Shattered Dreams Book

So my English teacher told me to stop using dashes and to start "utilizing semi-colons; they're more proper." I, of course, wanted to trap her in the stinky staff room, considering dashes and semi-colons are BASICALLY the same thing, but I stood by her word and decided to figure out WHAT THE HELL SEMI-COLONS DO.

You use semi-colons to JOIN ALIKE PHRASES SO THEY BOTH FIT IN A SINGLE SENTENCE. I honestly think dashes do a better job of that, and that they're prettier, but hey. She's the English teacher.

What's the reasoning of my bringing such up, you ask? Well. C.K. Martin's book is "basically" a semi-colon in itself. This book brings two similar "things" - friendships and boyfriends - together, doing such with lyrical, flowing simplicity and a well-written voice. This book IS the semi-colon; this book CONNECTS TWO IDEAS so that they flow endlessly into one another. This book is NOT the dash, though, as it does not clearly connect two ideas together. You need to go looking for the squiggly comma, the blurry but very-there connection, to see.

…

So, I'm stretching the definition of The Semi-Colon to fit my review. (I apparently also need to work on my metaphors. Or would that be similes?) In all seriousness, though, let me attempt to break down this book for you.

One Lonely Degree tied together friendship, romance and family in a Sarah Dessen-y way, giving space to elaborate on drugs, alcohol and rape in a respectable fashion; obviously Martin isn't as scared to touch on such iffy topics as Dessen appears to be. Finn's childhood friend Jersy is back in the picture (and hotter than ever), her parents are hiding toeing the outskirts of Splitsville, and her best friend, Audrey, is the only one holding her to Earth. Of course, as all of the stories like these go, Finn and Jersy "rekindle" their friendship - which, of course, turns into more because they now have more active sexual organs and blahblahblah-all-that-health-class-stuff - and Audrey ends up falling for Jersy because Finn's too chicken shy to say anything. AND THEN, as all of these stories go, Audrey miraculously (and I really do mean miraculously, because damn, I hated that chick) disappears for a summer, leaving her two lovelies to entertain one another.

It's not as frivolous and stupid as it sounds, guys. Not only am I hyper-high on Triple Soothing Action Halls, but I also really enjoyed this book and I'm just not very good with writing semi-positive reviews, which explains my half-assed attempt above. C.K. Martin has this flow of writing, this specific style, that caters perfectly to teenagers. The writing itself is specific, but never too preachy or emotional - for example, Jersy was a druggie, but aside from the occasional diminishing of his habits, Finn and Audrey reacted the same way average, non-using teenagers in real life would; with cautionary words but no explicit judging. Martin was also quick to highlight Finn's emotions and thoughts, and the change she was going through, but she never really made Finn angst-ridden or overly-depressed.

The characters weren't overly special, which is why I don't have all good-things to say about this book. For a character-driven novel, you'd think there'd be some strong ones in it somewhere. Finn was a great protag because she wasn't the Jane or simply the "nice girl." (I am so, so sick of "nice girls" in YA (books in general, really), because there is no such thing as a "nice" person. Nice is an adjective, yes, but it's not one that should be applied at all times. Really, I don't know a single person who hasn't had a bad thought about someone, or something ever. It's virtually impossible, as is a wholly-unselfish person. Finn was so realistic as a person because she was never a "nice" or "unselfish" person; she was human, and while she had her kind moments, she stayed the gray colour that everyone truly is.) Unfortunately, Jersy and Audrey didn't venture from their Perfect Boy - Beautiful Boy, in Finn's words - or Pure, Soulfully-Virginal Girl boxes.

This book was exactly what I needed, typically because it was very, very real. Thinking back on why my feelings settled in the three-four star range, I must admit it's because this book never opened my mind or made me truly care. Yes, I was curious about the ending of the novel (which I was disappointed in, honestly), and yes, I thought Martin could write, but nothing emotional went on Where it Counts.

One Lonely Degree was improvement upon Martin's I Know it's Over, and I have a feeling I'll be picking up a copy of her next books sometime soon.

(A very undermined 3 stars. My thoughts vary on this one.)