Customer Reviews

Thirteen (Winnie Years)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It's always weird to drop right smack dab into the middle of a series. You never know whether you're missing out on some subtle details from the previous books, or even whether or not the book in your hand would be better if you knew its characters already. It's more of a problem with series books, I suppose. Realistic fiction doesn't contain crazy names and weird interior logics. Tween books starring girl characters supposedly are all the same too. The idea is that if you've read the Anastasia Krupnik books by Lois Lowry then you've read the Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Alice series then you've read the Lauren Myracle books, and so on and so on. Which, let's face it, isn't true at all. Tween girl heroines each have their own set of quirks and characteristics and Lauren Myracle is no exception. Now I've heard a couple people who are fans of Myracle pooh-poohing her latest book Thirteen. They say it isn't as strong as the other books or the plot wraps up too neatly. Stuff along those lines. Well I myself haven't read any other books by Ms. Myracle except for this title and what I read I really liked. I'm sure that every series like this one has its supporters, but when it comes to an incredible voice and a likable heroine, color me a new Myracle fan. I can't wait to start recommending this book left and right to my patrons.

She survived the age of eleven. She breezed (sorta) through the age of twelve. Now Winnie Perry is a great big beautiful thirteen and boy is she feeling it. She has a boyfriend (sorta sorta) by the name of Lars who seems okay and all but is much better at kissing than communicating. She has her two best friends Cinnamon and Dinah by her side, helping her through her roles. And then there are her siblings, moody for their own reasons, and a mom who has a couple secrets of her own. The trek into teenagerhood is fraught with many perils, but through it all Winnie comes this much closer to knowing who she is and what she can accomplish.

Ms. Myracle is one of the few authors I know of to acknowledge and thank her cover artist (in this case the fabulously named "Beegee Tolpa"). For this reason alone I believe that she must have more in common with her charming heroine than one might initially think. It doesn't hurt matters any that Myracle gets the sheer level of tween/teen selfishness down pat. The constant fears that you aren't looking the way that you should be looking, for example. She has an ear for relaying when people trying to hard, like Winnie laughing uproariously at her friends' jokes when Lars is near, so as to look wild and free and attractive. I loved too how Myracle accurately got down the fogginess teens feel about what constitutes "old" (example: "I thought it was important to make this promise to myself now, before I turned thirty and got saggy and fat."). She gets the age.

I suppose I could see how Winnie's bon mots might tap dance on a person's nerves, but somehow they never got to me. I liked her insights most times. Like when a popular girl acts like she's a loser, which was weird but, "better than being snotty". I loved her cheery sarcasm regarding boring children's primers. "Oh, the joy of short A's. Might there be a bat in the cat's future? A bat wearing a hat? Who knew! That's what made it so exciting!" Any author that can make a thirteen-year-old character sound like someone who would call herself a stud ("that's the kind of stud I am") wins my heart. She also has this unexpectedly dirty mouth that just pops out of nowhere. I can think of at least one section where the words "turd", "penis", and "vagina" all pop out at you, and somehow it's funny rather than overly scatological.

Some things didn't sit with me perfectly, though. Maybe I just had a really self-involved life, but when I was thirteen nobody had parties where they invited the whole class. I went to public school, though, and Winnie is going to a private one where issues of class and race (set against an Atlanta setting, no less) never even come up. Still, I can't imagine the kind of privilege a person would have to be raised in to hear about 14-year-olds throwing house parties with hot tubs and liquor cabinets. It happens probably, but at least in my own case it made Winnie's story seem so much older than its scant thirteen years. Then again, if Myracle continues at the rate she's been going, Winnie's gonna be nineteen soon and possibly outgrowing her young fans. On the other other hand, I have this weird desire for that to happen. Remember in the old days when books like Betsy-Tacy and Anne of Green Gables would just keep going and going until their characters grew up, got married, and had kids? How cool would it be if Lauren Myracle continued that trend? I mean, what if? I know that publishers would shy away from that kind of retro writing, but I think that there's a real allure in following a character through life. Winnie certainly has plenty of material to work from, and instead of the standard marriage ending you could finish the series off with something appropriately grown-up, mature, and feminist. Awesome.

Spoiler alert, if you care for that sort of thing. I'm sure that there will be teen girls cheering Winnie on for getting back together with Lars at the end of the book when he apologizes for being a doofus, but I know that the adults reading the story will wish heartily that Winnie moved on. Wouldn't she be so much better off with that nice boy she met on the camping trip? Lars is the kind of guy willing to laugh at his sweetheart if it'll impress the sexy girl with the nose ring hanging about. If I were Winnie I'd dump the fool and move on. But then, maybe that's where Myracle is going and we'll get some kind of magnificent dumping scene in the next book. Hey, a gal can hope can't she?

If you're too old to get a book's references ("My Super Sweet Sixteen" anyone?) are you too old to review it? Not if the characters smack of reality, the story's fun, and the drama lies at a low ebb (which, for me, is a definite plus). I don't know how many more Winnie books Ms. Myracle has in her system, but here's hoping she keeps cranking them out. Ms. Myracle has a brand new fan.

The books Eleven and Twelve, by Lauren Myracle were amazing, but the last book in the trilogy, Thirteen, was even better. It will definitely receive some laughs, and gasps, and you will not be able to put it down. You should read Eleven and Twelve first, but when you get to Thirteen, you are going to fall in love with it. If you're the kind of person who likes realistic fiction, and is preferably a girl, you will really get a kick out of it. The whole story is basically about her turning thirteen, and the joys and struggles of being that age. Every chapter is a different part that makes up her age. (Like in every book in the trilogy)

I know that I would definitely rate this book 5 stars, because as I read it, I felt like I could really connect to the whole story, and there we so many details. And the way that she writes it, you really feel like the main character. I already knew that I loved Lauren Myracle because when she writes her books, she uses great visualization; I can always see the story playing in my mind like a movie.

I guarantee that if you start this book, you will not want to stop. You'll be able to connect to many things in this book. Whether it's a situation that Winnie, the main character, goes through, or a feeling she has. Remember to read Eleven and Twelve first, before reading Thirteen. You're in for a real treat. BUY THE TRILOGY TODAY!!!

-ARG

My daughter is 11 and a very good reader. But she is very picky on what interests her. She loved this book and the other two (Eleven & Twelve)

The recommended age group was 8 to 12 or so. I bought this book for an 11 year old niece for her birthday. Before I gave it to her, I breezed through it and happened upon a page where the main character was thinking about her parents having sex. Someone else in the book had created some art project with something, I can't remember what it was. And her thoughts were that this creation looked like a penis.

My niece's mother red-lighted the book, and I certainly would never allow my 8 year old daughter to read it either. I'm disappointed and nervous. I had already bought the child two other books by this author. What on earth have I exposed her to?

I am eleven and a VERY fast reader!

I read Eleven when I was seven, Twelve when I was eight, Thirteen when I was nine, and Thirteen plus One when I was ten and these books are AMAZING!

Backtrack...

Lauren Myracle is AMAZING!

If you are in the mood for a book that sounds like it is coming out of a teenagers diary, this is it, or any other of Lauren Myracle's books!

I hope there is a Fifteen!!!

i am 12 years old an preferably i loved this book. i had just finished 12 when i saw this book.i thought it was going to be different from 12 like really different. i thought it would be a good idea to read it once i turned 13 but i just couldn`t wait.i was very pleased with this book. it taught me what its like to be 13.the up sides and the downers. i really hope theres a 14 and mabe even a 15

The book Thirteen by Lauren Myracle shows that even though middle school is hard at points, it will all turn okay in the end. The main character, Winnie, has problems involving her family, friends, and skipping a day of school with her older sister, Sandra, who is almost in college. Just when Winnie thought life couldn't get any worse, her mom becomes pregnant for the fourth time! Join Winnie as she goes through life as a middle schooler.

I thought Thirteen was a great book! I think it really helps people who are going through the same things as Winnie. Lauren Myracle writes great fiction for people from ages 10-14. There are two sequels to this book, Eleven and Twelve. I highly suggest reading those two first.

Calling all girls. This is a heartwarming story about winnie and the path that she embarks on. I read both books before this and loved them. In this book winnie has her first kiss,goes camping, watches her sister stress over going away to college, and gets a little sister along the way. I would recomend this book for pre-teens 10+.

Thirteen, like Lauren Myracle's previous books Eleven and Twelve, follows a year in the life of a girl named Winnie. Every chapter highlights a month in that year, following Winnie as she deals with various goings-on at school and at home.

Now in seventh grade, Winnie's got her first-ever boyfriend and isn't always sure how to act around him. She sometimes finds herself torn between her two best friends, Cinnamon and Dinah, for although the three of them get along famously, they don't always want to do the same things. Winnie remains protective of her younger brother, in awe of her older sister, and close to her parents, especially her mom.

It's been fun to watch Winnie become Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen. Rumor has it this is the last Winnie book, but let's hope that there's a Fourteen - and beyond!

First of all, little kids should not be writing reviews of books. If I as a parent were to use the reviews of children to buy books, everything would be "AMAZING" and "BEST BOOK EVER!!!" and that's not really accurate. This book is rated for ages 8 & up, and depending on whose advice you take, for either upper elementary or middle school kids. There's a big difference there, and for my 9 year old this was not the right book. She was full of questions about girls only a couple of years older than her dating,going to parties with drinking and drugs, and also use of curse words. Why doesn't anyone else mention the language in this book?? Now my daughter knows words and insults she didn't know before, and all of my hard work parenting and teaching is gone and she's only 9. I am not a conservative parent, I am fairly liberal in my voting practices, and am not religious. But I do believe strongly in letting kids be kids for as long as possible and shielding them from excessive violence, sex, and bad influences until they can handle it. This book is simply too grown up for it's audience and parents should pay attention to the ages of reviewers and not the number of stars a book is given. This has made me very leery of buying and clicking on Amazon, and now I feel I have to read all reviews like a hawk before I buy. I don't need my 9 year old reading books about dating, boys, catty friendships and back-stabbling. Girls are capable of reading things with depth, substance, and imagination, and this book is a far cry from such a thing. I will have to start buying more of the classics if this is the type of trash that today's authors produce.