3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eye in the Sky, April 22, 2008
This review is from: What Happens Here (Paperback)
What Happens Here by Tara Altebrando is a coming-of-age novel you won't soon forget.
They had made plans, so many plans, about their futures. They would stay connected past high school, going to college together, traveling the world together, maybe even marrying twin brothers. They would always be the best of friends, as thick as thieves, as close as sisters, no matter what. That is what they planned.
This is what happened instead.
The summer after her junior year, Chloe's parents announce that their family is going on a trip to Europe. Chloe begs to bring along Lindsay - her best friend, her confidante, her neighbor - but Lindsay's family can't afford it. This will be the first time in their years of friendship that the girls will be separated for such a time and by such a distance. While Chloe, her parents, and her older sister Zoe board a plane, Lindsay stays behind in Vegas, just plain bored.
In Europe, Chloe sees her mother come alive, becoming bubbly, happy. She considers her father, who also seems content, though not nearly as exuberant as her mother. She hears her sister complain about being away from her boyfriend and again considers how, although she loves her sister, although blood is supposed to be thicker than water, she feels much closer to Lindsay. She meets a boy named Danny who shares her age, her Vegas zip code, and her adventures in Europe. She writes postcards to Lindsay, blissful notes from each country she visits, signed with Xs and Os. ("Rome makes me want to toss coins in every fountain. [ . . . ] It makes me want to live la dolce vita every day." "Venice makes me want to blow glass and row row row your boat. [ . . . ] Venice makes me want to get lost and never be found.")
A somewhat cryptic message from Lindsay reminds Chloe of the eye in the sky - the closed-circuit cameras in casinos and other spots to ensure the people's safety and honesty. Thanks to her father, she is familiar with the song Eye in the Sky by the Alan Parsons Project. She and Lindsay talked about the eye in the sky a lot - how one of them should perform in front of a camera one day while the other stayed at home and watched the feed - but they never went through with it, preferring to stay together on their adventures about town and perhaps blow kisses to those cameras, to the hopefully cute boys who were watching, to the twin brothers that were out there somewhere, looking for them.
Europe is bigger, bolder, broader than anything Chloe's ever seen before. This, then, is where Chloe unexpectedly starts to grow up. The Vegas replicas of European landmarks can't compare to the real thing. She feels small and tall simultaneously as she walks through historical sights, rides on gondolas, and eats exotic food. She falls for Danny, and they see the Eiffel Tower together.
She expects to slide back into her life at home easily, planning on sharing her photographs and experiences with Lindsay and then slowly coming down from her travel-love-life cloud in time to start her senior year of high school. But Vegas is not as she left it, and not all of those she left behind are anxiously awaiting her return.
They had never dreamed of this.
While the eye in the sky looms overheard, things start to look different to Chloe. She is newly aware of her surroundings, almost as if she had just moved to Vegas now, rather than three years ago. But the attractions are no longer attractive. The neon lights seem too bright. Smiles, promises, everything seems fake. There's just too much that is fake, too much that seems unreal, too much, and nothing seems right. ("I went to the fridge and thought about having some water but it hadn't tasted good lately. Not that water tasted like anything, so it must've been something in me that had turned foul.")
So many things happen here, and there, and here again. Chloe's memories blur and sharpen as she attempts to make sense of it all. She no longer knows what the future brings. Regrets cloud her dream factory, making them hard to manufacture or fix. At least one person keeps reaching for her dream: Chloe's sister, the acrobatic Zoe, who finally auditions for Cirque de Soleil. Lindsay's older brother Noah, is acting differently and being difficult, but not really distant. When the truth comes out - as the truth always does - Chloe sees her parents, her sister, her friends, and herself with new eyes.
If you want to find out What Happens Here - and I strongly urge you to do so - I recommend that you get the book. Pages will turn, bridges will burn, dreams will change, and the eye in the sky will be watching everything and everyone.
What Happens Here is Tara Altebrando's second novel for teens, following her impressive YA debut, The Pursuit of Happiness. This story is just as impressive, with realistic relationships between characters, haunting happenings, and expressive writing. There's mystery here, and drama, and heartbreak. What Happens Here is a bildungsroman in every sense of the word, and one of the best books of 2008.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
What Happens Here, July 7, 2009
This review is from: What Happens Here (Paperback)
Chloe and Lindsay were best friends that were supposed to grow old together. They had their lives mapped out from where they were going to live(homes all over the world) to who they were going to marry(twin brothers). Little did they know, things would not go that way.
The summer before their senior year in high school Chloe gets the chance to live out one of their dreams: go to Europe. Chloe's family gets to spend two weeks traveling all over Europe while Lindsay is forced to stay home in Las Vegas with her own family. No matter how much they begged neither of the girls could convince their parents to let Lindsay join them on the trip.
The night before Chloe leaves for the trip she and Lindsay get into a fight. Lindsay decided that she was finally ready to "go to Vegas" with a guy she works with., sleazy Chris Nolan. While Chloe has already "gone to Vegas" she doesn't think it is the right thing for Lindsay to do and especially not with Chris Nolan. After arguing it out the girls part ways angry and not speaking. That was the last time they ever saw each other.
SPOILER ALERT
After returning from a fabulous two weeks in Europe, Chloe finds out that while she was gone having the time of her life, Lindsay was losing hers. After a night out partying with Chris Nolan and his friends, Lindsay was kidnapped and her body was found two days later in a nearby dumpster. She had been murdered.
END OF SPOILER
Chloe can't seem to get over the shock and return to her life. She lives in constant fear that she or someone she loves will die. The only time she feels normal is when she is with Noah, Lindsay's older brother. She knows that if Lindsay were alive she would hate their budding relationship and so she ends it but she still can't forget about him or the way he makes her feel safe. She may not want to face it but Noah may be the only person who can help her face life head on and truly live.
I admit to having a little trouble getting into this book but once I actually focused on it alone I was blown away. Tara Altebrando's writing was so detailed and vivid I felt like I was drawn into the book. I could almost picture Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower or the Piazza San Marco.
I also admit to tearing up a little while reading this book. Chloe was such a likable character, I just couldn't help but feel her pain and her joy. This book earned everyone of the five stars that I gave it. It addresses such a real issue without making it into a huge downer. I think that any teen girl can benefit from reading this book!
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5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite this year, April 5, 2009
This review is from: What Happens Here (Paperback)
This book is another one of those books that are semi-known, but not really out there, buzz wise. The first time I heard about it was waaay back when Jordyn's Page Numbered blog still existed. I remember reading a glowing review of it and being mildly interested. That was probably a year ago. And now that I've finally gotten around to reading this book, I am super disappointed that I didn't do so sooner. Because it's completely fantastic.
I always like to save the best for last, so let's start out with the little thing that I wasn't too fond of; the relationships weren't hashed out enough for my tastes. The book just wasn't long enough or wordy enough to encompass and build all of the different relationships that needed to be built. Chloe's little thing with Daniel, her connection with her sister, and even her relationship with Lindsay just weren't deep enough. With Lindsay especially, I didn't get the sense that Chloe even had a reason to be connected to her. The only time we really got to see her was in the first chapter or two and in those chapters she and Chloe are fighting...we didn't get to see their supposed amazing relationship in action.
But really, other than that, I don't have any complaints. In fact, I was blown away. The writing and the voice of the main character, Chloe, was especially fantastic. She seemed like she was an actual girl with real, believable feelings and reactions. Which was the goal, I guess, but still. I felt like I knew her. And what made it even better, was that she reacted and behaved the exact same way I think I myself would've have acted in her situations which was cool.
Another thing that I adored about this book was how it was chick lit-ish but it also had a message which added a sense of purpose and meaning to a novel which, otherwise, would've seemed sort of inappropriately light-hearted. But the fluffy side of it satiated the trashy romantic in me. It covered every base, I think.
One thing I thought was interesting was how the first half of the book was kind of Cracked Up To Be -esque. It's this big flash back leading up to a mysterious key event that changes everything for the rest of the novel. At periodic points there were little teasers and narrations that revealed more and more of what happened. So in that way, the two books connected with each other. And I liked them both.
The big thing was that What Happens Here swept me away. I loved loved loved how fast-paced and clear it was. The situations were real and fascinating. The characters were well thought out and concisely portrayed. It's one of those books that sticks in your mind.
One of my favorites of the year. Read it.
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