Book Review: Artichokes Heart by Suzanne Supplee

Here comes book review number nine of my 30 Day Book Challenge which has gone a little over 30 days! I forgot how crazy this time of year can become! Just a brief review this time, taken from Amazon - don't really have the time right now to write a proper one! :(

 

Cursed with the nickname “the Artichoke” after wearing an ill-chosen green jacket to school way back in sixth grade, Rosemary continues to cope with the cool kids’ disdain by making food her friend. It’s a treacherous ally, though, and when she tops 200 pounds, she decides to make radical changes and begins to lose some serious weight. Then, Rosemary discovers that an A-list girl wants to befriend her, the boy she adores returns her feelings, and (most incredible of all) her mother has cancer. Rosemary’s wry first-person narration deftly portrays characters in her single-parent family, her high school, her mother’s beauty salon, and her Tennessee town.

 

Jolted by fears of losing her mother, Rosemary begins to look beyond her previous preoccupations to see other people’s vulnerabilities as well as their more evident flaws. In her first novel, Supplee brings a cast of original characters to life in this convincing and consistently entertaining narrative.

 

While I enjoyed this book;  I'm not as enamoured with it as I was with one of Supplee's later titles- Somebody Everybody Listens To.

 

I'm looking forward to finishing this challenge- though it has been fun!

 

Next ( and last) review coming shortly

 

Julia :)

Book Review- Somebody Everybody Listens To

Hellloooo Nashville and sweet southern charm! I loved this easy yet poignant read by Suzanne Supplee. This book follows singer Retta-Lee Jones & her dreams. Retta lives in a small southern town in America. She longs to get away and follow her dream of becoming a famous singer but feels guilty because of her struggling parents. 

 Before reading this novel, I'd picked it up numerous times but always ended up leaving it on the shelf because I thought it wasn't going to have enough meaning to it. You know; girl leaves hometown, moves to Nashville, struggles away, falls in love, becomes famous, live happily ever after etc etc.
I was pleasantly surprised by Supplee's writing. While the book mostly follows the above plot summary it does so with grace, grit and a spectacular ending. 

Supplee has done a superb job of making the reader feel a connection and empathy with the characters. For me personally, it raised questions of 'what would I do in this situation?'. It's definitely a relevant read for teens wondering what to do with their life. Retta wants to pursue her singing career but feels held back by family responsibility and the realisation that she is going to be completely alone in Nashville. This book is also firmly rooted in reality, with no airy fairy descriptions of what people want to believe Nashville is like. Supplee tells it like it is, which I appreciate.

  

 “It's amazing when you think about it, all the possibilities, the things that might happen in this brief life if you're brave enough to try.” 

-Retta Jones

 After reading about Retta's journey, I wanted to go to Nashville and buy a pair of sky blue boots like Retta did for myself! 
I think the raw, honest way Supplee has gone about writing this novel, is what sets it apart from other books of it's kind. If you are after an inspiring, easy weekend read, I'd recommend this. 

I'd love to hear from anyone who has read similar books or has any recommendations. And, I always appreciate a tweet with your thoughts or feedback :)

Julia