Monday, January 24, 2011

Book review: Carrie Pilby by Caren Lissner


My summary:
Carrie is a smart girl, she graduated from Harvard at the age of 19 but she is struggeling to fit in. Now Carrie is living alone in her apartment in New York, she spends her time watching movies, sleeping and she has regular sessions with a psychologist. Carrie has no real friends, by choice in her own opinion. She lives by strict moral and thinks most other people are immoral and obsessed with sex. 

A little taste from the novel:
"Wanna meet for coffee?" he asks.
There it is again. Why does it always have to be coffee? Why is it  that no one ever says, "Do you want to get carrot juice sometime?" Or, "I know this great peach nectar place." Those things are a heck of a lot healthier than coffee, and better tasting. If I ever meet someone who asks me to meet up for some fruit juice, I'll marry him.



My thoughts:
If you want to read a YA novel that features a quirky character then look no further. Carrie is, well almost at least, one of a kind. The reason why I say almost is because she reminded me somewhat of Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye.

When the book first started Carrie annoyed me, she had all these strict moral rules and judged people left and right. No one was as good or as smart has she was. but it soon became apparent that she had issues that needed working out. Her psychologist challenged her to write a list and do all the things on it, as we witnessed Carries long journey thought that list she meets new people and she has new experiences that challenges her and the way she thinks. One thing I loved Carrie for was for being herself, not wanting to do like everyone else just to fit in. I think it's very important to stay true to one self but it is also important to accept that the people around you can be good even if they doesn't always behave the same way that you do.

Carrie's story is both sad and happy and if you stick with her throughout the book you will laugh with her and fall in love with her character. As a bonus I'm sure your vocabulary will have increased by the end of the book, at least I know mine did(but perhaps that's because English is my second language).

The cover:
A colorful contrast to the main character in the novel.

My rating of this book:
4 stars out of 5

Want a second opinion? Check out these reviews written by some of my book blogging friends:

Want to know more?
Add Carrie Pilby to your Goodreads wish list.
Read Caren's blog 
Follow Caren on Twitter


Carrie Pilby by Caren Lissner
Published: 2010(first time in 2003)
Pages(paperback): 336
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 
0373210108 (ISBN13: 9780373210107)
Full disclosure: Review copy from Harlequin via Netgalley.

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store does by the way have free shipping to about 100 countries.  

7 comments:

  1. Nice review.
    I think I would enjoy this book, and honestly by looking at it I wanna get a pair of red pumps and blue stockings :)

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  2. Hi! That's a well-written & nice review. Thanks so much!

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  3. B: Me too but I can't do pumps(and definitely not right now LOL).

    Caren: Thank you so much :) I very much enjoyed reading your novel.

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  4. This sounds like a really good read. Great review...you definitely peaked my interest.

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  5. Haha I agree with Blodeudd. I could NEVER pull it off...like ever but doesn't mean I don't want those shoes and stockings.

    This sounds like something I'd like to read. Great review!

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  6. Carrie sounds like a special character, differrent from other girls in literature. The excerpt from the book is fun and so true! haha
    Sounds like a fun book overall

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  7. Hey everyone - just wanted to let you know what we have a team of great filmmakers working on a Carrie Pilby movie. We love the story of her journey, from her Pilby Parties to her sassy quotes - so we are crowdfunding the Carrie Pilby movie on Kickstarter! For a sneak peek, and to help us out, visit us at http://bit.ly/CarriePilbyKS

    Best,
    Carrie Pilby Kickstarter Team

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Thank you for sharing your thoughts =)