Customer Reviews

When I Was Older

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The publisher is sorely mistaken, I think, in placing this book in the 9-to-12 children's category; the story will hold at least as much interest for teenagers and their parents and grandparents as for younger readers. The tale is a timely one, full of nuance, and beautifully told. While simple enough to be understood by children, it works on many levels and will more than adequately reward readers of any age. I am 73 and male, and found it perfectly fascinating.

In this vibrant, engrossing novel, Sophie takes you on a tour of what it's like to be a teenager in the 21st century. Between swim practice and English essays there is trying to cope with family and friends and learning about what love is. Readers of all ages will be drawn in and unconciously given a dose of life medicine. Freymann-Weyr's grip on all of the angst and humor that comes with growing up hits the spot. I highly recommend this book.

Freymann-Weyr's "When I Was Older" is perceptive, lovely, & heart-stopping, a book both for young & not so young. The issues it dramatizes apply to everyone. The focus is on a young girl who faces & grows into early maturity: she must deal with the death of her brother, her own low self-esteem, her awareness of loss, her response to becoming herself an object of attraction to boys, & her new awareness of the complicated but ordinary world of her parents, including her father's affair. The narrative flows gracefully from the heroine's center of consciousness outward toward the world of real things & of other people. The writing is elegantly colloquial, sharply evocative. The dramatic situations are vividly realized. If there's anything wrong with the novel it's that it is too short. But that is a given of the genre, I suppose. And there's always, I hope, the possibility of a sequal.

I meant just to skim this book, but it grabbed me right with the first sentence, and then the story kept me locked in till I had read it all. It's a convincing and vivid look at a fifteen year old girl's struggle to take the problems of her life (death, divorce, swim team, boys -- you know the drill) seriously but with humor. A good, interesting, read.

This is a funny, moving, story that kept me reading till the last word, and then I didn't want it to end. The dialogue is so on target, and the feelings so real. I loved the whole idea of a girl growing into a person without having to give up what makes her different from the cookiecutter types on tv or in movies. I wanted to know more about Sophie, Francis, their families, and how they all sort themselves out.

A wonderful, moving book that is also funny and that can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. Freymann-Weyr's sensitive treatment of loss and memory will be with me for a long time.

Sophie Merdinger has accomplished the impossible: she made me wish I could be fifteen again- something I've spent a lot of time being happy I could never be forced to do. Sophie did not inspire this bizarre wish because her life looks like a walk in the park- quite the contrary. With tremendous humor, insight, and respect for the process people go through to become themselves, the author has captured all the really hard stuff that we find ourselves suddenly growing into around Sophie's age. For me, the magic in this book comes from the author's sense of balance. Freymann-Weyr conveys the very serious side of being Sophie: she is dealing with all the complicated relationships which can be brushed under the word "family," learning to live with a deep loss without losing her past or future self, and exploring the risks of liking a guy while trying to make sure she doesn't turn into a brain-dead girlfriend. Nevertheless, I found myself howling with laughter through much of the book. So much that happens, even right in the middle of a miserable moment, is hilarious because what Sophie says and thinks is wry, true, and honestly aware of her own and other's foibles. I loved reading this book and am planning to send a copy to a couple of friends who survived being fifteen with me.

This is the type of a book a teenager will keep, and re-read, for years to come. Sophie, the book's heroine, is a wonderfully drawn portrait of a young girl on the brink adulthood - with equal parts grace and temerity. She is humorous and intelligent while struggling to understand adult behavior, the "rules" of high school, and her own place in the world.

I bought this book for a friend's child and ended up reading it myself - and loving it. It's well-written, engaging, and funny. A rare find in the world of young adult literature. How nice to find a book for teenagers without serial murderers, rapists, or extra-terrestrials. (With all due respect to E.T.).

Sophie is a completely believable teenager. She has some of the best comeback lines which she thinks but doesn't say. But they're exactly what I would've thought too. I like that she has guy friends that she doesn't date and that she thinks about those quintessential teen obsessions such as time and death. Freymann-Weyr has captured the true voice of teens so much that I felt catapulted back to those years. And I could hardly believe that I wanted to turn the clock back. I can't wait for another book by this author!

Garret Freymann-Weyr gives us a fascinating and complex young lady in the character of Sophie. Sophie's insights and lack of them are both humorous and sad. She is wise beyond her fifteen years and yet often she is much younger. I could not put this book down as I was immediately enraptured by Sophie and the wonderful cast of characters who round out her life.

When I Was Older is certainly not limited to the young adult reader. Freymann-Weyr's smart and funny style will apeal to all ages.