Customer Reviews

The Tribes of Palos Verdes

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

After reading some of the reveiws listed I had to give my review. It seems that the major complaint was that it talks about things like drugs and sex and has a downer ending. This is life....and did you read the ending the same way I did? I didn't see it as a downer but as a way to start over for the main character. The book is a fast read...great for vacation reading (I read it, aloud during a 7 hour car trip last summer). I find the characters very real and believable.

As you can notice, I gave this book 5 wonderful, shiny, gold stars; thus, well deserved. This is the best book I've ever had the pleasure of reading and I'd highly recommend this book to anyone. Reason being is that I can relate to and understand many of the things that occur. I'm not the type of person that would usually sit down and read a book over and over again. Heck, I'm not the type of person that would sit down and read a book at all. At first, all I wanted was a book to get me through a report and I ended up with the only book I think I'll ever enjoy reading.

I picked up this book thinking, "Oh cool, a book about a girl in a group with guys surfing!" I soon found out that was not the case, or not really the case. This book astonished me and made me thank myself for all of the good things I have in my life. The story started out fairly normal, and me thinking "Everything will end up happy-go-lucky" boy, oh boy was I wrong. It was a rollercoaster, everytime something good would happen, it would scaled downward. The ending is very surprising, yet depressing at the same time! I just kept reading it because you wanted to find out what else could go wrong in Medina's life!

I don't know why I waited so long to read Ms. Nicholson's novel about my hometown, but I am certainly glad I finally read it. It's a painful but accurate depiction of being an adolescent (probably anywhere). I related to her struggles as a teenage girl, more than as a PV girl (even though I am one). Much of what Ms. Nicolson attributes to Palos Verdes is very accurate but I think the locale is merely a backdrop for a touchingly sad story. The story of what it is like to be a teenage girl, awkward and lost. The writing is quite good and very easy to read. I read it in a couple of sittings. Props to a very brave woman writing about the things that most of us would prefer to pretend never happened to us.

The story is about a disfunctional family from which a girl surfer emancipates throught surfing, while also triyng to save her twin brother. Moving and brilliantly written, you can't stop reading this book until the end.

I was given this book as a gift and while I was slow to pick it up and start reading, once I did I never put it down. I've read it at least twenty times since I got it, and each time I find a new reson to love it. I've never related to a charcter before, but Medina is different.She's strong, passionate and intense. She's the literary incarnation of me growing up and today. The way she draws her strength from the waves and from her pain is a wonderful lesson to any young person dealing with problem. This book is wonderful, truthful and beautiful. Do yourself a favor and read this book.

Oddly enough, this book felt like an update to Sallinger's classic, with a west coast twist. Nicholson's Medina is younger than Sallinger's Holden (and a girl to boot), but the alienation and wry powers of observation are there. The author managed to get a feel of what the Palos Verdes area (and lifestyle) is like, but as a previous reviewer mentioned, the relationship with the twin brother and their self-imploding mother is a bit too much to be taken seriously...An amusing read with bits of dream-like descriptions scattered throughout.

Joy Nicholson weaves an intricate tale of intriguing characters in this novel set in Palos Verdes, Calif. Reading about the dysfunctional family that Medina Mason is forced to put up with is certainly entertaining, but as some other reviewers have pointed out, there's not much of a plot to the whole story. Nevertheless, the book was extremely interesting to me because I live on the east coast and haven't really experienced the SoCal scene. The book definitely proves even the family that seems perfect on the outside has the biggest problems. With (pretty much) realistic teen experiences and encounters and exceptional blending (Nicholson neither writes too much or too little), The Tribes of Palos Verdes has a lot to offer.

The Tribes of Palos Verdes is one of those "Must Read" novels that keeps you hooked throuout the whole book. I had such a good time analyzing each character and reading how one's actions can affect many, in ways unimaginable- not only emotional, but in ways that scar permanently that later come to haunt you. Medina, one of the main characters, is one of those teenage girls that is just begining to live, thinking that the only way to live life to the fullest is by being someone she's not. Throughout the book, Medina had a great impact on the way I saw things. I would observe her in ways so deep that I would coincidentally guess what she would do next. She had in many ways small characteristics that I see in myself and my friends put together, making me realize that I should learn from other's mistakes, in this case- Medina. Joy Nicholson made this novel so beautifully detailed and vivid, that there were times I would get a full picture of the scenes going on. If you are interested in books that are more real and down to earth, give this one a try, I can almost assure you, you won't want to put it down!

I read this book beacause my sister was required to read it.So, I decided to help her.After I read it, I cried because I relized I'm Medina Mason.I am one of the onley girl surfers in my town.At first I had trouble with everyone.But now I have their respect.I recomend to read this book beacause it will get you through life as a teenager.