In C.K. Kelly Martin's novel I Know It's Over, Nicholaus Severson, is a typical 16-year old teenager looking for different ways to enjoy his approaching summer vacation. Often referred to as Nick, he has formed a tight bond with his childhood buddies, Keelor and Nathan, since his parent's divorce a year prior. Among other things he plans to: play hockey, work, eat junk food, party, smoke, drink, and maybe have sex. As the end of the school year comes to a close, all Nick has to do is count down the days for the partying to begin. Everything involving the upcoming summer break seems etched in stone, but when Nick meets Sasha, a girl that will change his world forever--things become topsy turvy.
While devoting so much time to Sasha, Nick all but forgets his friends and the bond they share starts to dwindle. Nick is torn between his two friends and Sasha, but doesn't want to lose either one. With all the drama surrounding Nathan and Keelor, Nick turns to the only person that knows him best. It's clear that Sasha does a little more than comfort Nick, when they have sex for the first time. Needless to say, Sasha becomes pregnant and Nick is involved in some drama of his own, but what's a teenager to do.
In this novel, Martin explores the topics that teenagers face nowadays. The problems surrounding the divorcing of parents, sex, drugs, and homosexuality are all relevant issues that some teens are afraid to discuss. This book serves as a means to address these topics thoroughly and effectively. As for age groups, this selection is more appropriate for Juniors and Seniors in high school due to its frequent reference to sex and sexual language. At any rate, Martin does an excellent job in grasping the reader's attention and making this novel a page turner. It leaves readers with the feeling of wanting more long after the last page is read and finished. Here's a trailer of the book provided by the author's website: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=31704514
6 comments:
Hi Shirley! Thanks for this review. The plot here sounds very complicated, but it reminds me of some real life situations I am aware of.
I think you get across your ideas here very well. My only suggestion is to maybe cut back a bit on the detail related to the plot. As in your review of Kimmie66, I think maybe cutting back just a little bit on the plot summary would enhance your focus and also not give too much away to the reader.
Just a thought--we'll see what others say.
It looks like teen pregancy is a big issue in teen literature these days/.......
Cheers,
TP
Thanks for the advice. I made some corrections to I Know It's Over. As far as the spacing goes. I double space between paragraphs, but once it is published, the spacing disappears. I don't know what to do about that.
-Shirley
Hi Shirley--I just created the paragraphs for you. I'm not sure why you ran into difficulty with this.
Try hitting the enter key twice when you move to a new paragraph. Also, remember that you can always see what your writing will look like by clicking on "Preview" as you compose. This will allow you to see what the prose will look like when it is published.
Take care,
T
This book sounds very interesting. I especially find it interesting that you hint at teen pregnancy from a boys perspective. I'm not sure if it is just the books I am reading but I tend to find the books from girls perspective. I think its refreshing to see it from a young mans perspective because both people have to deal with a teen pregnancy.
When I run outside, simply running on the other side of the street makes it more interesting because of the different path and different view.
That's how I feel after reading your preview. I like that it's from Nick's point of view. It changes up the whole perspective. The book has piqued my curiousity and I wonder what will happen to Sasha and Nick.
Shirley- although I think you did include a lot of plot detail, I don't think you gave away too much of the story. I was asking questions in my head by the end of the review: was it Nicks baby? did Sasha cheat in Nick with one of his friends? is it Nick who is gay? how does everything work out? I really want to read the book. Also, I know what you mean with the spacing. I would preview my post but when I published it the format would change.
Bismah- I loved your metaphor that compared running on the other side of the street to pregnancy form a boys perspective. Clever.
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