Customer Reviews

My Beautiful Disaster (The Pathway Collection #2)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My Beautiful Disaster, by Michelle Buckman, is the sequel to Maggie Come Lately, which I raved about in #3 of my Seven Summer Reads post a few weeks ago. I'm a big fan of Buckman's, and Beautiful Disaster did not disappoint.

You probably already know that the characters were flawless. (By that I mean that they were as messed up as you and me, made big mistakes, and lived life like you expect real life people to.)

You won't be surprised to know to hear that the writing was fabulous, that the settings were detailed without gagging, that the dialogue could have been overheard in my sister-in-law's living room (if her kids were old enough, that is).

What you might be surprised to hear is what this book's main topic is. I can't tell you, though, because it will destroy the plot. (Well, it would have destroyed it for me. I'm sure, if you look at enough reviews, you'll find one that will tell you.)

Buckman's tag line is "fiction that rethinks life." Now that I've read four of her novels, I feel like I can nod vigorously and write her thank you notes for the difficult work she's doing. She's not picking an easy writing route with this kind of fiction, but she is speaking to the heart of the matter.

She does it without shoving anything down your throat too. (Have you noticed that I'm just a wee bit sensitive to that?) She does it without painting a picture of a life that does not exist, and she makes me want to read more-more-MORE of what she writes.

This book (and its predecessor) get my very highest recommendation. They're the kind of books I would almost buy extra copies of, in order to make sure that I don't lose the original to a friend.

This sequel to Maggie Come Lately is a fairly well-written book that has a boring beginning but eventually drew me into the narrator's world and problems to become a thoughtful exploration of the tribulations of teenage passion and pregnancy. When I had to interrupt my reading, I couldn't wait to get back to my book to see what was happening with Dixie, but I undoubtedly would have enjoyed it more had I read the first book. I had to drop the rating because of the inexcusably sloppy errors that grated like squeaky chalk, such as the wine was "bitterer than." She also had the characters attending the Cooper River Bridge Run in Columbia, SC. I drove through Charleston yesterday and can attest that both the Cooper River and the Cooper River Bridge are still there, right where they've always been, so that means the runners had to run 115 miles--quite a marathon!

I thought this book was really good. The character is well developed. The girl in this book has a good heart but makes bad decisions and you really feel for the character. The book was realistic

Book was slow, and boring. I didn't finish it. I'm really glad that it was free when I got it.

Let me point out that I do not regularly read Christian Fiction, so if you are a fan of that genre you will not likely find this review helpful. I am not a fan, and honestly if the plot synopsis had mentioned that the word God or Lord would appear in prayer no less than 20 times in the book I probably wouldn't have read it. I don't read anything that repeats the same thing twenty times, period. I liked that the book presented an inspirational tale of adolescent development and atonement that involved taking the high road, but I felt that it glossed over some of the nitty gritty details that make the act of taking the high road so hard in the first part--which left me with a feeling of "oh well, sure she did it that way, it was so easy for her". Reality is that teens who are swept off their feet by "bad boys" do not refer to losing their virginity impulsively as "making love" and walk skipping away from it; nor do they usually have families willing and able to convert bedrooms into nurseries when they fall pregnant, employers who have nurseries in the back room so you can bring your newborn with you, or neighbors willing to donate free child care while they attend college courses. It was unrealistic and overly positive, with an endless repitition of the saving grace of religion, then it ended. I got it free in the Kindle edition, which was about the right price in my opinion.

Review by Jill Williamson

Dixie didn't used to be popular. But when she got the chance to hang out with Heather and Tammy a few years back, she jumped at the chance. Ever since she's been a part of the in crowd. The girls who matter. Her life is filled with shopping, parties, and gossip. She might have to bend the rules every now and then, but that's just the cost of cool, right?

At least that's what Dixie tells herself when Heather and Tammy talk her into getting a fake ID. The girls sneak into a bar to see a local band and Dixie falls in love instantly with the band's lead singer: the handsome, mysterious, and talented Vince.

There is nothing Dixie won't do for Vince because she knows that this is true love. But before long, things start to change. Dixie's fun isn't so fun anymore. Vince doesn't give her as much attention as he used to. A creepy guy keeps hanging around. And what's with Vince and that new lead singer, Pamela?

Dixie is sweet, naive, and totally loveable. At first it annoyed me that she hung around with Heather and Tammy, who were not the best of friends even when they tried. But as Dixie experienced heartbreak, I fell in love with her humanity. None of us are perfect and every girl is looking for true love. Dixie's journey is a real eye-opener for girls to get to know a guy before they allow their heart to attach. If now, they might find out the hard way that they didn't really know him at all. If you haven't read Ms. Buckman's first in this series, be sure to check out Maggie Come Lately (The Pathway Collection #1).

This is by far the worst book I have ever read... Horrible influence for teens. I thought this was a christian book thats why I bought it, but I was so wrong.. Im not even going to attempt to finish reading it...

I read this book as a free kindle download, and I was impressed! I thoroughly enjoyed this story.. so much so that I figured I'd check out what other books were in the series, since this is labeled "series". You definitely don't have to read book #1, Maggie Come Lately, before reading this story. It stands on its own. However, now that I've hunted for the book, I realize it would be a wonderful story to understand sister Maggie. I'm Totally bummed that I can't get it! It is not yet available on Kindle, and isn't even available in book form from Amazon. I hope the publisher gets it done soon!
And, thank you for listening! It is now available for Kindle :) I can't wait to read the first one, as I enjoyed this #2 so much.

Dixie was just a normal teenage girl who had her life all figured out. Have fun, shop, skip homework whenever possible, and spend all her free time hanging out with her best friends Heather and Tammy. Then she meets Vince Evans, lead guitarist in a hot new band. Dixie falls hards. She is a romantic, believing in love at first sight, and she wants Vince.But how high a price will she have to pay to be his girl, and does he really love her as much as she loves him?

Michelle Buckman is a terrific writer, and her teen books are serious, intriguing, with fascinating characters. My Beautiful Disaster, teaches a very important lesson, without being preachy. I passed my copy on to my niece, with instructions to read it. She reported that she had a waiting list of friends who wanted to read it next. I wish every teenage girl I know could read this book, it's that good. This one is strongly recommended.

I love it when books are enjoyable to read, but I love it even more when, during the reading, you learn a little something about yourself, about life, and about others. In "My Beautiful Disaster", Michelle Buckman has created a character that literally leaps out of the pages and into your heart.

I guarantee...you won't be the same after reading this book.

Mothers and daughters alike should read this amazing series. After reading Dixie's story, I realized just how easy it is for me to be like the members of Dixie's former church. I realized just how much I don't know about girls in Dixie's position, and just how easy it is to go from good girl to wounded with just one casually made decision.

I love that Michelle let's us inside Dixie's head. We get a front seat as Dixie works through the steps that lead her to where she ends up. The mental talking to and convincing she goes through reveal a lot about the inner workings of today's teen girls.

It isn't enough to preach to them and try to convince them of God's truth...we must understand them as well. And books like "My Beautiful Disaster" are excellent tools to bridging the gap between knowing and believing.

Not only is this a wonderful book for moms, youth leaders, and anyone who works with teens and preteens to read, but it would be a wonderful gift for your teen aged daughter, niece, granddaughter or friend. I only caution you on this...if the maturity level or age level is below 16, pray about it and read it first.

Michelle's books are real, gritty, and don't hide from life's toughest questions. The Pathway Collection is blazing a new trail in Teen-Lit, and I for one think it's about time we got real with our girls, and using these books will help our girls get real about God.

My Beautiful Disaster" reveals to teens that they are rough cut jewels...because all of our girls and guys need to know they are precious jewels in God's crown...just needing a few rough edges smoothed out. And pray that they all let God do the smoothing...because the world can leave them feeling jagged and torn.