Customer Reviews

Of All the Stupid Things

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

Alexandra Diaz gave a great talk last night at the Vista Grande Library in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to a happy crowd of adult readers and writers who laughed and cheered and bought books. Even though I don't read much young adult fiction, I just finished reading my signed copy and wish that her next book were already on my nightstand waiting. Not only did Alex write great transparent prose in this--her first published novel--but she introduced characters who came alive in three dimensions on the page. In this young adult coming-to-terms buddy story, she somehow captured three very different spirits and told their stories to me with just the right mixture of earnestness and affectionate good humor. Even the betrayals have flesh and blood and got my sympathy. I laughed, I cried, and I felt satisfied that all the emotions and ideas that were brought up--and there were quite a few--had their satisfying resolutions. The deep issues about human development came to light un-self-consciously in Diaz's simply-told portrayal of Tara, Whitney Blaire, and Pinkie's lives. The author makes the writing look as easy as microwave popcorn. And like the perfect popcorn ball, Of All the Stupid Things has plenty of adolescent addictive crunch, peanuts for protein, and just the right amount of sugar. I'll happily send copies to y/a reader friends and buy it again on Kindle.

This is a story of friendship, love, same sex relationships, jealousy, and rumors. A nice list of things until you mix them all together.

A rumor gets started that Tara's boyfriend, Brent, has been having sexual relations with a male teammate and she cant deal with it so she asks for a time out from their relationship. Now this is what I thought the book title meant by stupid is that she would just assume a rumor like that to be true especially after she had been dating this guy for like a year or more?

While they are on a timeout a new girl comes to town and it appears as though Brent may have an interest in her so Tara's friend Whitney Blair rises to the rescue and threatens the new girl to back off that he is taken, but then when Tara also takes an interest in the new girl the crap literally hits the fan in alot of ways!

Overall I enjoyed the book and loved how the author divided each person up into their own chapters when the story shifted to them. I feel like she took some touchy subjects and addressed them in a tidy, easy to understand way while still being realistic.

[...]

Alexandria Diaz's debut novel is everything I had hoped it would be. It's fun, engaging, and satisfying from cover to cover. Diaz tells her story with a light-hearted and humorous touch. But she doesn't shy away from deeper emotions when necessary. We care about her characters, get to know their inner demons, and want to know what will happen to them. The storyline is well-paced. I was captivated by the first page and satisfied at the last page. The bit of mystery keeps the reader turning the pages, too. I especially appreciate the sensitive portrayal of teen sexual exploration. Can't wait for Diaz's next one!

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 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.

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!

Rating;

Plot: 9.5/10

Characters: 10/10

Ending: 9/10

Enjoyment: 9.5/10

Cover: 9/10

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Overall: 47/50= 94%

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.

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.

Review copy
From In Bed With Books

An interesting three-character take on friendship, sexuality, and family dynamics. What happens when the lifelong dynamics of friendship are challenged? One to add to the never-too-long list of "Growing Up is Hard to Do" titles.

Diaz's debut novel does an excellent job of capturing the egocentric minds of three teenage girls. The book is engaging throughout with nicely threaded story lines.
I especially enjoyed the devision of chapters being told from each character's perspective. This style gives readers a real feeling of the young women as the story progresses. The exploration of the gay/lesbian subject creates a dialogue of tolerance in the community, beginning with the a supportive parent. Although, Diaz keeps it real in that some share initial discomfort in having a gay friend. In a society where there is still so much hostility toward gay/lesbian people, it is refreshing to read writing on gay/lesbians in a positive light. It is through the continuation of tolerant media that creates awareness of new perspectives. It's important to note that Diaz's book is not strictly a story touching on a more controversial topic, but rather a tale of real life as it is perceived by the young girls living it. Well Done!