Wednesday 5 September 2012

REVIEW:



The Jelly Bean Crisis

By Jolene Stockman


~ YA/Life/Realistic/Contemporary~

Paperback, 308 pages
Published August 1st 2012 by CreateSpace


***** out of 5 stars





The Blurb: (Via Goodreads)

A total meltdown. The whole school watching. Now Poppy’s an ex-straight-A with no Plan B.

When Poppy Johnson throws away a full scholarship to Columbia, she can only blame the jelly beans. The yucky green ones? Midnight cram sessions and Saturday’s spent studying. The delicious red? The family legacy: Columbia, and a future in finance. Except now it’s starting to look like Poppy’s jelly bean theory is wrong. School has been her life until, but maybe it’s time to start living now.

Poppy has thirty days to try a new life. No school, no studying. Just jumping into every possible world. Thirty days to find her passion, her path, and maybe even love. The Jelly Bean Crisis is officially on.


My Review:

I absolutely loved this book.

I first saw a review for "The Jelly Bean Crisis" on a book blog, I instantly fell in love with the cover and it got me reading the review. As soon as I got my Kindle it went straight on there!

And I wasn't disappointed.

Poppy thinks she has it all worked out. Or rather, it all seems to be mapped out for her. She has her friends, she is a straight A student and to top it off she wins herself a scholarship... That's when she has her melt down and we learn about the jelly bean theory...
We all have systems (especially when it comes to eating jelly beans right?!), Poppy's theory is: eat all the not-so-good ones first so you are left to eat the best ones at the end. This theory also seems to apply to her life. She is getting all the worst bits out of the way first; school, college, etc to get to the best part at the end... A career in finance.

But she starts to wonder who she is actually doing it for and if she will be happy.

Stockman's writing style was easy to get into and just seemed to be fluid. I quickly relaxed into the pace and really enjoyed getting to know the characters.
I think what makes the book so great is that the character Poppy is someone who many of us can identify with. At some point in our lives (and for some, it's something that stays with us) we all ask: Why am I here? What am I supposed to be doing with this life?

I thought Poppy's voice and character was believable and had me rooting for her all the way. The scary thing about this book, is how much you can relate to her. I kept finding myself nodding in agreement and determined to keep reading so I could see what she was to discover next.
As the story progressed, I also thought her character did too; she seemed to get stronger and a bit more 'gutsy'.
I particularly liked her grandmother; and I also liked the whiff of romance to the book - which wasn't overdone and was charming to follow alongside all the other events in the book.

Overall, the book is very well written, a believable and strong protagonist and a wonderful plot line.
It's a great read and I would recommend to anyone who would enjoy an inspirational read.
 

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