Customer Reviews

Me, Just Different (The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When a summer party ends in a near disaster, Skylar Hoyt decides it's time to rethink her life. She vows to stop going to parties and head back to church. But will her popular friends like this new Skylar?

Home becomes a war-zone as her parents constantly argue. A secret between Skylar and her sister sits like a pin-pulled grenade. If Skylar tells, will it blow apart what's left of her fragile family? Can she keep up the brave face at school despite the growing tension inside her? Who can she trust with the truth about what she's going through?

I loved this story. Skylar struggles with who her real friends are, how to make choices different than the ones she made all summer, and dealing with secrets too big to be kept. It was easy to identify with her, both to share in her hurt and to laugh at her wit. I'm already anxious to read what happens in the next book.

Stephanie's writing is fresh, relevant, and fearless. She tackles tough subjects, and asks the tough questions. Me, Just Different strikes at the heart of being a Christian teen in an un-Christian world. Skylar's struggles at the crossroads of faith and life are spot-on.

I can't wait to read more in this series. As a mom who is always looking for good books for my teenagers to read, this one is a home run!

Me, Just Different was well-written, insightful, and impossible to put down. It's the real deal in that it's an authentic representation of some serious issues. I zipped right through it. There was one point in the story where I cried real tears. That, for me, is a great sign that I cared about the characters. I was so into the story world that I felt something strong enough to be sad over. But it wasn't a depressing sad. It was a healing sad. Sometimes when your life is falling apart, that's when you know who your real friends are. And I loved that in this story the hero doesn't give up but continues to be honest with Skylar. Sure, she hates it at first, but doesn't every woman really want to know the truth from someone you think is an enemy rather than being lied to and wounded by a so-called "friend?" I also adored the subplot involving her sister, Allie.

Bottom line, this book is awesome and hits on all of the important things that teens often deal with. However, I didn't feel like I had to be a teen to read it. You just have to remember feeling that way and most grown people remember their high school years. Sure, we'd like to forget a lot of the stuff we did. Like lying to our parents to sneak out of the house to see our boyfriends, for example. And going to parties and getting stupid drunk so that you put yourself in a vulnerable position with someone you may not even like. Anyway, I can't say enough good things about this book. It's a must-read as far as I'm concerned and it's making my best of 2009 fiction list.

Wonderful book. This author creates characters that you can actually say, "I know people just like that." They are not all people you enjoy knowing, but that is what makes these characters so wonderful to read about. Characters that change and grow as the story progresses are hard to come by.

The only problem is that I now have to wait patiently, yet reluctantly, for the next book in the series.

Sigh....

Me, Just Different is the book to read for teen girls this year. It plunges the reader into the mind of Skylar and holds them captive until they turn the last page. What I absolutely adored about this book is the way Skylar is utterly relatable, utterly real, and, because of that, utterly lovable. Even in her less-than-stellar moments. She fights, she fails, and she picks herself back up. She learns the hard way that it isn't easy to be who you want to be . . . if you can even figure out who that is--and that to do it at all, you need Someone a little bigger to help you out.

Stephanie Morrill has penned a winner, and I can't wait to get my hands on the next two books in The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series. Skylar is a character you're going to love to root for, one with real struggles and a real heart. Friendship, boyfriends, guy friends, and relationships with family are all challenged in these pages, and you'll come away from it looking at your own life a little more closely.

This is one of those books that you finish but never leave behind--it's going to stick in your mind and heart forever.

What a fabulous debut novel!

Skylar appears to have it all together. She's popular and gorgeous. She has a boyfriend that other girls dream of dating. Like her friends, she will party and have a good time. However, one party changed her outlook on life. She decides she's not into the party scene and decides to return to church. The more she attempts to get better, the worse things become.

Skylar and her sister are in midst of their parents squabble. A huge secret lies between the girls that threaten their relationship with one another. Is blood thicker than water? Or, did Skylar betray her one and only sister?

Skylar begins a journey of figuring out life, friends, and God.

Best of all, it was a great and satisfying ending.

Although I was a little bit saddened that the book ended, I am thrilled that there will be a forthcoming book. I wonder how Skylar's life will proceed and her sister's as well. Kudos to Stephanie Morrill.

When Eli rescues eighteen-year-old Skylar from a bad situation at a summer party, she is so relieved that she agrees to start dating him. But she is also making some life changes. No more parties, and she's going to start going to church. But her friends and family aren't making that an easy thing to do. Eli is always jealous and won't come to church with her, her little sister has a secret that Skylar is forced to keep, and her parents' marriage is falling apart. The last thing she needs is for Connor, the guy down the street, to start butting his nose in where it doesn't belong.

This was an engrossing read. Stephanie Morrill writes a story as addicting as any TV teen drama. I got sucked into Skylar's circle of friends, with all their issues and cattiness, and was rooting for Skylar to ditch the wrong people and stick with the right ones. I loved how the whole story came together. It's a sweet teen romance that doesn't skimp on the backstabbing girlfriends and clueless boys. I liked it a great deal. Looking forward to the next book in the series. Highly recommended.

I read "Me, Just Different" in just a few days -- not because it's that short, but because it grabs you in the first two chapters and keeps you involved to the final page. The pacing and progression is perfect; there's just enough dialogue and description to make all the scenes work together without belaboring points, and all of the characters come into orbit at just the right time around Skylar to keep the action moving.

Although I am certainly not in the "target demographic" for this book (I have a copy because I helped Stephanie with her website), I do have a daughter that is, and I often found the characters completely annoying. The level of materialism, pettiness, and agony over the stupidest things is trying for someone fifteen years past that period in his life, but perfectly in line with kids who live and breathe it every day. In other words, I was uncomfortable because the story and characters were authentic -- and that is a result of excellent writing by Stephanie.

A fantastic first novel. I've started following her blog as well, which is just as well-written. And yes, I'm secretly looking forward to book #2.

In her senior year of high school, Skylar loves the idea of being in love, but she does not necessarily love her boyfriend. She makes some poor choices and surrounds herself with some of the wrong crowd. Her group of friends are backbitters who don't know the meaning of loyalty.

This is a book about the complex problems teens face; the redeeming feature is how Skylar finds her way through the mess in her life. I recommend it for older teens.

I loved this book. It is a great young adult novel from debut author Stephanie Morrill. It is also the first book in the Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series.
The second book comes out in December and I can't wait to find out what happens next to these characters.
Skylar Hoyt is the main character but the story also features her family and friends. There are many plot possibilities. The author has created wonderful characters who I came to care about and bite several of my nails off while reading. I read this book in one afternoon. The writing is good and the situations are ones that teens do find themselves in and I liked how the author handled it. There is a spiritual element but it is not heavy and I look forward to seeing more development for Sklyar and the other characters in coming books. I think adults who like YA and teens will enjoy it. I highly recommend it! One of the best YA I have read this year. :)