Monday, January 31, 2011

Skippy Dies - Your Thoughts

Hello Twreaders, feel free to put your comments here on the book!

6 comments:

  1. I found myself comparing Skippy Dies to Catcher and The Rye. The beginning of the novel went a little slow for me but once I reached the part of the dance...there was no stopping. For me, the most interesting part was the realization how we may think we know someone or an event, but unless you have all of the pieces you cannot make assumptions. Many felt guilty or responsible for Skippy's death not knowing the abuse he received from his coach. Overall a good read & I thank #twreaders for bringing it to my attention :)

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  2. I quite enjoyed the book. I would have liked a little less focus on some of the characters. I found everything got a little muddled at times as there were so many subplots going on. Absolutely horrifying at times but mostly because of the realization that the author really isn't exaggerating what kids face/experience/experiment with today.
    I always like to follow my book comments with addressing/answering three important questions:
    1. Would I recommend this book? Depends on the reader. An avid reader, yes. Someone looking for something to take on vacation, not likely.
    2. Would I read this book again? Not likely. Too many other books on the shelf needing a first time read, and too many other beloved ones needing to be read again.
    3. Purchase, borrow, or burn? I'm glad I read it but definitely not something I would have bought myself or would buy. Glad I was able to borrow it.

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  3. I agree with Katie. I really enjoyed the book and was anxious to get back into it and see where the story was going, but it was quite a "busy" book with almost too many stories going on. I liked Katie's questions she poses herself after reading a book! Like her, I would recommend this book, but only to an avid reader. I, too, was glad I could download it rather than purchase it (I guess I technically PAID for it, but much cheaper than buying. Would have preferred to borrow it from the library). Would I read it again...probably not. For two reason, it wasn't SO moving that I would want to re-read it. But also, part of my enjoyment from this book was the tension and suspense that kept drawing me back (like a soap opera) and that would be lost the second time around. Overall this was a good read in my opinion, just lots of subplots.

    I give it 3.5 Bookmarks out of 5. :)

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  4. Though I enjoyed the book it certainly freaked me out. The thought of what these kids go through today makes me scared to put my kids out into the world, it made me want to homeschool them!

    I found that I could have done without the 'scientific tests' portion of the story, that's pretty much the only one that I lost interest in.

    One, of the many things, that struck me was how a teacher needs to be motivated to protect, teach, and inspire kids. Difficult when they're going through their own issues. I have a hard enough time doing it my own 2 kids, imagine 30 kids in 1 class! Sort of made me wish you could find 1 good teacher that would see them through all their years ;)

    All in all it was agood book but could have been cut down by at least 100 pages.

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  5. I am going to be totally honest about this book. I didn't finish it.

    I got 62% of the way through (I'm reading it on a Kindle and don't know how many pages it has) before it became a chore and I decided to move onto another book.

    I found that there were too many internal stories and the character development was weak. It didn't flow well and moved to another subplot just as I was getting invested into the story.

    I am going to continue reading Skippy Dies because it sounds like some other Twreaders really enjoyed it. Maybe it will turn around after Skippy actually dies. Hmm...not being morbid, just an observation :)

    At this point, I don't like or hate Skippy Dies. I will let you know my final observation when I finish it. Thanks for letting me vent.

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  6. Jen:
    There is nothing worse than feeling like reading a book becomes homework. I've had that experience with a few...some of which I stuck with it til the end to only find it was a big waste of my time. Other times it felt like an accomplishment to actually finish it while others I gave up & started a new book instead. Your observation is honest & that's what a book club is all about!

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