The Pillow Book of Lotus Lowenstein [Hardcover]

Libby Schmais (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 8, 2009

An adorable, completely original YA voice.

Lotus Lowenstein's life is merde. She dreams of moving to Paris and becoming an existentialist. Yet here she is trapped in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with a New-Agey mom, an out-of-work dad, and a chess champion brother who dreams of being a rock star. Merci à Dieu for Lotus’s best friend, Joni, who loves French culture enough to cofound their high school’s first French Club with Lotus. At the first meeting, the cutest boy in the world walks in. His name is Sean, and he too loves French culture and worships Jean-Paul Sartre.

At first, Lotus thinks Sean is the best thing to happen to her in years. He’s smart, cultured, and adorable. Unfortunately, though, Joni feels the same way. And having an existentialist view of love, Sean sees nothing wrong with enjoying both girls’ affections. Things come to a head when all three depart for Montreal with their teacher, Ms. G, on the French Club’s first official field trip. Will Sean choose Joni over Lotus? And will Lotus and Joni’s friendship ever recover?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9–11—Lotus is completely enamored with all things French and organizes a club at her Brooklyn high school to celebrate French culture, food, and language. Initially her friend Joni is the only other member, and both girls are delighted when Sean, a handsome newcomer, joins them. Two girls, one cute guy, and a summer trip to Montreal are bound to spell trouble. Eventually it all works out in a rather speedy and contrived conclusion. The story is told in diary format with a liberal sprinkling of French vocabulary and pop-culture references past and present. Comments about current personalities will quickly date this novel, and the names of former personalities will mean little to today's teens. While Lotus is a fun, chatty narrator, and the book has some humorous moments, overall it's just comme ci comme ça.—Patricia N. McClune, Conestoga Valley High School, Lancaster, PA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Review, Girls' Life, December 2009/January 2010:
"Honest and witty, Lotus makes you see why buds should always come before boys."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (December 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385737564
• ISBN-13: 978-0385737562
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1 x 8.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,248,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous, Delicious and Hilarious!, December 9, 2009

By 

Mint910 (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Pillow Book of Lotus Lowenstein (Hardcover)

The Pillow Book of Lotus Lowenstein was a fabulous, delicious and hilarious book! It's really hard to pick a favorite part of it. The entire book is written as Lotus's diary and her observations about her friends and family. Lotus lives in Brooklyn, is obsessed with all things French, and has a fantastic sense of humor. She's someone I would want to hang out with.

I love how she wanted to immerse herself in French culture and existentialism. She's really into fashion and just getting out there and trying to have a good life and include others in it. And as I've said before she's just funny, her observations about everything reminded me a bit of Georgia Nicolson, as others have mentioned. She's hard to describe because she's so absolutely layered which I loved!

I loved being reminded about why I took French in high school and how much I just love French culture just like Lotus! It was nice being back in that place. I also was excited to see how the love triangle between Lotus, her best friend Joni, and other French Club member Sean played out.

Overall this was a hilarious and heartfelt book and I can't wait to check out some of the author's other adult books. I hope she also continues down this track with another book in this same spirit for the young adult audience!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Overall a merveilleux read!, February 26, 2010

By 

Flamingnet Teen Book Reviews "FLAMINGNET COM" (Baltimore, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pillow Book of Lotus Lowenstein (Hardcover)

The Pillow Book of Lotus Lowenstein by Libby Schmais is a realistic-fiction
journal about a teenager named Lotus who is an anything French addict. Her
greatest aspiration is to live in France and live as an existentialist. She is not
looking for love, but when a cute boy walks into to the French Club she created,
she is head-over-heels. When Lotus hears that her best friend, Joni, feels the
same way about the new boy, Sean, she hides her feelings, for she doesn't want
to stomp on the socially awkward Joni's first crush. This book talks about how
insane a teen's life can be and shows how boys can test friendship.

It is necessary to say that this book will not be the next literary masterpiece of the
decade, but it is a truly livre intressant. I loved how the author
decided to use French continually during the book; it really brought out the
main character's character! While the book did move fast enough, I felt there
was really no plot line. The book really didn't go anywhere. Also, I didn't like
many sexual comments that littered the pages, even though I am a teen, and
this is a teenage book. Overall a merveilleux read!

Reviewed by a young adult student reviewer
Flamingnet Book Reviews
Teen books reviewed by teen reviewers

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great gift, January 3, 2010

By 

Katherine K. Moore "k katen" (new jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pillow Book of Lotus Lowenstein (Hardcover)

gave to my 11 year old daughter who loved lotus. she told me she had to read it more slowly than usual so that it wouldn't end as fast as other books. My kid eats books so anything she will slow down and savor is special. Get this for your tweener reader now