Teens
Cover Lover...Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt
Publisher's Description: When Mallory’s boyfriend, Jeremy, cheats on her with an online girlfriend, Mallory decides the best way to de-Jeremy her life is to de-modernize things too. Inspired by a list of goals her grandmother made in1962, Mallory swears off technology and returns to a simpler time (when boyfriends couldn’t cheat with computer avatars). The List:
1. Run for pep club secretary
2. Host a fancy dinner party/soiree
3. Sew a dress for Homecoming
4. Find a steady
5. Do something dangerous
But simple proves to be crazy-complicated, and the details of the past begin to change Mallory’s present. Add in a too-busy grandmother, a sassy sister, and the cute pep-club president–who just happens to be her ex’s cousin–and soon Mallory begins to wonder if going vintage is going too far.
Why I Love It: I tend to gravitate towards books with a dark and eeiry cover...or a least a girl that isn't getting her hair done. Normally, I wouldn't pick up a book that had even a speck of pink on it but this one caught my eye for other reasons.
Going Vintage protrays a young girl wearing a sixties style dress with her side swept bangs pushed back in a headband, which was a very popular look in the sixties. She sits in a green retro hair salon chair as she looks through vinyl records and listens to the radio through her large, padded headphones.
This cover stood out to me because I am a huge fan of the 60's pop culture era. Great music, great dresses, great passion for life. My father grew up in the 60's, so I grew up listening to The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, The Temptations, The Jackson Five and The Supremes. I own two vintage record players and I rock a lot of vintage style dresses....especially polka dot prints. This era has always been considered as being that of a "simpler time" but I think it was a time of strength, independence and power for minorities, for women...and especially for teenagers!
After some thought, the cover stuck me as even more interesting as I realized that this "vintage" cover wasn't as outdated as I originally thought. I don't know about you, but I see a lot of similarities between our current taste of fashion and music equipment. Today, many girls (and even some boys) have taken to the side swept bangs look...while rocking large DJ headphones. On another note, many musicians are now releasing their music on vinyl records as well as the typical formats and DIY is definitely just as popular as it was once upon a time.
No doubt about it, a vintage lifestyle is back and I think Mallory realizes that her own modern life isn't as different as she originally thought.
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Cover Lover
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Teen Review by "The Downside Reviews" ... Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Slaughter-House Five reminds me of the movie Citizen Kane if the director Quentin Tarantino directed it, and then made it a book. If you don't know what Citizen Kane is or who Quentin Tarantino is, then get off my review, for I am repulsed to have such eyes look upon this.
This book is an amazing recollection of the life of Billy Pilgrim, who has become unstuck in time. He has died and woken up on his wedding day, gone through a door when he was, say, 47 and gone out at the age of 13, etc. This book was written by the great Kurt Vonnegut, the deceased leader of the National Pacifist Committee, and is by far his best work. As for a detailed plot summary, this book is about a certain Billy Pilgrim, who is (or was, or will be, depending how you look at it) an optometrist who served in World War II after being drafted. This doesn't sound like the most interesting plot summary in the world, but the one catch is that he has quite literally become unstuck in time. This is where he must go through random events at random times (or specific times, if you think about it. This set-up essentially makes him immortal, as he retains all memories about being unstuck in time, etc. He has died several times in the exact same way, and does every thing else the exact same way. "But what if", you ask,"He changed his fate? Yeah, why doesn't he do that?" Oh, you silly, silly, boy/girl, he can't do that because the aliens that abducted him told him he couldn't, of course! Yeah, the plot seems like it might be boring, but the Vonnegut is very good at his trade. This author is one of the best things to happen to mankind... ever. I mean, he is so engaging that you love every word he writes, even if they are swear words. He also probably has the best interpretation of time that has ever existed. While it may be hard to figure out, if you wrap your head around it, you will be enlightened. Yes, if you read this book it will open your minds to things you never dreamed of, etc., etc. However:
The Downside:
Plot-wise there is no downside. No, the downside is definitely the age group.
This book was written for adults and has large amounts of swearing, etc. So if that isn't your thing, I don't recommend you read this book.
Other books you may enjoy
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Books, Teen Reviews
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