Author: Jennifer Gooch Hummer
4 out of 5 Stars
Plot Background:
Apron Bramhall is a teenage girl who has seen stormy seas for a long time. Her mother has passed away and her father is now dating a very pregnant and very mean nurse, and her best friend Rennie has decided not to be friends with her anymore because the very popular Jenny Pratt has summoned her to be in the cool group. Apron is lost, until she meets Mike, the owner of a flower shop and actor who play Jesus in the play "Jesus Christ Superstar," and his boyfriend Chad whom also owns the flower shop, Scent Appeal. When she learns their secret, her world changes, and she suddenly finds that she knows more about love than she thought, and she knows more than the adults in her life. Apron finds that she must get herself to calmer waters, or be unmoored forever.
My Thoughts:
This was a book that was totally unexpected for me. When I read the plot on Amazon I thought this would be a light YA book, I thought it would be funny and short and an easy read. I was wrong in the best way. This book really gripped my heart, and I felt so attached to the people in it, especially Apron, and at the end of it I found that I felt like I wanted to reread it so it would never end.
Having said that, I will start on the first thing that caught my eye about this book: point of view. I love that this is written from a thirteen year old's point of view, and not only is it first person (which is always my favorite) but it really felt like how I saw things when I was thirteen. Apron is a little bit detached at first, but I came to see that it only felt detached somewhat because thirteen year old's do not often get the full story from adults. For example, there were times that she would overhear a fight between her dad and "M", and as an adult you can infer a little bit of why they're fighting or what they're fighting about, but Apron doesn't know because she is a kid, so as the reader you're kept in the dark somewhat. The point of view really leads to the reader having to think critically to figure out what the adults are doing or saying sometimes, and it was fun to see if I was right at the end when the dad explains some things.
This leads me to my next point, which I mentioned previously: character development. I loved getting to know Apron, getting to see her change from the bitter, detached girl in the beginning, to the strong and smart young woman in the end. Her character changes so much, and since she is a child (even though child is a loose term), she is able to see things more purely. When adults are throwing bricks through the windows of Scent Appeal with homophobic slurs written on them, Apron knows those people are wrong, but her friends parents do not see anything wrong with that. The purity of a child really brings out a lot in the characters of this book. There was so much about Apron that I loved that I could go on for a while, but I will make one more point, which is that I loved that even though her mother is dead, her mother is so present through her. From painting a new lobster for the baby at the table to having a good attitude, you could feel the mother in the book even though she was never alive in the book. If that makes any sense.
I also loved Mike and Chad's characters. I loved seeing their love for each other, because even though the world told them it was wrong, it was the most pure form of love in the book. Apron's dad and "M" had such a complicated relationship, and you learn that her mom had a complicated relationship as well before she died, but the love between Mike and Chad was just easy and honest. ***************************SPOILER ALERT*************************
With Chad, you know from the first sentence you meet him that he is sick. AIDS is mentioned in earlier, so your mind can infer that this is what is happening to him. I have never been taught much about AIDS, as far as what it does, what symptoms it can cause etc, so reading this book was an eye opener for me. I found myself feeling heartbroken, not just for Chad, and not just for Mike for having to loose the love of his life, but for every other person out there in the world that has suffered with it. I found myself thinking of Freddie Mercury when he wrote Who Wants to Live Forever, and I found myself really feeling for all the people in the world, gay or straight who have had to suffer at the hands of this terrible disease, not only having to die from it, but having to LIVE with it. It really was heart breaking. So in that regard especially, the character development played a huge role and really the author did a fantastic job getting all of these emotions across.
A less important thing about the book, but still something that I wanted to mention because it really made the book fun, was the Latin phrases throughout, and the titles of each chapter. They were cute and added something extra. Also, way to go Jennifer Gooch Hummer for learning or finding all those phrases!
There were only a few downsides to this book that I can say. One is that it had to end. Silly, I know, but author, if you're reading this, a second book would be good, maybe a book about life with Daisy! :-)
The other negative I had was that when she went to Mike's going away party near the end, it felt like she was going to a party at "the Capitol" from The Hunger Games. Perhaps I am over thinking it, but it struck me as a little weird. I also would've liked to learn a little bit more about Toby, or even the relationship between M and the mother before she died. It is mentioned briefly in the end but I would've liked a little bit more on that.
This was a great book though. I would recommend it to everyone, not just YA readers.
As always, here is a link to the Kindle edition of the book, or you can use the search bar on the side of the screen for a paper copy:
http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Unmoored-ebook/dp/B0073HNMJY/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1346770244&sr=1-1&keywords=girl+unmoored
Happy Reading!!!
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