Customer Reviews

Entries from a Hot Pink Notebook

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This is one of the few books I've ever read that had the perfect mix of good prose, thoughtfulness, and fun. It gives off a special type of suspense, powered by the continuous diary format, that keeps you from closing the book; you can't wait until you see what's going to happen next! There are tons of enjoyable and unusual surprises, as well as the interwoven subplots dealing with family, religion, school, romance (fake vs. real), and even some adventure that makes this book even more undeniable. I honestly don't think I'll ever read another book that can top off what Brown wrote. I even threw giggles out of pure enjoyment for it. "Entries from a Hot Pink Notebook" is a true change from meticulous and dragging prose that occurs in many other stories and should definately be both a classic and a must for any reader. I hope there's a sequel to Ben Smith's Hot Pink Notebook. It's THAT good!

I was trying to think of the highest compliment I could pay a piece of fiction, and here it is: this book is making me think about the way I live my own life -- that is, my decision to stay in the closet at work, to smile or laugh when someone says a gay "joke," etc. I had never heard of this book before stumbling across it on Amazon recently. That's a shame, because it belongs up there with "The Best Little Boy in the World" and other important coming-out stories. I wish so much that I had read this book when I was 14, I think my life would be a lot different now. I admire the fact that Todd Brown crafted a likable, human gay teenager, without falling into the trap of making him a deviant ("Mysterious Skin") or a too-beautiful-for-this-world martyr ("Dream Boy"). There aren't many novels about which I would say this, but Todd Brown: Write a sequel!!

I started to read this book expecting yet another coming out story, but was pleasantly surprised to find the scope of Mr. Brown's book is not limited to a gay theme, but covers a wide spectrum of the protagonist's life. The subject of his father's alcoholism was handled with both sensitivity and realism. Parental and sibling relationships were written with the same aplomb. Having grown up in a small town, I found the reactions of family and peers to Ben's "outing" to be disturbingly authentic and the small romance that developed between Ben and Aaron is poignant with it's innocence.

The book started a little slow, but soon found, as many of the other readers reviewing this publication, that I could not put it down, and in fact would look forward to a sequel from Mr. Brown!

This book is an insightful look at life of a typical teenager boy being scrutinized by critical eye of today's society. Entries From a Hot Pink Notebook is a well-written novel by a first time writer Todd D. Brown. However to fully appreciate the beauty of this book you have to be open minded and willing to accept an open look into a life of a gay teenager. Honest and sometimes heartbreaking details of main character's life, truly pain a picture of struggling teens of today. As you read this book you begin to identify with a character and sometimes even see yourself feeling anger, deception and hurt, just like he does. I truthfully had trouble putting this book down and sometimes even stayed up late in the night excitingly turning pages, wanting, learning, feeling. This book is written in a form of a diary, which personally gave a believable outlook that things described in the book, do in fact happen. As I conclude this, I strongly recommend this book to a reader who is looking for a good laugh and also a lesson on self-discovery.

Although I hate to repeat what nearly everyone else who has reviewed this book has said already, I just can't help it. I'm not one to cry in movies or when I read, but for the first time since I was 5, I cryed reading this book. It was one of the most emotionally charged and gut-wrenching pieces of literature I have ever read. I read this book right after I came out, and the emotions and struggles depicted by Mr. Brown are right on. He truly has a gift, and I hope he shares it with us more often. Perhaps the best gay novel I have ever read.

This book was extrodinary! I just finished it and want MORE!!! Mr. Brown if somehow you read this review PLEASE e-mail me bsb_brok1@hotmail.com You need to write a sequal to this i keep reading the end and i can't get it out of my head. I am gay but in the closet, after reading this i just feel like going out on the lake in a canoe and screaming I AM GAY!! this book is amazing!

This book is SO good, that it was passed around my entire class. When I was in 8th grade, our English teacher gave the book to someone, and that person loved it SO much that they passed it on to someone else. And that person loved it so much that THAT person passed it on to someone else. Soon, at least 100 of my 300 kids in my 8th grade class had read it, and everyone loved it.

Entries From a Hot Pink notebook was a book I had to read for my English class this senior year of high school. We had to pick any random non-fiction book. I was rummaging through the big pile of books and came across this one. It caught my eye because of the bright pink cover, which happens to be my favorite color. I did not have any idea what the book was about.
I really liked the book. It wasn't written in the traditional novel format, but as a daily journal. It made it easier to read and more interesting. The book is about a teenage boy and his journey of coming out of the closet. It describes the hardships and adventures he faced. A journal is a book of your thoughts and emotions, so that is how the story was told: through his own thoughts and emotions. It had every emotion all rolled into one book. It will make you laugh, cry, mad, and everything in between.
Ben is the main character. He is a regular boy growing up in a rural town in Maine. He is just like everyone else on the outside, but on the inside he is a little confused about who he really is. He is gay and feels extremely alone, until Aaron comes to his school. Him and Aaron are very close, closer than Ben is to anyone. Ben finally feels complete, until one day, something goes wrong.(you have to read the book to find out!!)
I think everyone should read this book. If you are confused about your sexuality or just need a good book to read, this is the book for you.

Dear Reader, To make this short as I do not have as much time as I would like, I will write a breif summary of the book itself. It was all to real to me as I read throught the book. I felt this constant aching feeling within myself. The story line is not only achingly sweet and all to real but the pictures of the home life he pianted were all to true and real to just ignore. I admit that I have skipped a couple of my summer classes this yearjust so I could read the book, but even though it did catch up with me I found the whole thing to be completely worth it. I admire Todd's writing and only wish for more of it...

This was my first gay novel, as I recently just came out to myself and friends at the age of 20. When i began reading this book I felt like I was the only person in the world who grew up the way I did, meaning confused by my feelings towards other boys my age and dealing with a similiar family as Ben's (main character). Once i began reading this novel I couldn't put it down. I was intrigued by Ben's feelings and how much alike we both felt. I really identified with this novel and would recommend it to anyone. I even referred it to many of my straight friends, a few of which know i am gay. Once you read this coming of age novel about the confusing years of learning one's true self, you may feel let down by other books of the same topic. I applaude Todd Brown, and I hope for his sake that he can write another novel of equal intensity. I will be looking forward to reading more of his work. Buy this book!