Review: The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely Lost It

Title: The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely Lost It
Author: Lisa Shanahan
Publisher: Delacourte Press
Date published: 2006
Type of book: Young Adult (theatre, Australia, weddings, abuse, poverty, Shakespeare)
Pages: 295
I received this book from/at: local library
My interest in this book is: plot

Ideas expressed/message/plot: From book jacket: “ ‘In my family, when anyone rides the wave of their emotions, we say they’re chucking a birkett. When the emotion drives out all common sense, we say they’re chucking a big one. The telltale signs are: flaming cheeks, shortness of breath, bulging eyes, and a prolonged illogical outburst.’
Gemma Stone is convinced that it’s always unseemly to chuck a birkett and that it’s actually insane to chuck one in front of a complete stranger. But that’s before she falls for a boy who barely knows she exists, before she auditions for the school play, before she meets the family of freaks her sister Debbie is marrying into, before the unpredictable Raven DeHead takes an interest in her, and before she realizes that at the right time and for the right reason, a birkett can be a beautiful thing.”

Favorite characters, quotes/lines: Gemma: she was distracted by the wrong guy, but she was really funny so it totally made up for it. I loved her sarcasm; Raven: I felt so bad for him – his brother’s definitely left him with a bad reputation; Jackie: she was hilarious – actually the whole family was

When I finished this book I felt: This wasn’t really my favorite book, or even a really memorable book. But it was cute and funny. I really liked the Shakespeare incorporation and modernization.

Other books to read by this author: this is her first novel

I would recommend this book to: fans of theatre, Shakespeare, and funny young adult reads