My Not-So-Terrible Time at Hippie Hotel [Mass Market Paperback]

Rosemary Graham (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Tracy's summer vacation couldn't start off any worse. Her father has dragged her to Farnsworth House, a.k.a. the Hippie Hotel, on Cape Cod. It's a place where divorced parents bring their children for quality "Together Time." Tracy dreads the whole idea, until she meets the other girls her age at the hotel. They seem friendly and fun. But they're also great at flirting, which Tracy definitely isn't. When Tracy meets Kevin, a cute, smart guy, she panics. With pretty friends like Kelsey and Beka around, how can Tracy possibly interest Kevin? Then again, maybe she is someone worth knowing, and maybe Kevin thinks so too. Filled with strong, appealing characters and heartfelt narration, this is a touching and memorable first novel.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Fourteen-year-old Tracy Forrester is resigned to having the worst summer of her life. Her dad has booked her and her siblings into this weird place in Massachusetts, where divorced parents and their kids hang out with other split-up families. It’s called Farnsworth House, but dubbed the "Hippie Hotel" by Tracy’s dad, mostly due to the fact that long-haired proprietor Sharon Farnsworth really believes in the healing power of togetherness. Tracy doesn‘t buy it. "I think the idea is that if you get divorced kids together with other divorced kids, they won’t feel so bad about being divorced. So far it hasn’t worked." Ever since her parents’ split, Tracy has gained 15 pounds and a terminal case of low self-esteem. At Farnsworth, she’s terrified of Beka who smokes and only listens to punk, and her mother Lorraine, who seems to have designs on Tracy’s father. She likes Kelsey, who’s also there with her dad, except she’s so cute she makes Tracy feel even plainer by comparison. But things start looking up when she catches the eye of Kevin, a cute local, discovers that Beka is more bluster than bite, and that Kelsey really is as nice as she is pretty. Suddenly, the Hippie Hotel is actually "not-so-terrible"--in fact, it’s kinda great. A solidly written story disguised as a frothy summer read, debut author Rosemary Graham’s gentle, funny tale about family life after the big "D" will be eagerly embraced by middle-grade fans of Judy Blume and Barthe DeClements. (Ages 12 to 16) --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 8-10-Set in the summer of 2000 on Cape Cod, Graham's first novel is the story of 14-year-old Tracy's coming to terms with her parents' divorce and experiencing her first romance. Tracy, her father, brother, and younger sister participate, along with two other single-parent families, in a "Together Time" retreat at Farnsworth House, also known as the Hippie Hotel, run by a tie-dye and Birkenstock-wearing woman who hopes to reinvent old-fashioned vacations for today's families. In the year since her parents' divorce, Tracy has stopped playing the piano and writing songs. She fills the emptiness inside by stuffing herself with sweets. When Beka, a private-school punk from Manhattan, and Kelsey, a California golden girl, arrive with their families, three quickly becomes the proverbial crowd. On a field trip to Plimouth Plantation, Tracy meets Kevin, an aspiring actor working in the blacksmith's shop, and a romance blossoms. She begins to think she is someone worth knowing, resumes her piano playing and songwriting, and begins to mend her relationship with her father. A subplot involving Tracy's mother is unresolved. Beka, medicated for depression, has a foul mouth, fights with her mother, and tries to buy a drink with a fake ID. There really is nothing new here; characters and issues are stereotypical, and the plot is predictable, but young people from divorced homes are likely to relate to some of the situations.
Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 214 pages
• Publisher: Speak (April 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142403032
• ISBN-13: 978-0142403037
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,949,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing read full of depth, August 22, 2003

By 

Shenis Envy "Loving It Daily" (On a boat and it's going fast and...) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Not-So-Terrible Time at the Hippie Hotel (Hardcover)

As a 16 year old, I have begun to find some of the younger fiction tiring and cliche. The heroines are unoriginal, the problems tired. Such was NOT the case with Rosemary Graham's debut young adult novel, My Not-so-Terrible Time at the Hippi Hotel. The author was able to restore my faith in the genre, creating a believable heroine who was facing her problems one step at a time, and becoming a better person because of them. Tracey, the main character, is a dynamic creation who experiences a myriad of emotions that reflect the hormonal and social aspects that play a toll on young women.

Tracey comes to the "Hippi Hotel" suffering from a parental split, a loss of motivation, and an insecurity about her weight and herself. The young woman that emerges has gained some true perspective, which is refreshingly delightful. I'd recommend this book to young and old who like to see someone triumph over personal tragedy, parents who want to show their girls a strong role model, and teenagers who have lost faith in young adult novels- no matter what your age or situation is, you will be able to draw something from this dynamic debut!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the best book I've read all summer!, July 29, 2003

By 

Amber (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Not-So-Terrible Time at the Hippie Hotel (Hardcover)

I loved this book so much! My cousin gave it to me to take to soccer camp, and I read it all at once when we got rained out, and then read it again the next day. It was so funny, and the characters are awesome. Everyone can find somebody in the book to relate to, and it's even better the second time you read it. I just hope that there will be more of these books soon, because I can't get enough. I'll read it for a third and fourth time no prob, but I really want to see what happens to these people. For now I'm just making all my friends read it, and they all love it too. And we all think that Paul sounds cute. Everybody should buy this book! It just rocks.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read, July 3, 2003

By 

Dean Gloster - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Not-So-Terrible Time at the Hippie Hotel (Hardcover)

You'll have a great time reading "My-So-Terrible Time..." The book is full of humor and great dialogue. Rosemary Graham does a terrific job of capturing what life is like for Tracy, a likable 14-year-old girl struggling with her own awkwardness, who tells the story in her own words. Tracy doesn't find it easy doing guy stuff like tricks on a skateboard--or even talking to boys she likes. But during her not-so-terrible time discovers Kevin, an unfolding Summer romance, and that she really has a lot going for herself.

Tracy is being dragged off over the Summer to the "Hippie Hotel" in Cape Cod by her divorced father, for some "together time" along with other fractured families and single parents (Ugh.) She's dreading it (who wouldn't, described that way) and starts the book wondering how she's going to sneak into the pantry and eat five pounds of M&Ms overnight and how she'll get along with a difficult teenaged girl she's rooming with.

But she meets Kevin on one of the group outings, and a shy romance blooms, and Tracy blossoms with it, as she learns a surprising lot about life, the people around her, and herself. It's a great read.