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126th out of 254 books
—
997 voters
Counting Backwards
by
Laura Lascarso (Goodreads Author)
Three weeks ago I tried to run away from home. Now all I want is to go back.
When troubled Taylor Truwell is caught with a stolen car and lands in court for resisting arrest, her father convinces the judge of an alternative to punishment: treatment in a juvenile psychiatric correctional facility. Sunny Meadows is anything but the easy way out, and Taylor has to fight hard j...more
When troubled Taylor Truwell is caught with a stolen car and lands in court for resisting arrest, her father convinces the judge of an alternative to punishment: treatment in a juvenile psychiatric correctional facility. Sunny Meadows is anything but the easy way out, and Taylor has to fight hard j...more
Hardcover, 279 pages
Published
August 14th 2012
by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
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The somber cover, the serious summary, even the title that conjures up hints of some ambiguous psychiatric disorder, all the signs point to Counting Backyards being a serious look at one girl’s stint in rehab. And it is, but don’t think for a second this is some depressing book that has its characters spewing a lifetime of regrets, failures, and issues in group therapy, Laura Lascarso’s debut is actually a surprisingly quirky and sometimes more than a little silly look at how to survive a behavi...more
This was one that I borrowed from the library before Christmas, but kept putting off reading because there were other books I wanted to read first. Well, I finally got around to reading this, and it turned out to be a very quick read – I finished it in two sittings.
Here is the summary from the Kobo store:
Taylor Truwell is a sixteen-year-old girl from Florida with a troubled past, a neglectful mother, a seemingly callous father, and an urge to flee. When Taylor is caught with a stolen car, her v...more
Here is the summary from the Kobo store:
Taylor Truwell is a sixteen-year-old girl from Florida with a troubled past, a neglectful mother, a seemingly callous father, and an urge to flee. When Taylor is caught with a stolen car, her v...more
Taylor Truell keeps running away. She wants to get away from her mother’s neglect, her father’s strict rules, and most likely, from the panic and anger she can’t understand. Enrolled in the psychiatric facility called Sunny Meadows for stealing a car and resisting arrest, she pushes against improvement as much as she can to run away from the notion that she might be crazy.
The novel’s idea of running away from problems in a fit of denial is common in young adult literature, but in Counting Backwa...more
The novel’s idea of running away from problems in a fit of denial is common in young adult literature, but in Counting Backwa...more
I liked this book. It's a crossover that will appeal to Young Adult readers and fans of good, clean books about teenagers who are adults. In this book there is some mild cussing (there may be an f-bomb)and some teen kissing but the real story is about a young girl committed to a psych ward for treatment of her behavioral problems, when it is plain that some of those behavioral problems are really her parents'. Taylor's mom is an alcoholic who depends on Taylor to take care of her. Taylor's fathe...more
**Originally HERE on Read-A-holicZ**
"This book was such an emotional ride, full of love, forgiveness, and finding out how to change & discover one's true self. I was COMPLETELY immersed in the book, it IS one of my FAVORITE YA contemporary debuts of this year!"
From the above praise, you know that I LOVED this book! I am always looking for those YA contemporary books that really attract me & can capture my attention, and this book did that from the start. The Summary in itself made me WAN...more
"This book was such an emotional ride, full of love, forgiveness, and finding out how to change & discover one's true self. I was COMPLETELY immersed in the book, it IS one of my FAVORITE YA contemporary debuts of this year!"
From the above praise, you know that I LOVED this book! I am always looking for those YA contemporary books that really attract me & can capture my attention, and this book did that from the start. The Summary in itself made me WAN...more
I graciously received a copy from Simon & Schuster, so big shout-out to them! Thank you!
Before I began to read this, I was a tad wary. I'm not sure why; it just was how I felt after reading the summary and examining the cover (I'm not a huge fan of covers with faces [or girls in dresses] but this one...it just had something...more...maybe the 3-D effect my sister said when she saw it). Anyway, going on. I finished Counting Backwards within a day, I was that hooked from start to finish.
Chara...more
Before I began to read this, I was a tad wary. I'm not sure why; it just was how I felt after reading the summary and examining the cover (I'm not a huge fan of covers with faces [or girls in dresses] but this one...it just had something...more...maybe the 3-D effect my sister said when she saw it). Anyway, going on. I finished Counting Backwards within a day, I was that hooked from start to finish.
Chara...more
The audience for Counting Backwards is teenagers (likely girls.) The main character Taylor is someone this age group can identify with easily. She has a lot of anger (for good reason) and she has trouble controlling herself emotionally. It is a difficult time for girls particularly, because of the struggle between becoming a fully independent adult and letting adults continue to guide you toward "what is best for you." Taylor is dealing with this very struggle, as she is very confident that only...more
I got this book also from my Teen Read Week pile. ;) I think this is the second to last so I've almost finished the whole pile!
The Cover:
Hmmm. I find the cover hard to look at. LOL. I don't know which person I should look at. But I must say, she looks pretty looking down like that. I don't think she has any make-up on. If she does, it must be light make-up.
The Characters:
Her name is Taylor Truwell. She goes to Sunny Meadows which is a place where teens get treatment in a juvenile psychiatric co...more
The Cover:
Hmmm. I find the cover hard to look at. LOL. I don't know which person I should look at. But I must say, she looks pretty looking down like that. I don't think she has any make-up on. If she does, it must be light make-up.
The Characters:
Her name is Taylor Truwell. She goes to Sunny Meadows which is a place where teens get treatment in a juvenile psychiatric co...more
Taylor's father had a judge change her probation to a stay at a group facility where she could receive counseling as well. At first Taylor hates it, despite the few overtures of friendship she receives, and despite everyone encouraging her to give it a chance. She is not crazy, and she does not need help. So she plans her escape, which fails, but she continues to try everything she can to get out. Including, eventually, finally, accepting help and starting to deal with her panic attacks.
I thoug...more
I thoug...more
Reviewed at http://www.mandikayereads.com/archive...
I had mixed feelings about Counting Backwards. The first half of the book was pretty much meh. It seemed very after-school special to me. I felt that Taylor was selfish and I wanted nothing more than to reach through the pages of the book and throttle her.
Maybe that just means Lascarso writes angsty teenager well? Then I realized that having any sort of emotional reaction at all to a book means that the author is doing a really good job.
By the...more
I had mixed feelings about Counting Backwards. The first half of the book was pretty much meh. It seemed very after-school special to me. I felt that Taylor was selfish and I wanted nothing more than to reach through the pages of the book and throttle her.
Maybe that just means Lascarso writes angsty teenager well? Then I realized that having any sort of emotional reaction at all to a book means that the author is doing a really good job.
By the...more
You've seen that cover and thought to yourself, "What is wrong with that girl?" I thought the same thing and that is exactly why I wanted to read this book. We meet Taylor as she is checking into a psychiatric facility after a failed runaway attempt. As you can guess, Taylor isn't too thrilled about being there. Even though she was absolutely miserable living with her alcoholic mother, home was better than this place. She gets on the wrong side of some female patients and just when she is at her...more
Counting Backwards is narrated by Taylor Truwell, a sixteen-year-old troubled girl who, after attempting to run away from home, is being forced to stay at a juvenile psychiatric correctional facility. The story arc takes place over eight months, as Taylor fights to keep her sanity and former self as everyone around her tries to change who she is.
The plot of this book sometimes felt a little rushed, and many of the secondary characters were fairly two-dimensional because of this. The main charact...more
The plot of this book sometimes felt a little rushed, and many of the secondary characters were fairly two-dimensional because of this. The main charact...more
Aug 12, 2012
Alice Belikov First lady Ivashkov
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
arc-2012-best-books-ever
I am POWERFUL, I am STRONG, I am in CONTROL.
Counting backwards tells the story of a misunderstood sixteen year old named Taylor Truewell, who is mistaken as a 'Troubled Teen.' Her mother is a drunk and a disconnected father who is the main reason why she was sent to Sunny Meadows after Taylor has runaway from home in a stolen car. Sunny Meadows is a maximum security facility where patience receive intensive psychiatric care and Taylor soon discovers it is not what it seems and is determined to f...more
It took me a while to pick this one up from my TBR pile. Why i waited so long to read this, I dont know.
I really enjoyed this book. It was similar to "Girl Interrupted" The characters all had growth and it kept you interested. It starts off with Taylor being sent to Sunny Medows, which is half boarding school, half psychiatric ward. Upon her arrival she meets Margo, has run ins with the "Latina Queens" and has mysterious late night meetings in the dark with a guy. I really liked Taylor, she was...more
I really enjoyed this book. It was similar to "Girl Interrupted" The characters all had growth and it kept you interested. It starts off with Taylor being sent to Sunny Medows, which is half boarding school, half psychiatric ward. Upon her arrival she meets Margo, has run ins with the "Latina Queens" and has mysterious late night meetings in the dark with a guy. I really liked Taylor, she was...more
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See full review here!
While I read this pretty quickly, I wasn't ever hooked to the story. I was mildly intrigued until close to the end, about 3/4 of the way through. By then I felt invested enough to have to finish it, if only to find out what happens to Margo, AJ, and even Taylor herself.
Taylor thinks she doesn't belong at Sunny Meadows, and maybe she doesn't. But she needs some emotional help after dealing with panic attacks for years and stealing her mom's boyfriend-of-the-month's car to ru...more
While I read this pretty quickly, I wasn't ever hooked to the story. I was mildly intrigued until close to the end, about 3/4 of the way through. By then I felt invested enough to have to finish it, if only to find out what happens to Margo, AJ, and even Taylor herself.
Taylor thinks she doesn't belong at Sunny Meadows, and maybe she doesn't. But she needs some emotional help after dealing with panic attacks for years and stealing her mom's boyfriend-of-the-month's car to ru...more
Taylor Truwell's home life sucked a lot. With an alcoholic Mom who needs a parent to care for her (not the other way around like it should be), an absent and cold Father she has no reason to stick around. So she steals a car and tries to run away. But when she's caught the Judge throws her into Sunny Meadows, a juvenile psychiatric hospital, per her Dad's recommendation. Angry, scared and seriously lost Taylor is now being forced to take a good long look at her life and why things are going so b...more
Counting Backwards is an amazing story that I breezed through quickly. The story and the characters are well-written, and the emotions with the story are portrayed well.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD
Taylor is a great main character. She becomes tired of living with her alcoholic mom and watching her mom bring home different men from the bar each night, so she decides to run away from home. She steals the car that her mom's guy of the night brought home, and the police catch her. She is sent to Sunny Me...more
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD
Taylor is a great main character. She becomes tired of living with her alcoholic mom and watching her mom bring home different men from the bar each night, so she decides to run away from home. She steals the car that her mom's guy of the night brought home, and the police catch her. She is sent to Sunny Me...more
Via http://onlectus.blogspot.com/2012/10/...
Firstly, the cover doesn’t go with the content of the book. They should’ve put an angry girl on it, because that is what Taylor is, angry all the time. She has to spend time at this special boarding school --- read juvenile psychiatric correctional facility, after being arrested for stealing a car and trying to run away.
Annoying, heated and fuming Taylor is angry, well, at her parents – mostly - and nothing that it is said to her goes through. Being th...more
Firstly, the cover doesn’t go with the content of the book. They should’ve put an angry girl on it, because that is what Taylor is, angry all the time. She has to spend time at this special boarding school --- read juvenile psychiatric correctional facility, after being arrested for stealing a car and trying to run away.
Annoying, heated and fuming Taylor is angry, well, at her parents – mostly - and nothing that it is said to her goes through. Being th...more
Received book from publisher as part of Laura Lascarso's Blog Tour.
Please visit http://lunaslittlelibrary.wordpress.com/ for more details.
Review:
I read Counting Backwards in one sitting. Laura Lascarso’s writing just flows, making it very hard to put the book down. Taylor is a good narrator, I didn’t love her but I needed to know what would happen. Personally my favourite character was Margo but Dr Deb is also pretty cool.
Taylor is deposited at Sunny Meadows by her father, who walked out on he...more
Please visit http://lunaslittlelibrary.wordpress.com/ for more details.
Review:
I read Counting Backwards in one sitting. Laura Lascarso’s writing just flows, making it very hard to put the book down. Taylor is a good narrator, I didn’t love her but I needed to know what would happen. Personally my favourite character was Margo but Dr Deb is also pretty cool.
Taylor is deposited at Sunny Meadows by her father, who walked out on he...more
Aug 07, 2012
Krista
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Young Adults, Adults and fiction lovers
I won't lie just reading the overview months back I was edgy beyond words to read this book. For me, Counting Backwards hit the ball right into my ballpark of troubled times when I was young. Also the cover just got me, so was I excited to be hosting a part in Laura Lascarso blog tour. OH YES!! The moment I picked up Counting Backwards by Laura Lascarso, I was reminded of myself, having a mother that was neglectful growing up. But as I read chapter by chapter I was taken into Taylor Truwell's st...more
[Review originally published on Rather Be Reading!]
Normally, if someone’s first offense is stealing a car, they don’t typically end up in a psychiatric facility.
Probation? Sure.
Community service? Definitely.
Let this be a testament to how over-the-top Taylor’s father was. He had her best intentions in mind when he requested she be placed there, but from an outsider’s perspective, the entire family should have taken up camp in a facility. Taylor’s parents split years before and she chose to stay w...more
Normally, if someone’s first offense is stealing a car, they don’t typically end up in a psychiatric facility.
Probation? Sure.
Community service? Definitely.
Let this be a testament to how over-the-top Taylor’s father was. He had her best intentions in mind when he requested she be placed there, but from an outsider’s perspective, the entire family should have taken up camp in a facility. Taylor’s parents split years before and she chose to stay w...more
"I’m not a person to them; I’m a problem that needs fixing. And there’s nothing wrong with me.”
For a tale of girl on self-destruct, COUNTING BACKWARDS went quickly… yet somehow also almost too neatly. It’s this last that could explain my lukewarm reception I have for it. I’d have loved it to be messier; I’d have been more than interested were Taylor less 1-2-3. She and her life certainly were all that at first, but there’s actually only one moment that had me chest-clutching because it was so...more
See more reviews at Once Upon a Prologue!
In Counting Backwards, we meet Taylor Truwell just as her father has committed her to Sunny Meadows, a correctional facility where Taylor feels she doesn't belong. Taylor is in a downward spiral brought on by dealing with her alcoholic mother; caught between a rock and a hard place, Taylor has acted out, and must pay the consequences. I felt for her at once with a rush of sympathy, but more than that, I believed in her. Lascarso created a character with...more
In Counting Backwards, we meet Taylor Truwell just as her father has committed her to Sunny Meadows, a correctional facility where Taylor feels she doesn't belong. Taylor is in a downward spiral brought on by dealing with her alcoholic mother; caught between a rock and a hard place, Taylor has acted out, and must pay the consequences. I felt for her at once with a rush of sympathy, but more than that, I believed in her. Lascarso created a character with...more
*A copy was provided by Atheneum for review purposes*
I’ve been on a contemporary run these past few weeks, and this is yet another one to add to the list. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
This book is sad, sad, sad. But it was still a good idea, and I loved how Lascarso wrote it very well. The story line was great, and the staging for the escape was really good too. I loved that Lascarso didn’t make it too easy and the events just came together perfectly. I always love happy endings, and this one was cer...more
I’ve been on a contemporary run these past few weeks, and this is yet another one to add to the list. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
This book is sad, sad, sad. But it was still a good idea, and I loved how Lascarso wrote it very well. The story line was great, and the staging for the escape was really good too. I loved that Lascarso didn’t make it too easy and the events just came together perfectly. I always love happy endings, and this one was cer...more
Originally posted at: http://iliveforreading.blogspot.sg/20...
I had been itching to start this one the moment I got home from vacation, and finally having to for the blog tour, I managed to read this in two sittings: before going to sleep and the first thing I did when I woke up. It was seriously that good. Counting Backwards is exactly what it says it is: an enrapturing novel about Taylor's challenge to find herself, love and come to terms with the people who surround her. Laura Lascarso's writ...more
I had been itching to start this one the moment I got home from vacation, and finally having to for the blog tour, I managed to read this in two sittings: before going to sleep and the first thing I did when I woke up. It was seriously that good. Counting Backwards is exactly what it says it is: an enrapturing novel about Taylor's challenge to find herself, love and come to terms with the people who surround her. Laura Lascarso's writ...more
Taylor Truwell is angry – at her drunken mother, and especially at her impossible-to-please father, since he's the one who convinced the judge to send Taylor to Sunny Meadows. From trying to break out of Sunny Meadows to trying to fit in so she can be released, Taylor goes on a personal journey to find out who she is and who she wants to be. Right from the beginning, Taylor's strong voice and personality easily captured my attention, and Taylor's character growth throughout the novel is wonderfu...more
This book surprised me in a lot of good ways. The voice of Taylor is strong throughout, and the theme of the deer and her people given from her father works subtly in the back ground. The cover (for those who were wondering) I think represents the real Taylor and the "fake" Taylor that struggle for hope and healing throughout the story. I'll definitely be checking out other works by the author. Well done. I'm also going to see if I can't queue this for review at TCM where I post in depth reviews...more
I am so glad I had the opportunity to read Counting Backwards. Lascarso does a masterful job of capturing the twisting and changing nature of people and she digs deep into all that Taylor was, is, and wants to be. Often it isn't pretty and it can be extremely frustrating watching Taylor ruin things for herself again and again. But ultimately, this is a story of redemption and hope, and it is definitely worth the time and will leave you thinking well after the last page.
Read my full review: Quirk...more
Read my full review: Quirk...more
Found a sale copy at B&N, score!
I read up to chapter five and was still not convinced that there was anything I needed to know about the end. I really felt that Taylor was a bit of a drama queen. But, I did want to know who belonged to the voice, or at least prove my own suspicions, so I read on.
Chapter nine was the make or break moment, I would either finish the book or abandon it.
It was my desire to figure out A.J., he actually carried my to the end. Although, I did not get his whole sto...more
I read up to chapter five and was still not convinced that there was anything I needed to know about the end. I really felt that Taylor was a bit of a drama queen. But, I did want to know who belonged to the voice, or at least prove my own suspicions, so I read on.
Chapter nine was the make or break moment, I would either finish the book or abandon it.
It was my desire to figure out A.J., he actually carried my to the end. Although, I did not get his whole sto...more
a troubled teenaged girl, searching for hope and love. Absolutely love the writing. straight and to the point. perfect metaphors "the girls scurried back to their rooms like cockroaches on a summer night" Quick Read, as its a YA book, but still great.
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COUNTING BACKWARDS is Laura Lascarso’s debut novel released by Atheneum (Simon & Schuster) in August 2012. She lives in in North Florida with her darling husband, two children, three chickens and a dog named Lucy.
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“...You're worried that you're going to go out of here and mess up your lines or trip on your high heels, but you're not. You're going to blow them away, just like you always do. You're a woman who knows what she wants, and you know how to get it. You're going to be the most, Margo, to say the least.”
—
2 people liked it
“I exhale slowly, ten, nine, eight... counting backwards without meaning to, but it feels better than counting up, because at one it will be over, right?”
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2 people liked it
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Sep 17, 2012 11:14am
Sep 17, 2012 11:42am