Slammed: A Novel

主人公が１８歳なので、ヤングアダルトとしても読まれていると思うんですが、英語はかなり読みやすいし、ストーリーも感動ものでした。最後にぐっと心をわしづかみされました。登場人物がみな懸命に生きていて、脇役のエピソードまでぐっときます。基本は恋愛ものですが、その枠を超える家族のお話でもあります。 話の内容はかなりドラマチックで「うわあ、こんなにたくさんの困難が押し寄せてくるのか？」と思わないでもないですが、この濃さがきっとこの物語の売り。こういう設定にしてグイッと読者の心をひきつけて、深い静かな思いが最後に「詩」で伝えられる。古典的だからこそいいと思いました。 このラブストーリーは最初から目の前にあって、ストレートにやってくる世界です。あふれるような愛がフアッと最後に押し寄せてきます。続編もあります。 物語の最後の主人公の母親からの手紙はグッときます。おすすめ。

18才になったばかりのLakeは、母と弟と３人でテキサスからYpsilantiに引っ越してきた。そんなLakeの隣人は、９歳の弟を一人で育てるWill。二人はひと目で恋に落ちるが、すぐにその恋に大きな障害があることが発覚し…。 物語はLakeを語り手にテンポよく進むが、まぁ言ってしまえば普通のYA小説。Willの趣味であるSlamスタイルの詩のパフォーマンスが興味深いが、それ以外はかる～いティーンエイジャーの恋愛もの。だが、テンポが良いのでなんとなく続編も読んでしまった。英語はものすごい単純なので、非常に読みやすい。ステファニー・マイヤーの「トワイライト」にどことなく近いものがあるかもしれない。

Colleen Hoover の原点を探るために "Slammed" と "Point of Retreat" を読んでから彼女のデビュー以降３冊目のこの作品を読みました。これは "Slammed" で始まるシリーズの最初の２作品の復習のような内容なので、忙しい人は時間を割いて読む必要はないと思います。もっと新しい作品で "It Ends with Us" や "Verity" も読みましたが、これらの新しい作品の方がはるかに質が向上しています。

Excellent book! Loved the chemistry between Will and Lake. Loved Eddie the friend. Loved the mom and the kids. So well written. Such a well told story with heart. Brava

I have never had a reading experience like this before! I couldn't put the book down! I stayed awake until 5.30am and all I could think about then was what was going to happen next. I'm not really a poetry person but I loved the poetry here. It was a great idea. I especially loved the poem Will presented at the slam. "So you keep your ocean, I'll take the Lake." This is an amazing story and its not just romance. It's mainly about family and life. Both Lake and Will have been dealt a crappy hand that force them to think about life and grow up a little quicker. They meet and fall quickly for each other but another crappy head is dealt and they both have to deal with the damage. I hope that didn't give too much away. No angst. I wasn't a big fan of Lake's mother, Julia. She seemed to be a bit all over the place but it was understandable why she was. She just wasn't my cup of tea but she sure does give great advice that I will definitely be taking. "Does he treat you with respect at all times? That's the first question. The second question is, if he is the exact same person twenty years from now that he is today, would you still want to marry him? And finally, does he inspire you to want to be a better person? You find someone you can answer yes about to all three, then you've found your man." Eddie on the other hand I fell head over heels for. I would love a best friend like her. She practically gave Lake no choice in the matter and was probably the happiest character in the whole book. I cried happy tears for her which was also another first for me when it comes to reading. All I can really say is that Colleen Hoover... You are a genius! NOW GO READ THIS BOOK!!!!

Das Buch wirkt vielleicht auf den ersten Blick wie eine schöne Romanze zweier ganz junger Menschen, doch je mehr man liest, desto mehr wird man in den Sog gezogen, sich immer tiefer und tiefer selber in all den Geschehnissen zu verrennen. Die Geschichte ist so leicht wie die Liebe, aber auch genauso wiegt sie tonnenschwer auf dem Herzen. Es geht um Freundschaft, um Verzicht, um Wut, um Enttäuschung, um Angst, um Sorge, um Verantwortung. Um so viele Dinge im Leben, die man erst dann wirklich spürt, wenn man sie selber erlebt hat. Oder wenn man in der Lage ist, sich in ein Buch hinein zu fühlen. Die Charaktere sind einfach genial! Laykens Blick auf die Welt, sarkastisch aber manchmal auch leicht melancholisch und doch mit viel Witz erscheint sehr echt und authentisch. Auch Will ist einfach super sympathisch. Laykens Mutter Julia, ihre Freundin Eddie, ihr Bruder Kel, die Nebenfiguren sind auch wunderschön ausgestaltete und etwas ganz besonderes! Was vor allem schön ist und das Buch für mich sehr besonders macht, sind die wunderschönen Poetry-Slam-Texte darin die mich auch dazu gebracht haben anzufangen selber welche zu verfassen. Die Texte waren wirklich sehr originell und haben dem Buch noch das gewisse Etwas verliehen, auch wenn ich mich ab da immer sehr geärgert habe, dass ich das Buch in der Übersetzung und nicht im Original gelesen habe aber das kann ja noch nachgeholt werden! Emotional betrachtet ist dieser Roman wie eine rasante Achterbahnfahrt. Auf der einen Seite bringt die Situationskomik, zu der auch einige flache Chuck Norris Witze gehören, die Leser zum Schmunzeln, die zärtliche und aufrichtige Liebe zwischen den Hauptcharakteren erweicht das Herz, und auf der anderen Seite stimmt eine fatale Wendung unfassbar traurig. Besonders diese traurigen Szenen wirken einige Zeit nach und regen zum Nachdenken an. Zum Nachdenken über die Prioritäten im eigenen Leben und sie zeigen uns, was wirklich zählt. Worauf es eigentlich ankommt. Ich will gar nicht bestreiten, dass ich mehrmals Tränen in den Augen hatte, denn manche Szenen am Ende waren wirklich wunderschön und extrem traurig. Colleen Hover ist gelungen, schmerzhafte Themen wie Verlust und Trauer mit sehr viel Fingerspitzengefühl anzugehen. Was ich an diesem Buch auch geliebt habe sind die liebenswürdige Kleinigkeiten die sich immer wieder wiederholen und wie kleine Insiderwitze den Leser erfreuen, wer das Buch gelesen hat, weiß was ich meine. Layken stolpert immer über den selben Gartenzwerg, trägt Darth Wader Plüschschuhe und redet als Metapher für das Verdrängen von schlimmen Wahrheiten von "Kürbisse schnitzen". Die Avett Brothers, aus dessen Liedern Zitate die einzelnen Kapitel total passend einleiten, gibt es wirklich - habe sie gegoogelt-, aber leider ist deren Musik nicht so mein Fall, daß ich da von einer echten Entdeckung sprechen könnte. Fazit: Ein Strudel aus Schicksalsschlägen, reißender Liebe und der Ungerechtigkeit, die das Leben manchmal mit sich bringt – großes emotionales Kino!

Excellent book

Several months ago I read another book by this author called "Hopeless." It was a book I deeply enjoyed and wasn't at all what I was expecting. Since then, I've noticed several other titles by this same author and have been trying to decide whether to try another by her…not because I didn't completely enjoy the first, but because the first was so "perfect" that i wasn't sure I was ready for the letdown that often happens when an author doesn't meet your expectations. After noticing the nearly perfect 4.5 ratings by almost 2000 Amazon readers, I had to give this one a try. I'm glad I did. First let me start with the genre. Though I'm not 100% certain, I think this book would be classified as a YA novel since the main characters are 18 (a high schooler) and 21 (an almost college grad). As a reader, I "like" YA novels, but I don't usually love them. My biggest pet peeve is that (though I'm 43), I hate when author talk down to young readers and assume all of their life problems are frivolous. This is where Colleen Hoover greatly succeeds where other authors often leave me irritated. The young adult characters in this book are truly inspiring. They're young, but their problems are "real." Neither is whiny or wishy-washy, but tackle their problems with the maturity of full adults. And to be honest, I think that any "kid" in these types of situations would grow up quickly in the same way that Hoover has portrayed them. So…what's this book about? I can't give you a lot of detail without ruining it for you, but I'll try to break it down. Layken has recently turned 18. Her father has suddenly passed away and her mother moves her and her 9-year old brother, Kel, to Michigan from their home in Texas. They move next door to a young man, Will, who is 21 and raising his 9-year old brother after the sudden death two years previous of both of their parents. He's grown up quickly to be both mother and father to his younger brother, and he's taken on more responsibilities than a "kid" his age should ever have to take on. But he's done it admirably well. Within only a couple of days of becoming neighbors, the two younger brothers quickly become best friends and Layken and Will acknowledge their chemistry and begin a relationship. The chemistry takes them both off guard, but the reader immediately realizes that this is going to be a very special couple. They only have one date, and then they're suddenly hit with a brick wall that will keep them apart in spite of how much they want to be together. I can't tell you what that brick wall is, but I can tell you that it seems completely insurmountable even for the reader. There is simply no good solution that will allow the two to continue a relationship. Slammed is a beautiful story of two young people - far older and wiser than their years - who understand the importance of commitment and responsibility. It's sweet and heartbreaking (for a variety of reasons), and there are moments when you are so proud of one or both of the characters for taking a stand in moments that should be intimidating. The bottom line is that this is an excellent read. I'd recommend this book for YA readers (15+, probably) as well as for adults. There is not gratuitous sex, so the subject matter - while sometimes difficult - is completely appropriate for younger readers as well as interesting enough to keep the interest of older readers. Very nicely done!