Anonymity Jones

by James Roy

A humorous and clever look at the day-to-day travails of being a teenage girls a normal girl to do?

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Australia, Realistic Fiction

202 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2010

Reviews

[Kalliste]

This book was a huge disappointment. It started off with the ideas of a good read but slowly got worse and worse. As I read I wondered if this is what Roy thought of teenage girls. Were they all attention hungry jail bait?

The main theme of this book (if the cover is to be believe) is "Get Out, or Get Even?" as far as I can see Anonymity did neither. She was the victim as every adult male character (except her Dad) in the book took advantage of her and touched her inappropriately.

I can't imagine what teenage girls would think of this. Hopefully, if they find themselves in a similar situation that they won't act in the way Anonymity did but actually talk it out with a 'trusted' adult. However, if this book is anything to go by there is no such thing.

My only hope is that schools don't take this on. It portrays teenage girls as being around only for men to ogle and that they better stay quiet if they happen to catch one of them. Better to run away from the problem than make things right apparently.

If the book weren't so short I probably wouldn't have finished it.

[Kyle]

This is actually the worst book I have ever read in my entire life.
And I've read Twilight.
Simply awful; don't waste your time.

[Sam Schroder]

Sometimes I get quite excited when I’m reading a book and I think I might be able to add it to the book room. A quick and engaging read, I was sure it was quite clever. But then it ran out of pages left to be resolved and all the dumb stuff happened and I just got really disappointed. Nice idea. Dud ending.

[Libby Hyett]

The main character's a complete bitch in a good way. Reminds me of Mean Girls

[Shirley Marr]

My favourite Australian YA of all time. Still to this day when I write, I am subconsciously influenced by this one book.

[Jaz]

Clever, intense story of a teenager trying to cope with modern relationships: the break up of her parents, the departure of her older sister, the growing distance between herself and her girlfriends, the attractive art teacher and her mum's new boyfriend.

Smartly written with some satisfying kick ass moments this was a pleasure to read.

[May]

4.5 stars

Wow, this book was amazing. The only unsatisfactory bit about the story that bumped it down to 4.5 was that the conclusion didn't feel complete in the sense that we knew exactly where she was heading after that in terms of life. Besides that, I thought the book was great. The author had recommended this to me personally while I was at a book fair and I had finally gotten down to reading this. I think the part about the book that was the most realistic to me was the characterisation. James Roy had told me that he got his characters' reactions, dialogue etc. from schools that he had visited and conversations that he had overheard. All I can say was that it really worked for the book. And well done to him for bringing in the less popular topics that are a bit awkward to write about into the book. Great job overall.

[Heather]

Whilst I didn't always like Anonymity Jones, the character, I did enjoy the book. Anonymity is a strong female character with a mostly realistic voice who will appeal to teenage girls, despite the fact that I found her irritating it times. Dealing with some confronting themes, this book is written with a nice blend of humour and honesty, although none of the adults are portrayed in a good way. The story deals with friendship, trust, relationships and family, however, I would only recommend it for older students.

[ISS Singapore]

Once, in a street not very far from yours, there lived a girl called Anonymity Jones.

Anonymity's life is falling apart. Her father has left to have a mid-life crisis, her mother's new boyfriend is a definite worry, her Europe-bound sister has changed her name (just to make a point) and all her girl friends are now girlfriends, with boyfriends.

And then there's the art teacher.

Anonymity is losing control, and it's decision time. Does she hang on, get out, or get even?

[Samantha-Ellen Bound]

Anonymity Jones is a good choice for those who want all the angst without the supernatural love affair.

Full review at:

http://bookgrotto.blogspot.com/2011/0...

[Alison]

Great opening line, great plot lines converging, great title. I found James Roy very clever in title choice but her friends and family never actually spoke her name so Anonymity isn't actually the girl's name, it's her state of mind or being.

[Amanda Curtin]

I found Anonymity and her anarchic sister, Raven, smart, charming and original characters. Roy tackles some pretty serious issues in an understated way.

[LauraW]

I like the writing style, but I am uncomfortable with the topic, so I skimmed the last part of the book. I wish I had more courage.

[Trisha]

I need to talk to someone about Sam.

[Mrs Mac McKenzie]

This was a quick and enjoyable read covering some pretty huge issues in a great voice.

[Beth]

The description says day-to-day activities, yeah because everyone almost gets raped by their moms boyfriend

[Sarah Johnston]

This read for teens covers some topical issues and handles them well.I found the ending a bit disappointing but nevertheless an good read.

[James]

Fantastic book, extremely well written and completely sucks you in then twists your tail.