Customer Reviews

Beetle and Me: A Love Story

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

i/m 16 years old and i just read this book. i really loved it even though the end left me kind of hanging. i really hope a sequel will come out soon. anyway i recommend it for anyone.

Daisy, 15, spends every spare minute working on her purple '57 Beetle, hoping to get it up and running before her 16th birthay. With her wild red hair, spirited nature, and red hightop sneakers, Daisy's a teen version of Pippi Longstocking. Someone once said the test of a great book is whether you'd recognize the characters if you sat next to them on a train. If you read this book, you'll recognize Daisy Pandolfi the next time you see her -- in auto-shop class or at a stock-car race!

I really enjoyed this book. It had everything from Volkswagons to love and it really showed that girls CAN be mechanics and that cars aren't just for guys. The author did a really great job describing how a fifteen year old acts and what it feels like to be in one's first real romance.

Daisy Pandolfi, the main character had strong will and tons of determination. She knew what she wanted, which was a 57' purple Volkswagon that had been her dads and was being neglected in the icehouse in their meadow. After Daisy begged her dad to let her have the Volksie, he finally gave in and she recieved the barely fixable old car. Daisy fixed it up all by herself without help from her family, all of whom are excellent mechanics. This book was really enjoyable and I reccomend it to everyone!

this was a great book, this is the first book i have read in a long time my dad asked if it was good and i said yes and he said it must be becuase i never read and i never put this one down. I found this book after asking the librarian what some good books are and he handed me this book i thought it was going to be dumb but it wasnt. This book is about a 15 year old girl who is becoming a freshmen and doesnt have a car everyone in her family are mechanics and she wants to rebuild her dads old puple VW bug and he doesnt think it is a great idea because it had been sitting in their ice house for so long but he gave in and let her take it out and work on it she spent her whole summer working on this car but then when the school year starts she and her friend billy take it out for a spin and something happens and there is oil everywhere and she doesnt know whats wrong and she doesnt want anyhelp from anyone so she finaly lets Billy look at it and he finds out that their is a crack in her crankcase and she will have to get a new one so for christmas her parents buy her a new one and the car is fine and runs so on christmas eve after church Billy comes over and she gives him the bug on loan till she turns 16 because when Billy was little his dad left them and doesnt send money so he cant go to college and works at his moms garden shop for christmas to sell trees. This was a great book and i would like to read more of her books...

This is a great book i dont like to read books and i love this one the author does a great job wrighting this book and does a great job keeping you hoked. This is the first book i have read in a long time my dad asked if it was good because he hasent seen me ever not put a book down i love this author and i am looking for more books by her. This book is about a young 15 year old girl who wants her dads old puple vw bug that he has put in the there ice house she works on it all summer and gets it up to shape to drive the one day her and her friend billy are driving it and and the find oil all over the ground she finds out later that there is a split in the crank case and it will have to be replaced so for christmas her parents and her buy a new one so now the beetle is all fine. Her friend Billy has graduated and doesnt have a car to drive and is in love with Daisy and wants to marry her but she doesnt know if she feels the same way and as a present the him she gives him the beetle on loan till she is 16 and can drive it, this is how the book ends and i am kinda wanting there to be another book after this one but thats just me.
sincerly Charity Summerlin

In simple, straightforward language, Karen Romano Young unfolds how a seemingly awkward yet strong and determined heroine comes to terms with her dreams, her family, and herself. Daisy Pandolfi is a believable heroine who makes no excuses for wanting what she wants. She doggedly restores their old VW Bug and discovers heartbreak, disappointment, and love in the process. Her strength was an inspiration to me -- and I'm 23! I wish I was like that when I was 15.

The book is a love story, true, but not in the mushy line of commercial teen flicks. The romance aspect develops slowly, surely, imperfectly. But at the heart of it all was how Daisy tackled her independence. In a quiet exchange that moved me to tears, Daisy tells her father not to tell her what to do, just to tell her when she's doing it wrong. In the end, it IS a love story -- of a girl for her dreams, of a girl for her family.

I sincerely enjoyed the different characters that Karen Romano Young painted in this book, and I look forward to reading her other works.

Karen Romano Young's novel about 15-year-old Daisy Pandolfi will have you smiling, thinking, wondering, and -- on the last page -- crying. It's about a girl's love for her parents' old VW Beetle, but it's also about life. (I never thought I'd care this much about a book about cars, but then again, I didn't expect to love "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," but it was one of the best books I read in college!) "The Beetle and Me" should be given away by VW dealerships to everyone who test-drives a new Beetle. They'd buy one for sure! Read this book. You'll remember it always.

The Beetle and Me follows the love story between the main character, Daisy Pandolfi, and an old '57 beetle that has been given a less than hopeful diagnosis. Unlike her sister and cousin, who long for boyfriends, only one thing truly has Daisy's heart and occupies her daydreams: her family's old car that's parked in their icehouse. Though only fifteen (and strapped for cash), Daisy is absolutely determined to make this Beetle her first car (and get it running, too). Surrounded by a family of mechanics, Daisy finally gets the okay...but her stubborness gets in the way when something goes wrong....

In between moments with her Beetle, Daisy has moments with family, attends high school, has some romantic drama (these not involving an automobile), learns a few lessons, and definitely isn't without some flaws. She can get a little prideful, stubborn, selfish, and indecisive, but these things only bring this character to life as the months role on (chapters are sectioned off into months). The Beetle and Me: A Love Story, does have a romance (for those looking for one that doesn't involve Daisy's car), though the greater romance is between Lucy and her car, and for anyone who has ever loved a car, you might be able to relate.

I felt that this book was packed with a sense of nostalgia in the manner in which it was written (probably because it's inspiration came from the author's own childhood, according to the section about the author). The Beetle and Me is also a refreshing change from what I expect in teen books. This one is just different. Like any teen girl, the main character is interested in boys, but boys aren't her main focus (as with the majority of teen books available now). I love that Daisy falls head over heels in love with an old car and that her family is close-knit, colorful, and car-minded.

I'm a little iffy about the ending - while it's generous (and I won't say what it is), my own parents would have killed me if I hadn't asked permission to do such a thing. And a note for parents and those curious about content: there is one scene with this character drinking beer at a gathering (and, yes, she's fifteen). I don't condone underage drinking, and this only happens the one time in the story.

Overall, I thought this was a refreshing change from what I am used to seeing in teen contemporaries.

I really enjoyed this book. The author obviously knows her way around Volkswagens. I'm so glad she made Daisy use the bible of Volkswagens - John Muir's "Idiot's Guide".

This was a cute love story, and an awesome story about a gal and her Beetle, but how many 15-yr-olds enjoy this? My critical eye says this book is too romancy for boys, and too technical for a lot of girls (Not all, however. There are those of us females who are mechanically-minded). As a 20-something VW enthusiast, however, I thought the book was fabulous.

I was 15 when I read this book and I enjoyed it so much! It's really fun to read.