Want a NOOK? Explore Now
Reformatting The World of Fairies (ISBN 1423108809) into this custom pub to be promoted with the DVD Tinker Bell and the Lost Treausre.
Kristen Tracy (www.kristentracy.com) is the author of the young adult novels Lost It and Crimes of the Sarahs, and the middle-grade novel Camille McPhee Fell Under the Bus. Her newest book is Sharks and Boys. When not writing, she tutors at 826 Valencia and volunteers as a gardener on Alcatraz. She lives in San Francisco.
Filled with outrageous, hilarious situations, sprightly and quirky characters, and a new setting, Field Guide for Heartbreakers is a cute, lively read. Two invigorating and vastly different main characters help add to the hilarity and endearment of this book. Stylistic writing and talented mindset help tie everything together.
Dessy is practiced and logical, not one to immediately throw caution to the wind. Still hung up on her ex and fault focused, she is a mix of damaged and naïve. She is a well designed character, her quirks, attributes and flaws coming across strongly. She complements Veronica and though she finds herself in some awkward and obnoxious situations on account of her friend, she is, in the end, a great friend. She starts out strongly developed but grows further and the way Tracy plays this out adds spark into the book. Both through her interactions with Veronica and her classmates in Prague as well as her analysis of both her own writing and others in her class help brings things together.
Veronica is rambunctious, boy crazy, blunt and apt to do stupid things. She is overdramatic and exaggerates yet through Dessy's eyes, the reader can understand the affection and appreciation. As with Dessy, Veronica starts out with much of her personality exposed but she grows and changes as the book progresses. Despite this, she still holds many of the same quirks including her penchant for using euphemisms and sayings wrong. The banter between her and Dessy is engaging and amusing, cropping up at unexpected moments.
The "hot dudes" the girls meet and go after make up a large part of the characters, coming in a variety of personalities. Some are in their same program- college guys- while others are locals or visiting the area. The way they handle the situations is vastly different and even when things heat up and turn dramatic, the way they care for each other remains the same.
The plot is a tangle of love and betrayal and the addition of Corky, their roommate bent on tormenting and maybe killing them, adds another level. As things heat up, the reader is forced to choose which friend their feelings most relate to. Tracy handles this area beautifully, not forcing the reader to side with Dessy simply because it's in her perspective. Dessy's emotions come through the pages to the reader but so do Veronica's. Their interactions with males is comical but the desire for love and attention is palpable. Much of their driving forces are understandable, lurking even in the simplest of places.
Rapt with Prague culture and scenery, the setting alone is a fantastic element of the story. The descriptions are beautiful and the reader can get a sense of being there with each place the girls visit. In character narrative, spunk and manner of speaking help bring this book to life as well, from the "hot dudes" to the many other adjunct words and phrases thrown in. Tracy 's writing style is a bold one, exceeding the usual boundaries and spurring the life into her characters.
A fantastic take on a love based premise, a unique setting and colorful characters meld together to make Field Guide for Heartbreakers a fantastic, fun read. The plot is paced steadily with plenty of comedy to break up the emotion and keep the reader from growing bored. The writing class adds another element as its writing within a book, rather than art or photography that seems to crop up often in novels. Tracy tests her limits and handles it b
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Veronica and Dessy are best friends, but as wildly opposites of each other, and yet they are thrown together in a summer trip to Prague with Veronica's writer mother for a month-long conference for writers. Dessy is wanting a fresh start after her first boyfriend broke her heart, while Veronica kicked her boyfriend out of her life right before they left town and plans to find as many hot guys she can be with in that month. Dessy is actually wanting to learn while Veronica's mind is as far from writing as it can be.
I liked how there was a lot of Prague history and sights shown in the book, so you really feel as if you are really there, so its the perfect summer read. Throw in some hot college guys, a weird group of roommates, and you have the perfect combination in my opinion.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 13, 2012
This book pulled me in at the the begining and even though the second half of the book was a little slow it was still an enjoyable read. Would reccomend to someone looking for a light funny read.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Best friends Dessy and Veronica get into a college writer's workshop that Veronica's mother is teaching at during the summer in Prague. They will be there for a month, and both girls have different plans for their time.
Dessy wants to mend her recently broken heart after her first love, Hamilton, smashed it. Veronica wants to make her newly ex-boyfriend, Boz, jealous by encountering all the guys she possibly can in one month. Once they get to Prague, Veronica even starts to put cut-outs of all the guys she's met up on her wall in their dorm. She calls it the "wall of hot dudes."
But not long after they've been there, everything seems to start going wrong. The guy that Dessy is interested in suddenly stops paying attention to her, and Veronica makes enemies with Corky, who is one of their roommates and is apparently crazy. Soon, Dessy and Veronica's friendship is strained, and when Corky reveals something to Dessy about Veronica and Dessy's ex back home, their friendship may be ruined forever.
For starters, this was a really great summer read. Reading about two high school girls spending their time in Prague and chasing hot guys is, to me, the ultimate way to spend my own summer. I loved how Dessy and Veronica's friendship was so strong, but they would constantly have these little fights with one another. It was almost like they were sisters, really.
Also, A FIELD GUIDE TO HEARTBREAKERS wasn't predictable. It was nice to turn the page and not have what I expected to happen be there. I always appreciate that in a good book. I also really enjoyed the scenes when they are in the workshop and everyone is critiquing each other's stories. Even the crazy girl, Corky, was interesting to me.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a relaxing summer read.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 10, 2012
:(
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted September 22, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted June 22, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted April 16, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted August 26, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted December 29, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted March 5, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
Reformatting The World of Fairies (ISBN 1423108809) into this custom pub to be promoted with the DVD Tinker Bell and the Lost Treausre.