4.0 out of 5 stars
I liked it, January 12, 2010
Though I remember Emily Franklin's debut series, The Principles of Love, not entirely astounding me with its slow pace in the development of her love interests and overall story, I quite liked the tone of her pieces. This one didn't disappoint--and her writing has gotten better (from what I can remember, anyway), so I'm really surprised and delighted.
Jenny Fitzgerald comes from an all around athletic family. Her parents are interested in yard work and running, her sisters Sierra and Sage are dancers, and Russ is ready to become a football player like Jenny's two year long crush, Tate. The different one in the family, Jenny's more artistic and far from being athletic. But that's not the only thing separating her from her family--her biological father is actually Donor #142, so her siblings are only her half siblings. Jenny feels like her family will never understand her that way and she longs to have a relationship like the twins Sierra and Sage do. Jenny finally gets that chance when Tate shows her something amazing: an online organization called Donor Sibling Registry, in which she can sign up and see if Donor #142 has donated other sperm and whether she has other half siblings. Much to her surprise and delightment, she finds Alexa, her half sister. Alexa is impulsive and different, but Jenny feels like she can say and share anything with Alexa. When the latter makes a visit to Jenny's home, things take a definitive turn and Jenny's not sure how to deal.
First of all, love the donor storyline! I always hear about women getting pregnant and having a kid this way, but I've never come across a story where it's told from his/her perspective. It's a great family book: what it means to be a family and how to become one. Exploring family and couple relationship dynamics are so hard, especially the former, and I really think Emily Franklin has created a novel that captures the astonishing truth about family members. You always see them in one perspective--they're either really strict/mean or super nice and friendly and they always change in the end. But books hardly ever dwell in those moments of changing, so it's always hard for me to root for a good family relationship like that, but this is different. It's truthful and it's touching--but most importantly, I actually see that progress!
Second of all, it's also a good finding your identity book--I mean, you can really learn a lot from Jenny. She's an amazing character--her flaws and insecurities really bring out the main points of the story. Even if you're not a painter or athlete, you can relate to a girl who's trying to get her family to love her more, who's trying to fit in, and who's trying to find love. Her mishaps and encounter with Tate in the very beginning is amusing--and the part where he defends her when his friend's about to make a crude remark about her chest had me gushing. I love encounters like that. It always turns the male protagonist into a suave and kind hearted soul, yet mysterious at the same time. I hate perfect meetings, which I think are hard to come by. Most of the time, you're bound to be making a fool of yourself, one way or another, so why not make it realistic, right? That's why I tend to really dislike the I'm-in-love-with-my-best-friend storyline because it's so predictable. And while some parts of this book are too predictable (like when Jenny suspects that Tate and Alexa are actually having a "thing" behind her back and it turns out that they're just planning a surprise party for her) for me, I'm not too bored by it.
What's more satisfying is the tone and mood of this story. It actually makes you think. You can clearly see that the words are chosen very carefully and they're like the pieces of the puzzle that you're supposed to fit together. I love the transitions and the smooth writing because it is definitely not amateurish. Franklin's got a semi-distinctive voice--she's just got to nab it in the right spot and create her one-of-a-kind, like Sarah Dessen has. Whenever I read something by her, I just know she wrote it because it's her genre and it's her words that are reaching out to me. Emily Franklin is definitely close to getting there.
However, there are still things to work on to make this an even better novel. There are loopholes and loose tidbits of information that either needs to be cleared up or added.
1) Tate's parents. There's the briefest mention of them when he invites Jenny to his home and they talk about his parents, but all Jenny says is that he gets a faraway look when that happens. I kept waiting for Tate to finally reveal his relationship with his parents to dampen his Perfect Boy image, or for Jenny to ask--really, shouldn't she be interested in her boyfriend's parents?--but they never get mentioned again for the remainder of the book. The writer could have delved into Tate's past as well to create more diverse family backgrounds to strengthen her overall message.
2) The character of Faye. Considering she's actually Jenny's best friend, she should have been mentioned more. It shouldn't matter that Faye's off to Chef Camp for the summer--she still plays an semi part in Jenny's life when she becomes too overwhelmed with her family, Alexa, and Tate, and finally reveals the whole ordeal to another friend. Jenny never talks about how she met Faye--or how she started liking Tate, for that matter. And I do think it's essential to get that background information out of the way first in the very beginning.
3) The big confrontation scene between Tate and Jenny that never happens. Tate's short and interrupted explanation--the one he gives her at the art gallery--isn't enough to satisfy me. After that, they just magically get together again. I was waiting for Tate to explain more about how they came up with the surprise party and how they went through with it, but I was disappointed. No mention of anything like that--just that Jenny was glad they were back together and the usual optimistic thoughts that closely sets up the remaining paragraphs of the last page. It's not terribly unexpected--a lot of authors skip right to the end when the end needs more time to be digested and straightened out--but I really hate rushed endings. And I want that confrontation turned sweet scene!
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, September 11, 2007
This review is from: The Other Half of Me (Hardcover)
Jenny's a painter in a family full of sports lovers. She can't catch a ball to save her life. Is it any wonder she feels like an outsider in her own family?
While she has always known that she's the product of a sperm donor, it never really made much difference until she reads an article about tracking down relations. Now she can't let go of the idea.
Could there be a sibling out there, just like her? Is Jenny brave enough to meet her half-sister once she finds her?
Finally, Jenny believes she's found the part of her that's been missing for years.
Emily Franklin's written another notable drama full of high angst where the main character struggles to find her identity.
Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel
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