Customer Reviews

Doormat

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

 

 

"Can you help me?" These are the four little words that Jaime's best friend Melissa uses to her sum up Jaime's role in their relationship. Jaime lives in "nowhere, California," where she and Melissa have been best friends forever --- which means that Jaime has been doing Melissa's bidding forever. Now is no different, except that Melissa's predicament is a total disaster: she believes she's pregnant.

Guess who hails a taxi and heads for Walgreen's to brave the (male, middle-aged) clerk while purchasing a pregnancy test? Certainly not Melissa. Jaime offers her friend advice when Melissa insists upon it. Yet, the next thing you know, Melissa is angry with Jaime and giving her the silent treatment. Jaime simply does not know what to do.

Even when Jaime's crush asks her to pair up with him for a drama class callback audition, Jaime can't work up any joy; she feels lonely and miserable. She offers to help Melissa, but how? Melissa continues to either ignore all of Jaime's advice or be infuriated by it. In the meantime, Jaime is so distracted by Melissa's plight that she forgets to be self-conscious at the audition and scores a starring role.

Complications ensue when a male classmate discovers Melissa's condition and insists on lending a hand. Will the third person of the team be a help or a hindrance? And will Jaime ever find out who the father of Melissa's baby is? Time goes by without Melissa being able to make any decision. Jaime feels more and more panicked. Why did she say that she'd save her best friend? Will she always be a doormat? And, speaking of indecision, why can't Jaime figure out what she wants to do with her life?

DOORMAT is a quick read, partly due to the short, fast-moving chapters, but mostly because it's one of those "don't disturb me NOW, I've got to find out what happens" books. The conclusion of DOORMAT is realistic yet satisfying. The author's note says that fifteen-year-old Kelly McWilliams is working on her next novel. I can hardly wait!

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)

I congratulate this new author and her first novel. Although the book was short, its writing was unique and enjoyable. Being a high schooler myself, I could relate to the narrator, and I liked the fact that it was written by someone around the same age as both me and the narrator. It made the book seem more realistic. I look forward to more writings in the future.

I liked the book alot. I am 15 and this book really comes to mind, like its so realistic nowadays! i would def reccomend this book to my friends! though it started out slow it was very good bc i can related to it.my Best friend too go prego. a def read!

This book is amazing. The characters are so real and could be based on a true-life story. Teenage pregnancy happens every day and is a real life event that many young girls don't how to deal with. The relationship between the characters is inspiring and heart felt. Many teens just like in the book are afraid to tell their parents about their situation. Over the entire book is truly inspiring. The book is about how a teenager finds out her best friend is pregnant but they are debuting adoption. The story is very fun for a middle and younger aged audience.

I was very disappointed in this book. As a librarian I look for realistic reads for the teens. It has some realistic elements, but wraps up way to quickly to be real. I found it very choppy and hard to follow in some areas. Time spent better elsewhere.

This book contributes to the reason I usually stay clear of "young adult" novels. The book is too predictable and the story has been written one hundred times before, and much better. Although, the author is a teenager and still needs time to grow and develop her writing skills. In the future, she just might come out with something original and worthwhile but right now, if I were you, I'd skip.