Customer Reviews

Carpe Diem

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

LIM, indeed!! There's still much to learn in life, but I do know a little bit about squatty potties, SE Asia, Asian guys without facial hair, and overachievement. This book is awesome YA book that made me think about the here and now that I tend to ignore or forget. There is so much life-planning that I constantly do, and this was a good reminder to laugh and enjoy life as it is.

As for how true it is to life in SE Asia, well... I've had my share of food poisoning, snakes, and bamboo huts. Reliving those moments with Vassar made me laugh so much, as some previously awkward memories re-surfaced. That first time with a squat toilet was ridiculous.

Enjoy this book! :-) It's funny and wise, and I hope you like it as much as I have. May we all LIM!

Fast-paced, humor at every turn, vicarious visit to the Far East (the only way to visit:--)) ), Vassar is a WONDERFUL character, everyone wants a relative like Grandma Gerd, and I can't wait for a sequel. Thanks so much for introducing me to Carpe Diem. I've already passed it on to friends to enjoy.

Its not to many times that i decide to spend the time out of my busy day to write a book review on Amazon. I read a lot, and reading is one of my most cherished hobbies. Only when a certain book completely sucks me in and wont let me go until i reach the final page gets a review. Carpe Diem was that rare gem. Not only did this book carry me on a vast, long, exciting journey to multiple countries, it also gave me a sense of adventure. It also gave me an interesting idea about there culture in Asia. Another fantastic feature of this novel is its ability to drag even a 22 year old male science fiction fan such as myself in. Instead of a space opera i wanted to come back to earth and live an adventure with Vassar Spore. This was a fun and interesting novel. I also very much enjoyed reading the Latin as well. Taught me a few phrases. Since the reviews are so few since this is an unknown author i have a feeling that she is reading these reviews to gauge her writing career. Please Ma'am your a TERRIFIC writer. You have an amazing talent. Keep it up. Write another book, and i will buy it hands down. Your on my list of well talented writers. And that list is very tiny.

Carpe Diem is all about seizing life in the best possible way. This is an encouraging and humorous YA novel about one Vassar Spore who on her quest to do everything exactly the right way finds her life going not quite exactly as planned. And once she realizes its not about controlling every situation but taking each step in life as an adventure worth having, she truly meets some wonderfully imagined characters and finds herself in a place she never thought she'd be.

Autumn Cornwell does an excellent job of ushering in a world that we can only hope to one day experience for ourselves, both the tough, the absurd, and downright hilarious-- This is a great YA book for girls, and i think guys will find humor in it too. A memorable book which inspires us to live in the moment and take the challenges life gives us head on. Grab your traveling shoes!

I've been friends with Autumn (Cornwell, of course!) for about 8 years. I still remember the day when we were talking on the phone and she suddenly announced that she was going to become a young adult book author. My first thought was, "Do people just decide to do that?" My second thought was, "How?"

Well, Autumn not only decided to do it, she did it. How? By writing a hilarious novel about an exceptionally bright, disaster prone, endearing, unforgettable teen named Vassar Spore. The story follows Vassar from her rigidly scheduled and predictable life in Seattle to her anything-but-predictable misadventures in Southeast Asia. Accompanying Vassar on her travels are her free spirited Grandma Gerd and Hanks, a wry Chinese Malaysian who's enthralled by American culture and, hmmmmm, perhaps by Vassar, as well???

If Autumn's descriptions of the exotic countries that her characters visit seem vivid and very real to readers, that's because Autumn, herself, has traveled to every one of these places. Also, many of the things that happen in this book were inspired by events that Autumn actually experienced, too.

And, yes, that includes the "Laotian jungle adventure" (as her book jacket bio calls it), involving opium addicts, cold temperatures, and a travel companion who accidentally causes a heck of a lot of trouble.

When I first read Autumn's book, it was just a typed up manuscript. She hadn't even sent it out to agents yet. At that time, the story was called SQUAT TOILETS, and I could easily imagine generations of teens reading it and being inspired to, someday, travel to distant places to experience adventures of their own.

If CARPE DIEM does change the life of even one reader, it's amazing to think that it will all be because, one day, my friend, Autumn, decided to become a YA author...

A very, very good one.

Being a high school girl is about finding your way from your childhood self to your adult self. At close view, that can look like making the right friends, snagging the "right" boyfriend, keeping ahead of the pack, and keeping a grasp of your appearance and dignity, while striving all the time to end up on top. If you're lucky, as Vassar Spore is in this novel by Autumn Cornwell, you will get a chance to get sidetracked. Off the beaten track and at the mercy of fate, you may get a chance to find out who you really are and to realize that you like what you find.

Autumn Cornwell has written a story about an American high school girl who is just that close to having it all. When this fully Americanized teenager suddenly and unwillingly finds herself travelling through Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia, we expect her horror at germs, unfamiliar food, lack of shower facilities, and large bugs. We even expect that she will change and find wisdom in her new surroundings because it seems the plot is directed towards this. But since the author was an avid traveller in her own youth, her descriptions of these countries are weighted with a profound fondness. What could have been a trite plot ends up being convincing and lovely.

Narrated in the voice of sixteen-year-old Vassar Spore, Carpe Diem (seize the day) reads like a teenager talking to other teenagers. I found it quite funny and I found the two main teenage characters very real and in the end, very appealing. Not a difficult read at all, there are still quite a few good vocabulary words thrown in. And, it is an entirely appropriate novel for the youngest of teenagers.

What a great book! Slow down and live, don't plan your life away. That has never been my problem, but Vassar plans her every moment (even putting her retainer in).
Grandma blackmails Vassar's parents so that she has to join her on her travels in Southeast Asia. Just wait! Don't miss the clues and DON'T miss this book.

You just know when you have your entire life planned, Murphy will make an appearance and slap you `upside the head.' That is exactly the problem sixteen-year-old Vassar (named after the college) Spore has. She and her parents are over achievers and believe in life planning to the inth degree. Vassar's grandmother Gerd (whom Vassar has never met) has other plans for her.

Grandma Gerd, a bohemian artist who travels the world, calls Vassar's parents to set up a six- week summer trip with Vassar through Southeast Asia. When the invite is declined, blackmail enters the scene and suddenly Vassar's summer has been decided, even though she is adamantly opposed to the plan.

Vassar is forced to travel (with ten pieces of luggage--because you must be prepared) to meet her grandmother in Malaysia, determined to find out about The Secret. And she's decided she's not going to enjoy the trip. I mean, how much fun can six weeks of bathrooms that consist of a hole in the ground be?

Along the way Vassar learns to look at life from another perspective, gets a new name, learns to appreciate her strange grandmother, meets a Malaysian cowboy, experiences the adventure of a lifetime, faces danger and learns that sometimes living in the moment is the right and best thing to do.

Oh, the Malaysian cowboy is quite a hunk and does not go unnoticed by Vassar. And the family secret? Well it is a dilly and it changes Vassar's life forever.

In a time when a great deal of young adult books are, in my opinion, trash, it's a delight to find a gem of a book for kids. Carpe Diem is a gem. I loved the plot, enjoyed the characters (although Grandma Gerd really `ticked' me off sometimes) and appreciated that the author could draw me in so completely to Vassar's world.

This book is so much fun, I recommend you give it as a gift to someone else who is searching for good, fun young adult books.

Armchair Interviews says: Carpe Diem is not to be missed. Adults and kids will enjoy it.

16-year-old Vassar Spore, who has never done anything unplanned in her life, is forced to trek across South East Asia with her hippie Grandma Gerd and a sideburn-porting, Chinese cowboy, called Hanks for her summer vacation - and that's just the beginning!

Faced with extreme circumstances, (including venomous creepy crawlies and the 70-year-old ear-nibbler) Vassar has to soldier on and finish the novel she's writing, and discover the "BIG SECRET".

Carpe Diem is a very funny book and the story kept me hooked until the very last page.

That said, I found that Grandma Gerd was overly hippie-almost a caricature, so I found her hard to believe. Vassar was too prim and stuck up and she changed at the very end - not the middle, but by then, she had already gotten the guy.

Despite the cons, I enjoyed Carpe Diem, and would definitely recommend it to girls age 12+

I was very happy with my purchase of this Book-on-Tape. Lynde Houck was wonderful as the narrator and the story was interesting and fun. Although the book is recommended for young people, I, as an adult, thoroughly enjoyed it! I would say this is a book for all ages...