Aurora Smith

Not everyone connects with every book they read. Though a book may receive many high ratings, this does not guarantee other readers will agree with the high rating and vice versa for lower-rated books. I completely understand and accept that. At the same time, writing a story for the world to read is, to me, not being a writer, a courageous thing to do -- to expose a meaningful effort to possible negative reviews. So, when I read a book that simply doesn't appeal to me, even when many others have enjoyed the work, I tend be silent or extremely brief rather than write a negative review, even as this may not be helpful to fellow readers. I would rather not influence a reader away from a book simply because it did not appeal to me.

On the flip side, when deciding whether to read a book, I read more of reviews with fewer stars than with higher star ratings. Why? It is easy to write a glowing review, but much more difficult, though probably more helpful, to write a review giving reasons why the book didn't appeal to you. With that, what do I do when I volunteer to read or listen to a book received free of charge in exchange for an honest review and I just don't enjoy the story? I write as honestly as I can with much care and kindness because I appreciate an author's efforts, even if I am not moved by their story.

David Dietz made a call out via Goodreads for listeners for review for several books he narrated, including My Stupid Girl. After having listened to and enjoyed another book he narrated, I volunteered to listen to and review this book. Though my first experience did not sell me on this narrator (I found that story to be compelling by itself and the narration neither bolstered nor detracted from my enjoyment of the story), the many positive reviews for this book had me expecting to like this book. I also came across this book via Audiobook Jukebox and thought to provide my reviews to both sites... one audio book, two outlets for review!

Generally, I am a fan of the YA genre. I have enjoyed many coming-of-age stories by debut authors as well as established authors. I am also becoming an avid audio book listener as I thoroughly enjoy listening to books while exercising and doing mundane household activities. Furthermore, narrators allow me to better savor stories by slowing my reading pace to enjoy each moment of dialogue or descriptions the author writes. Narrators allow me to hear the accents the writer intends, as well as listen to the emotions he/she is writing into each scene. Audio books bring much more life to the written word!

I am sorry to say, though, this book didn't move me as it has other readers. I found that the pace dragged in much of the story. Though time speeds through some chapters, it painstakingly slows down through other chapters. While I remain neutral in my first exposure to this narrator, this second performance was distracting. Mr Dietz uses his voice well for the main character, David, but I feel does not have enough distinction and believablility for his female characters. The voice he gives to the female protagonist is oddly falsetto, distracting me from the story itself.

Narration aside, this book was written in conflicting tenses -- written nearly entirely in past tense, with a few present tense sentences here and there without explanation or reasoning for the change in tense. It is not told in present tense with moments of flashback or memories, but told nearly entirely in past tense with periodic lapses into present tense. This is awkward writing and I was once again distracted from the story being told to puzzle out the purpose of conflicting tenses.

I thank Mr. Dietz and Audiobook Jukebox for the opportunity of listening to this story. Though my review is not glowing, it is submitted as honest and not intended to be hurtful, but helpful to other readers.… (lisätietoja)