For those of you who have not looked at the shoutbox, there is a message from Brian Mandabach, author of Or Not!!! He must have done a search for mentions of his name (look at the “books I’m reading” block on the bottom right of the page), and came to here!! Isn’t that awesome?? So I think this calls for a full-blown review of this incredible book.
Cassie is a fourteen year old non-conformist living in a non-tolerant world. She has an older brother whose girlfriend is her self-appointed older sister and parents who really care about and understand her. The story is about her coping with several different events in her life, and her take on the world around her.
When I was reading this, it was like talking to myself. I like to think I’m fairly non-conformist (but yes, I do shave my legs. I just like the feel of it), and her sarcastic, creative way of describing things reminds me a lot of myself and my friends. It’s written in first person, which I love, and in journal form, which is also cool, because you really get to understand the character. I tend to write and read first person character-based stories, as opposed to third person plot based ones, because reading about a person is like making a new friend. And Cassie seems to be someone who I would realy get along with.
There isn’t much to complain about in this book, it had the perfect mix of unhappiness, cynicism, sarcasm, good character traits, and bad character traits. There are a ton of things I disagree with Cassie about, but if Mr. Mandabach can write a character that I disagree with but still love and connect to, that truely marks him as an excellent writer. He captures perfectly the essence of being a teenager, and he really seems to understand how we think. Cassie may be a little advanced and strong minded for a 14-year-old, but I have to admit, I was a lot like her. Still am, as a matter of fact. But I’m not average, and neither is she. I know people are always complaining that books have too many heroes and not enough normal people, but why would you want to read a book about an average joe doing average things? We read books to get away from reality, but not so much that they’re completely ridiculous. Even fantasy and science fiction have ties with reality. Mr. Mandabach’s book, Or Not, is something I would reccomend to anyone.
