Customer Reviews

Lily B. on the Brink of Cool

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

 

 

I absolutely LOVED this book!!! I laughed and laughed and laughed... sometimes something would be so funny I'd run into the other room and tell it to my mom, and she'd laugh too. The review a seventh grader wrote about the characters being "cardboard," well, you have to appreciate the book for what it is. The story is about a naive seventh grader who's totally bored with her life. Elizabeth Cody Kimmel wasn't TRYING to write a deep, thoughtful book. She was trying to write a lighthearted, fun-to-read story for young girls. I suppose if you're used to books that make you think, you might not care for this one as much, but personally, as the eleven year old that I am, I LOVED it.

Lily Blennerhassett has to write in a journal what she does every day for an assignment for her teacher the next year. Every year Lily and her best friend spend the summer together. They would go to sporting camps, and overnight camps together. But one year Lily's best friend, Charlotte decides to go to a Young Exectutive Camp. Lily doesn't want to go because she doesnt want to do more work over the summer. So Lily decides that she will be bored to death all summer. When her best friend left for the camp she knew that she would miss her, so she decided to go meet a knew frined for the summer. She didn't have any luck finding anyone, and her cousins wedding was the night Charlotte left. While Lily was at her cousin's wedding she saw some people she had never met before. Later she found out that they were related to her. Lily statred to hang out with them and got really close. But she didn't know that all they were going to do was betray her. Their names were Charles, Veronica, and Karma. Karma was Lily's age so they had alot in common. They would go shopping and out to dinner with each other. Untill one day when they asked if they could stay in Lily's lake house. Without asking her parents Lily allowed them to. They ended up trashing the place and sueing Lily's parents for no reason. Lily lost track of Charoltte and forgot all about her untill she came home from her camp. LIly cried and cried because she knew it was all her falut she lost her friend, but there was nothing to do.
Is Lily going to get her friend back or is she going to lose her best friend forever?
My recommendation is that anyone who likes to read about friendship should read this book. Also my recommendation is to girls because it's about a girl and i don't think that a boy would like to read this book.

Future biographers of Lily Blennerhassett, rejoice! Lily B. is keeping a journal to assist you in your work (and also because she needs the credits for Advanced English). Yes, Lily expects to be a great novelist one day, winning all kinds of accolades and awards. In the meantime, her life is dull with a capital D --- especially this summer.

Her best friend Charlotte leaves to attend Young Executive Camp. Lily's parents drag her off on Family Outings to tour accordion manufacturers, learn how to spin yarn, make cornhusk dolls, and other adolescent tortures. Well, let's face it: Lily's parents are uninteresting. Her father drives the speed limit in the fast lane. Her mother cares so much that people won't find them untidy that she makes their beds while staying at motels.

Ho hum.

Excitement skyrockets into her boring existence when Lily meets the glamorous LeBlanc family. Karma and her parents, Charles and Veronique, are Cool People. They're beautiful, dress amazingly, and care about the important things in life, such as the environment and vegetarianism. Lily herself must be on the brink of cool to be hanging out with these hip folks. But why have Lily's parents forbidden her to spend time with the LeBlancs? When Lily stakes all for her fabulous friendship, her life becomes a nightmare.

The story, told in rapid-fire diary entries, grabs the reader. I sat down to read a few pages and, gripped by the mystery of Lily's new buddies, finished the book in one enjoyable sitting. It's hard to imagine a more endearing character than Lily, who grows and changes throughout the story in a most satisfying manner. Elizabeth Cody Kimmel expresses essential themes --- the importance of family and the meaninglessness of appearances --- skillfully and joyfully. This is the stuff of which rabid fans are made. Oh, how I am hoping for a sequel!

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (...)

Everyone can get swept into being cool and 'fitting in', but Lily was blown over! Her parents are dreadfully boring. The rest of her family is no better, including a 'tapeworm' aunt who doesn't even eat her own wedding cake. But, there is hope (!), for the LeBlancs are somehow related to her boring-as-a-stick relatives. They are enviromentally-aware, vegetarians, and they have AMAZING fashion-sense! Their daughter, Karma, is the girl everyone wants to be. Beautiful, rich, confident, and did I mention, beautiful? Waiter-dropping-his-tray-full-of-glasses, drop-dead beautiful? Well, she is. THIS is how Lily wants to be. But instead, she's stuck with her driving the exact speed limit, even in the fast lane, parents. Whats a girl to do?

Ok, yes, the main character may be self-centered, but that is one of the reasons that made me laugh so hard! Most books that other people find funny, I usually don't. I'll read the whole thing and usually don't crack a smile. But, this is a book that made me laugh so hard, out loud, in our car on a 15-hour drive. Needless to say, everyone thought I had gone off the deep end. I was laughing so hard that tears came to my eyes. This is a truly creative book, that really cracks into a 13-year-old girl's brain who is aspiring to be cool. I love to read this book again and again. And again, especially when I'm having a bad day.

Lily B. on the Brink of Cool
By: Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

Characters

The main character is Lily. Lily is a fun creative writer who just wants to be cool. She is 13 and an only child. Lily believes she'll be famous and had already started her autobiography.

Karma is one of the minor. Karma hides her true personality by pretending she likes to help the poor and less fortunate. She says she's a vegetarian but Lily shall soon find out her true self.

Mr. and Mrs. LeBlanc are Karma parents. Mr. & Mrs. LeBlanc are not your average parents. The LeBlanc's are carefree and love bragging about their daughter, Karma. Lily thinks of all the LeBlanc's are a hip, normal family that just tries to have fun and follows their opinions.

This book takes place in modern time at the Benderhasset's home and lake house.

The theme in Lily B. on the Brink of Cool is trust, because Lily should have trusted her parents but since she didn't she must work with the consequences.


I liked this book because Lily B. is just trying to fit in with cool people even if it means she has to change. It's exciting and is a storey that could really happen if you don't trust your family.

This is one of my favorite books! It is extreamly funny and is one of those books you can read over and over! I couldnt help cheering for Lily while I read this book. It should get a newberry medal!

A great book for any young reader, I reccomend it to all. Very funny in all senses. This book is thought provoking by being narrated by a 13 year old girl, but also has some hilarious lines. You can feel for the character as if she were right there beside you. I think all of us have a little Lily in us. I reccomend the first book, but the sequels are not worth a read. Kimmel shows great character in this first book. A great read for all in the mood for a good comedy.

I loved this book. Its was funny and I learned some things.

*This is a really great book. I read it in 2 days. I can relate to Lily, who thinks she has a boring life until she meets the LeBlancs.
Learning that the LeBlancs were con artists made the book more exciting! I liked Karma until the end where she was a total snot.
I liked her fashion sense, too. She sounded ultra-trendy and knew style very well. Anyway, this book is a book that really deserves an
award. The only thing i didn't like was the whole Vera lying about what happpened thing. Otherwise, this is a very cool book.*

I really recommend this book. I'm eleven years old and I read it three times. I loved it. Although, I've read better books, I think it's a good book and girls will enjoy it. I definitely do not reccomend it to boys. Anyways, it's about a girl named Lily Blennerhassett who is thirteen and she has a boring life and her parents are weird and her bestfriend, Charlotte is away at a camp over the summer, so they can't be together like they always are. Then, Lily's aunt Delia is getting married. At first, the wedding is awful and Lily has to wear this ugly green dress her parents make her wear and all of the wedding guests are old and weird. Then she meets a family there thats really cool, the LeBlancs, they have a daughter Lily's age, Karma and they start hanging out together over the summer.....but Lily's parents dont like her hanging out with them.................to find out...you have to read it. It's a great book and I hope you decide to read it!!!!!!