel I've read that's missing the common Oates (and Rosamond Smith, too) thread-the overwhelming sense of dread and despair that culminates in the horror of human tragedy. The house burning in Beasts. The child molestation in Cybele. The son killing his father in A Garden of Earthly Delights. Teddy Kennedy plunging off the Chappaquiddick bridge in Black Water. Oates novels end with a massive display of human-tragedy fireworks, don't they? Well, they all have up till now. Oates fans will be expecting the other shoe to drop, and will likely be sorely disappointed.
Not to say the ending that's here is bad, it's just, well, somewhat predictable.
What is classic Oates in this novel are the characters and their development. Oates is a master at subtleties of character, and Ursula Riggs is one of the most real high school students to come along in a novel in a very long time. She alone is worth the price of admission, all the other good stuff is just icing on the cake. ***
December 4, 2018
Mαζί με το ΄Κρυφό ημερολόγιο του Έιντριαν Μόουλ' της Σου Τάουνσεντ (1982) αποτελούν το δίδυμο του 'απόλυτου' εφηβικού μυθιστορήματος, όπου το χιούμορ, η πολιτική ορθότητα, οι δυσκολίες της εφηβικής ηλικίας και τα κοινωνικά προβλήματα 'κονταροχτυπιούνται' με τον δημιουργικότερο, απολαυστικότερο και ρεαλιστικότερο τρόπο. Όπως καί στον 'Βιασμό' (2003), η Όουτς αποδεικνύει την συγγραφική μοναδικότητα που διαθέτει στη ψυχογράφηση των 'χαρακτήρων' του βιβλίου της - άλλωστε είναι Διακεκριμένη Καθηγήτρια Ανθρωπιστικών Σπουδών και Δημιουργικής Γραφής στο Πανεπιστήμιο 'Πρίνστον' του Νιού Τζέρζι.
Το σημαντικό στοιχείο του μυθιστορήματος (2002) που γοητεύει τους αναγνώστες είναι ότι, μέσα από τις παράλληλες ιστορίες του 'Φαφλατά' ('Big Mouth') και της 'Aσχημης' Έρσουλα Ρίγκς ('Ugly Girl') αλλά καί της φιλίας τους, επιτυγχάνει να περιγράψει με κωμικοτραγικό τρόπο το έντονο 'κύμα' καχυποψίας που υπήρχε στις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες, όσον αφορά πιθανές εγκληματικές ενέργειες ή τρομοκρατικά σχέδια εφήβων με ψυχολογικά προβλήματα - ήταν νωπές οι μνήμες από τη μαζική δολοφονία στο Λύκειο του Κολουμπιάνο, το 1996.
Σοκάρει το γεγονός ότι κάποιες απομονωμένες φράσεις μπορούν να στιγματίσουν και να θέσουν σε κίνδυνο την ηρεμία στη ζωή μιας αστικής οικογένειας. Από την άλλη πλευρά, όμως, η Όουτς δεν παραλείπει να τονίσει την αξία της φιλίας, της αλληλεγγύης, της δικαιοσύνης και της εφηβικής εφευρετικότητας, ενώ το χιούμορ και ο προβληματισμός κάνουν το μυθιστόρημα αξέχαστο.
Τελικά, όλοι οι αναγνώστες θα ανιχνεύσουν στοιχεία στον εαυτό τους από την προσωπικότητα της ατίθασης Έρσουλα, αλλά καί του αισιόδοξου Ματ, συμφωνώντας με την Όουτς ότι όλοι οι άνθρωποι μαθαίνου��, αλλά καί μπορούν να εμπνευστούν μέσα από τις εμπειρίες των άλλων ατόμων.
Ένα μυθιστόρημα που μένει αξέχαστο και που, σίγουρα, καλό είναι να επανεκδοθεί στα ελληνικά.
Προτείνω όλοι οι έφηβοι (και μή) να το διαβάσουν.
Βαθμολογία: 4,6/5 ή 9,2/10.
Το σημαντικό στοιχείο του μυθιστορήματος (2002) που γοητεύει τους αναγνώστες είναι ότι, μέσα από τις παράλληλες ιστορίες του 'Φαφλατά' ('Big Mouth') και της 'Aσχημης' Έρσουλα Ρίγκς ('Ugly Girl') αλλά καί της φιλίας τους, επιτυγχάνει να περιγράψει με κωμικοτραγικό τρόπο το έντονο 'κύμα' καχυποψίας που υπήρχε στις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες, όσον αφορά πιθανές εγκληματικές ενέργειες ή τρομοκρατικά σχέδια εφήβων με ψυχολογικά προβλήματα - ήταν νωπές οι μνήμες από τη μαζική δολοφονία στο Λύκειο του Κολουμπιάνο, το 1996.
Σοκάρει το γεγονός ότι κάποιες απομονωμένες φράσεις μπορούν να στιγματίσουν και να θέσουν σε κίνδυνο την ηρεμία στη ζωή μιας αστικής οικογένειας. Από την άλλη πλευρά, όμως, η Όουτς δεν παραλείπει να τονίσει την αξία της φιλίας, της αλληλεγγύης, της δικαιοσύνης και της εφηβικής εφευρετικότητας, ενώ το χιούμορ και ο προβληματισμός κάνουν το μυθιστόρημα αξέχαστο.
Τελικά, όλοι οι αναγνώστες θα ανιχνεύσουν στοιχεία στον εαυτό τους από την προσωπικότητα της ατίθασης Έρσουλα, αλλά καί του αισιόδοξου Ματ, συμφωνώντας με την Όουτς ότι όλοι οι άνθρωποι μαθαίνου��, αλλά καί μπορούν να εμπνευστούν μέσα από τις εμπειρίες των άλλων ατόμων.
Ένα μυθιστόρημα που μένει αξέχαστο και που, σίγουρα, καλό είναι να επανεκδοθεί στα ελληνικά.
Προτείνω όλοι οι έφηβοι (και μή) να το διαβάσουν.
Βαθμολογία: 4,6/5 ή 9,2/10.
October 10, 2024
It's books like these that I feel like I can't rate because they're such "School Books" like a book so "Read In School" vibes that you cannot imagine anyone reading this book not in the atmosphere in a classroom. I didn't like this book very much. It was kinda just eh. It was very dramatic and it made me mad but I feel like I got the point. Yeah I understood this. I understood its messages. Doesn't mean I like this executions, like the Breakfast Club. Like yeah sure.
April 5, 2022
Jag har läst den här boken så många gånger då den varit en favorit sen jag var tonåring. Jag inser att en anledning till att jag älskar den idag är nostalgin jag känner när jag läser den, för felfri är den ju inte.
January 21, 2022
This was the worst thing I have ever read I hope Joyce Carol oats dies and never writes again
October 20, 2022
Det är kul att hitta otippade böcker på Stadsmissionen, jag tror inte ens jag läste baksidan innan jag köpte denna för 19 kr. Jag ska vara ärlig med er, jag har enbart läst författarens ”Blonde” när jag var 17 och besatt av Marilyn Monroe (surprise: ÄLSKADE den). Så har inte mycket att säga om hennes författarskap!!
Detta är Oates första (och enda?) ungdomsbok, den skrevs 2002 i efterdyningarna av terrorattackerna mot World Trade Center 2001. Jag tycker att mycket av den händelsen, som satte västvärlden i brand, känns i denna bok. Det osar osäkerhet, rädsla och skräck för terrorism och våld.
En dag i skolan hämtas Matt av polisen, de säger att han är anklagad för att ha planerat ett bombhot och vilka att döda lärare och elever på hans skola. Matt förnekar - det var ju bara ett fånigt skämt i matsalen - men snabbt tas han bort från skolan och från det liv som han tog för givet för bara några dagar sen. En dag hör Ursula av sig och vill vittna till hans fördel, där växer en vänskap fram mitt i all kaos.
Det är en fin bok om civilkurage, om att stå upp för sanningen och våga gå emot strömmen utan rädsla för att själv dras ner i skiten. Karaktären Ursula/Fulan är absolut underbar! Hon bär hela boken framåt tycker jag med sin styrka, råhet och avvikande goa kraft i att vara annorlunda. Annars är det en bok genomsyrad av det AMERIKANSKA. Jag tycker att mycket känns för självklart och tråkigt (jo jo, jag grät vid sista kapitlen men ÄNDÅ!)
Det är absolut en prima ungdomsbok som går snabbt och lätt att läsa. En klassisk trea.
Detta är Oates första (och enda?) ungdomsbok, den skrevs 2002 i efterdyningarna av terrorattackerna mot World Trade Center 2001. Jag tycker att mycket av den händelsen, som satte västvärlden i brand, känns i denna bok. Det osar osäkerhet, rädsla och skräck för terrorism och våld.
En dag i skolan hämtas Matt av polisen, de säger att han är anklagad för att ha planerat ett bombhot och vilka att döda lärare och elever på hans skola. Matt förnekar - det var ju bara ett fånigt skämt i matsalen - men snabbt tas han bort från skolan och från det liv som han tog för givet för bara några dagar sen. En dag hör Ursula av sig och vill vittna till hans fördel, där växer en vänskap fram mitt i all kaos.
Det är en fin bok om civilkurage, om att stå upp för sanningen och våga gå emot strömmen utan rädsla för att själv dras ner i skiten. Karaktären Ursula/Fulan är absolut underbar! Hon bär hela boken framåt tycker jag med sin styrka, råhet och avvikande goa kraft i att vara annorlunda. Annars är det en bok genomsyrad av det AMERIKANSKA. Jag tycker att mycket känns för självklart och tråkigt (jo jo, jag grät vid sista kapitlen men ÄNDÅ!)
Det är absolut en prima ungdomsbok som går snabbt och lätt att läsa. En klassisk trea.
May 5, 2010
This book really surprised me. At first I thought the title was describing one person. I liked how the novel didn't read in a linear, chronological fashion. I also liked how it kept switching point of view. It kept things interesting, not that this story needed livening up. I completely identified with Ursula and “Ugly Girl” and was quite satisfied as a reader to watch, through the course of the novel, how Ursula mastered Ugly Girl and was able to use her to make situations better for those around her. I also was able to identify with Matt; even though he was acquitted, the hell really began for him after he returned to school. I completely understood his downfall and was royally ticked at the school, cops, and principal for putting him through that ordeal. At the same time, in today's world, everyone is so paranoid that even a joke like Matt's can quite easily be taken the wrong way.
July 2, 2010
The first time I ever heard about BIG MOUTH & UGLY GIRL was on the lovely Shannon Hale's website a few years ago. I was browsing around and ran across a list of her book recommendations. This one was on the YA non-fantasy list and the title caught my eye. So I hunted down a copy at my local bookstore and went home with it. Something about her description of why she liked it made me certain it was worth buying sight unseen. I must have felt strongly because, let's be honest, I would never otherwise have purchased a book with this cover. I'm sorry, but it's horrendous. Sort of the definition of unappealing. Nothing that calls out to me in any way. And, as with so many other of my favorites, this story deserves a cover worthy of it. Not the drab, awkward ones it's gotten thus far. So I hope this review will appeal to some of you enough that you'll look past the puzzling, slightly garish cover and see the gold inside. Because it is most certainly gold and instantly went on my Beloved Bookshelf because of its honest and heartfelt approach to being a teen outsider and the often unfair and complicated ways in which others view you when you don't conform to their model of expectations.
These are the opening lines of the story of Matt Donaghy and Ursula Riggs. On that ordinary day in January the police come to arrest Matt Donaghy. To escort him from school and down to the station on charges that he was planning to blow up the school. Matt is speechless with confusion and fear. He had no such plans. He said no such thing. Or did he? It's impossible to remember. He might have joked about it. Not necessarily in so many words, but he might have. Matt is always joking. You might say he has a big mouth. Big enough, hopefully, to cover up for his shyness, his inability to blend in perfectly with his peers. Then there is Ursula Riggs. Tall, sturdy, with fierce eyes and an unyielding presence, she's on the edges of Rocky River High as well. Everybody knows of her but nobody really knows her. And in her head she is Ugly Girl. Too large and broad and forceful to be accepted, but sure of herself and determined not to be run over by anyone. But Ursula heard what Matt said that day in passing. And she decides she won't let him go to jail for a crime he didn't commit. But will the two outcasts together be able to stand against the fear and the mob mentality that arises in the wake of rumors of a crazy boy and a bomb?
First published in 2002, this is Joyce Carol Oates' first young adult novel and I was impressed to say the least. It reminded me of a more "American," if you will, version of Just in Case by Meg Rosoff. No less angst, but a little more hope. The two main characters, Matt and Ursula, develop alter egos (see title) which in turn enable them to cope with the shocking events of their junior year. The thing is you will like these two. You will like them from page one. Though skinny and geeky, and prone to skimming along under the radar, Matt is incredibly likable and funny. And Ursula. Well, as Matt would say, Ursula is "1 individual in 1 million." Often brash and abrupt and unconcerned with other people's feelings, she is actually an unusually straight arrow. And her insistence on justice and the perseverance of truth is doggone admirable. What these two accomplish together is heroic. Here is their first conversation:
Don't you want to stick with them and find out if she's right? If together they can face down The Man and win? This is a particularly timely tale, I think, with two painfully real protagonists that dare you to drift away and forget them after the story itself is over. Recommended for fans of Courtney Summers and Meg Rosoff.
It was an ordinary January afternoon, a Thursday, when they came for Matt Donaghy. They came for him during fifth period, which was Matt's study period, in room 220 of Rocky River High School, Westchester County.
These are the opening lines of the story of Matt Donaghy and Ursula Riggs. On that ordinary day in January the police come to arrest Matt Donaghy. To escort him from school and down to the station on charges that he was planning to blow up the school. Matt is speechless with confusion and fear. He had no such plans. He said no such thing. Or did he? It's impossible to remember. He might have joked about it. Not necessarily in so many words, but he might have. Matt is always joking. You might say he has a big mouth. Big enough, hopefully, to cover up for his shyness, his inability to blend in perfectly with his peers. Then there is Ursula Riggs. Tall, sturdy, with fierce eyes and an unyielding presence, she's on the edges of Rocky River High as well. Everybody knows of her but nobody really knows her. And in her head she is Ugly Girl. Too large and broad and forceful to be accepted, but sure of herself and determined not to be run over by anyone. But Ursula heard what Matt said that day in passing. And she decides she won't let him go to jail for a crime he didn't commit. But will the two outcasts together be able to stand against the fear and the mob mentality that arises in the wake of rumors of a crazy boy and a bomb?
First published in 2002, this is Joyce Carol Oates' first young adult novel and I was impressed to say the least. It reminded me of a more "American," if you will, version of Just in Case by Meg Rosoff. No less angst, but a little more hope. The two main characters, Matt and Ursula, develop alter egos (see title) which in turn enable them to cope with the shocking events of their junior year. The thing is you will like these two. You will like them from page one. Though skinny and geeky, and prone to skimming along under the radar, Matt is incredibly likable and funny. And Ursula. Well, as Matt would say, Ursula is "1 individual in 1 million." Often brash and abrupt and unconcerned with other people's feelings, she is actually an unusually straight arrow. And her insistence on justice and the perseverance of truth is doggone admirable. What these two accomplish together is heroic. Here is their first conversation:
Twice Matt dialed the number Ursula had given him and twice he hung up quickly before the phone could ring. So damned shy. The third time he dialed, he let the phone ring and it was answered at once. "Hello?" The girl's voice was husky, guarded.
"Hi, this is . . . Matt. Is this Ursula?"
"Yes."
"I . . . got your message."
Matt was speaking in a lowered, shaky voice. He was feeling a leap of irrational hope.
Ursula said, still guardedly, "You know me, I guess? From school?"
"Ursula, sure. Sure I know you."
As if they hadn't been going to the same schools most of their lives.
Ursula said, "This hasn't been such a . . . great day for you, I guess."
"No, but--" Matt paused. He wanted to say, At least I'm home, not in jail. But that wasn't much of a reason to be grateful, considering he hadn't done anything wrong. "--I'm alive, anyway."
Was that meant to be funny? Matt laughed, but Ursula remained silent.
Matt had begun to sweat, this conversation was so pained. He hated calling girls on the phone if he didn't know them really well and if it hadn't been understood, more or less, that he was going to call, and was expected. He was even uneasy sometimes calling his friends. Which was why he liked e-mail. Maybe Ursula Riggs was the same way? Her telephone voice was unexpectedly hesitant, diffident.
Or maybe she just didn't like Matt Donaghy, personally. But had to talk to him for some mysterious reason.
Ursula began speaking rapidly, as if her words were prepared. "Look, Matt. I heard what you said in the cafeteria today. I was walking past your table, and I heard. I know you were joking, and there's no way any intelligent person could misconstrue your words or gestures. If it's taken out of context, maybe, but there was a context. And I can be a witness for you. I'll go to Mr. Parrish first thing tomorrow and talk to him. Or the police, if necessary."
By the end of this speech, Ursula was speaking vehemently. Matt wasn't sure he'd heard right. Witness? He felt like a drowning swimmer whose flailing hand has been grabbed by someone, a stranger, whose face he can't see.
He said, stammering, "You . . . heard me? You know I didn't . . . wasn't . . ."
"A friend of mine, Eveann McDowd, was with me. She heard you, too. I'll talk to her."
"You'd--be a witness for me, Ursula? Gosh."
Ursula said quickly, "You've been falsely accused. I'd do it for anybody." She added," I mean--even somebody I didn't like."
Matt was too confused to absorb what Ursula Riggs seemed to be saying. That she liked him? All he could say was to repeat, "Thanks, Ursula. I--really appreciate it."
"You're the only person who's contacted me, Ursula," Matt added impulsively. "I'm a pariah, I guess--is that the word? Like leper. Outcast." When Ursula didn't reply, Matt said, "I've been suspended for 'at least three day.' Till they can investigate me."
"Investigate you? They're the ones who should be investigated."
Ursula Riggs spoke so heatedly, it was as if, suddenly, she was in Matt's room with him and Pumpkin.
Don't you want to stick with them and find out if she's right? If together they can face down The Man and win? This is a particularly timely tale, I think, with two painfully real protagonists that dare you to drift away and forget them after the story itself is over. Recommended for fans of Courtney Summers and Meg Rosoff.
February 5, 2020
Yhdysvaltalaisen Joyce Carol Oatesin nuortenkirja Syntipukki alkaa vakavalla aiheella, sillä etsivät tulivat puhuttamaan 16v. Mattia kesken hänen äidinkielentuntiaan. Eikä Matt ymmärtänyt miksi. Tästä puhuttelusta vyöryivät koko kaupunkia ravistelevat tapahtumat. Matt sai hyvästellä huolettomat koulupäivät ja kaveripiirinsä, sillä häntä syytettiin aikeista räjäyttää lukio ja ampua kaikki lukion oppilaat.
Kirjan toinen päähenkilö oli 16v. Ursula. Ursulaa haukuttiin selän takana ison kokonsa vuoksi, sillä hän ei ollut ainoastaan pitkä. Pituudesta oli hyötyä koripallossa, mitä hän rakasti, mutta Ursula ei tykännyt muuten joukkueurheilusta, sillä hän halusi yksin tehdä kaikki pisteet. Häviöt ottivat lujille. Ursula ei ollut suosittu. Hän oli liian erikoisen näköinen, eikä hän välittänyt muista. Syntipukin tarina koostui vahvoista ajankohtaisista teemoista ja hienosta tekstistä.
Kirjan toinen päähenkilö oli 16v. Ursula. Ursulaa haukuttiin selän takana ison kokonsa vuoksi, sillä hän ei ollut ainoastaan pitkä. Pituudesta oli hyötyä koripallossa, mitä hän rakasti, mutta Ursula ei tykännyt muuten joukkueurheilusta, sillä hän halusi yksin tehdä kaikki pisteet. Häviöt ottivat lujille. Ursula ei ollut suosittu. Hän oli liian erikoisen näköinen, eikä hän välittänyt muista. Syntipukin tarina koostui vahvoista ajankohtaisista teemoista ja hienosta tekstistä.
August 26, 2025
Den här måste väl ändå engelska 6 gilla. Töntigt namn tyckte jag, inte mina kollegor??
May 8, 2020
Sucked at first but it turned out pretty well in the end
September 23, 2011
Have you ever made a joke that got you into a lot of trouble? It's seems funny as it's coming out of your mouth, but when an unintended person overhears the joke, you realize that you've gone too far? That's what happens to Matt, one of the main characters in Big Mouth & Ugly Girl. Matt makes a joke that actually gets him arrested by the police (you'll have to read to find out what the joke is). After the joke his life starts to fall apart, when all of the guys he thought were his friends start to desert him one by one. The only person at Rocky River High School willing to stand up for Matt is Ugly Girl. Well, she calls herself Ugly Girl. To everyone else, she is Ursula Riggs, star athlete and fierce individualist. Matt's troubles leads to their lives becoming strangely intertwined.
Joyce Carol Oates, the author, is an excellent writer; I read several of her short stories and novels in college and was very impressed. Big Mouth & Ugly Girl did not disappoint me.I thought that Big Mouth & Ugly Girl was a fantastic book. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys realistic fiction. The characters in this book could very easily be you or someone that you know. The book does a great job of showing what can happen to a person's life when he makes just one mistake. The mistake that Matt makes at the beginning of the book seems small in the moment, but it changes his life forever. Moreover, the entire town is impacted and ends up taking one side or the other.
One of my favorite aspects of the book was that Matt and Ursula end up being co-protagonists. Half the book is from Matt's point of view and half from Ursula's. The story is enriched because the reader gets to experience the events of the school and the town through two different characters' thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. Great book; read it!
Joyce Carol Oates, the author, is an excellent writer; I read several of her short stories and novels in college and was very impressed. Big Mouth & Ugly Girl did not disappoint me.I thought that Big Mouth & Ugly Girl was a fantastic book. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys realistic fiction. The characters in this book could very easily be you or someone that you know. The book does a great job of showing what can happen to a person's life when he makes just one mistake. The mistake that Matt makes at the beginning of the book seems small in the moment, but it changes his life forever. Moreover, the entire town is impacted and ends up taking one side or the other.
One of my favorite aspects of the book was that Matt and Ursula end up being co-protagonists. Half the book is from Matt's point of view and half from Ursula's. The story is enriched because the reader gets to experience the events of the school and the town through two different characters' thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. Great book; read it!
August 1, 2015
I thought the protagonists were very interesting character studies--one a girl who was already a misfit and comfortable with it (or trying to be), and the other a boy who was mainstream and suddenly find himself, overnight, a misfit. Watching Matt having to learn to deal with his sudden expulsion from his life is fascinating. Ursula, as a misfit teen who is seemingly content to make her solitary way through life, still notices every stare, whisper, and comment from those around her. While sneering at her mother's preoccupation with her younger sister's life, the pain of these snubs and rejections is still apparent. Since this is a YA book, I guess the ending was preordained, but all this reality does a hard 180 as suddenly the accusations and suspicions are tossed aside, the outcasts are suddenly embraced with open arms by the teen community (and their families--an even harder sell!) and everything they touch suddenly turns to gold. Still, it's a good read.
September 21, 2015
"Joyce Carol Oates is a wonderful author and even when she writes an apparent "young adult"-novel it is very fulfilling even for a general audience. Matt (the self-proclaimed "Big mouth") is a popular high school student who gets into trouble due to shooting off his big mouth. All of a sudden he finds himself not only not popular, but seemingly without any friends and when his parents move to sue the school for defamation he ends up being harassed by older kids. The clearing up of the trouble he was in was possible due to one person testifying on his behalf; Ursula (the self-proclaimed "Ugly girl") big, strong and athletic, but a loner and anything but popular (however, a lot of times we glimpse that she most likely is not percieved by others the way she thinks). A most unlikely friendship develops."
October 1, 2009
Ursula Riggs knows people don't like her. She's completive and tough. She's tall, which gives her an advantage when she plays basketball but not for her social life. That's ok with her because she doesn't need people. She's above it all. Until she finds out that Matt Riggs is being arrested for making a bomb threat during lunch at their school. She knows that's not what he said because she overheard him.
This book was so hard to put down. It really exposes the hysteria we have now, post Columbine, and how rumor and slander can really ruin your life. The author reveals how we can all see ourselves one way and the reality is completely different. Funny, endearing and food for thought, what else can I ask of a book?
June 30, 2017
I enjoyed this story way more than I thought I would when I first started it. I had to re-read the beginning chapters a few times before I could get into it. But, once I focused and got about a third of the way in, it was a quick & enjoyable read. Usually I'm very cynical about young adult novels and how characters are either cheesy or unbelievable, but I really loved Matt & Ursala at the end of the novel. I found them both to be extremely honest and relatable. I may not necessarily have believed in their romance at the end of the novel, but everything leading up to it made up for the end!
November 26, 2021
You're better than 'nice', you are 'good'. 1 individual in 1 million.A year post-Columbine, a boy gets blamed for threatening to bomb his school (as a joke) , and gets ousted as a social pariah. Only Ursula, or Ugly Girl as she calls herself, sticks up to defend him. Thus, an unusual friendship blossoms.
Had to read this for a seminar. Your standard old-ish middle grade book used in EFL classrooms. Not sure I'd use it for mine, since there are more modern and interesting approaches than your stereotypical high school rumour mill puberty-fueled drama fest.
September 22, 2017
I found this book rather boring to begin with but as it went on I got more into it and more invested in the characters. I wasn't overkeen on the writing style but I found the 2 min characters charming and relatable ..
I think if I was to have read this as a 15 year old I would of enjoyed it more as it is very much a coming of age story and would more relatable to a teen
It was a nice quick read and I enjoyed the relationship between Ursula and matt
I think if I was to have read this as a 15 year old I would of enjoyed it more as it is very much a coming of age story and would more relatable to a teen
It was a nice quick read and I enjoyed the relationship between Ursula and matt
December 12, 2010
This novel was pretty good. I liked how the perspectives were switched between Ursula Riggs and Matt Donaghy. The plot itself was also really good.
It was a fun read. But not that outstanding as I first thought it would be.
But all in all - a nice read.
It was a fun read. But not that outstanding as I first thought it would be.
But all in all - a nice read.
June 24, 2021
hurensohn buch keine seite gelesen und es ist trz ein schwanz buch
December 9, 2022
War scheiße ist ne blöde Schullektüre. Kauft mal nicht
May 27, 2024
nicht für mich
August 7, 2022
This felt like something you would read in school but I liked it very much none the less. (Or maybe especially because of this?)
As I'm a sucker for High School Settings and Coming of Age tropes "Big Mouth & Ugly Girl" was the perfect read for me. I love myself a good story about a set of outcasts mixed with the topic of mental illness (Which are almost always intertwined because let's be honest outcasts in high school never do well when it comes to mental health).
I especially loved all episodes where the dog was involved and found myself strangely invested in that fictional creature's well being, which doesn't happen very often. So I was pleasantly surprised by that.
Circling back to the "school read" I bet there is a hidden meaning behind using the first person narrator for the one PoV and the third person narrator for the other but as I'm not in school anymore I don't have to analyse this. Yet, I'm intrigued by it and would love to hear why the author did that and what it means that Ursula was switching between using "I" and third person for her alter ego. So if anyone knows and cares to tell me please come forward!
As it is, I could very well imagine reading this book with my own English Class one day. But before that I definitely have to figure out all hidden meanings and implications myself :D
I'd give "Big Mouth & Ugly Girl" a 4,5⭐ rating as I was overall very satisfied with the novel apart from the constant focus on a girl's need to be pretty and the "you're not like other girls"-trope. I think we're at a point in society where we can leave that well behind. The book was written 20 years ago though, so I'll give it a pass.
As I'm a sucker for High School Settings and Coming of Age tropes "Big Mouth & Ugly Girl" was the perfect read for me. I love myself a good story about a set of outcasts mixed with the topic of mental illness (Which are almost always intertwined because let's be honest outcasts in high school never do well when it comes to mental health).
I especially loved all episodes where the dog was involved and found myself strangely invested in that fictional creature's well being, which doesn't happen very often. So I was pleasantly surprised by that.
Circling back to the "school read" I bet there is a hidden meaning behind using the first person narrator for the one PoV and the third person narrator for the other but as I'm not in school anymore I don't have to analyse this. Yet, I'm intrigued by it and would love to hear why the author did that and what it means that Ursula was switching between using "I" and third person for her alter ego. So if anyone knows and cares to tell me please come forward!
As it is, I could very well imagine reading this book with my own English Class one day. But before that I definitely have to figure out all hidden meanings and implications myself :D
I'd give "Big Mouth & Ugly Girl" a 4,5⭐ rating as I was overall very satisfied with the novel apart from the constant focus on a girl's need to be pretty and the "you're not like other girls"-trope. I think we're at a point in society where we can leave that well behind. The book was written 20 years ago though, so I'll give it a pass.
March 25, 2024
I didn't think I'd enjoy this as much as I did, but Big Mouth and Ugly Girl was a fun fast YA read. As a fan of the YA genre I often enjoy YA books that others may not. No, the book wasn't always realistic, and at times it was even downright ridiculous in its plot, but that didn't stop me from having a fun time with this. I liked both characters, and as someone who has often been outsider, I could relate to these characters in many ways.
Sometimes I felt the characters acted unrealistically, but that didn't bother me a ton. The biggest issue I did have with the book was that one of the antagonists was an evil "reverend". Granted, he was portrayed more like a reverend you'd find leading an extreme fundamentalist group, I still thought the author could have avoided having the villain be a Christian.
If you are someone who is easily offended, this book had a lot of outdated terms and wouldn't be able to fly in our day and age with all the cancel culture. That didn't bother me at all, but it may bother someone out there.
I enjoyed that the plot was taking place in the early 2000s, it reminded me of my own time in school. I do think that with all the school shootings that have taken place after the year 2001, this book may be a little insensitive for today, but it was written so long ago that we can't judge it by today's standards.
Overall, if you want something kind of fun, a little overdramatic at times, but in the end teaching good life lessons about; being yourself, not caring what others think, loyalty, and not trying to seek revenge, then this could be a good book for you!
Sometimes I felt the characters acted unrealistically, but that didn't bother me a ton. The biggest issue I did have with the book was that one of the antagonists was an evil "reverend". Granted, he was portrayed more like a reverend you'd find leading an extreme fundamentalist group, I still thought the author could have avoided having the villain be a Christian.
If you are someone who is easily offended, this book had a lot of outdated terms and wouldn't be able to fly in our day and age with all the cancel culture. That didn't bother me at all, but it may bother someone out there.
I enjoyed that the plot was taking place in the early 2000s, it reminded me of my own time in school. I do think that with all the school shootings that have taken place after the year 2001, this book may be a little insensitive for today, but it was written so long ago that we can't judge it by today's standards.
Overall, if you want something kind of fun, a little overdramatic at times, but in the end teaching good life lessons about; being yourself, not caring what others think, loyalty, and not trying to seek revenge, then this could be a good book for you!
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