Customer Reviews

The Bermudez Triangle

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Nina, Avery, and Mel have been best friends forever, They tell each other everything, and are completely inseperable. For the first time, Nina is leaving for the summer for a pre-college course. There she has a great time, with her nutty room mate. But when the guy across the hall takes and interest in her, everything gets better. Nina falls head over heals in love- eventually.
Meanwhile, back home, something is happening. After a night of partiying, Mel is drunk, and Avery takes her back to her house. They sleep in Avery's bed - and both have their first kiss - with each other. They accept they are Lesbian - but keep in hidden, because they know it won't be accepted. When Nina comes home, she is still clouded with lovesick thoughts. She doesn't even see it, until out on a shopping trip with Avery and Mel. They were acting strange, like they wanted to be alone, so Nina shopped by herself for a while. Then when she went to find them, she had the biggest surprise of her life- and caught them kissing.
A very good insight into getting used to a huge change in an unbreakable friendship.

During girl's teenage years, most of their time is occupied by homework, boys, friends, and trying to figure out who they really are. The book The Bermudez Triangle is a very realistic and exciting book about three best friends having a pre mid-life crisis. Nina, the ultra organized, straight a student, president of the student council committee and the glue that keeps the group from falling to pieces, goes to a pre college summer camp before their senior year and leaves Mel and Avery at home. While she is away, Avery, the wild party hopper, and Mel, the girl all the guys want, have a bunch of extra time to themselves. While Nina is busy at camp falling head over heels for Steve, Mel and Avery are at home getting much closer then any of them would have thought. Then, after going to a party and getting drunk, Mel and Avery have a sleepover that leads to a long kiss between them. They begin to date behind Nina's back.
When Nina returns, she feels left out of the group. Like Mel and Avery have some sort of secret, which they do. Then, while shopping at the mall, Nina walks in on a very personal moment between Mel and Avery. Now, the secret is out of the closet. Of course, open-minded Nina is very happy for them. But there are still many long, hard struggles to come for all of them. Nina is not sure weather to stay with Steve, who lives on the other side of the country, or go out with cute, nice, Parker. Avery is worried about her audition for a big music college, and Mel is still trying to figure her out.
This is a wonderful, lighthearted novel that I would recommend to any teenage girl. It is a realistic view of three girls and their struggles and triumphs on the path to womanhood. Although the road may be bumpy at times, as long as you have your true friends, you can get through the hardest of all things... growing up. I promise, you will not be able to put it down.

"In the first moment, Nina thought Avery was helping Mel with a necklace. Then she realized that Mel wasn't wearing one. Also, putting on or removing a necklace doesn't usually involve putting you lips on someone else's." This excerpt is from the exciting book, The Bermudez Triangle, by Maureen Johnson.
The book is about three best friends, Nina, the outgoing, responsible leader of the group, Mel, the shy one who attracts all the guys, and Avery, the partier, and what happens when they cross the line from friendship to love. The summer before senior year, Nina goes away to a summer program at Stanford where she meets and falls head over heels in love with her earth conscience west coast boyfriend, Steve. Without Nina, Avery and Mel are spending more and more time alone together. One night when Avery spends the night at Mel's house, they share a kiss. They soon begin to secretly date, not even telling Nina. When Nina returns home, she feels left out and excluded from her best friends, sensing that they are keeping something from her. She soon discovers their secret, and as happy as she is for them, can't help but feel partially depressed, as her friendship seems to be crumbling while she is having the same problems with her long distance relationship.
The Bermudez Triangle is one of few books that I have read that I never wanted put down. It showed me the hardships that so many teenagers face and the ways that they deal with them. Not only was this book compelling, but it really made me think about the fact that true friendships can conquer anything, no matter what the circumstances are. It also showed me that true friends are hard to come by and will stick together no matter what.
I definitely give this book five stars. It is unlike any book I have ever read. If you want to read a good book that you will never want to put down, I would definitely recommend The Bermudez Triangle!

The Bermudez Triangle was the last of Maureen Johnson's five books that I read. I wish it had been the first, especially after it was challenged in Oklahoma.

The story follows three best friends, Nina, Avery and Mel. Nina gets accepted into a university program and leaves for the entire summer. Nina obviously misses Avery and Mel, but she meets a boy named Steve who cares about the environment as much as she does, and she falls for him.

While she is away, Avery and Mel work at a restaurant and spend most of their time together. Soon Avery and Mel discover there may be more-than-friends feelings between them and the development of their relationship happens gradually, like real life.

When Nina returns, Avery and Mel are distant. Nina knows something in their friendships has shifted, or changed, but she is not sure what. She is shocked when she finds out (and not in the most appropriate way) that Avery and Mel are dating, and feels like she has to take sides when Avery and Mel break up.

The whole book is a refreshing look at love that just kind of happens, and how friendships change when two people you're best friends with begin dating. Nothing is contrived, but instead the issues are examined with care, and a feeling of innocence and confusion from the characters.

Readers will relate to the ups and downs of falling in and out of love and discovering who you are in the process. A must read.

The Bermudez Triangle is a compelling, poignant teen novel that engages the reader with the characters, plot, and emotion of the book.

The Bermudez Triangle (I liked this title; it made me think of the Bermuda Triangle) centralizes around three high school best friends: Nina, an activist and the president of student council, who goes away for the summer for a college program; Avery, with her short hair and love of music; and Mel, the shy but adorable girl that guys always seem to go after.

The summer finds one of these three best friends separated. Nina is off to a college program for the summer, and Mel and Avery work at P.J. Mortimer's as waitresses. Then, one day, Mel and Avery kiss, which complicates their relationship. They soon start "dating" and it is evident they are in love with each other. When Nina finds out, she is shocked, and she feels their friendship will no longer be the same.

The Bermudez Triange takes us on a journey of heartbreak, loss, identity, friendship, and love. Nina, Mel, and Avery all have their fair share of problems, but their bond is enough to bring them together and help each other out. Other characters come into play as well, including Steve Carson, Nina's environmentalist boyfriend whom she meets at her summer program, and Parker, a waiter who works at P.J. Mortimers but who soon becomes involved in the girls' friendship.

Maureen Johnson has done an excellent job with this novel. Not only is it an engaging page-turner, but The Bermudez Triangle makes readers sympathize and care for the characters. I felt I grew very close to each of the best friends, especially Nina. Sometimes the subject of sexual identity and homosexuality are written about so much that the topic starts to become tedious. But Maureen Johnson is not one of those tedious authors; she brings a fresh voice to the YA scene and approaches the subject of sexual identity in a sophisticated and mature way.

The Bermudez Triangle is a pleasure to read. I found I couldn't stop turning the pages - the plot just flowed so nicely and the characters were so interesting. The Bermudez Triangle is definitely one of the finer YA novels out there.

I also recommend Maureen Johnson's other book, The Key to the Golden Firebird.

Three girlfriends face major changes over the summer. One finds love at a leadership camp, and the other two share a kiss and embark on their own relationship. Lots of things to like about this book. I love that one girl is comfortable (thought awkward) with realizing she is gay, while another one is "questioning" big-time. They keep each other's secrets (in a good way). The scene where one unwittingly reveals something to a parent (and the parents' reaction to the news) is terrific. On the down side, It took me fully half the book to stop flipping to the back cover to remind myself which two were in the relationship. And which one worked where, and who got fired, and if Parker liked the gay one or the straight one and where that might go. Some of the conversations and insights (the emails, for example) were just too-too mature to come from the fingers of questioning teens. But all that being said, this book is easy to recommend to mid-teens and up, and I love the fact that no one is perfect, relationships change, people mess up, and then do their best to make it right.

First, check out the 5/10/07 article from the Examiner-Enterprise from Bartlesville, OK about efforts to ban this book in local communities.

My response: I can't claim to be shocked that this book was challenged, since it does deal with teenage girls questioning and discovering their sexuality, but as always I'm disappointed when people choose to bury their heads in the sand rather than accepting that people are different, and choosing to recognize a book that deals with real issues in a sensitive and realistic manner.

I thought that Johnson approached her subject matter in an interesting way. Rather than just focusing on the one character who winds up coming out, and her struggle to come to terms with her own sexuality, Johnson sets her story within a group of 3 girls. When one of the girls goes away for the summer before their senior year of high school, the other two find themselves in a "more than friends" situation. Johnson sympathetically relates the story of any two people who try to negotiate going from being friends to having a romantic relationship, and possibly back again. Teenagers can definitely relate to this story, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Added to that well-drawn story, Johnson also gives us the third girl in the triangle, who comes home from her summer away and finds herself in the middle of the complicated relationship of her two best friends, while at the same time dealing with issues surrounding her own new long-distance relationship.

One criticism I have is that the characters weren't all that well-drawn. I had trouble at the beginning distinguishing the three main characters, and even after I could remember who was who, they all seemed a little fuzzy around the edges. None of the secondary characters were particularly clear either. In a book that is largely character driven, I wanted to get a better sense of the characters outside of the particular conflicts they were facing.

Consummate YA author Maureen Johnson is back, with a page-turning story of friendship amongst three high school students. When Nina Burmudez goes off to a college prep program for the summer, her best friends Mel and Avery discover they're gay...at least, they're into each other. For Mel, this is a realization that's been brewing, while Avery is less sure. Flush with the feeling of young love, they don't tell Mel until she accidentally discovers their passion when she gets back home. Soon rumors are flying around school and their once super-tight friendship triangle is being torn apart quickly. Meanwhile, Nina's ecofriendly boyfriend, Steve, who she met over the summer, is becoming increasingly distant. The group has to struggle to figure out what their friendship means and what they can forgive of each other.

Johnson knows what she's doing when it comes to storytelling, and this is a summer pageturner (with a waterproof cover, even!) that also addresses social issues in ways that speak directly to teenagers. Mel's and Avery's differing reactions to their burgeoning love/lust for one another, grappling with both the intensity of their feelings and the realization that they are different from the norm, plus dealing with homophobia from classmates and family, are honest and forthright. They grapple with being new to falling so passionately in love and trying to keep their love a secret. Johnson shows that even when one has a strong sense of self, being the odd woman out is never easy. Johnson also explores how Mel's new status as a girl who likes girls affects Nina, who struggles to be understanding even as she becomes jealous of Mel and Avery's closeness. There's plenty of drama and conflict to keep you turning the pages, especially as Nina and Steve, not to mention Mel and Avery, start to have trouble in their relationships. Johnson's knack for detail and emotional honesty make this book one to treasure. It's sweet without being sappy and doesn't sugarcoat the real pain of adolescence, whether you're straight, gay, or not quite sure.

Nina, Avery and Mel have been best friends all of their lives. And now, for the first time, as Nina heads off to precollege camp in the summer after their junior year, they are going to be apart. But how much could happen in ten weeks? As it turns out, plenty. Nina falls in love with Steve, the eco-warrior down the hall. And while she is away, Mel has her first kiss, too - with Avery.

This book is not as good as the other Maureen Johnson books. I consider Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes to be possibly the best teen novel ever, so I was kind of dissapointed in this book. The premise seemed a little Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants to me, but unlike those girls, we never really see how the girls mesh as friends. Even though they talk a lot about how close they are, and how much they care about each other, it's hard to see. The bond between them feels more - well, fictional - than actual. It's not a bad book. Mel's struggle to come to grips with her homosexuality, as well as Avery's to understand whether she's homosexual, bi, or just in love with her best friend are compelling. But Nina's relationship with Steve is predictable. And the book drags, and ends on a vague, undefined note that left me feeling vaguely unfulfilled.

"The Bermudez Triangle" is another great book by Maureen Johnson that will intrigue you and teach you. A group of girls, Nina, Mel, and Avery, form a strain in their friendship with the two latter girls form a sexual and romantic relationship while the first is away for the summer.

Returning home to find a different twist to the friendships, Nina becomes swamped in school work, working to get into the same college as a boy she met over the summer. When Avery becomes confused over her sexuality and relationship with Mel, the group of girls begin to find more seams.

A story about love and friendship, Johnson creates three unique characters that come together when searching for the similar things for themselves. While Johnson clearly has a knack for writing and creativity, the novel, however, is a bit on the long side and at times can feel too immature as Johnson details the girls' physical appearances rather than leaving their looks to the reader's imagination. I found myself skipping over much of the scenarios with Nina and her boyfriend along with the slow ending, but otherwise it's a compelling read.