Customer Reviews

Feeling Sorry for Celia: A Novel

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4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I picked up Feeling Sorry for Celia because the plot seemed interesting and was also curious about reading a book from an Australian author. I marvel at this little gem! Written in the form of letters, 15-year-old Elizabeth Clarry tries to figure out what to do with her troubled best friend Celia while struggling with the growing pains of adolescence via imaginary letters from the "Association of Teenagers" and "Cold Hard Truth Association" -- which are hilarious -- while connecting well with a pen-pal named Christina and dealing with her eccentric mother who leaves little notes in the kitchen and putting up with a wayward Dad who suddenly wants to be more involved in her life.

I laughed from beginning to end. The neurotic characters and sometimes poignant situations made it even more fun to read. This novel about an endearing young adult could be enjoyed by any age group. It is no wonder it became the #1 Bestseller in Australia! Possibly one of, if not the best novel I've read all year! I so recommend it!

This Book was a great book and it was funny and sweet. It's about a teenage girl called Elizabeth Clarry. Life is pretty complicated for Elizabeth Clarry. Her best friend Celia keeps disappearing, she was first worrying about her when she didn't get on the bus one morning. Her absent father that was living in Canada suddenly reappears, and her communication with her mother consists entirely of wacky notes left on the fridge. On top of everything else, because her English teacher wants to rekindle the "Joy of the Envelope," She end's up writing to a Complete and Utter Stranger that ends up knowing more about Elizabeth than anyone else.

But Elizabeth is on the verge of some major changes. She may lose her best friend, find a wonderful new friend, kiss the sexiest guy alive, and run in a marathon. So much can happen in the time that it takes to write a letter.

No.1 best seller in Australia, this fabulous debut is a funny, touching, revealing story written entirely in the form of letters, messages, postcards - and bizarre missives from imaginary organisations like The Cold Hard Truth Association. Feeling Sorry for Celia captures, with rare acuity, female friendship and the bonding and parting that occurs as we grow. Jaclyn Moriarty's hilariously candid novel shows that the roller coaster ride of being a teenager is every bit as it should be. I thought that this was a very interesting book and after research I was not surprised it was No.1 best seller in Australia.

Feeling Sorry for Celia is a witty and realistic account of the many trials and tribulations of today's teens. Jaclyn Moriaty uses the lost art of letter writing to connect her characters and tell their stories. This concept was both refreshing and enlightening.

The novel centers around, somewhat awkward and shy, Elizabeth Carry. The reader is pulled into Elizabeth's world via notes from her unconventional mother and crazy best friend Celia. Elizabeth, who attends a private school, is matched with a girl, Christine that attends public school in her teacher's efforts to connect the two schools. This process of connection also has Christine and Elizabeth being pen pays. Moriatry also is successful at adding the negative thoughts that often pervade our minds. Again, this is done in the form of letters from such organizations as 'The Cold Hard Truth Society.'

Elizabeth is faced with numerous challenges and obstacles as she analyzes her relationships with her parents and friends. The greatest learning is how Elizabeth discovers herself amidst her semi-chaotic life.

Feeling Sorry for Celia is a novel not to miss. This is a great read for the young and those that cringe when they think of their teen years. This novel will have you traveling down memory lane or shaking your head in agreement!

'Feeling Sorry for Celia' is now one of my favorite books. It's about a girl, Elizabeth Clarry, who lives in Australia with her mother (her father left when Elizabeth was a baby). Elizabeth is best friends with Celia Buckley, but Celia always runs away from home. Usually, Celia comes back after about a week or so, but this time, she has been gone longer than usual.

Elizabeth's communication with her mother is only notes that are left on the refrigerator for each other. Meanwhile, at school, Elizabeth's teacher, Mr. Botherit, assigns 'pen pals' to each person. Elizabeth writes to Christina Kratovac, and soon they develop a friendship through letters.

Elizabeth deals with all of these things in her life- her hobby of running and participating in marathons, a best friend who has run away from home, a pen pal with other problems, communicating through notes with her mother, and going out to awkward dinners with her father. Her father also has a family that lives in Canada that Elizabeth has never met, and her father doesn't seem too anxious for her to meet them.

I would definitely recommend this book to any teenage girl, I'm sure it won't disappoint you!

This is a great book for women of all ages. The entire book is written in letters, either from real people, or the Imaginary organizations like the Association of Teenagers (trust me, it makes sense in the book) It tells the story of Elizabeth, and her dealings with her parents (who are divorced), with her best friend, Celia, and a new pen-pal, Christina.

Elizabeth's mother is loving, but often gone (but leaves hilarious notes to her daughter. Celia, her best friend, actually ran off to the circus. Her father is a bit of a lout, and the guy Elizabeth likes, likes Celia more. The only real constant in her life right now is Christina.

This book is hilarious, exploring the difficulties of growing up with humor and grace. Elizabeth and Christina are like every 15 year old, just a little bit cooler. I *loved* this book (and I'm hard to please).

I finished Feeling Sorry for Celia over the weekend, and I must say what a wonderfully unique book this is! Jaclyn Moriarty has done an excellent job with this one, and I will most definitely be on the lookout for her second book.

Told entirely in letters, memos, postcards and faxes, Feeling Sorry for Celia tells the story of teenager Elizabeth Clarry. Elizabeth deals with the typical teen problems, but the main one is her best friend, Celia, who can't seem to stay home for more than a week before running away to far away places. The novel begins with Celia's disappearance once again, and Elizabeth is at a loss who to talk to. So when one of her teachers begins a pen-pal project with another school, Elizabeth finds a new friendship and confidante in Christina. Aside from dealing with friend problems, Elizabeth also finds that her absentee father has caused a little havoc himself. This novel takes readers on a journey through Elizabeth's life that is both funny and heartwarming. But there is a serious side to the story as well...read on to find out....

Interspersed between the real conversations amongst Elizabeth, her friends, mother and father, are letters from fake organizations like The Association of Teenagers, who accuse Elizabeth of not being a real teenager, or The Cold Hard Truth Association, who remind Elizabeth that she is not pretty enough for the boy of her dreams. This is the part that makes this novel unique -- I believe these fake letters reveal a part of Elizabeth's self-consciousness and make this story truly believeable and a joy to read. A quick weekend book, and one adults will love, too.

Elizabeth's best friend Celia has a habit of running away. Ever since Celia was a little kid she would run away from her home almost periodically so usually Elizabeth doesn't worry about it. But when she's away from home for many days, those turns into many weeks she starts to worry. But that isn't the only big thing going on in her life at the moment. She's 15, in the midst of her awkward teenage years. She and her mother speak pretty much only through letters and her father isn't her favorite person in the world. But everything changes when she's forced to take place in a pen pal project for English class. Her pen pals name is Christina and actually enjoys Elizabeth's quirky life. Suddenly a random person she barely knows, knows more about her than anyone else. And life gets even more complicated when Celia comes home.

Written in a series of letters, some real (like Elizabeth's letters to and from Christina and her mother), and some fake (humorous letters from "associations" like the Association of teenagers, and the Cold Hard truth Society) Feeling sorry for Celia is a funny and unique book that you'll never forget. I knew I was going to like it when I discovered that her agent was Garth Nix, one of my favorite fantasy writers. The main character, Elizabeth, through her awkwardness and shyness is a great character that everyone will enjoy reading about. I recommend this book to readers of Sloppy firsts, or Angus Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging.

This book is about a girl named Elizabeth, who believes that she is "failing" as a teenager. She has one friend, Celia, and has never been kissed.

The first few pages, I was somewhat confused by Moriarty's style of writing, because the book is written all in letters. But after a few pages, it wasn't so confusing anymore.

Celia is Elizabeth's only friend for most of the book and while it was obvious that Elizabeth really cares for her, she was extremely irritating to me. From running away to the circus, to stealing Elizabeth's almost-boyfriend, Saxon, to almost committing suicide with the boy, I wanted to scream. Who is really that stupid? And it didn't help was Celia's mother is convinced that she is a "budding flower" and all the (stupid) things she does are "beautiful". I was more than happy when Elizabeth finds a friend in her penpal, Christina, who lives in the same town. Christina has girlish issues with her boyfriend throughout the book, while still being smart and interesting.

Elizabeth was also an interesting character herself. She is strong and sure of herself. Her quirky, slightly-activist mother looks to Elizabeth to care for the house. She has an ongoing argument with Saxon's mother over whether people should be allowed to rollerblade at the local mall. (Elizabeth is convinced that her mother has no idea what rollerblading actually is.) And her father has been lying to Elizabeth since she was a baby. I got just as angry at him as Elizabeth did.

I found this book to be an equal mix of great and not-so-great. Celia, Elizabeth's liar father and Celia's crazy mother all made me want to throw the book on the floor, while Christina, Elizabeth and Elizabeth's rollerblade-activist mother kept me reading. While this may sound like an ordinary teenage girl book, it's really not fake and stupid and also while this book wasn't my favorite, the good outweighed the bad.

I should first of all declare my bias: I am Jaclyn's Australian literary agent (she has an American one too now) as well as a fellow author. But having got that out in the open, let me just say that from the moment I first picked up the manuscript of FEELING SORRY FOR CELIA from the pile of unsolicited manuscripts in my office and started to read, I couldn't put it down. Any publisher or agent can tell you how rare it is to find a manuscript that you read in one sitting and then run around the office screaming 'I've found something fantastic!'

It's the story of a girl called Elizabeth, her troublesome friend Celia, school, parental relationships and all the difficulties of a teenager's life including first love and long-distance running. It's a very easy and enjoyable read, but not at the expense of the many serious and meaningful undercurrents that wind through it.

Elizabeth's story is told completely in letters and notes, from herself, from her mother, and from organisations that exist only in Elizabeth's mind, like 'The Society of People who are Definitely Going to Fail High School (And Most Probably Life as Well)'.

FEELING SORRY FOR CELIA is already a #1 bestseller in Australia. It was my favourite manuscript of 1999, and is one of my favourite books of the 21st century. I highly recommend it to you!

If you feel like you hate your life, start by reading the first part of this book and see what Elizabeth is going through right now. She rarely talks to her mom (they talk through Post-it notes on the refrigerator), her dad is moving back to Sydney with his new family (and her mom doesn't know yet), she has to start writing letters to a total stranger for school (and she has nothing to say, other than how she hates oatmeal-not the best impression!), and her best friend has run away...again!!! Oh, and did I say that she thinks she's responsible for all that is happening? Phew! Now do you think your life is horrible? I didn't think so. This teen novel is a wonderful story about how sometimes the most unsuspected people can help you through the toughest time-even if they are a total stranger. But, even this novel's meant for teens, my mom (who was born in Australia) felt the same things that I felt. Jaclyn Moriarty, although she's an Australian author, has hit the hearts of millions of people all over the world. The back of the book says "A #1 Bestseller in Australia", but I think it should say "A #1 Bestseller all over the World"!! There are many feelings that she brings out in the book. There are laugh-out-loud-during-a-boring-speech-at-school-part, shocking, eye-popping what-will-happen-next parts, touching waterfall-tear parts, frustrated, how-could-you-do-something-like-that-parts, and many more. "Feeling Sorry for Celia" is great for all teens because it's easy to relate to in many ways. My family has gone through a divorce and I could relate to Elizabeth and her family's divorce. This book is a great for any day read, whether it's rainy or sunny. Plus, it brings up a lot of issues to think about when you close the book at the end. If you, or a friend, feel weighed down, like you're carrying the world on your back, "Feeling Sorry for Celia" will lift the world for you and make you feel like a normal teen again with no cares.