Of All the Stupid Things

by Alexandra Diaz

When a rumor starts circulating that Tara's boyfriend Brent has been sleeping with one of the guy cheerleaders, the innuendo doesn't just hurt Tara. It marks the beginning of the end for an inseparable trio of friends. Tara's training for a marathon, but also running from her fear of abandonment after being deserted by her father. Whitney Blaire seems to have everything, but an empty mansion and absentee parents leave this beauty to look for meaning in all the wrong places. And Pinkie has a compulsive need to mother everyone to make up for the mom she's never stopped missing. This friendship that promised to last forever is starting to break under the pressure of the girls' differences.

And then new-girl Riley arrives in school with her long black hair, athletic body, and her blasé attitude, and suddenly Tara starts to feel things she's never felt before for a girl--and to reassess her feelings about Brent and what he may/may not have done. Is Tara gay--or does she just love Riley? And can her deepest friendships survive when all of the rules have changed?

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT, Lesbian, Fiction, Queer, Realistic Fiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published December 22, 2009

Reviews

[Reading Corner · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Firstly, thank you to Alexandra Diaz for sending me a beautiful hardcover copy of this book in an exchange for an honest review.

The novel follows the lives of three best friends Tara,Whitney Blaire and Pinkey who begin to encounter difficulties in their friendship, due to several events.Tara encounters problems with her boyfriend Brent which puts a strain on her friends and herself and later develops into more problems for the three.A new girl in school, Riley enters the scene and in Whitney Blaire's eyes, presents competition to Tara's hold on Brent so Whitney Blaire makes sure to establish some rules. These events and others lead Tara's,Pinkey's and Whitney Blaire's friendship into complexities especially as Tara begins to develop feelings for Riley.

The story idea gripped me from the start as it wavered away from the typical ya contemporary fiction by introducing lesbians. Parts of the story were entertaining especially some lingering details, like Brent and the car and Rileys real motives.I enjoyed the development of Tara's character, not just sexually but the interaction with her dad and friends was interesting and how she reacted as the story progressed.

However, the pettiness of the characters really pissed me off and it was hard to imagine these people being the same age as me.Characters got riled up over nothing, took everything as an insult and calling someone a bitch was the only insult they could muster.Also, they were seventeen and still writing in incredibly bad text writing and even used it while writing notes.

"i thnk tht bch hs blackmaled hr.wnts da hol wold on hr syd"

The only characters I liked were the parents.Whitney Blaire was just so fucking irritating and pathetic,Pinkey reminded me of that relative you'll avoid at any costs as they're the most annoying person you know and Tara,the most likeable but she was a pretty boring character who was often selfish.

Overall the book was loosely entertaining but the characters were not likeable and mostly lacked complexity as it felt like everyone was just shoved into certain brackets. The story felt unrealistic as it was so childish and wasn't relatable at all. I'm very grateful for the free copy of this book and it's a shame I didn't enjoy it, but I think if the characters were improved it could be a great book.

[Thorn MotherIssues · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm kind of glad other readers liked it, because I despised this book. The friendship at the core seemed totally implausible, not to mention borderline abusive. And then while it's true that people do suddenly finding themselves falling for people of the same gender, in my experience that generally leads to some kind of soul-searching and not just making out and coming out with no real repercusssions to it, especially in a story where the girlfriend who's already been out had to leave her whole life behind because of parental disapproval of her prior girlfriend. I just thought the whole thing was dreadful and unrealistic.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

Received for review via Paper Lantern Lit


Full Review


For all the freshmen. I promise my high school experience wasn’t near this dramatic. And if your’s so happens to be as dramatic as the experience as the girl’s in WHEN WE WERE, I wish you the best of luck.

Oh high school. A time where your grow both out of, as well as into your own body and mind. Lose friends, gain some. You more classes you want to take. High school. Before I go any further, I would just like to say that the high school where these three best friends go is a whole lot more dramatic than my experience in the place thus far. And, frankly, I hope my experience never gets to be as dramatic as their experiences. I mean, sweet baby Jesus. What is in the water at their school? We have the Queen Bee, who is called by her first and her last name. We have Pinkie, who is seriously. . .I would have to say she is desperate for affection. Then we have the runner: Tara. Who is coming into herself in a way she doesn’t particularly know what to think of.

Here’s the basics of what I think of this book: I didn’t like any of the characters, if I am being perfectly honest. I didn’t like the friendships or their dynamic and I really couldn’t see why any of them were friends with the other. But I did enjoy watching them struggle and work through their issues in the story.

I was unable to sympathize with the characters, which is my biggest complaint. But this is really because I really, really did not like any of them. Not even the minor characters. All of the characters had issues: Pinkie had them, Tara had them, and Whitney Blaire had them. This is brushed over very briefly in the book. I wish I got to know more about who they were so I could understand the way they act more.

All of you who read my reviews know I love character growth. And most of the characters did grow in the book. The one who I wanted to become less of a meanie face the most lacked personal growth the most. So, that was a little disappointing, however, not all that surprising. I was sort of expecting that.

I’m not super sure how I feel about how WHEN WE WERE dealt with homosexuality. I’m not sure if I was surprised by the frankness of the mother, or the problems it brought up with the group of friends. I think the shallowness of the book overshadows the issue a bit. Again, if I had gotten to know the background of the characters more I think I would have enjoyed the novel more.

One last complaint. I though the friendship had the slight air of feeling abusive. You should NEVER be afraid to tell your best friend what you think in FEAR of their reaction. That’s a giant no-no, kiddos.

But all that being said, I did actually enjoy reading WHEN WE WERE. I like the idea that things do change, and that people do have to learn to adapt and deal and survive. I like the idea the love isn’t binary and that just because people change doesn’t mean they aren’t them. If that makes sense. I like that WHEN WE WERE attempts to address death, lying, sexuality, and love. I admire the distinct character traits, even if I didn’t love them.

Later Gators
Jackie

[Mia Siegert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I... oh dear. The last thing I want to do is give a poor review but this... didn't work. It was also majorly problematic and shockingly homophobic with little resolution. Like, really. I was shocked. And it takes a lot to shock me. And this sort of shock was the bad sort of shock.

Characters: Unbelievable except for Tara, who wasn't exactly likable but tolerable. All seemed far too young for their ages--I honestly thought they were all thirteen until I read 16/17 and couldn't believe that at all. Worse than that, they're far too stupid for anyone. It's one thing to write about a character being naive, which is hard to do but not impossible, but to write a character as stupid and unbelievable... it didn't work. It didn't make me want to turn the page. It made me despise these girls and have no sympathy for them, especially as nothing changed.

The novel read as if it started (and stopped) many times without a common thread. There were such cool concepts right at the beginning, then it dragged on... and on.... and on... like the author forgot what she was doing or it was insignificant. Or that little snippets of writing were put together.

Pinkie was absolutely frustrating. I was so hoping for an AMY AND ISABELLE situation with her, yet it didn't happen.

The homophobia was so random, too. If it was to be present, it needed to serve a purpose. It didn't. At all.

Not to mention... if a love interest's parents move someone across the country to be away from a girl... why wouldn't the author touch it? Or consider having Riley's parents move a second time, or a third?

It was almost impossible to tell the difference between characters--thought process and whatnot. It was just... brutal. Maybe if there were redeeming qualities but... there really weren't. That was it. I was so disappointed.

It also seemed so super hostile towards Brent and his maybe-gay-cover up. By that, I mean the fact that it read as, "closeted people are the scum of the earth." If a novel is going to have gay cover-up themes, it needs to be approached at the end. I really just... I couldn't. :( Maybe if something of substance happened... or there was a consistent plot line.... or something.

I'm not giving it a one-star because there's some merit and I honestly think maybe some younger teens might enjoy it. That said, I would never recommend it to younger teens because I don't believe it shows either a) positivity for LGBT+ youth or b) an accurate portrayal of behavior when dealing with LGBT+ themes.

I also think marketing it as a LGBT Romance isn't an accurate category. It's not a romance. It's a friendship story. One character happens to date another girl. That's not the point of the novel. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it better if it was pegged as that.

Or if we learned about the phonies in life. Or if plot threads were continued.

I did start and finish it in one day, so that counts for something, right?

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though presented as a teen LGBT romance, Of All the Stupid Things by Alexandra Diaz is a story of the long term friendship of three girls, nearly torn apart by rumor and the entry of a new girl into the mix. The three friends are Tara — the popular girl and health nut, Whitney Blaire — the wealthy snob, and Pinkie — the girl who keeps everyone together.

The book opens with the same shocker as Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend by Carrie Jones — Tara's popular, jock boyfriend is said to have been seen making out in his car with another boy. Whether or not the rumor is true is inconsequential to the book — it's all about the reaction to the rumor.

In Jones's book, her boyfriend really does come out of the closet and the remainder of the book is her very personal coming to terms with his outing. In Of All the Stupid Things, the arrival of Riley (the new girl) in the middle of the drama, stirs up feelings in Tara that she's never had before. In this regards, the book reads like Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters (link to review) with the negative reaction being more from Tara's friends than from her family.

The thing, though, that prevented the book from working for me was the reliance on three points of view. Each of the three main characters — the original friends — gets her own chapters. The points of view cycle through from Tara to her friends and back. These alternating chapters hinder the development of any one protagonist as a fully realized character and doesn't give enough time for Tara and Riley's relationship to grow.

After all the drama circling around the rumor and Tara realizing she has feelings for Riley, the book's conclusion focuses on a completely insignificant plot thread. Having read the book cover to cover I hoped all the threads would come together in some sort of satisfying conclusion. But it doesn't. It just sort of stops with Tara reaching one of her goals.

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Thanks to The Studio, a Paper Lantern Lit imprint and NetGalley, I received an ebook copy of this book for free to review.)

“What if Brent cheated on me? With a guy?”

This book is about a group of three girlfriends one of which is a girl named Tara who finds out her boyfriend may be cheating on her with a guy. The three friends all play a specific role. There is Tara who is the quintessential “popular” girl, there is Whitney Blaire who is the “snobby” girl, and Pinkie who is more of the “people pleaser type. The book is more about how the friends react to the rumor than the actual rumor itself. The rumor seems to tear their friendships apart.

I’ve read many books where the main character is being cheated on, but none where they are being cheated on by a member of the same sex as the cheater. It made for an interesting change. You could see how the reactions of the main character and the questions running through their mind differ and are also similar to other cheating situations. I like that the book had multiple points of views and that the chapters for the most part were pretty concise. I also like that each character was facing their own issues unrelated to the rumor, it gave you a chance to connect with at least one of the characters.


That being said I didn’t connect with any of the characters and I thought the plot was underdeveloped. It seemed to jump from one situation to the next with no real flow in my opinion. The book was just not my cup of tea, while there were things I liked about it there were more I didn’t, mainly the way the story took these strange twist and turns.

[Bridgid Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS is written from the perspective of three friends. Tara, Pinkie, and Whitney Blaire have one of those friendships that began as a random bonding of little kids, but has carried them into high school without much thought or question - almost out of habit or comfort.

But when things start changing for the girls, they have to think about what role their friendship will play in their lives, and whether these are relationships they want.

Alexandra switches perspective from chapter to chapter, something that isn't easy to pull off, but she rocked it. The characters each had strong, clear voices, and I felt no confusion about who was speaking, or about their motives. I loved that the girls don't fit YA stereotypes (hurrah!). Each brought unique characteristics and interesting perspectives to the story.

The story is a page-turner, too. (It kept me reading when I should have been working.) It's an engrossing read, with fantastic, authentic voices.

I'm not going to ruin the story for anyone, but, among other things, the book delves into homosexuality -- and how the girls deal with it. I thought this part was so fantastically realistic and amazing. It made me want to stand up and cheer (but, um, I settled for grinning like an idiot, or crying...whichever felt more appropriate). The story isn't focused on homosexuality, though. It's more about relationships and dealing with change -- big topics that any teen could relate to.

This is a must-read for YA readers!

[Aoife · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publishers/author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tara, Whitney Blaire and Pinkie are three best friends who seem to be the perfect trio until things begin falling apart when Tara finds out her perfect boyfriend was seen kissing another guy. As Tara tries to figure out her relationship, she gets even more confused when a new girl stirs up feelings she never knew she had and Whitney attempts to guard her best friend's feelings.

This book was a little bit of a mess if I'm honest, and I can't say I totally enjoyed reading it. There were some parts I liked, weirdly my favourite character was Whitney who was possibly the bitchiest but for the most part I just didn't like how this book handled some things. While I'm glad there was a bisexual storyline in this between Tara and Riley, I didn't like how Brent's storyline was handled. When Tara found out about the guy kissing thing, she was understandably upset but never once did she seem to think she should talk to Brent about his feelings and his sexuality, or even see if maybe he needed someone to talk to about it. He was made out to be a heartless cheat, and that was a shame as it could have been a good opportunity for healthy conversation.

Tara was probably suppose to be the main character over Whitney and Pinkie but she was just boring and honestly, incredibly selfish. The entire novel she only thought about herself and never once did she ever seem to think about her friends and the things they might be worried about or be going through. She also dropped her friends like a hot potato once the right opportunity came along, and I don't really think she did enough grovelling at the end for that to have been sorted out to my satisfaction.

Pinkie was honestly a pathetic character who was so hard to read because she seemed so young. And not in an innocent, naive way, just in a sad way. I felt like the author tried to hard to give her an actual storyline and added in the Nash 'relationship' seemed rushed, and not thought through properly at all. It just flat-lined completely. There was also definitely some problematic conversation about Pinkie's homophobic feelings in this book, and I know that it was there to show some people need to really push themselves into acceptance sometimes but I don't think, again, Pinkie's feelings were dealt with properly at the end. All it said was that she didn't look away at Riley's arm around Tara but there was never any other conversation about if her homophobic feelings had changed into acceptance.

"I have nothing against gays. What they want to do is their business. Just as long as their business doesn't involve me or my friends." A quote from Pinkie that made me say "wtf?"

Whitney was my favourite character by far because I feel like she was the most complex. She was definitely the bitchiest and the most explosive character but I feel like a lot of her bad actions often came from a good place and she just expressed herself wrong. Throughout the book, she was fiercely loyal and protective of her friends, and Tara basically just spat in her face.

This book just ended up being catty often just for the sake of it, and i found the friendship to often be toxic and definitely not a group I would want to be part of. I don't think I would recommend this to people to read.

[Blow Pop · Rating 2 out of 5]

Content warnings: lesbian relationships, cheating, heterosexual relationships, homophobia, possible gay relationships, possible bisexual representation, sex, alcohol use, deals with loss of parent

Though, the book on Netgalley is listed as When We Were. Which made finding this on Goodreads and Amazon a little difficult as I had to bring up all the books by the author and read the descriptions until I found them (luckily the author doesn’t have many). And depending on the version it’s either listed as When We Were or Of All The Stupid Things.

Review can be found here at Blow Pop's Book Reviews.

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. I was hooked pretty much immediately. The book starts right at that moment when Tara finds out about Brent and it just keeps peddling from there. You watch as this once immovable friendship starts to crack and each of the three girls is chipping away at the glass, eroding its integrity. They all have the best of intentions but you know what road those are paved with. So those best intentions are the collection of hammers that ends up shattering the glass. But, in the end, at least someone's there that's willing to attempt to glue the pieces back together.

Tara I liked pretty much all the way through the story. I can't imagine what it would be like to hear a rumor that my boyfriend had cheated on me with another guy. Personally I expected to see a lot more self-doubt. You know, the kind of thoughts that go "did I turn him gay?" or others like it. It seems to be a natural reaction but Tara didn't have that. Instead she ran away, literally and figuratively. She ran until it hurt, she ran away from her friends and she ran to someone new and fresh that gave her a new lease on life. Someone else that she could relate to on a bunch of different levels. I liked Tara the most really because I thought she was the best character. I found her the most relatable and her story the most compelling.

Whitney (sorry, I refuse to call her by her full name, far too annoying), I didn't like her drama. Plus I thought she was too typical. The spoiled rich girl that gets everything she wants but what she really wants/needs are parents that love her. I was over it. I've been over it. While her drama to sabotage Riley kept me turning the pages rather quickly, I just didn't like her type. Her mould, I guess is what it would be. Her character was okay but she was a little too typical for me.

Pinkie got to a point where I just couldn't stand her. Overbearing, mothering, constantly apologizing. I can't stand those people. Spineless, weak-willed individuals that I want to just scream at. I will say, though, she did come around in the end. There is a redemption for Pinkie so if you find people/characters like this equally as grating, just wait it out. She gets a reprieve. She breaks the stranglehold she has on herself and realizes the type of person she is. Those types of people I love, even if they're new to it: self-realization. They have the ability to look at themselves from the outside and fix their shit. Pinkie gets there. Eventually.

Riley's just kind of there so I'm neither here nor there about her but her presence is what propels the plot. Riley really did shake up the threesome Tara, Whitney and Pinkie had. Without her, Tara would have just ran back to her friends like normal. Running to Riley was the catalyst of everyone's issues. Whitney's scheming rolls back to Riley. And because neither Tara nor Whitney are around, Pinkie is forced to stand on her own, something that she desperately needed.

I wanted something light and I definitely got it. It touches upon some pretty major issues but in a light way. Yeah, they can be major. But they don't have to be. Not everyone is going to throw feces at the fan when they get a wrench in their spokes. Some just brush themselves off and keep going. I'm glad this book didn't dive too deeply into what could have been some steep issues. It kept it light. Does that make it disingenuous? I don't necessarily think so. It just resolves the issues in a non-major way, since I'm sure that can be called realistic for some people. It had its dramarama moments, its blowout fights and its life-changing epiphanies. And I couldn't get enough of them. I swallowed them up and then greedily wanted more.

Yeah, it's a light read but it touches on subjects that a lot of teens are going through so I don't think it should be brushed aside as fanciful simply because it doesn't make you want to slit your wrists by the time you've finished reading it. It's a quick read but you'll remember a lot; about how the characters felt, how you felt reading them. I know they elicited some emotions in me. At work, of course. So if you're looking for something light, it's good for that. If you're looking for something realistic, it's good for that too. It's just an all around good book.

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read- in all truth, there wasn't much real substance behind the plot and yet I enjoyed it and wanted to keep reading. This book is basically about 3 friends in high school, their drama and their relationships. Each have their own thing going on while trying to stick around with the others. If I had to give a summary of my own, all I could come up with would be drama.

Whitney Blaire is the self absorbed, bratty rich girl that is the character designed to be hated- and yeah, at times I didn't like her, but Diaz did write her and her home life in a way that I didn't really hate her. Having a first person perspective on her most certainly helped. Maybe a lot of what she did was catty and stupid but her reasons for it were obvious.

Tara bothered me a lot of times in this one- particularly for why she got so upset with Brent and not just for him cheating on her, only to turn around and basically be the same. That never did seem to be really resolved- she was with someone but still felt weird, and that's just how it kind of seems to stay. However, her beliefs and feelings were very real and true and I did like watching the way she tried to handle everything.

Pinkie is the best friend you love but forget about- the one who tries to keep everyone together but is usually left out. I really felt for her and I really liked reading things in her perspective. She was a very nice addition to the book and I think she is the character who changed the most.

One downfall to this book was how the chapters switched in POV between the 3 girls. Many times, it was separate story lines being told haphazardly. There were moments were they overlapped and tied together but for the most part, things were completely separate which is part of why I felt the book as a whole didn't really have much plot. It was just them, trying to make it through high school.

I know absent parents are prevalent in YA novels but I find it kind of interesting that all 3 of these girls had some sort of broken home life. Whitney Blaire with her too busy for her but still married parents, Tara with her single mom because dad bolted and Pinkie with her dad and stepmom because she lost her birth mom at an early age. In some ways, I would have expected at least one of the three to have the standard, nice home life but their backgrounds also helped build all 3 of these girls and it just isn't the same for some big revelation to be made in light of having a very steady home life.

Overall, I give this one 3 stars. I did find myself liking the characters and it was an entertaining read but there wasn't anything particularly profound in the end. Even the ending was just that- an ending. It wasn't really memorable and this book isn't one that will stick with me for a long time though the overall subject is a good one, and one that is played out pretty well.

[Liviania · Rating 3 out of 5]

OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS is the story of three friends: Tara, Whitney Blaire, and Pinkie. Each of them have issues that could fill a book alone, so it's surprising that they come together in such a slim volume. For the most part, it works. On the other hand, OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS tends to be too shallow.

I found Pinkie to be the hardest to relate too. She's desperate, calling the guy she likes and her friends constantly. Of course, she doesn't realize the guy (an older club advisor) isn't worth it, despite the fact he never once returns her calls. Now, she does begin to pull herself together and act like a sane person. But we're in her head the least, so her reasons for suddenly changing seems arbitrary. I'm all for the changes she makes in her life, but it felt more like Pinkie was following the path a reader would want her to take than acting as a fully realized character.

Whitney Blaire was an interesting protagonist: impulsive, mean, and manipulating. She's the mean girl who is secrectly looking out for her friends as well as herself. Alexandra Diaz created a character who is an interesting mix of self-interest and good intentions, who needs her relationship with her friends to stay the same since she doesn't have one with her parents. Unfortunately, Tara is nominally the main protagonist so much of Whitney Blaire's story is focused on what Tara is doing and how she feels about Tara instead of her relationships with herself, her parents, and David.

The problem with Tara is that she's a little boring. She does have father issues, since her father abandoned his family. At one point she runs into him accidentally, which leads to emotional fallout. Unfortunately, most of the fallout occurs off-page. A novel about Tara and her mother going off-the-grid to recover from the sudden encounter would be more interesting. Instead, the focus is on her boring relationship issues. She breaks it off with her boyfriend because of a rumor. She (late in the book, but the blurb gives it away) starts going out with a girl without much angst.

To be honest, it all comes back to the issue of shallowness. With less than 300 pages and three narrators and multiple issues for each narrator, OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS tends to lack drama. There isn't enough time to really get into a character's head in order to deeply empathize with what they have going on. I understood what I should be feeling throughout their troubles, but Diaz never made me felt it. As things stand, OF ALL THE STUPID things wasn't terrible. It was a good distraction for an hour. But there were glimpses of books that I'd much prefer to read within it.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tara, Pinkie, and Whitney Blaire have been friends since they were children and Tara saved Whitney Blaire from where she was stuck in a tree. Thus their bond was created and they all play a vital role.

Pinkie is the mother hen who is always checking up on the well-being of her chicks due to the fact that she lost her own mother at a very young age. Tara is the dependable and independent one who does what she is supposed to and trains hard for her marathon because she is running from the truth. Whitney Blaire is kind of the wild card because she is accustomed to getting what she wants and knows just how to work her assets, until they backfire on her.

Everything was chugging along just fine until Whitney Blaire heard an unsavory story about Tara's beefy jock boyfriend Brent. It turns out he was cheating on Tara with one of the cheerleaders. Correction, one of the guy cheerleaders. This one incident changes the friendship between these three girls in ways they could never imagine. Tara loses herself to her training and in doing so finds herself drawn to the new girl in school Riley. This drives Whitney Blaire insane and causes catfights between her and the new girl. As a result, Tara shies away from her longtime friends. This sends Pinkie into an absolute tizzy and she feels the need to worry needlessly about every little thing.

As the story moves through these hardships, the girls grow up in a sense and their relationships change with everyone in their lives.

I have to say, the premise sounded really good to me. A story about three friends who go through a tumultuous time in their lives and come out on the other side sounds really interesting. Unfortunately the execution could have been better. I felt like the only character who really changed or grew at all as a person was Tara. She realized her own worth and stood up for what made her happy.

Pinkie still gave in to being a momma's girl, even though her mother has long been dead. Whitney Blaire is just as despicable at the end of the novel as she was at the beginning. Brent was no better really, although his storyline faded into the background and we never really found out what really happened to him. The parents of these children were no better either. Most of them seemed over the top dramatic and unrealistic to me. I know that parents like these exist, but they just seemed too "cookie-cutter" for me.

I really wanted to like this book, but it just left a sour taste in my mouth and unresolved issues at the end of the novel. It just fizzled for me.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

After seeing ( and falling in love) with the cover of Of All the Stupid Things, I couldn't wait to dive right into it when it arrived. Sadly, while it was an cute and adorable read, it lacked in some key aspects.

First off, I want to start with the things that I liked and/ or loved.

Tara, Whitney Blaire, and Pinkie were three girls who were a mix of very different characteristics, making it easy to find at least one to relate to in some way or the other. Also, each girl, I felt, had the voice and tone of a true teenage girl. My personally favorite character would probably be a tie between Pinkie or Tara because both were kind of mix of me because of their smarts among others.

Also, I liked how each discovered something key about themselves by the end. Since, it made Of All The Stupid Things interesting and a read that flew by in a heartbeat.

On the flip side, the first twenty or thirty first so pages were a bit too awkward and clunky for my liking, simply because of Alexandra using the same character's name in every other sentence. For example, within the first couple of chapters it went like this, " Whitney Blair waves....Whitney Blair points......Whitney Blair shifts...." and so on. Thankfully, once I got past got past this the rest improved drastically. Leaving me to enjoy reading Alexandra's writing by the end. Secondly, I felt that because of the constant switching between Whitney Blaire, Tara, and Pinkie, there was some much needed character development cut out, leaving the girls to never quite jump of the page and come to life. I don't necessarily blame Alexandra for this one, as much as I do as the switching between three different first person narratives.

Don't get me wrong, though, with saying the above, because other then those two complaints, I really did enjoy this book and the message of "accepting one's self and living life in the moment" that came from it.

In all, Alexandra's debut novel shows promise of some better and greater things in the future that I can't wait to see.

Grade: C+/ B-

[La Femme Readers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alexandra's debut novel Of All the Stupid Things is enticingly fierce. Her writing is subtle yet powerful. The suspense hooked me from the first page until the end. I especially loved the first sentence, "Of all the stupid things he could have done, Brent Staple had to go and do that." I was immediately intrigued and wanted to find out who this Brent was and what did he do? There are three friends, Tara, Whitney Blaire and Pinkie, which I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know. Pinkie, who I quickly related to was the paranoid, "mother hen" of the group, I hate to say this but sometimes I play that role in my clique. And so, I was drawn to her character, I also loved how caring and loyal she was to her friends. Whitney Blaire is the typical rich, spoiled girl who has looks to kill for. While, Tara is the athletic girl who carries her emotions bottled up inside. Tara's world is changed upside down when a crazy rumor surfaces around school. Supposedly Tara's boyfriend Brent hooked up with one of the guy cheerleaders. Yup, that would make him gay. Tara couldn't get over the rumor and broke up with Brent. Then a new girl comes into town and Tara is smitten with her, but she isn't into girls, so that's where her confusion starts. Riley not only brought confusion to Tara's sexuality but also created a rift between the three girls.

I loved how scandalous the love triangles became and couldn't believe how rumors could ruin friendships. I always thought it was chicks before sticks, but hey in this case maybe it's chicks before other chicks? I know that makes no sense. I like how this novel introduced many themes such as friendships and same sex relationships. The premise was original and I enjoyed it a lot. However, I must warn my young readers their is one part in the book that's a little graphic, but it only lasts for like 5 seconds. Just skip it if you don't feel it's appropriate because it truly is a good book!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I met the author the other day in the library. I had to kick her out of the Teen Center because she was an adult using our computers but she took it in stride and when I asked if she needed help finding anything she just said she was looking up some of her friend’s books. I prodded and found out that she was also an author here in Seattle visiting friends. So cool that her new book was right there on display. I had to check it out immediately and read it.

I liked that you got the perspective on the story from each of the three best friends including things that illustrated how wrong someone's perspective can be. Not everything was easy, or tied up with a nice bow and each character made some mistakes or faulty decisions like in real life. I like that there was a queer romance, but it was not ABOUT the queer romance but was more about the friendships and really all the relationships. She also allowed for one of the characters to be gay and the other character to be uncertain about if she was Gay or not but was content to be in this relationship and was falling in love with this girl. The mom was shocked but did not wig out, while one friend had to question her feelings around religion but it did not mean she outright condemned her friend.

All in all it was rather realistic and not over the top even though it was full of drama that many teens would actually experience. I felt like it was sometimes jarring to go back and forth between the voices because they are so different and I also felt like some episodes were not examined as much as others (Whitney Blaire running away for example). Good for a wide audience queer, and not for ages 13 and up because it deals with cheating, and has some sex.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three words; enlightening, intriguing & scandalous.

This was an interesting debut from author Alexandra Diaz. Diaz was able to accurately capture the voices of three teenage girls, teenage girls that are dealing with issues that I know even I faced or knew someone that is currently facing as a teen. I had a hard time connecting to one character over the others with the alternating chapters between the three girls, but still I enjoyed the insight to each character.

On the other hand, due to the alternating chapters, I didn't feel the characters were developed enough for my liking. They had certain strong character traits, but those weren't enough, it distinguished them from each other, sure, but that was about it. (I found the characters a little annoying actually, but that might just be me.)

There is an part in the novel, where you get to see the same situation from the vantage point of two different girls, it's incredible how differently they view each other.

I loved the novels theme of acceptance for yourself and from your peers. It was an excellent message.

Overall a fast, intriguing debut novel. Touching on themes of friendship, self discovery, sexuality, and unconditional love.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro me regalo una querida amiga, y la verdad me encanto ❤️

A pesar de que las protagonistas del libro son bastante jóvenes, son demasiado divertidas y me mate de la risa con las ocurrencias de cada una, también que son escenarios que pasan en la vida real y m encanta ese realismo :)

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

Of All the Stupid Things by Alexandra Diaz is one of the books that I realised I had already when it came up when I was doing my research for LGBTQ YA Month. I had been looking forward to reading this book for a while, so I was glad I now had to read it. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it that much.

Tara, Pinkie and Whitney Blaire have been friends for as long as they can remember, and each has a problem. Tara's boyfriend may or may not have been cheating on her. Pinkie's mother died when she was very young, and holds on to hard to every other relationship she has. Whitney Blaire's parents are hardly ever about, and she has a "screw it all" attitude to hide how abandoned she feels. When new girl Riley starts at their school and Tara quickly forms a strong friendship with her, it causes a rift between the three friends. Tara soon realises she has feelings for Riley, but is this something her friends could ever accept?

I didn't like Whitney Blaire. Fine, she has her problems, but that's no excuse for her being a cow. She treats most people like crap, and leads nice, good guys on because she likes the attention. When Riley starts, for pretty much no reason I can see, she takes an instant dislike to her, and is the cruelest person whenever she's around. Also, what's with everyone calling her by her full name? She doesn't have a double-barreled first name, Blaire is her surname. Yet everyone has to call her Whitney Blaire the whole time. It's ridiculous, and it really wound me up. Pinkie is pathetic. Her heart may be in the right place, but she's 16, not 12. She obsessively calls everyone over and over if she doesn't hear from them, because she convinces herself they must have been in some kind of accident. She can't just let people be. Pinkie is just too nice, and worries far too much. It's because of these two girls that I didn't really like the story.

Tara was the only one I liked. She's an athlete, and obsessed with training and nutrition, so I didn't really understand her as I have no interest in those things whatsoever, so got pretty bored during the running parts. However, she's a nice girl. She is majorly hurt by the accusations that her boyfriend has cheated on her, and has trouble dealing with it, despite his denials. She takes a break from him, and starts up her friendship with Riley. Riley, being an athlete herself, really gets Tara, and Tara feels she can completely be herself around her. Spending time with Riley starts seeming like more fun than spending time with the others, as Pinkie is constantly mothering everyone obsessively, and Whitney Blaire will take every opportunity to insult her new friend. Cue more problems.

The focus of the story is the friendship of the three girls, and how it's affected by Tara's relationship with Riley. We don't see as much of Tara and Riley together as you would think, so I can't really comment much on the romance aspect. However, some of the opinions in the book about their relationship can't go unmentioned, specifically Pinkie's opinion that '"...it's just wrong."' (p172). Oh my gosh, her reaction made me so angry! Despite being incredibly annoying, Pinkie is the most caring out of all of them, and her attitude is shocking, and disgusting. This one line says it all, '"I have nothing against gays. I just don't like them near me."' (p174) But the other things she says are just unbelievable.

'...and [Whitney Blaire] thinks Tara and Riley are a... are doing... No, I can't even think about that. It is too gross. I mean, what if Tara has always been that way? Oh my God! I've changed clothes around her.' (p169)

'...I can't talk to Tara when Riley is sitting on the wall behind behind her with her arms around Tara's shoulders. It's bad enough thinking of them as a couple, I don't need them to flaunt it. And in public! It's revoltng! Small kids walk by the high school and what are they going to think if they see two girls behaving like normal couples do? If Tara and Riley act like that where everyone can see, what's going to keep them from forgetting where they are and actually kissing in public? I don't think I could keep my breakfast down.' (p210)

There are just no words.

There are some better opinions. When Tara tells her mother about her relationship with Riley, her mum is shocked, and not sure how she feels about it, but she doesn't react badly at all. She's still supportive of her daughter. And when Tara confides that she doesn't really understand what's going on, she comes back with a sweet response.

'"I never thought this would happen to me. Riley says she was born gay.  But I never liked girls before I met Riley."
Mom reaches over and squeezes my hand. "So maybe you're someone who falls in love with a person, not a gender."' (p201)

This book really isn't my cup of tea. However, despite all the things I didn't like about it, I can't deny that it kept me turning the pages. I don't know why exactly, but I was gripped. Be sure to read other reviews of Of All the Stupid Things, don't decide not to read it based on my review alone.

Thank you to International Book Tours for the review copy.*

*I don't think International Book Tours are running anymore. The reason why I've had this book so long despite it being part of the tour is because I was the last person to get the book on the tour, and was allowed to keep it.

[Joyci]

My apartment building has a giveaway box in the laundry room, so I read this while I waited for my darks and denims. It was a really quick read with many interesting storylines in theory, yet none of them were really explored to any degree and although one of the main characters ended up a lesbian or bisexual, the book was really unsatisfactory in its depiction of gay people. Overall, I enjoyed it for the quick YA read it is, and liked how all the girls were ultimately sympathetic characters, but the writing and characterization in this novel was lacking in a lot of ways.

[Bella · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm so disappointed by this book. It was under developed, problematic, and frankly, a little homophobic. I didn't like a single one of the main characters, and their 'friendship' didn't portray in the book at all - it made me wonder how they'd become friends. I'd been looking forward to reading this book for quite a while, but I'm sadly left disappointed with it.

[Nicole (Reading Books With Coffee) · Rating 2 out of 5]

When We Were seemed really interesting, and yet, I found myself thinking that it was just okay. I really did want to like it more than I did.

I think the biggest reason why When We Were was just okay was that I felt like it wasn't as developed as it could have been.

Like Tara, Pinkie and Whitney Blaire. I get the girls are best friends, but they're all so different that it was a little hard to see why they were such close friends. They were all pretty stereotypical- Tara's the athlete, Pinkie is the academic/glue of the group who has no mother, and Whitney Blaire is the mean girl who acts that way because her parents are never there. There is mention that they have a history together, but unfortunately, we don't see that history, and I think having a little bit of history would have made their friendship a little more realistic and believable.

I feel like each girl was somewhat superficial, and I wonder if it's because we see each chapters from all three girls. We don't really get enough time with each one for them to fully develop. Which brings me to Riley. I think, of all the characters, Riley is probably the most interesting. She had a little bit more to her than the other characters did, and I wish we saw more of her. I didn't get Whitney Blaire's instant dislike of her, which was for no apparent reason. Later on, I could understand her dislike of Riley, because Whitney Blaire has some abandonment issues, and feels threatened by how close Riley and Tara become. Initially, though? There's no reason for it.

As much as I liked Riley and wanted to see more of her, I also felt like her relationship with Tara was sort of random and out of nowhere. I think, because only a third of the book is from Tara's perspective, we don't see Tara really explore her feelings for Riley- all of a sudden, they're making out. The reactions from Whitney Blaire and Pinkie (especially Pinkie) were weird and frustrating.

I really need to back-track for a second- there are rumours that Tara's boyfriend Brent was seen making out with one of the guy cheerleaders, which leads to Tara breaking up with him, and Brent denying it. This is then ignored for most of the book, until we learn that it wasn't actually true. Really, for the lack of attention it received, and the way it was dropped, she could have broken up with up with him for any reason. I think I was just expecting it to be more of a thing.

Back to Whitney Blaire and Pinkie. I get Whitney Blaire thinks Tara is believing Riley over her, but saying that Riley and Tara are dating simply because Tara believes Riley over Whitney Blaire was weird, confusing and out of nowhere. It made no sense to me. I felt that way with Pinkie, a little, but with Pinkie, it was more frustrating than anything else. Pinkie is convinced that Tara can't be interested in girls because she dated Brent and because she's too pretty. In particular, when Pinkie says that she has no problem with gay people but doesn't want them near her...I was horrified by that, especially from someone who seems caring. Honestly, it sounds more like a Whitney Blaire comment than a Pinkie comment, at least from what we see in the book, and it's just so cruel and hard to believe that she would say it, because until that point, she's the last person I'd expect it from. But their reaction to it was overall believable, in the sense that I can actually see people reacting that way.

Her mom was pretty awesome, though, in how she reacted. Yes, the mom was surprised, but she was so accepting of Tara. Even though it seems like it would be an adjustment for her, Tara's happiness is so important to her, and I loved that.

Even though there are a lot of things I didn't like or thought were weird (with one or two things I did like), When We Were did keep me intrigued, and I really wanted to see what would happen with the characters.

My Rating: 2 stars. When We Were isn't my cup of tea, but something about it did keep me interested enough to see what would happen.

*I received When We Were from netgalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review

[Angelina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally posted on Fables Library

We received When We Were from Paper Lantern Lit as part of their summer VIP Trendsetter program! This does NOT effect our reviews in any way at all!

 

The Characters:

Angelina: The characters just didn't stick with me at all. I didn't enjoy them all that much and couldn't connect with them for some reason. Perhaps it's because one of them was a mean girl and the other was a sporty girl, but I don't know. I just didn't like them all that much. Also these characters were supposed to be friends, yet they treated each other horribly, especially Pinkie. She was the nicest of them all, although maybe not the smartest (I don't mean to sound rude, but she didn't seem to be), since she was so nice, why did they neglect her?

I'm not gonna judge them anymore, they'll figure it out. Won't they? Read the book and find out :D! None of this has to do with the quality of the writing, or how I felt about the story, it's just my thoughts on how these people where. Frankly, I didn't like them.

Brianna: Just like Legacy of Kings, Angelina and I see a bit differently on this book... and they call us twins XD! I enjoyed the characters a lot actually. I'm not trying to sound awful, but I think in real life these characters wouldn't be friends. Most of the time, people with no similar interests tend to not get along, a mean girl, a smart girl and an athletic girl wouldn't mix well in high school -_- sadly (or in my opinion! Maybe I'm wrong)... Either way, I did love these characters. Can I hug them? I think I'll hug them. They were a cute, diverse cast! So heck yeah, they rocked the diversity department!

The Story:

Angelina: Well...the story was just okay. The WRITING I LOVED, for some reason that stuck with me the most. During the beginning I could read fifty or so pages without moving from my spot, that's how much I loved it! Buuuuttt once you get to the middle of this book, it slows down and I saw it as a bit predictable. Then again, I do play a lot of Nancy Drew games and read mysteries so perhaps I can see more into people than others can? I dunno, but it just felt slow and predicable...

Brianna: I do agree with the three star rating, and what Angelina said. I find it funny how much we blame Nancy Drew on our ability to draw conclusions super quickly haha. My favorite thing about When We Were, be sides the fantastic writing and mostly lovable characters, were the short chapters. Each chapter switched Point of Views so we got to know more about everyone. I do, however, agree with Angelina on the predictability... sadly, I guessed the ending maybe 50 pages in?

(They approve of this story... (not really, I don't know them and I didn't ask.) I'm making this up ok XD

 

[Alexandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the full version of this review as well as other reviews and features, go to SleepsOnTables.

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

When We Were is about three best friends in high school–Whitney Blaire, Tara, and Pinkie–and what happens to their relationships with one another when a rumor starts and a new girl starts at school. Tara thought she had the perfect life but one rumor about her boyfriend and unexpected feelings for another person makes her question everything. Whitney Blaire is quite frankly, the bitch of the group. She’s that friend that could either be your best friend or your worst enemy. Pinkie is the quiet and innocent one who tries to keep the other girls in line.

In all honesty, I didn’t really like any of the characters. Tara is the most likeable and easiest to relate to. She’s not too hung up on social status and when she makes a decision to be true to herself and date who she wants to, it’s a choice that’s very easily made for her, which is very admirable. Pinkie is kind of annoying, never thinking she’s good enough and pestering her other friends when they don’t talk to her because she can’t stand to be alone apparently. Also, I was bothered by the fact that she was very close to not accepting Tara back into her life. Whitney Blaire. Ugh, Whitney Blaire. The first thing I didn’t like about Whitney Blaire is that whenever she is mentioned she is mentioned as ‘Whitney Blaire’ because she doesn’t let people just call her Whit or Whitney. She’s the stereotypical mean girl and a lot of the problems that arise in the book, stem from her.

Even though I didn’t like the characters, I admired the struggles that they went through throughout the course of the book. Some of them are typical high school drama problems that we’ve seen before in YA contemporaries, but there are some that stick out. Unfortunately, more focus was kept on the stereotypical issues and it was the issues that were unique that had a lot of interesting potential that were barely touched on. That was disappointing. There was too much drama and not enough natural character driven plot progression, especially when in many instances the dramatic events just dropped out of the plot.

When We Were didn’t flow very well for me. There were definite peaks and valleys while reading but the peaks weren’t very high and the valleys were far too deep, so the time between each dragged on and on. It wasn’t a very long book but it didn’t read as quickly as you expected it to. I think there was a lot of potential with what could’ve been done with When We Were, but I feel that it went in the wrong direction.

Review in Review:

I thought When We Were was okay. This was such a difficult book for me to review because there are parts that I liked and parts that I didn’t. That, coupled with the sheer potential that this story had that unfortunately went untapped pushed me into a 2 star rating. This is one of those books that I feel like could’ve been great, but it just went in the wrong direction and gave focus to the wrong things.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rate 3.5 stars. I liked this book but sometimes it was hard to remember which stuff went with which girl, but I liked that it changed perspectives. By the end, the three girls aren't really friends but Tara asks the other two if they would see her after the marathon. Pinkie comes and Whitney Blaire saw her on tv. Tara realizes that she is gay, and her and Riley become a couple. Whitney and her friend David have sex when Whitney host a party and she gets drunk. David doesn't know how Whitney feels about him, but they end up just staying friends. We never really find out if Brent is gay or not. (The rest is a coppied review) This book is basically about 3 friends in high school, their drama and their relationships. Each have their own thing going on while trying to stick around with the others. If I had to give a summary of my own, all I could come up with would be drama.
Whitney Blaire is the self absorbed, bratty rich girl that is the character designed to be hated- and yeah, at times I didn't like her, but Diaz did write her and her home life in a way that I didn't really hate her. Having a first person perspective on her most certainly helped. Maybe a lot of what she did was catty and stupid but her reasons for it were obvious.
Tara bothered me a lot of times in this one- particularly for why she got so upset with Brent and not just for him cheating on her, only to turn around and basically be the same. That never did seem to be really resolved- she was with someone but still felt weird, and that's just how it kind of seems to stay. However, her beliefs and feelings were very real and true and I did like watching the way she tried to handle everything.
Pinkie is the best friend you love but forget about- the one who tries to keep everyone together but is usually left out. I really felt for her and I really liked reading things in her perspective. She was a very nice addition to the book and I think she is the character who changed the most.
One downfall to this book was how the chapters switched in POV between the 3 girls. Many times, it was separate story lines being told haphazardly. There were moments where they overlapped and tied together but for the most part, things were completely separate. It was just them, trying to make it through high school.
I know absent parents are prevalent in YA novels but I find it kind of interesting that all 3 of these girls had some sort of broken home life. Whitney Blaire with her too busy for her but still married parents, Tara with her single mom because dad bolted (we later meet him when Tara and her mom go on a hike. They find out he has a new wife and son) and Pinkie with her dad and step mom because she lost her birth mom at an early age (4). Pinkie does have support from her step mom though. I liked the characters and it was an entertaining read but there wasn't anything particularly profound in the end. Even the ending was just that- an ending. It wasn't really memorable and this book isn't one that will stick with me for a long time though the overall subject is a good one, and one that is played out pretty well.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

It kicks off with Tara hearing a rumour that her boyfriend Brent was doing the dirty on her with one of the cheerleaders. It sucks when your boyfriend cheats on you, but you know what makes it worse?? The fact that it was a male cheerleader. Tara decides to move on and leave Brent and the nasty rumour behind. Bu then new girl Riley shows up, and Tara starts to feel things for her that she’s never felt before, but she isn’t gay, so what does this mean? not only is Riley making Tara question her sexuality but also her friendships, which are put to the test.

The story follows three best friends, Tara, Whitney Blaire and Pinkie, and we get to know each of them through the alternating perspectives. While they each have different characteristics, its not hard to see why they are so close friends. Tara is the athletic one with abandonment issues, Pinkie is the mother hen of the group, always making sure everyone is okay and Whitney Blaire is the spoilt rich kid used to getting her own way. At first I wasn’t too sure why they were friends as they seemed to have very little in common, but through the writing and alternating perspectives you get to see why they’re such good friends.

Alexandra did a really good job of explaining the new feelings Tara was having towards Riley. I haven’t read a book so far where the main love interest was a member of the same sex, so how it was handled in such a perfect way really intrigued me. I never once doubted their feelings towards each other, and it all seemed very real, the emotions strong and raw.

My favourite character had to be pinkie, the mother hen, also known as the paranoid friend. There are a few scenes where she calls a guy she likes over and over, even drives past his work to see if he was still alive. These scenes were my favourite, as they perfectly captured that teenage feeling of rejection and worry, plus, they made me laugh so hard at long forgotten memories. I however think even through the different perspectives were a really nice touch, it made me feel that the characters were not developed enough to really stand out of the pages and make their mark.

One thing this book does well at is the love drama, god, girls just love the drama. It displays how effectively Chinese whispers and rumours can destroy lifelong friendships, and how nasty some teenage girls can be, it was like being teleported back into high school. The premise of the book was really original and the messages displayed are really powerful, how its easy to judge other people for the path that they may have chosen, but how thing are suddenly so different when your on the same path. I really enjoyed this book.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started and finished Of All the Stupid Things in one day. Something about it just really kept me hooked. From the first page I was pulled into the characters stories. The three main characters (Tara, Pinkie, and Whitney Blair) each shared their stories in alternating chapters. Their first person narrations were personal and refreshing. Of All the Stupid Things was honest and very realistic. I liked how at the end all the characters were really struggling to find themselves and by the end they’d discovered who they really were. I couldn’t choose a favorite narrator, but I really liked Pinkie. I understood her need to worry and her obsessions over calling everyone to make sure they were okay. I also felt for her when she felt left out when Tara and Whitney Blair were always together and left her out. At some point in their lives, everyone is always the odd one out and it’s not fun. Tara was also a great character. I hated how quickly she believed everything people told her and it was interesting to see how she dealt with her feelings for Riley. I haven’t read many books dealing with gay/lesbian characters and usually the gay character is kind of in the background. With Tara’s first person narration I could understand her feelings and how wanted everyone to except her. Whitney Blair was also a cool character. I hated how mean she was to David, the innocent, semi-nerdy boy who loved her, and wished she would give him a better chance. All in all I loved all the characters, and although I couldn’t really relate to a lot of them, Diaz brought the reader into the characters heads as if they were really there. The characters were really what made me love Of All the Stupid Things.

I not only really liked the characters, but the plot was original, too. It was fast paced and unique and dealt with friendship in a way I’ve never read about before. Tara, Pinkie, and Whitney Blair’s friendship was completely changed by the end of the novel and they all learned a lot of important lessons. I think all teenagers should read this, because it really made me rethink a lot of things I do. Pinkie’s nervousness about Tara being gay made me wonder- how would I react if my best friend revealed to me she was gay? Reading from both Pinkie and Tara’s perspectives made me realize how important it is to care about your friends no matter what their relationship status is. Not only does Of All the Stupid Things deal with bisexuality, it also dives deep into friendship and what it means to everyone involved. All in all I would highly recommend this book, and I can’t believe it was Alexandra Diaz’s debut novel!

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars

[Brit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally posted on Brit's Book Nook

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I hate reviewing books that I don’t like because I was raised by the motto “If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.” One of the only things I did like about this book was the views it presented on sexuality. It talked about how you can be attracted to different genders at the same time, and that how a person can be attracted to people and not their gender. I think these are things that we don’t talk about as much as we should. Sexuality isn’t always black and white. Except I hate how Tara’s mom blames the hurt caused by the males in Tara’s life that turned her to girls.

The other thing I like was Pinkie’s character development. I can’t talk about this without spoiling anything, so skip to the next paragraph for no spoilers. Pinkie is homophobic so when her best friend turns out to be into the same gender, she freaks out. But by the end, she sees that it’s no big deal. Also, during that time she learns a bunch of other things that shows she is really the only character with growth.

The rest was boring. We never really find out if Tara’s boyfriend is really into boys. They hint at it here and there but he never says anything outright… to be honest, other than what the girls witness, we don’t get a lot of details about their lives. Tara and Whitney called each other names and were friends off for a while. If I wanted that kind of drama I’d go back to high school. Pinkie calls her dad “daddy” which I find weird for anyone over 9 years old. I don’t like how we don’t find out until only in the last little bit that Pinkie is a nickname. Also, Whitney Blaire. The fact that they always said her last name when referencing her annoyed me that I started ignoring the “Blaire” part.

The ending was very unsatisfying. I mean, things got resolved but that was it. No epilogue, no 1 year later. Nothing. It was very abrupt especially when an ending like that is only really a new beginning.

Also, the book is divided into Part 1 and Part 2 which I think is unnecessary. What happened before Part 2 was nothing exciting so I don’t understand why they divided it like that.

I don’t think I would recommend this book. The views on sexuality were on pointe, but the rest was just so boring.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is written in the alternating viewpoints of three high school friends: the rich, but lonely, Whitney Blaire, the smart "mother hen" Pinkie and athlete Tara. Each girl has her own distinct personality and voice. At the beginning of the book, Whitney Blaire shows Tara a photo she was texted that appears to show Tara's boyfriend making out with Chris Sanchez, a male cheerleader. Tara tries to get past it, but they end up breaking up. When a new girl named Riley moves to town it disrupts all three of their lives and their friendship. I think the author handled the situation in a realistic way. Pinkie's reaction is probably how some people really feel when they find out that their female best friend likes girls. "Does she like me like that? Will things be different now?" etc.

Each character has her own issues that she's dealing with outside of the main issue of the book. Whitney Blaire may have everything, but her parents barely acknowledge her. She makes a drunken mistake that almost ruins her friendship with their friend David, who's in love with her.

Pinkie really finds herself and realizes that she can't let people use her and rely on her for everything. She needs to be her own person.

Tara is trying to figure out her new relationship with Riley and see where she stands with her friends when she encounters some family issues. I felt bad for her.

The supporting characters are well written too. David is a great, supportive friend to all three of them during everything since he grew up with them. He's a great guy and seemed like someone I would be friends with. He didn't even freak out over Tara's new relationship. He was like "Ok. Our friend's dating a girl. So what?" I love Tara's mom! She's very understanding and accepting. I wish more gay teens had parents like her. She just wants her daughter to be happy.

I like how everything leads up to the big marathon that Tara will be running. I think the ending was nice. I'm hoping there will be a second book but, if there isn't that's ok too.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Aileen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book starts off with one of the characters, Tara, and soon after the first few pages you realize that her boyfriend, Brent has been having sex with a guy, Chris Sanchez, one of the male cheerleaders. This "rumor" does more then just hurt Tara, it starts breaking up a previously inseparable trio, Tara, Whitney Blaire, and Pinky. Whitney Blaire has a male friend, David, who is in love with Whitney Blaire, but Whitney Blaire just can't seem to fall in love with him back. She seems much more interested in herself then poor David who is strung along through pretty much the whole book. I did like Pinkie in parts, though in others she annoyed me to no end. I liked how much she seemed to mother her friends and keep them together, but didn't like how she was obsessed with knowing where everyone was, and constantly calling everyone. I know we all have our quirks but this was just TOO MUCH sometimes. Then we come to Tara. She has just been heart-broken by a guy she thought she loved and this wasn't the first time either. She had been burned before when her dad left a couple years before. Then Tara meets Riley, a girl who Whitney Blaire hates, while Tara seems to be falling in love with her. Tara seems to be the one who goes through the most in this story. She deals with her boyfriend having sex with a guy, falling in love with a girl, fighting constantly with her two best friends, and worst of all, an accidental meeting with her father and his new family. All while training for a twenty-six mile race. This is a story of finding yourself, finding your real friends, and overall loneliness I guess. This is a book that most would find alright, but it seems more often, that most wouldn't like it all that much since it isn't their taste. I thought this too at first but found I was wrong, since this book has something for almost anyone to relate too. And with that said, I still didn't think this book was all that great either.