Lost It

by Kristen Tracy

What would you do...

...if your best friend were plotting the annihilation of a small, furry neighborhood poodle? Or if your parents up and moved to an Outward Bound-type survival camp in the middle of the desert? How about if your grandmother bought you new bras and underwear -- and you actually thought they were a teensy bit, umm, sexy?

Most people would not react well.

Tess Whistle's junior year of high school is off to a fairly bizarre start. One might even say her life is spiraling out of control. But with her sense of humor firmly intact and her first real boyfriend on her arm, Tess is dealing with the ridiculous twists quite well, thankyouverymuch.

Just wait until her shoes explode.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Chick Lit, Teen, Realistic Fiction

276 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[L.E. Fidler · Rating 3 out of 5]

what i learned from this book / promises to my daughters, who are far too young to read this review and far too smart to ever misread ethan frome:


1. repression is not the answer. i will not move to idaho and sell vitamin-infused drinks. i will not marry a man who is as weak-spirited as i am and i will not let either one of us convince the other that accepting a blond jesus as our personal lord and savior is the answer to loving and fulfilling life. i will not accept self-help gurus as my personal lord and savior. i will not put the responsibility of my personal happiness on anyone else and i will not selfishly cast aside the ones i love in order to find myself. oh hell to the no.

2. i will not read a book written by aforementioned self-help guru, move to utah, learn how to rock climb, abandon my daughter(s) in her junior year, just as she begins the most important romantic relationship of her still-young life.

3. if my best friend ever calls me and informs me that she plans on blowing up a poodle, i will act quickly and decisively.

4. i will never let my daughters date anyone whose last name is also a holiday.

5. i will let my mother buy the girls proper underwear and shoes that fit, if i feel that i am somehow incapable of handling such a task myself.

6. if my daughter tells me that she is planning on spending the day working on a research paper about an obscure explorer who drowned for the third time in one year, i will ground her ass, knowing full well this is code for "i'm off to lose my virginity."

7. i will not let my daughters misinterpret any great work of literature as "this is a sign from above that i should have sex! now!" because that, i'm sorry, is just stupid.

8. when having "the talk" with my girls, i will reiterate that solid relationships cannot be founded on lies. and that there's nothing shameful about drinking apple juice and being a total spazz.

9. i will get trained on how to deal with both aggressive and defensive bears in the wilderness. just in case.

10. i will not be a crazy bitch. i will NEVER suggest that we "blow up" someone who has hurt our feelings/blown up our stuffed poodle with a firecracker and then spell out the word PRETEND so that the other people in the room don't think i'm homicidal. i will not push my kids down a hill in a sled so that they are forced to come to grips with their bad decision making and confront literally their mistaken metaphoric reading of "Ethan Frome". i will not leave my girls home alone on any major holidays and i will not confuse playing "Password" as foreplay.

11. if i ever write a book, i will not leave it open-ended and inconclusive so that the reader can choose the ending they see fit. in their heads. because that shit will not fly. no, no, it will not fly.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Lynn Crow for TeensReadToo.com

The title of Kristen Tracy's LOST IT sums up the heart of the novel in two simple words, but like the novel itself, its simplicity is deceiving. "Lost it" could refer to many facets of the book. The narrator, Tess, starts things off by telling readers how she lost her virginity, and how she subsequently seems to have lost the guy she gave it to. At the same time, her rock-solid best friend is losing her grip after a parental divorce, Tess's parents are running off to recover the sense of self they think they've lost, and Tess, in the middle of everything, feels lost in the world as she tries to pull her life together without them. LOST IT is one of those rare books that gives you a light, fun read yet packs an emotional wallop you won't soon forget.

Like the novel, Tess is a rarity. Readers will relate to her insecurities and her struggles to understand the people in her life, but her constant fear of attacks by wild animals and her naivety due to her born-again parents's restriction of TV viewing give her voice an oddball, comic touch. Tess's voice is a far cry from the polished, hyper-mature tones of the Gossip and It Girls in teen fiction. She's not quite like any character I've ever read about, and that difference makes this book stand out.

Much of the story focuses on Tess's developing relationship with a new guy at school. Tess deals with many of the same questions teens face when they start dating: how serious to get, how far to go, how to make sure he'll stay. But, gradually, readers realize that despite its somewhat juicy opening, what's important isn't whether Tess should have slept with her boyfriend, or whether she's lost him for good. LOST IT proves that there are bigger issues than dating and sex. At the heart of the story is Tess lost in a sea of strong personalities and vague fears. She won't win by keeping the guy, but by keeping her head above water and accepting the uncertainties of life which threaten to overwhelm her.

LOST IT should appeal to a wide range of teen readers, but especially to those who value honesty and awkwardness over posh worldliness. While the novel contains some sexual subject matter, it's hardly glorified or graphic. And its themes of learning to cope with and even enjoy change and unpredictability may be just want teens want to hear. I suspect this is a book that will affect readers of all ages, and stick with them after they finish reading.

[Katherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I picked up this book, I knew it was going to have to do with the girl losing her virginity. However, I did think there would at least be a side plot. Yes, yes, there was the whole blowing up the poodle bit but she didn't even blow up the poodle! She blew up a stuffed animal. Seriously, what a cop-out. Back to the main plot, there little to no character development and Tess was so whiny! For such a small book, it took me forever to get through it. The book just lagged. I would not recommend this.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was total crap. I bought it because I thought it would be funny, but it was just neurotic, annoying, and purposeless. The character goes along being clingy and whiny, and at the end of the book, no lesson has been learned and the conflict the character is experiencing is not resolved. I wanted to call the author and be like, "Hey, the trite paragraph at the end of your book where you slapped out a couple platitudes and thought that was an ending? It wasn't. Get back to work."

[Kait · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tess Whistle has a lot on her plate. Her mom has gone off to some crazy camp, her dad plans on following her mom, her best friend plans on murdering a poodle, and her grandmother wants to buy her sexy underwear. What's a girl to do in that situation?

Well, Tess decides to do Ben in that situation. When everything seems to be going wrong with her life, Ben seems to be the only constant, the only person who can make things seem right. Things are great with Ben up until they aren't.

Can Tess unravel all her lies and explain things to Ben before it's too late? Will her parents ever be the same again? Will her best friend stop trying to murder poor innocent animals?

I really expected to like Lost It when I bought it. Of course, the cover was the thing that drew me to it but the summary really got me hooked and the first couple chapters kept me hooked. After that things just kind of went downhill.

I have to say my least favorite thing about the book was Tess. She lied to make Ben like her and then she was so whiny. She complained about everything and she was always upset about something. I just felt like I couldn't relate to her and I couldn't really like her.

Also, I'm not gonna give it away but I will say this, the ending sucked. Everything was so unresolved and I just can't stand that in a book unless there is going to be a sequel and I'm pretty sure this one was supposed to be a stand alone book. I just felt really unsatisfied when I finally closed the book.

I'm not going to say the book sucked, though. It was hilarious at parts but there just wasn't enough funny stuff to make up for the annoying stuff. Overall, I have to say that this isn't something I would recommend unless you are just really bored.

[мαяïα❤ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book because when I saw the front cover I
Knew that it would talk about teenagres..and I am one so thats why
I wouldn't to read this book..((: It mostly take place at school
and at the Island Park..where Tess Whistle lost her virginity to
Benjamin Easter a senior..Tess was a junior when she lost it
she wasn't planing to loss it..but it happened..The main problem
of the story was when Tess was confused she didn't know want she
wanted because she had lost it with Benjamin Easter..and she
regert doing it with him..she thought that she would find someone
that love her and that didn't happened..She should of lost it
with a guy that she loved she only didn't for fun because Benjamin
told her to..I think that this book was great..I think that teenagres
should read this book don't do something stuiped that someday
you will regret...

[Glass · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I started reading this book I thought it's going to be funny and with some here's-my-wisdom point of view. Well, it wasn't that funny - actully, this book is full of stupid jokes and conversations in the Gilmore Girls style (I hate that show). Half of the time you are not even sure what is going on and the other half you're just annoyed.

[Angelica Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all eventually hit those confusing teen age years don't we? We make dumb decisions and wonder about a lot of things, but have you ever blown up a poodle with a bomb or have your parents ever left you to live with your grandma so they can go to an inspirational camp? These things only make those years more difficult;as if a teenager needs more problems to deal with than what we already have.

Tess whistle A junior in high school finds herself caught in a triangular disaster. Not only is she entering the toughest year of high school, but she also has to deal with her best friend Zena who wants to blow up a poodle, her religious parents who leave her to live with her grandma so they can go "find" themselves at a special institution, and of course the tears that come with every girls first real boyfriend.Did I mention that Tess is afraid of the wild which really is a problem when you live in Idaho. Now. Yes, Tess does get with the guy of her dreams Benjamin Easter; however she tells a big lie that compromises their whole relationship. The lie was not told on purpose it was simply a slip of words that had a huge affect. Throughout their relationship Tess must deal with Zena her psycho friend who does eventually blow up a poodle, Zena ends up leaving to a strict camp because of her anger problems this really hurts Tess because Zena is the only person she has besides Benjamin, because of this Tess forces herself on Benjamin which also causes problems in their relationship. Tess wants to take comfort in Benjamin but he is not ready to take it that far. Finally Tess walks on thin line when she encounters a near death experience this is when Benjamin realized he wanted to let Tess take comfort in him, and Tess "Lost It". She lost everything, but she gained the only thing that she really needed to gain.

Kristen Tracey is the Co-editor of a Global Anthology of Poetry by Women. She herself grew up in Idaho, however she was not afraid of the Wild. She always went camping with her family and unfortunately never saw any wild animals.

I read this book in 4 hours. It was a well written story I felt like I was watching a movie. However while I was reading this book I never really understood the point of the book it was just a story that was well written. I guess I could say the theme was really hidden and there were not many moments when the theme is reflected. You won't be able to figure out the whole meaning of the book until the very last page, and even after I finished I spent a good amount of time trying to piece the puzzle together and really understand it. I liked the book because when you do figure the theme out the whole story becomes so much more relate-able for all teens. I believe the message was really good and the story line was just a bonus.

At one point in the story Benjamin and Tess are in his car right outside of the woods watching the moon. Eventually they began kissing until Tess heard a coyote howl, then she bolted up and locked the car doors. She didn't like wild life it scared her because she didn't know where the animals were hidden and the fact that they could strike unexpectedly at any time. She got so frightened that she began to cry until Benjamin explains to her the real reason why he thinks she is afraid of wild animals. Tess really thinks about what he says and then begins to wonder If she will ever be able to change.

The books theme is to not worry about the unknown, because the unknown is something that no human can control so its not worth worrying about. Things will go the way they are destined to go and you can't worry and wake up every morning wondering whats coming next. Too many people in this world are stuck on trying to fix things that are not fixable. It only causes more fear in the world and makes situations worse. In the teenage community we are all so worried and focused on what tomorrow has to bring or being afraid of our future. The theme of this book helps us to understand that our future has yet to be written so nothing can be read and if nothing can be read then nothing can be worried about you just have to feel hopeful and be ready for what does come next.

[Arminzerella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tess Whistle’s lost it in more ways than one. Her life has gone crazy in short order – her best friend Zena is planning to blow up a poodle, her mother has gone to find herself in Utah, and the only stable thing in her life is her new relationship with Ben Easter, who, through an unfortunate misunderstanding, now believes she’s a diabetic. As her life gets more and more complicated, Tess finds herself clinging to Ben as the only safe port in the storm, but he’s a good guy. And he loves her. When Tess finally does lose her virginity to Ben it’s not quite the experience that she expected, but it’s not bad either. Before they really have a chance to explore what else might happen between them, Ben discovers Tess lied about her illness, and he doesn’t know what to believe or think about her. And as everything else in her life settles down, Tess feels the pain of his absence – the one person she was sure about.

This book starts out a little rocky. Tess has a unique and funny voice, but her thoughts wander all over the place and she often neglects to finish one thought before she’s moved on to another, which makes her narrative difficult to follow. Once she’s settled down, however, you get to enjoy her amusing choice of words and turns of phrase. Her grandma’s a hoot as well. We’re all left at the very end wondering what Ben will do, but Tess doesn’t seem particularly upset (a bit strange when she spends pages and pages whining to Zena about how much she misses Ben) – she’s uncharacteristically philosophical about it all. She suddenly realizes that rings aren’t promises and nothing is certain and people change their minds – good lessons, but she comes to them relatively easily and her story comes to an end before you really know how well they stick with her. Still, this was funny and sweet and teen girls will likely eat it up. It includes frank discussions of sex, although the act itself is not portrayed graphically.

Excerpt:

"'Foundation is another word for practical lingerie.  Have your breasts grown?  Do you need a new brassiere?  Do you need help measuring your bosom?'
    My grandmother stared right at my chest as she asked her questions.
    'That's very invasive of you,' I whispered, folding my arms and covering them up.  'And we're in public.'
    'Filling out is a thing to be proud of.  Have you tried a push-up brassiere?  I think it's good to hoist the girls up as high as possible.'
    My blushing intensified.  My grandma noticed.
    'Ah to be young,' she said.  'And embarrassed by your own breasts.'
    'I'm not embarrassed by them,' I whispered.  'I just don't talk about them at the bagel shop.  They're sacred.'
    My grandmother shrugged.  'Boobs are boobs.  And yours are quite nice.'
    As I sat there, I couldn't wait to get to a phone and tell Ben about all my suffering.  I'd been abandoned by my parents.  My best friend had been shipped away.  And my primary caregiver was obsessed with my breasts."
(p. 126)

[Kasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised how hilarious this small book was but I definitely remember almost losing it ( from laughing so hard) while I read it very late one night, page fifty had me in fits of giggles so hard that my cat kept giving me looks, I was disrupting his beauty sleep, that's for sure. Growing up is hard to do, especially if you're a girl pulled from all sides, never mind normal family because that never exists, even in books, and what about boy problems and maturing/doing the right thing and all that stuff. Mix in some truly crazy best friends, super cool grandma, a bad hamster, an amazing boyfriend who is a total catch, inexperience mixed with innocence and add a dash of the unexpected and you have a fun, charming book filled to the brim with wit. Getting the boy is easy, keeping him is the hard part!

Tess is a fun girl with a big heart, unfortunately she is also full of phobias and watching her handle her first serious boyfriend who has introduced her to some of the grown up things that life deals with is a hoot. Eccentric isn't even the word when it comes to describing Tess, sometimes you want to hug her and other times you want her to man up and do the right things, of course it's always easier to watch from the sidelines as the athlete is the one taking the beating, making corrective comments about perfect performance, but the book forces the reader to get involved; emotionally since you care and because it's engrossing and hard to put down.

"Lost it" deals with the loss of virginity but also the loss of many other things, the theme hums through the book and picks up different themes and makes the reader realize that something else was lost or gained, part of growing and learning. I loved this book so much that I want to read everything else this author wrote, her ease of weaving the story was magnificent, I had a blast reading this and can't recommend it enough. This has some twists and turns and an ending that I couldn't wait to read, especially since the beginning tells you what lies ahead, and it's not necessarily pretty. The tension is good enough to keep the reader on their toes, and it's also a great summer book that will put a smile on anyone's face.

- Kasia S.

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate reading to start off with but I could not put this book down. Every chance I got I would pick it up and start reading. I think I broke my record, I read this book in a weeks time. Lost it by Kristen Tracy is not just about Tess losing her virginity to Benjamin Easter. This book is about life, how nothing can go right but one person seem to fix it. Tess's best friend Zena has going crazy. Zena is trying to build a bomb to blow up a poodle. Tess's parents decided they are going to run off. After Tess's mom leaves to go to survival camp, Tess's dad want to go see his wife again and fix what happened. While Tess's parents are gone, they leave Tess's grandma in charge. This is no original grandma, she wants to but Tess sexy underwear and bras. Before her grandma buys her underwear and bras, she meets this guy with a nice butt, which caught Tess's eyes. This guy is Ben, who is her first real boyfriend and leads to getting physical with him. Tess changed from a good girl with a normal family to a girl who is more mature with a weird family. Not saying weird families are bad, they have their times. I would recommend this book to any girl over the age 14. I do not think there is an age limit to recommend this book to. All I got to say is I LOVE this book. I love this book because it caught my attention. This book was laying out on the shelve not in correct spot easy to spot. I picked it up looking at it like, wow we have this type of book in our school library. Reading that back it was not just about losing her virginity but about her life being goofed up by her friend and parents going off their wagon. I just love this book!

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emma Andrews
period 12/13
"Lost It"
by: Kristen Tracy
276 pgs.
completed: Sept. 6, 2009
rating: 9
Book #1

In the book "Lost It," Tess defintely changed the most by the end of the story. She started out as this naive christian girl who didn't really believe in sex before marraige. She also never really look at boys or felt herself to be "sexy", until one day she meets Ben and everything changes. Once they start dating, everything becomes very differnt for Tess. She cares about her apperance more, and what people think of her, and finally decides virginity; who needs that? But she's in a commited relationship, right? Yes, until Ben finds out that she has been lying to him this whole time about having diabetes. A simple misunderstanding that she never decided to clear up has completely ruined her "perfect relationship." Total high school drama, but it was a great book.

[Jolene Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this.

It honestly took me a while to get into it, even though the voice was fun and unique. I like voices that border or narration. When i got to page 80 or so I had to get to the end. It was nice because there was some good love story in there, but more powerful than the love story was the story of a girl who's dealing with a whole lot and her re-connecting with her best friend and learning about herself. I'd recommend this to MOST people, not all. I hovered between three and four stars, but since I felt the need to stay up until 1 am to finish it, knowing the next day was a Monday morning, it deserves 4.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars rounded up

"Tess Whistle leads a nearly extraordinary life. Her parents are a mixture of born-again Christians and survivalists, her best friend has serious coping issues, and Tess is giving heavy thought to losing her virginity to her boyfriend, Ben, even though she always said she would wait for a ring. As Tess weaves throughout these issues, she finds out just how hard life is to control, even when control is what you want most." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id...

[Stephanie A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

"It" would be her virginity. Because I am naive and optimistic, I somehow managed to not make this connection until it was actually happening. Then I chucked the book at the wall and had to scream into a pillow for a while before I felt calm enough to skip that passage and finish reading the book so I could verbally punch it on here.

[Tori (alwaysbookphoenix) Kisamore · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this to read on vacation. I honestly liked it at the time, but looking back, all I can do is cringe.

[Just A Ginger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of this book. I definitely think that this subject matter is for older teens (14-15 and up) but how it's written it's definitely more towards the younger crowed. I know when I was sixteen I wasn't this immature about sex and it frustrates me that Tess is. But keep in mind the main character Tess has been sheltered her whole life because they have no cable. Although her friend Zena is a bit eccentric so you would think she'd have filled Tess in on all the juicy details.

The story is kind of the same thing over and over to me. Basically Tess the main character has a best friend named Zena. Zena's parents have gone through their midlife crisis leaving Zena in a stage of madness where she's obsessed with blowing up a poodle. Tess has her own issues with her parents and ends up latching onto Ben an older boy who has a locker beneath hers. In the very beginning it tells you that she had sex with Ben and then it goes into the story of how it all 'went down'.

Well obviously if you're going to be that desperate and throw yourself at a boy who's clearly saying he doesn't want it or he's not interested because of your desperation he's going to book it as soon as possible. That's a fact. Unless he loves how easy you are, then he might use you a few more times. I always hate how characters think one thing and act on it like a moron. I love the characters who can think and want one thing a lot but know street tactics on how to not show it off. If you're obsessed with a boy and want him that badly you should know better and don't act on how you feel or think.

I do say one thing for Tess though and this might be because of my own personal experience. Usually the first time or at least my first time was terrible. It happened, he disappeared just like Ben did to Tess. So I can say that sometimes girls who don't know any better can end up throwing it away and learning it the hard way. So I can relate to Tess and sympathize with her but she's a junior in high school and that fact throws me for a loop. I understand everywhere is different some people are more sheltered but it still astonishes me.

Lastly the ending. I wasn't a huge fan. Obviously if you lie about something THAT big it's going to burn you. But in Tess's defense Ben's obsession with girls with that illness is a bit strange.

Overall it's not a terrible book but it is possibly one were you want to slap the MC quite a few times.

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an easy and fun read.

Well, at least until Ben started giving the cold shoulder to Tess after they had sex as if he had just wanted sex after all, which was a disappointment since I liked Ben.


And the ending was so abrupt that I thought one or two chapters must be missing. It felt pretty unfinished. The author could have at least let Tess and Ben one more talk, in which he breaks off with her, or let Tess tell how Ben walks away from her life without a proper good-bye. She could still have made the situation uncertain if she liked that kind of ending.


Still, I appreciate books that don't pretend like teen romances will always last forever or like once you sleep with someone, you will be tied to each other for life or something like that. Books telling us that "If you break up with your first love or the person you lost virginity to, which you most likely will, it's okay. The world doesn't end and you'll be just fine."

So I decided to still give this book three stars. But if you don't like books that don't have a proper closure, it isn't for you.

[Amanda kriti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked up this book to get more insight to seeing the emotional processes that goes behind a teenager's first sexual experience. The whole scene was reduced to a few lines, unfortunately.

I would love to read or hear a story where a person chooses to not engage in sexual activity due to their own feelings of not being ready or even being asexual rather than having another protagonist who's family is Christian and therefore they shouldn't.

The side character Zena seems to have had a more character development of having lost it and then finding herself while the protagonist appears to only fall deeper into a hole and lose it.

I will never understand why some plots decide to take lying to such an extreme.

Good Parts of the book
Well, I think the grandmother was an interesting character - it was nice to see the bond she shared with the granddaughter.

It was nice to see that a loss of friendship was shown as a significant life altering event, especially at the given age.

Zena did give us a tiny bit of positive sexual representation

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best chapter of this book is the last chapter where Tess’s best friend comes home and yells at her. Seriously. This whole book was Tess being whiny and desperate.

And I get it, it’s a young novel. A first time novel. It might not actually be a bad book if you aren’t already hardened by the world lol. No, I marked this book to read in 2012, and I should have read it in 2012. I might have liked it just a tad bit more then.

[Lou Bishop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lost it was so funny! I loved Tess's descriptions of things, and how hilarious her experiences are with her best friend Zena and with her and " boyfriend' or so to speak, Benjamin Easter. This book was definitely a book I would read again and I would recommend this this book to people who love steamy romance and hilarious best friends!

[Kennedy L. · Rating 1 out of 5]

This, quite honestly, the worst book I’ve ever read. Tess is hardly likeable and lies for no reason, and in the end her boyfriend and her best friend leave her. There’s no happy ending (not that there needs to be—it’s just not even a good ending) and we’re kind of left at a shitty part of her life. Idk, I just don’t get it.

[Arimathea · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little far-fetched. I'm glad she had no regrets about what she did with Ben, but wonder what her parents were thinking leaving for so long.

Jeez. Confess the fib already rather than letting the poor guy think she's a diabetic for almost the entire book!

[Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]

What. Is. This. This has been on my shelf for a long time and I finally picked it up. I shouldn’t have. This read like a high school paper that was just a brain dump of consecutive thoughts. Barely a plot.. terrible characters.. don’t bother.

[Danielle Schutte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty quick read. Some of it was kinda funny. The ending wasn't quite what I had expected. Pretty good overall.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read, it kept me smiling throughout it!

[Maggie Pendergrass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute little teenage love story about learning to love and let go.

[Jill Marsillett · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book will make you hate teenagers.

[Angela Okapi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bizarre and pretty bad.

[Madison Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has been on my bookshelf since high school.. I really didn’t enjoy it.. the ending was definitely bleh. Felt very rushed too. Don’t recommend.