Sunday, August 25, 2013

REVIEW: TMI by PATTY BLOUNT

TMI Category/Genre: Young Adult Realistic Fiction
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: 8/6/13
Format: eARC
Pages: 336
Source: Received from publisher for review
Rating: 3 stars

Best friends don’t lie.
Best friends don’t ditch you for a guy.
Best friends don’t post your deepest, darkest secrets online.

Bailey’s falling head-over-high-heels for Ryder West, a mysterious gamer she met online. A guy she’s never met in person. Her best friend, Meg, doesn’t trust smooth-talking Ryder. He’s just a picture-less profile.

When Bailey starts blowing Meg off to spend more virtual quality time with her new crush, Meg decides it’s time to prove Ryder’s a phony.

But one stupid little secret posted online turns into a friendship-destroying feud to answer the question:

Who is Ryder West?
/



I'm going to start this by saying that I never had a truly healthy relationship with a best friend until a little over a year ago. In high school, my girlfriends and I were basically a train wreck most of the time. We weren't "bad", it was just drama. I would love to say I was completely innocent, but I had my moments. The reason why I'm sharing this in my review? TMI brought back some of the painful moments of friends and high school. It made me sad and it made me cringe. So I'm thinking the author probably did exactly what she set out to do.

I spent much of the first half wondering if TMI is the story of a girl who wants to much control and worries about her friend too much, or the story of the dangers of befriending people online. I guess it could be both, and I would like to think I'm fairly intelligent when it comes to themes, but I had a hard time pinning TMI down for a while.

At TMI's mid-point, the story picks up focus. It's a sad situation in which two girls with a lot of issues let emotions and hurt feelings take control, causing everything to spin out of control. I liked that I felt a sense of where the story was headed. And I hesitate at saying this, because I genuinely do believe an author should be able to tell their story, exactly the way they want, but I also must go with my feelings. I'm not saying TMI goes beyond the realm of possibility, but at times it felt like there was too much drama, too many intense and crazy scenarios for me to get completely on board. But then again, things have changed a lot since I was a teen, so maybe what happens isn't too much at all.

As for the characters, I often felt conflicted. Now, I know that Meg and Bailey made bad choices. And I may be waaaay beyond my teen years, but I remember what it's like to be a teen. I made bad choices, and I don't know any teen who didn't at least a few times. So with this in mind, I didn't read TMI with a notepad, chronicling every bad choice Meg and Bailey made. I tried to remain a bystander, and let them tell their story. (Now excuse me while I climb off my soapbox.)

Having said that, these girls were completely frustrating, especially Megan. And it's not that I can't see where she was coming from, but still, frustrating. I did adore Chase. The boy had the patience of a saint. I honestly left the story happy with how it ended up, but still scratching my head over how it all went down.

Honestly, I think this should be chalked up to me not being a perfect fit for TMI. The story had valuable lessons. As an adult, I have hindsight on my side. I think a teen's opinion on TMI would be invaluable. 
  

Favorite Quote:
 
  "Forget it. I'm done, Megan." He shook his head again. "I'm...I've given you time and space and...and--all the patience I could squeeze out, but shit! It's not enough. It's never enough."  
 ~eARC, 52%
 
Purchase TMI
          

About the author
Technical writer by day, fiction writer by night, Patty mines her day job for ideas to use in her novels. Her debut YA "Send" was born after a manager suggested she research social networks. Patty adores chocolate, her boys, and books, though not necessarily in that order.

Website Twitter
 
 

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19 comments:

  1. I have seen this book around and I can see that it deals with really serious issue. Only this is not really for me. It has too much drama for my taste. I mean I went through drama in high school but high schools here and high schools in US are two different worlds. That's why I often end up annoyed by drama in YA books. Great review :)

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  2. I rarely want to pick up something that has so much drama in it, especially HS one because I am soooo over it. Having graduated from HS 2 years ago, it's still fresh in my memory how teens can be and how everything is made into this big deal. Of course I was like that as well, but now, being a little more 'adult', I understand how un-necessary it all was. I don't think this is a book for me, but I do think it'd be a great read for teens. I'm glad you were able to somewhat enjoy yourself though. Lovely, thorough review, babe!

    (Now excuse me while I climb off my soapbox.) -- LOL!!!

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  3. I think I would have issues with this one. I had my share of drama in high school with friends too, but I don't remember any drama over a boyfriend. I also had the same boyfriend all through high school. I would have done a swift cunt punt on any one of my friends if they had gotten in the way of my relationship. lol I've been really lucky to have really good friendships, especially with my BFF *winks*, so it's usually hard for me to relate to these kinds of books. Sorry it didn't work for you, but it was a great review!

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  4. I've seen this one around a lot, but after reading your review I think I might not really connect to the story. Although realistic, teens who make one mistake after the other really bother me in books. Plus, I have a feeling that I would find the characters frustrating too. And there seems to be a lot of drama that would probably annoy me.
    It's a shame this didn't completely work for you because it does seem to spread a good message.
    Lovely honest review, Andrea!

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  5. Thanks for honest review. Seems very up and down as far as characters

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  6. Good review. The story does interest me so I might give it a try soon.

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  7. I try not to judge characters decisions, but sometimes it is just so difficult, especially when they are frustrating. Great review!

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  8. I love your honest review Andrea. Sometimes characters can be super frustrating and even teens may think so :) Just saying

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  9. This is an awesome review, Andrea. You did a great job explaining why this one didn't quite work for you. As a mom of two teenaged girls, I'm gonna agree with you that although things change, they stay the same. And this seems a little over the top, from what you're saying. However, it may be just the thing for a teen girl. :) Thanks so much for sharing!

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  10. Great review Andrea and sometimes, our knowledge can hinder our enjoyment, I think a teen perspective on this will share whether or not it missed its mark :)

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  11. I've heard the other book by this author is better than TMI, but I have yet to read either. Sounds like an important topic for the young adult crowd, but i'd probably get a bit frustrated by things too and I'm not that far from my teens. haha

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  12. I had bad experiences throughout my entire school years. I've had girls wipe dog shit on the water fountain I was drinking out of, bitches banged my boyfriends and fat jokes galore. This doesn't sound like my thing, glad I passed on it. Great review Birdie! I'm glad you have a healthy BFF relationship

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  13. Oh, interesting. I really like books that take some time to explore relationships between friends (why is that so rare in YA or adult books? I digress), so I think I might give this one a shot sometime. Sounds intriguing, despite your reservations. Thanks for the review, Andrea!

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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  14. This sounds interesting. It definitely seems like it keeps it real. Even with the frustrating characters I'm glad that you still could enjoy this. Great review babe!!

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  15. lol The characters really had you in a twist! They do sound frustrating, and even though this books seems to have its flaws I am very curious to see how the author handles the drama, and what the ending is like. And I'd like to meet Chase, even if it is just to witness his patience! lol ;p I'm glad you could still enjoy this even a little bit, despite your reservations. Great review, Andrea! :D

    ~ Maida
    Literary Love Affair 

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  16. Very Catfish!

    So who was Ryder West?

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  17. Hmmm...so I was thinking about reading this to see if it was a good one for my students but I'm thinking I'll pass now. Great review.

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  18. It did have a valuable lesson, but had the potential to be so much more. As is, I think it is more suited for younger readers. You did a great job with your review.

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  19. Great Review Andrea! I love hearing your thoughtful observations on this book. It sounds like the main characters were really frustrating, and I have trouble enjoying a story, when I can't connect with and/or don't like the characters.

    Lindy@ A Bookish Escape

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