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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
Talents and Loneliness
The Cantors were once a happy family, but now they are drifting apart. The mother and older daughter, Jilly, match, with their gleaming smiles and shiny blond hair. The father is often out of town on business, sending her postcards from other cities. The youngest daughter, Elisa, would rather be alone with her thoughts than gossiping with her classmates...
Published 17 months ago by Little Willow
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1 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
I'd skip it
I was so excited to read this, but I couldn't finish it. This book is clearly written by someone old who doesn't remember what it was like when she was young 700 years ago. And it's boring too.
I recommend picking another book to read!
Published 20 months ago by China China
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Courtesy of Teens Read Too, June 4, 2009
Having recently read NOTHING BUT GHOSTS, I was anxious to crack open another Beth Kephart novel. UNDERCOVER was her first novel, and I'm surprised I missed it. According to the cover, Kephart was a
"National Book Award Nominee" and a well-deserved one, I'd say.
Elisa has always viewed herself as more of her father's daughter. Her sister, Jilly, and her mother share a passion for make-up and fashion. They are always dressed in perfectly matched colors with every hair in place. Elisa, on the other hand, has perpetually wild hair and could care less about clothes and colors. Her passion lies in words and nature.
The only person who understands Elisa is suddenly missing from her life. Her father shares her interest in words and literature, but his extended business trip is keeping him from home. At least that's the excuse Elisa imagines as she tries to keep him up-to-date with letters sent to distant San Francisco. As the days and weeks pass, it's becoming more obvious that his business travel may be a side-effect of trouble in her parents' marriage.
Elisa has previously accepted her backseat in life. At home she watches her mother and sister parade, and at school she uses her talent for poetry to ghost-write inspirational love poems for her male classmates to use as they court girls that don't even know Elisa exists. All this has been satisfying enough until she met Theo.
Theo gladly accepts Elisa's poem offerings because he's head-over-heels in love with Lila. Without Elisa's words, he knows he wouldn't have a chance. He shows his appreciation by developing a friendship with Elisa, but that friendship sparks something in her she never felt before.
With her father absent and conflicting feelings about Theo filling her thoughts, Elisa seeks peace by grabbing a pair of her mother's old ice skates and escapes to the hidden ice of a secluded pond. The freedom she feels as she imagines beautiful music and teaches herself to skate helps her cope with the twisting emotions that have suddenly invaded her life.
Readers will be immediately captivated by Kephart's smooth and lyrical prose. Her words and story flow as cleanly and easily as Elisa's skates on the pond. UNDERCOVER portrays Elisa's struggle to deal with insecurities and push herself to achieve what those around her know she is capable of achieving. Teens will easily relate to her desire to fit in both at home and at school, yet not compromise her own personal spirit and view.
Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"
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Poetic and beautiful...don't miss this one!!, June 4, 2009
This book is absolutely lovely. The words contained within these pages are poetic and I guess they're meant to be right? Because Elisa has a way with words, in fact, she hides behind the words that she writes. Kephart hit a home run with her first foray into YA fiction. There is so much going on underneath the facade of Elisa. She lets her guard down when she's writing for others and when she writes for herself. The poetry in this book is wonderful. At times in my life I've been intimidated by poetry, felt that I never quite got the gist of the author's meaning. Not so here. I was moved by the writing in this book so much that this book is going on my list of favorite YA books ever...!!! I'm so grateful to Lenore at Presenting Lenore for reviewing Undercover a while back. If I hadn't read that review I would've missed out on this gem. That makes me sad...this book was published in 2007, so why haven't I heard about it? And for that reason alone I'm so glad that I belong to a group of book lovers who are so passionate about what we read and are so willing to share it with others. Because without blogs some truly wonderful books may remain unread and we can't let that happen, can we? If you're new to the YA genre and are looking for a good first book then look no further......Undercover is one you should add to your list, I promise that you will not be disappointed!!
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A discreet story..., March 13, 2009
Taken by the premise (I'm always looking for new literature that obviously takes from "classics") and the author's reputation, I decided to give this book a chance. I'm glad I did. The story follows Cyrano de Bergerac's desire to help others with love and heartache ensues. What makes this story so wonderful lies in the poetic nature of the writing style. It is a warm book, even through the winter setting, that grabs your heart. Well done.
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Well written, February 11, 2009
I really enjoyed this read. i thought it was very well written and helped open my eyes to the power of words in general. thank you so much for writing something that was clean and fun.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
From J. Kaye's Book Blog, November 2, 2008
Undercover is about a girl named Elisa, who is very good at poetry. She is so good that boys will ask her to write a poem for the girl that they like. Her best friend Theo asked her to write a poem for Lila, who happens to be the most popular girl in her school. She is beautiful. When Elisa starts writing the poem she realizes that she likes Theo. When Lila finds out, she threatens Elisa and tells her to stay away from Theo. You'll have to read to find out what happens next.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Beautifully Written, September 21, 2008
Like a modern-day Cyrano de Bergerac, Elisa ghostwrites love notes for the boys in her school. But when Elisa falls for Theo Moses, things change fast. Theo asks for verses to court the lovely Lila--a girl known for her beauty, her popularity, and a cutting ability to remind Elisa that she has none of these. At home, Elisa's father, the one person she feels understands her, has left on an extended business trip. As the days grow shorter, Elisa worries that the increasingly urgent letters she sends her father won't bring him home. Like the undercover agent she feels she has become, Elisa retreats to a pond in the woods, where her talent for ice-skating gives her the confidence to come out from under cover and take center stage. But when Lila becomes jealous of Theo's friendship with Elisa, her revenge nearly destroys Elisa's ice-skating dreams and her plan to reunite her family.
Beth Kephart's debut is so beautifully written and her writing is so descriptive that you can see the book in your head like a movie. Elisa was a memorable character who has a unique way of seeing times.She was easy to relate to and was funny at times. The book was moving and it really captures your attention.You feel like the characters in the book could be people you go to school with. The poetry in the story, Elisa's great voice,and the amazing imagery will make it hard for readers to put this book down. I eagerly await Beth Kephart's future releases.
-Carol
www.bookluver-carol.blogspot.com
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Poetic and realistic, September 17, 2008
If UNDERCOVER were a movie, I would say it's a slice of life story. You both start and end in the middle of things, but it's still satisfying. Intelligent Elisa may not be conventionally pretty, but she walks in a world of beauty. She appreciates the outdoors and uses the nature around her to inspire poetry. In turn she gives this poetry to male classmates to aid them in attracting the girls they like. The person who taught her to pay such attention to nature, her father, is away in San Francisco. Her parents' marriage might be falling apart.
Elisa's at a crucial point in discovering who she is, but she's floundering. She's closer to her father and her sister is closer to their mother, but now her father isn't readily available. Her crush Theo is dating the possessive Lila, whom Elisa helped Theo woo. Luckily, she discovers those close to her are allies even when their relationships are strained. She's also encouraged by her English teacher, Dr. Charmin, who recognizes the potential in Elisa's poems.
As with any good slice of life story, UNDERCOVER works because reader's can see elements of their own life in Elisa's, even when the two diverge. I used to skate, although never outdoors and never over a permanently drowning girl. (I do live in Texas. Outdoor ice skating just doesn't work.) During my parents' divorce, my mother used skating to deal with her emotions. The scenes of Elisa skating on the pond, which are numerous, resonate with my own experience.
Likewise, I never had a teacher quite like Dr. Charmin. But I did have wonderful English teachers. I remember reading poetry and plays aloud in class. Of course, the only emotions I was ever overcome by were embarrasment and humor. (Deimyts and I read the two main characters of WAITING FOR GODOT. My character started asking his whether he ever hung himself, because it would give him a boner. Very startling. We also read two characters in a shorter Polish play titled THE UNVEILING. His character began to show another character how to properly seduce a woman - my character. This is the sort of stuff you need to be prepared for! These lines creep up on you!)
One of my biggest quibbles with most books set in high schools is the fact they never seem like any high school I ever attended. But Beth Kephart writes characters I could see myself knowing, in situations I could see happening. And she does it with beautiful language. Elisa's voice has a steady flow and Kephart uses elegant imagery. I hope UNDERCOVER not only pulls readers into Elisa's world, but pushes her world out into theirs and encourages them to read some of the prose and poetry mentioned within the story. (Believe me, it's worth reading.)
From In Bed With Books
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
One of my faves!, July 3, 2008
The book Undercover by Beth Kephart is a moving, lyrical story. It centers on Elisa, a teen girl who writes love poems for the boys at her school to give to other girls. Elisa is truly undercover at her school, having no friends or social connections. This all changes when she writes a poem for Theo Moses. Over time, Theo becomes her confidante and true friend. Elisa falls in love with him but Theo is dating Lila, the resident mean girl. In the midst of the love triangle, the reader gets to know Elisa through her poems, her skating, and her family. The most important thing about the book is not if Elisa will finally get Theo, it's if Elisa will finally break out of her shell, show her true self. In the end, Elisa gloriously breaks free of her constraints and finds the happiness she deserves.
This book reads like a song or poem. Kephart uses all five senses and then some to describe Elisa's world. You simply do not read this book, you fall into it. As I read the pages, I could actually hear Elisa's blades on the ice and the sounds of the forest. The story is very simple, yet Kephart's use of descriptions makes it complex and definitely a stand-out in the world of teen fiction. I highly recommend this book!
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This may impact the way you look at the world...I hope!, February 28, 2008
Undercover by Beth Kephart is a book that may impact the way we all look at the world....an old abandoned pond that found a new friend in a young girl looking for her special place. Poems written for the loves of others. A friend in Theo....a true friend. A teacher that sees beyond and reaches far into the words of a young student. Thank you Beth Kephart for writing this most inspirational novel.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Amazing!, January 29, 2008
I love this book so much! It has such imagination and passion, and it is about a teenager who finds herself in the same spot at Cyrano de Bergerac! A lovely book with no swearing, violence, or sex. Perfect read for pretty much anyone!
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