Customer Reviews

One Lonely Degree

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Finn's life has been unraveling ever since that night in September, that party and Adam Porter. And of course, to add even more stress, her parents' relationship has been steadily deteriorating. Life is almost more than she can bear. It's a good thing her best friend Audrey is there for her, or Finn wouldn't know what to do. Thus, Finn ignores her tentative initial attraction to Beautiful Boy Jersy, her childhood friend from way back when, when Audrey expresses her interest. When Audrey goes away for the summer, Finn finds herself spending more time with Jersy. But being with Jersy, the only thing that feels right amidst the disaster in Finn's life, would mean betraying Audrey. How if Finn supposed to know what's right and wrong now?

Martin paints a vivid picture of the effects of damage on people's lives in One Lonely Degree. Protagonist Finn is the prime example of this. She is still reeling, months later, from an unpleasant experience that probably freaked her out more than harmed her but is nonetheless branded into her brain. She consequently withdraws into herself and she feels helpless when other things start to fall apart around her. Even though I've read many books that present similar problems as in One Lonely Degree, Martin seems so much more frank on the subject by including emotionally scarring experiences in multiple characters' lives. It just goes to say that in spite of damage happening, life goes on. Martin portrays this superbly through Finn's rocky struggle to overcome her past drama. Martin's characters are undeniably realistic, even the ones the reader only gets a few glimpses of. I like how she neither condemns nor condones any of the characters' actions, but rather leaves that to the reader's prerogative. One Lonely Degree is a beautifully written and moving story like life imitating art.

I recommend One Lonely Degree to readers who also liked Purge by Sarah Darer Littman, Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers, Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell, and anything by Sarah Dessen or Deb Caletti. I can't wait to see more writing from Martin in I Know It's Over and novels to come.

I loved this book.

After a traumatic experience at a party, Finn hasn't been the same. Nothing has. Her world is slowly unraveling in ways she can't quite reconcile. Her parents' marriage is disintegrating and the reappearance of a childhood friend, Jersy, brings with it new and terrifying feelings made even more complicated by the fact that her best friend, Audrey, is dating him.

Audrey is the person Finn trusts most in the whole world--the person she'd be totally lost without--and Finn would never do anything to jeopardize that. So she steps back and tries to enjoy her rekindled friendship with Jersy as much as possible, knowing all the while it can't ever go to the next level. But when Audrey leaves town for the summer, Finn's world continues to collapse around her and she finds herself turning to Jersy more and more. Finn doesn't know who she is anymore, and what will happen next, but when she's with Jersy anything seems possible in the best kind of way...

But what about Audrey?

C.K. Kelly Martin is an amazing author. There was so much I admired in her extraordinary debut, I Know It's Over, which left me tangled up, inspired and empathetic toward a young man dealing with his first real heartbreak (made that much more complicated by an unexpected pregnancy). I have been looking foward to One Lonely Degree ever since, eager for a new and different story and hoping to come away just as tangled up and invested and inspired.

I'm happy to report that I did.

C.K. Kelly Martin has done it again.

When I cracked open One Lonely Degree, Finn's voice immediately swept me away, making the book impossible to put down for long periods at a time. I had an instant gut response to it that I can't quite shake even now, a day after closing the last page. We were total High School Attitude twins. Similar cynicism, same kind of resistance to change, same coping mechanisms, same kind of dependencies on other people. I've been Finn.

At the same time I've been Finn, I've also known Finn. Her codependency on her best friends, while justifiable, exhausted me on their behalf. I was relieved for both Audrey and Finn when Audrey left for the summer because as much as I admired the support system and small world they created for each other, they needed that space to grow. Finn needed to engage in her surroundings in a way that would enable her to recover from her trauma and Audrey's distance helped her do that.

Martin explores the theme of friendship with an expert hand. There's a certain sad nostalgia in Finn and Audrey's arc that made me remember all the friends I've distanced from in various ways. It's hard to describe, but I think we have all had these kind of friends at some point in our lives--people you need for a time, that help you and change you forever, but that you maybe can't have forever. This dynamic was presented in a way that was incredibly honest and incredibly true.

Jersy was a fantastic male lead. His relationship with Finn was electric and emotional. He is a somewhat reckless type, who observes, engages and takes the cards he's given with the kind of ease that makes it easy to understand why Finn was so drawn to him. Jersy was also believably flawed, with a complicated past of his own, and he and Finn dealt with their situation with utmost, well, reality.

That is one of my favourite things about Martin's writing. It's highly realistic YA fiction. One Lonely Degree is a pulls-no-punches slice of real life that no one will have to look too hard to see themselves in. At its core, this is a novel about change. Dealing with change. Adapting to it (or not). Surviving it. Holding things close. Keeping them. Learning from them. Letting them go. Taking what's left.

I think most of us have complicated relationships with change and I think the topic is delved into beautifully in this book. Martin knows how to pinpoint certain emotional truths and explore them in this incredible prose that makes the writer in me incredibly jealous.

I loved this book. It's at the top of my Favourite Reads of 2009 List. Read it. Now.

Ever since the disastrous party in September, Finn feels like she's been drifting away from everyone else, alone in the world as her parents' marriage breaks apart and she tries to get over that horrible night. The only person who knows about what happened is her best friend Audrey, and it is Audrey that helps her get through it all. Then, things change when Jersy, Finn's friend from childhood, moves back into town. Finn likes Jersy, but can't bring herself to admit it. Audrey also likes Jersy, so with Finn's approval, they start dating. Then comes summer...and Audrey is away. Left alone with Jersy as her only friend, Finn finds herself growing closer and closer to him. Finn doesn't want to betray Audrey...but when she's with Jersy, for the first time in months, everything just seems right.

CK Kelly Martin's second novel is fascinating as it follows Finn, who is still reeling from her traumatic experience and is completely dependent on her friend Audrey to get her through every day life. When Audrey leaves for the summer, Finn is forced to learn to stand on her own and find the strength to not only get over the party, but also deal with her parents' break-up, and that transformation is what makes this book so enjoyable. Finn learns that there is a chance at happiness after horrible experiences, and that the same bad things can happen to other people as well, not just her. Martin reveals the details of what happened at the party in September somewhat early on in the book instead of drawing it out for the suspense element, which is interesting and helpful as it lets readers understand why Finn is so timid and lonely. The characters in the novel are also refreshing in that none of them do the right thing every time, and they realistically do the selfish thing sometimes. The end is somewhat optimistic, but also realistic and will leave you wondering and dreaming about Jersy and Finn and Audrey beyond the final page.

Finn isn't the girl she used to be before - before the party when her life changed.

Only her BFF, Audrey, knows about that night. Now she's just a shell of her old self, not wanting to take a chance on anything.

When a former friend moves back to town, she knows he's gotten hotter. While she's interested, she can't bring herself to do anything about her crush. When Audrey asks her if she would mind if she dates Jersy, Finn immediately says no. After all she's done for her, Audrey needs a little happiness, too.

Soon she becomes the third wheel, and when Audrey's mom and dad find out, she becomes a convenient excuse. When Audrey's parents send her away over the summer, Finn doesn't know what to do with herself. She gets a job, but without her BFF, she's lonely. Plus, her own parents are breaking up.

She needs someone to turn to. Will that someone be Jersy?

C.K. Kelly Martin creates another wonderfully awkward love story with ONE LONELY DEGREE.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel

As a writer, Martin's best strength is being able to immerse herself in the head and voice of her narrator. She has a knack for creating complicated main characters, and being able to understand not only who they are, but how their insecurities play a part in shaping their lives. Many authors attempt to create life-like narrators; Martin is one of the few who succeeds. I first discovered Martins skill for characterization when I read `I Know Its Over,' a story about the consequences of a sexual relationship told through a seventeen year old boy's perspective. This strength is by far the best aspect of her following novel, `One Lonely Degree.'

`One Lonely Degree' is the story of two best friends, Audrey and Finn, and how their relationship changes when one boy enters the picture. Jersy is a boy that Finn used to know when she was six. She remembers him as a high-antic annoyance, but when he comes back to town, she finds herself strangely drawn to him. However, due to an earlier experience with another boy at a party that left her damaged beyond repair, Finn sits by as she watches her best friend fall for this newcomer from her past. This tests Finn's relationship with Audrey, the only person she can rely on, as her life at home begins to fall apart.

While this book was certainly entertaining, I was not as enamored with it as I was Martin's previous book `I Know It's Over.' The books seemed like it was in two distinct parts, which was fractured, not only by a difference in setting and tone, but by the characters themselves. While Finn remained consistently angsty and confused throughout the novel, the character of Jersy changed dramatically from the beginning of the book when school was in session, to the second half of the novel, which took place over the summer break. His motivations and the way he interacted with Finn changed dramatically, leaving the reader confused over who he really was. And while most of the characters in the novel were flawed beyond belief, the character of Audrey was almost saint-like in her perfection, making Finn seem like an unlikeable character/person.

Overall, I would say that the novel is far from perfect, but worth a read. The suspense of the second half of the novel is worth the time it takes to stick through the sometimes bumbling beginning. However, I did think that Martin's take on this tired premise was refreshing and realistic. Martin did not allow her characters to avoid the consequences of their actions and the inconclusive ending kept me thinking about the characters long after the story had reached its conclusion. Martin does not allow her novel to fall into the category of a typical teen romance, which would have been easy to do. Instead, she has crafted a complex story that is remarkable in it's unpredictability.

After reading C.K. Kelly Martin's fantastic first novel, I Know It's Over, I was a bit weary to see how this one would compare to that amazing and heartbreaking tale. Luckily, by the end of the first chapter, I was already addicted to One Lonely Degree. Leaving me to think only one thought: C.K. Kelly Martin never writes a bad book!

Finn was a character that was easy to love. I was constantly cheering for her to overcome what had happened the previous year and to work out the situation between between her and her dad. Plus, I loved how she just an "ordinary girl" who was self conscious about herself, because I , and I'm sure many other teens out there, can relate to that piece of her. I also admired her friendship with Audrey because it was interesting to see their never ending bond that seems like it can never be broken. Though, in the book it kind of did, but you'll have to read One Lonely Degree to find out for yourself. Jersey was also totally dream worthy and someone who was fun to read about.

The plot was close to flawless and flowed extremely well with C.K. awesome writing. I loved how the tale of what happened at the party last Fall to Fin went to was told slowly, one tiny detail at a time. Since, it made for a fast paced novel. Also, it was interesting to see the whole problems between Fin's patents measure over time and how Fin's relationship with Jersey got even more complicated every day.

Unfortunately, the one thing that brought One Lonely Degree a grade down the predictably it showed at time, but the ending, which I thought fit the novel extremely well, mostly made up for it.

Overall, C.K.'s sophomore attempt definitely doesn't disappoint, I can't wait to read her future novels!

Grade: B+

This is the first book I've read by C.K. Kelly Martin, I know for shame, I need to read I Know It's Over. I really liked the idea of this book but it played out a bit differently than I would have hoped. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it and I loved Finn. I mean she wanted to be a graphic designer and move to London or New York, we basically had the same dream!

One thing I was really interested in finding out was what happened at The Party, and I was surprised to find out how soon that information was given out. I figured I would have to wait a lot longer than I did. But at the same time it was kind of nice to know what the incident was because it allowed me to understand why Finn was the way she was without having to do that after I had finished the book, I got to do it during the book.

The parts I enjoyed most of the book were after school had let out and Finn's friend and Jersy's girlfriend Audrey was out of the picture. I really wanted to see how this relationship would develop between Finn and Jersy. How could it happen in such a way that Finn would be horrified with herself when she finally realized what was going on between herself and Jersy. I thought it was pretty believable. Sidenote: these characters have the coolest names! Anyhow, I really liked these parts but the ending left me wanting more. I'm not really certain how it ended, this was a case were I wanted a more concrete ending, I was having trouble imagining for myself where this would go.

All in all an interesting book and I can't wait to read the author's other title, I Know It's Over!