Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Review: Holding on to Zoe by George Ella Lyon

Holding On to Zoe
Holding on to Zoe by George Ella Lyon
After sixteen-year-old Jules has her baby, Zoe, it doesn’t matter anymore that her mother thinks she’s a drama queen, or that her father left them years ago, or even that Zoe’s father is gone, too. She and her baby make a family now; she doesn’t need anyone else in the world except Zoe. Though it's tough being a new mom, balancing Zoe’s needs with working at the Toyota factory and thinking about how to finish school, Jules is sure she’ll figure it out. Still, she wonders, why can’t anyone be happy for her and Zoe? And why does her mom refuse to believe that Zoe's real?
Publishes July 17th 2012
Source: Netgalley

My Review:
     Well, I read this story in one sitting. But, it definitely was not what I thought it would be. I knew something was off a few chapters in, and I knew mostly where it was going. I think that I didn't pay as much attention to the last line of the summary or I probably would have been expecting more of what this book was about.
     This is not to say that I disliked this book, it was just kinda like getting a sip of sweet tea when you were expecting diet coke.
     Holding on to Zoe is also hard to review because I can't really say very much without giving away spoilers, and I don't want to do that.
     The character development was good, and Jules really evoked my sympathy. I felt for her love for Zoe, her pain that her mom is pushing her away and refuses to believe that Zoe is there.
     My problems are more of were coming from more of a medical perspective. I wanted more answers as to *why* and *how.* But I can also see that this is a book for teens and not everyone cares (read probably everyone except me?) about those questions from the medical sense, instead of just focusing on the world that was set up, what the character was going through and feeling and her journey to finding herself in the mess of what her life had become.
    This story is short but has lots of emotional issues.

Have you read many books where you were expecting one thing and got another?
What would you expect from this book based on description?
What do you think of this book and/or my review?
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3 comments:

  1. I have read a book where I thought one thing and it ended up being another. I wasn't a fan of Eve because of that. I;m not sure if Holding on to Zoe is for me either. Great review though!

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  2. If I had not read that very last sentence in the synopsis, I would have thought this was a book about a teen mom trying to make a good life for her child with no help. That last sentence completely threw me for a loop. I am not sure that I normally would have read this one, but I must admit to being curious. Very curious. I have read a few books that surprised me once I got going. It isn't a bad thing at all, but it can throw you off if your emotions were expecting happy tale, and then you get a creepy one. This one sounds like it may be like that. Geez, normally I hate spoilers but I really wish you had thrown me a bone with this one!

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