Aimee FriedmanReviews

"It was easy to go a little mad out on the ocean, I thought, with no specific chart or guide other than the sky. But madness could be lovely sometimes."

Meh. This one was just okay. While I agree there aren't many mermaid stories and there need to be more, I wasn't a fan of how light and fluffy this one is. and probably most frustrating is you close the book still with huge unanswered questions.

it felt dreamy without the fun of a real, flushed out world. it was less about merfolk lore and more about getting a crush.

This one surprised me a little, in that it barely had anything to do with mermaids. Seriously, next to nothing. Other than the protagonist terrifying herself with a book of legends, that is it on the finned folk. Still a decent bubblegum fluffy read, though.

Romance

Selkies! One of my favorite legends growing up was about Selkie Maidens--they were always up there with mermaids and sea monsters for things I had to look for whenever I was at the shore (never mind I lived in NJ). And Sea Change manages to preserve the mystery of those mythical creatures quite well. We're not told, one way or the other, the truth behind the legend so like Miranda we can only guess based upon circumstantial evidence and our own fanciful thinking. It doesn't help that everything she imagines about Leo can easily be explained in a totally not mythical way--she's a scientist after all, so logical explanations for previously mysterious things should be first nature to her.

There's a sense of wonder to the book--not just because of the legend and the island itself, but about the society that Miranda suddenly finds herself in. These are not the type of people she is used to being around--these teens who act like they are college students and not in high school and who's parents are proud of such things as being able to hold their liquor at fifteen better then their friends. Miranda can logically explain away the occurrences with Leo, but understanding the signals and wordplay that CeeCee and her friends engage in...well that's a whole new science in and of itself.

The Selkie legend is more of an undercurrent to the story, then the actual driving force. Its always brewing in the back of Miranda's mind, but between her mother's shift in behavior (her sensible mother begins to act just like all the other society's ladies), her own pain over what happened with her first boyfriend and the attraction she feels for Leo, she is understandably distracted from obsessing over the matter. The narrative gives a good feeling of the frustrations she feels, the irritation she tries to keep contained and the growing separation she feels from her mother.

Some of the book took a bit too long to occur--Miranda's questioning Leo, the showdown she has with her mom--while others occurred quickly and were gone just as quickly. Also aside from CeeCee none of the other Summer Kids are given much depth. CeeCee fills Miranda in that squares them out a little bit, but overall I was left with a distinctly shallow impression and a need to shake them. CeeCee grows up a little bit, proves herself better then her original appearance predicted at least.

Leo...oh gosh Leo is kind of perfect. Not in the 'he has no flaws at all' way, but in the 'every teen girl wants one' sort of way. He listens, he cares, he gives Miranda thoughtful gifts, talks about their problems, is sweet, and saves her...I mean if you ignore his total evasiveness in regards to his family, where he goes when Miranda doesn't see him, how he just 'appears' when she needs him, his stubbornness about night time swims...he's the perfect summer guy.

Miranda is very mature for her age, but I couldn't tell if that's the product of being a scientist and keeping tight control on her feelings or if she is just that way. She remarks a few times that her older brother was the one who did all the wild stunts and she is happy to be the 'good' child. As we only have a two line conversation between her brother and her on the phone to go by, I can't say what that means. Pretty much her father and brother are non-entities as far as the book is concerned--they're off in California, and thus mentioned but not elaborated upon.

The ending is a left to interpretation. It depends on if you are a glass is half-empty or a glass is half-full sort of person on how you take it. Personally I'm a glass is half-full sort of gal when it comes to my romances, so hope blooms eternal for me.

Did you ever see the movie Sliding Doors starrring Gwyneth Paltrow? It’s the story of a woman who loses her job, and what happens next is actually two stories, two parallel universes, based on which decision she makes. This is what happens in Two Summers by Aimee Friedman. Summer Everett is planning to spend her summer with her father in the south of France, leaving her small New York town, her best friend Ruby and her bumpy relationship with mom behind. Summer has mixed feelings about this trip since her dad pretty much abandoned the family years ago, and her mom keeps trying to convince her it’s not such a good idea. The storm with lightning flashing and thunder booming along with the cell phone buzzing with “unknown caller” is our critical moment - will she or won’t she go? And, her cell phone dies.

If/when she goes, she arrives in Paris, and finds that dad isn’t there to meet her. It seems he was the unknown caller, suggesting they postpone this trip as his art/work has him away for a period of time. After cabbing it to his home she discovers that there’s no dad there either, but a woman and her incredibly hostile daughter. She settles in and begins to explore this beautiful town, meets a cute boy, starts a romance, and begins to uncover who she really is and what her father has been hiding from her.

If/when she stays, things aren’t just like always. Her best friend Ruby is becoming friends with the awful Skye, who has always put Summer down. It seems Ruby has a crush on Austin, one of Skye’s inner circle, and that Ruby, while she loves Summer, feels constrained by the limits of their close friendship. Summer begins a photography course at the local college with her aunt, and ends up working on a project with Hugh, her secret crush from, like, forever! She explores her hometown, hangs with the cute Hugh to maybe start a romance, and begins to uncover who she really is and what her father has been hiding from her.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, although there are some things the author could have improved on. In the beginning, Summer is depicted as overly anxious, yet this doesn’t carry through the book (and what overly anxious teen would let her cell phone battery die?) The intro of the book is too quick - we need a bit more on who our main character is, and as a result it takes a while to develope empathy for Summer. Other than that, a great read for fans of teen coming-of-age and romances, appropriate for middle and high school readers.

"Two Summers" brings to mind certain words, like charming and quaint. The descriptions are vivid and certainly make you want to visit Provence. I felt there was just enough french to draw and keep the interest of my own twelve year old niece who is current taking French. I found myself wanting Summer to find that first love, to have the experience of enjoying turning sixteen. The tears and drama with her mother was all familiar territory perhaps because I am an aunty with a niece turning sixteen on the Fourth of July also. I feel that it was not written to answer "what if" but to explore the possibilities.

It's a delightful summer read with an adequate share of the hard stuff a sixteen year old to would endure.

This was very well done, I was really surprised at how much I liked it. It could have degraded into some type of choose your own adventure story, but instead, the story of the two Summers, both in season and in name, did read convincingly and true, with an ambiguous enough ending to leave the reader wondering which summer should have occurred. What a fun gem to run across at the library.

Summer Everett can have two different summers (cute play on words???) depending on which path she chooses. She is at the airport waiting to board a plane to France to visit her father, a prominent artist, for the summer. (Her parents are divorced, as you may gather.) Her cell phone rings, the display showing ‘caller unknown’. Should she answer?

Her mother, a college professor of philosophy, often expounded on the theory of alternate universes where another version of yourself is living an alternate version of your life, as mother and daughter sit on their front porch in tiny Hudsonville, NY gazing at the stars. A firm believer in the ‘what if’ theory, what if it’s an omen?, Summer is unsure what to do–ignore the call or answer it knowing that doing so will force her to miss her plane. Two Summers explores the alternatives.

This summer is supposed to be the summer of love for Summer and her best friend, Ruby. Almost sweet sixteen and never been kissed, the shy Summer hopes to rectify the situation. Will she find love this summer and, if so, where?

Given the above, what can you deduce? First, love is in the air somewhere. Where and when it will arrive and for how long it will last is one reason to read Two Summers by Aimee Friedman. Secondly, you know Summer is going to go through a major life change, have an epiphany this summer. What it is is the second reason to read Two Summers.

Two Summer proves that a book that is reasonably predictable is still enjoyable. Come on, we’ve all read books with alternative actions–should I do this or should I do that? (Think Just Like Fate by Cat Patrick and Suzanne Young, which has the same chick-lit feel) And just because we have a fairly good idea of the ending, doesn’t make the trip any less enjoyable.

Yes, I did say chick-lit before. If you prefer the term ‘beach read’, that captures the spirit equally well. If you’d like a light-hearted romp through France or a closer to home tale of friendship, family and love, I’d recommend Two Summers this summer.

Great "summer beach" read (though I obviously couldn't wait until summer to read it). It's an interesting concept, kind of exploring the idea of "fate" while keeping it light enough for the YA audience. I enjoyed this one - including the end. I was curious how that would go, considering the way the book is written, and was satisfied with the wrap-up, which kept it ambiguous enough that it could really apply to either "what if" scenario.

Mermaid lore is revisited in "Sea Change", except this time with a little twist. Instead of the mermaid seeking her prince we're given a "normal" human girl falling for a fish. Friedman's mermaid tale is a lovely take on the whole forbidden love genre. The characters are perfectly painted teens, going through their angst riddled struggles with aplomb. Instead of a loopy heroine we're given the very grounded and logical Miranda, a refreshing voice to carry throughout the story. In true "coming-of-age" fashion, Miranda must be pulled out of her comfort zone and effectively changed by her circumstances. The queen of science is thrown into a world of supernatural mystery, effectively woven by the capable Friedman.
Even though I was already aching for a sequel to pick up immediately after, the ending is the perfect bittersweet companion to a realistically rendered Once Upon a Time.

This book is worth almost a 2.5, so I rounded it down.

Katie and Michaela Walker are sisters enrolled in a serious dance school in NYC when Katie learns that they are moving to a small town. While this book is written in the first person of Katie, it deals with how the girls adjust to a life totally different than what they have grown up with.

It is a completely forgettable story.

***WARNING: This is not a book I particularly recommend, so this review contains spoilers. If you do want to read this book you are more than welcome to come back when you’ve finished and compare notes! Basically it’s all up to you, but you’ve been warned about spoilers in this review! Okay…. that’s enough rambling… On to the review.***

This book was a disappointment, but then again when I started reading it I wasn’t expecting something all that great. I think this is definitely a read for younger preteens. I feel like they would find it a lot more interesting and deeper than I did. If I read it when I bought it (which was a LONG time ago) maybe I would have liked it……. Welllllll…. actually probably not :|

The Year My Sister Got Lucky tells the story of two city girl sisters, Michaela and Katie, who move from New York City to a small town when their mom gets a new job. Katie has difficulty accepting the change and longs for her old life. On the other hand, Michaela fits in beautifully with the popular kids, gets a handsome quarterback boyfriend, and becomes Homecoming Queen. These changes in their lives cause a rift to form between the two sisters and that’s pretty much it.

This book had a promising start with the description of Katie and Michaela’s life in the city and how they were serious dancers studying ballet. I love New York so whenever I read about it I will usually get completely enraptured. I love to imagine what it would be like to live there and this book portrayed a really good picture of life in the city.

HOWEVER, once I really got to know the characters I realized something… I did not like either one of these girls! Katie was a naive and selfish 14 year-old, and 17 year-old Michaela came off as an ungrateful bitch. Sounds harsh, but it’s true! The first time this smacked me in the face was when this little exchange happened:

“‘Katie,’ she says. ‘You’re my other half. My sister. The closest person in the world to me.’

‘Same here,’ I say softening as I smile through my tears […]

‘And you’ll always be my sister,’ Michaela goes on. ‘But… you’re not my friend.'”

Ummmmm…. What?!? Why would you say something like that? Not only does she contradict herself with first saying that Katie her other half and that they’re so close, but she also contradicts what we have seen of her character so far. Sure, we are seeing things through Katie’s naive and biased eyes, but up until then we had NO reason to think that Michaela didn’t value their friendship as much as Katie did. Once they move Michaela completely shuns Katie and cuts her out of her life. Very mean indeed. Michaela also becomes unbelievably annoying. She calls people “babe” (gag) and becomes a stupid girl who will give it up to the first quarterback that comes swaggering on by. There is also an air of “poor little rich girl” surrounding Michaela, although their family is not wealthy. Sure, she is put under enormous amounts of pressure from her mother to become a professional ballerina, BUT she admitted that she loves dancing, she is privileged enough to be trained at a prestigious ballet school and she’s got a true shot at Juilliard. But the moment that dancing becomes “work” she wants to give up and go to a community college. OKAY.

Katie’s naivety also got on my nerves because it really didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on. First of all the shock that she had when seeing her sister interact with other people made me want to smack her in the face. *GASP* Your sister knows how to talk to guys?!? Really? Your sister is putting on jeans and makeup and hangs out with friends? What is so shocking about all of this? This aspect of Katie’s character goes hand in hand with her complete inability to talk to people and how rude she is.
Exhibit A: a cute boy named Sullivan talks to her and helps her up when she trips. What does Katie do? She doesn’t say anything and just WALKS AWAY.
Exhibit B: Soon-to-be-friend Autumn is the only nice person to her on her first day of school and asks her if she wants to walk to class together. She says no and WALKS AWAY. Needless to say it’s not hard to see why Katie isn’t adjusting to her new home.

Two other little notes:
1.The parents. I didn’t understand why Michaela felt she needed to keep EVERYTHING from her parents, namely the fact that she had a boyfriend. Yeah, her mom is controlling, but I never got the impression she’d be opposed to her daughters having a love life. As long as they weren’t distracted too much from dancing.
2. Of course when Katie and Michaela return to the city after 3 months Katie realizes the city isn’t as perfect as she remembered it was and somewhat longs for her quieter town and new friends. Please. You spent your entire life in New York with your friends and all it takes is 3 months in the country for you to decide that it’s actually horrible? Take it from a girl who’s moved A LOT. It doesn’t work that way.

The last thing I want to complain about in this book was the feeling that the strings were not completely tied tight enough for my taste. It’s not an open ending or anything like that, but all the little things that were running throughout the novel get solved in the most anti-climactic way possible. Here is a list of all these unsatisfying solutions.

Katie likes a boy named Jasper. It’s obvious he kind of likes her too. How does is end? “Maybe we could go skating sometime.” “Yeah, maybe” BYE. SEE YA LATER.
Cute possibility of a relationship between Katie’s neighbour, Emmaline and her gym teacher. Does anything come of it? NOPE.

PHEW. So after ALL of that you may be wondering why I didn’t just give this book one star and be done with it. The truth is there were a couple things I did like about this book. First, it was extremely readable and it didn’t take me long to finish it. Secondly I did enjoy the character of Emmaline. Emmaline is a young yoga instructor who has travelled a lot and becomes a sort of confidant for Katie. I wish her character was a little more developed and interacted with Katie a little more, but I did really like her. She was the most relatable character in the book for me, even though we don’t really find out all that much about her, and when we do get a little snippet of her history it’s in the last 10 pages…

Finally I already mentioned that I loved the parts of the book that were set in New York. Just the image of ballerinas studying and performing in New York City, living in an apartment in the East Village, ordering Chinese food, and hurrying to catch the subway appealed to my daydream of living as a young woman in the Big Apple. Loved it!

So to end this incredibly long review, I wouldn’t really recommend this book to anyone over the age of 13. Even so I wouldn’t really recommend this to anyone. If you do want to read it, there are some great reviews on Goodreads, but the only thing I can say is that it’s a quick read so thankfully it won’t take you long to get it over with.

Sea Change by Aimee Friedman is a young adult paranormal romance that draws on the legends of the selkie. Miranda and her mother have moved to Selkie island to the ancestral home.

Miranda is thrust into a society built on generations of tradition and a rigid class structure. She is expected to understand. Except, she doesn't, but it's apparent that her mother does and for reasons she keeps to herself, she doesn't readily share them with Miranda.

Into this mix is the handsome outcast, Leo. Rumor has it that he's a selkie. To make all of this work, Miranda must learn the island's history and her family's dark secrets.

This book was amazing! I was in the library, and saw the cover. I took it off the shelf and read the back. I decided to read it, and I'm glad I did. This book was so good! I love how two ex friends come together and spend time together again. This series needs to be more popular!

This was a good book to read while at poolside and I found it hard to put down. Didn't expect the end though which was good. Quick read and a change of writing for myself.

A quick read into highschool drama (sans the prom queen part) - story of trials and tribulations of friendship of 4 teenage girls. Just wanted to check what Aimee Friedman is upto. Interesting stuff without any corniness.

The story of a junior year in the lives of four friends at a fine arts high school, this doesn't break any particularly new ground, but it does what it does well. I thought the art was well-suited to the story and interesting without being distracting. Some of the dialogue seemed a little mature for most of the adults I know, let alone teenagers, but it's still an honest look at the problems many teenage girls face.

Library Summary: "When her estranged grandmother dies and leaves her mother the family home on Selkie Island, seventeen-year-old Miranda meets her mother on the Georgia island, where she discovers mysterious family secrets and another side to her logical, science-loving self."

When I first saw the cover of this book, I thought "Well this looks interesting." So I put a hold on it at the library, got it, read it, and all I can say is...

OMG! I LOVE THIS BOOK! IT IS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN!!!!!!!

I was so drawn into this book that I read the whole thing in one day! I love the romance and the mystery surrounding the plot. I also like that Miranda did not believe in the "sea serpents" until she thought that Leo was one.

I recommend this to all people who like paranormal romance.½

Aimee Friedman's SEA CHANGE is a quintessential summer beach read that features a big mystery and a dash of romance.

I have mixed feelings regarding Miranda, the main character. At times, I found her actions to be inconsistent and unwarranted, but, then again, she is only 16 and there's a lot going on in her life. The fact that Miranda has a scientific mind was a breath of fresh air. I love when my main characters are bookworms, but it was nice change. I think that Miranda's actions and attitude towards events and people would have been much different if she had been a reader and romantic like so many YA main characters are.

A good summer read always has a love story, so it's no surprise when Miranda meets, and falls for, the mysterious Leo. There is a bit of a love triangle and, while I think it was necessary for Miranda's growth, I felt for Leo. I felt like Miranda was silly for even considering someone other than Leo, but I think it made her face truths she would have avoided otherwise.

It's difficult for me to determine where SEA CHANGE belongs in the YA genre. It does have supernatural elements, so it isn't really contemporary fiction, but the supernatural elements, to be honest, aren't very prominent. There are hints of something mystical occuring, but it wasn't explored as much as I would have liked. For this reason, I think SEA CHANGE would definitely appeal to readers who are hesistant to read supernatural YA, but those who want a novel with strong supernatural elements may want to look elsewhere.

This book is very well-written, but it's billed as a paranormal YA novel when there is really nothing paranormal about the book. There is the mystery that surrounds the island. The mystery of Leo. Is he or isn't he? But we never once delve into the paranormal world. This is a love story. That's it. Girl meets boy during summer break, conflict ensues. Except girl meets boy on an island that may or may not be inhabited by merfolk.

I envision it happening like a screenplay pitching session where the writer tells them her idea for a contemporary YA about a girl falling in love and the producer's like, "I like, kid. I do. But what if there were mermaids". It feels forced, not like it's a natural part of the storyline. Almost as if the paranormal aspect is a gimmick to fit a trend.

In fact, the belief that Leo may be a merman is never once an issue for Miranda. Her issues instead stem from her relationship with her mother, her parent's divorce, and a failed relationship with her first boyfriend.

I love the cover. I love the premise. There's a lot of talk about the mystery of the island and its inhabitants, but nothing happens. In the end this was a story that set up a lot of mystery, yet somehow failed to solve any of it. It left gaping holes that only a sequel or an epilogue can fill. In fact, I found myself flipping through the last pages (a preview of another of the author's books) thinking that I must have missed something.

Did I like it? Yes. Did I love it? No. To be honest I probably won't even remember I read it a few months from now. Had it however been a paranormal romance as promised and answered the questions posed in the beginning, I probably would have loved it.

I got this book out of the library because it was by one of my many favorite authors, Aimee Friedman. But I can't say this book was something that I "really liked". Some things disturbed me-a lot. But it was nice that the graphics showed life of normal girls in good detail. The characters were great here(even though I mostly didn't agree with all of them). But that didn't pull me into the story mostly because the plot was very annoying. I thought from the covers, "Breaking Up", that it was going to be this romantic gooey story and I wouldn't have minded, but some of the girls actions were mindless and foolish, something I'd never do in my life. I was very dissapointed with this book and it lowered my "respect" bar for Aimee Friedman. There was really too much making out for a graphic novel,and I'm not a freak, I even liked her "Sea Change" because 1) it was well written, 2) the story was pretty awesome, and 3)even though there were kissing scenes she didn't make it into a big deal like in this book for example. The story was obviously more important to her in Sea Change, but here I don't even remember what the story was, I think she thought about putting in some trashy stuff and sealing the envelope to make some money. Not to mension that it goes against everything that I believe in,...It's fine, it's not like I hate her forever because of it but I wouldn't recommend.

Beautiful novel, by Aimee Friedman (after reading Breaking Up, I read this, and was pleasently surprised) that I don't think I'll ever forget:

Characters:
Micheala and Katie were both great characters, but I couldn't really relate to Katie, I felt kind of trapped with her, if you know what I mean. I didn't feel that the pain she felt was because of Micheala's behavior towards her, I think that rather, she was a tinsy bit jealous of her sister. How she watched Micheala say goodbye to her boyfriend and kiss him from the window, it showed that her thoughts were a little mixed up- I mean- all the time she was trying very hard Not to fit in, which I didn't really understand. While her sister, only tried her best- and succeeded, instead of mourning about the move. I'm not trying to be mean or anything, I'm just saying that I didn't understand Katie that much,if she wanted to fit in she had to work for it, but nonetheless she was a very good character in this book. The closeness between the two sisters was shown very well, too.

Plot:
Great plot, I loved every bit of it and it moved forward with every page turn, which wasn't surprising- knowing that Aimee Friedman is the author :)) It was well developed and thought out, especially the beginning in the NY, but I was dissapointed she didn't keep it up till the end, after the move. I wanted to know more about the new place and I would have liked to have seen more description about it too. Otherwise, it was a very good plot!

Writing:
Again, a little more descriprion would've been nice. I would have loved to see more adjectives here, and a little more description of how the main characters looked would have been appriciated too :)Though, I know, Aimee's style is kind of like that, I don't want it to become a poor vocabulary. As I said before, in the plot, it would have been better if she had kept the writing from the beginning, at the rest of the book, too :)

I would recommend to Aimee Friedman fans :)

Somehow, I'd gotten the wrong idea of what this book was going to be about.Once I was willing to let it be the book it is, rather than the one I was expecting, I enjoyed it, particularly the characters.I felt that Katie and her sister Michaela were both very real while I was reading the book. They each had their strengths and their challenges. Since the reader sees the events and interactions from Katie's point of view, it's easier to understand her attitudes, and do understand the path she takes in learning about herself and growing.I (as an adult) enjoyed reading this book, I think its _target audience will as well.

Usually when I say "wow" in regards to a book, it's because I am so amazed by it. NOT the case in this book. When I say "wow" it's because I can't believe this book was so terrible.There was so much potential for this to be something great, because it is clear the author is capable of writing by her descriptions of the island, the water, etc. However, the author was unable to carry her descriptive writing ability into making the plot even half way decent. In order to be halfway decent, there has to be at least some plot!The whole deal with Leo and Miranda came off as rushed and fake. I didn't buy their instant attachment at all! There was no connection or chemistry. In addition, I found all the characters to be phony. Miranda kept going on and on about how she wasn't that girl who just goes boy crazy and starts making out with a guy. Umm...news flash! Either you are that girl or you aren't, and when you start making out with some guy before you even know his full name, you are that girl. I also didn't buy the mother/daughter relationship that was put out there, or the friendships that were supposed to be budding.Not to mention that this book has no conclusion. It never answers any questions raised by the feeble attempt at a plot. All in all, a complete waste, which is unfortunate, because I would much rather have read a good mermaid book!

I really really liked this book. I was a little disapointed on how it ended, and I don't know if it is in a series or not (I really hope they wouldn't end a book not a series like that), but I really liked Miranda and loved Leo. I really hope this is a series because I really want to continue the story.