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91st out of 126 books
—
13 voters
The Encyclopedia of Me
by
Karen Rivers (Goodreads Author)
A is for "Tink Aaron-Martin," "Aardvark," and "Amazing" in this wonderful alphabetical novel!
Tink Aaron-Martin has been grounded AGAIN after an adventure with her best friend Freddie Blue Anderson. To make the time pass, she decides to write an encyclopedia of her life from "Aa" (a kind of lava--okay, she cribbed that from the real encyclopedia) to "Zoo" (she's never been...more
Tink Aaron-Martin has been grounded AGAIN after an adventure with her best friend Freddie Blue Anderson. To make the time pass, she decides to write an encyclopedia of her life from "Aa" (a kind of lava--okay, she cribbed that from the real encyclopedia) to "Zoo" (she's never been...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
September 1st 2012
by Arthur A. Levine Books
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3.5/5 stars
The Encyclopedia of Me takes you on a journey through Tinker’s everyday life in an encyclopedia format. To be honest, I was wary of this type of format, since I am not the biggest fan of verse novels and I was afraid the plot wouldn’t flow and the story would be distorted. However The Encyclopedia of Me was full of laughter, useful information (its an encyclopedia!) and a cute 13-year old female protagonist that has the funniest thoughts, ideas, and interesting tales. My only problem...more
The Encyclopedia of Me takes you on a journey through Tinker’s everyday life in an encyclopedia format. To be honest, I was wary of this type of format, since I am not the biggest fan of verse novels and I was afraid the plot wouldn’t flow and the story would be distorted. However The Encyclopedia of Me was full of laughter, useful information (its an encyclopedia!) and a cute 13-year old female protagonist that has the funniest thoughts, ideas, and interesting tales. My only problem...more
Aspiring writer Isadora "Tink" Aaron-Martin chronicles a formative summer (including a first kiss, friendship drama, and life with an autistic older brother) in linked encyclopedia entries.
As a reader, I loved Tink for lots of reasons: she has spunk to spare, she has a wicked sense of humor, and she's a girl who skateboards. But what I loved most as a librarian is that Tink is biracial, but this isn't a book about being biracial; and Tink has an autistic brother, but this isn't a book about auti...more
As a reader, I loved Tink for lots of reasons: she has spunk to spare, she has a wicked sense of humor, and she's a girl who skateboards. But what I loved most as a librarian is that Tink is biracial, but this isn't a book about being biracial; and Tink has an autistic brother, but this isn't a book about auti...more
I saw my 13-y/o daughter reading this, and as I read a page over her shoulder, I laughed out loud. So once she was done with it, I picked it up.
Great book! I loved that reading it was like actually speaking to my daughter - the speech patterns, made-up-but-hilair words, and other things were just like I hear every day.
And the story was good, too. Ms. Rivers was able to build a cohesive story into the structure of an encyclopedia, which is cool by itself, but it was a good story! The kind of thin...more
Great book! I loved that reading it was like actually speaking to my daughter - the speech patterns, made-up-but-hilair words, and other things were just like I hear every day.
And the story was good, too. Ms. Rivers was able to build a cohesive story into the structure of an encyclopedia, which is cool by itself, but it was a good story! The kind of thin...more
An encyclopedia is a collection of facts. A novel is a story. The whole idea behind Karen Rivers’ The Encyclopedia of Me is to write a novel in the style of an encyclopedia. But a story is more than just a collection of facts. So, naturally, it is quite challenging to constrict a story to the structure of an encyclopedia. Rivers makes a good attempt, but she does not quite succeed.
As I was reading, I found myself dividing the various encyclopedia entries into two categories: boring statements of...more
As I was reading, I found myself dividing the various encyclopedia entries into two categories: boring statements of...more
Sep 16, 2012
Barbara
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
animals,
bullies,
families,
friendship,
identity,
ncbla2013,
romance,
school,
self-esteem,
word-lovers,
writing,
special-ed,
gifted
Eighth grader Tink Aaron-Martin [She also goes by Is and Isadora] spends most of the summer grounded for various reasons, most of them involving her BFF Freddie Blue. To fill her time, she begins writing an encyclopedia centered around her life but also containing interesting sidenotes about bears, eels, fish, whatever strikes her fancy. The entries trace the strong tie between Tink and her friend as it starts to unravel, and Freddie Blue morphs into someone else. Readers will enjoy Tink's voice...more
Tink decides that an encyclopedia of her life would be just the right thing to help her get through middle school and all the drama in her life. She is the child of a "white redhead" and an African-American, she is short, and her two older twin brothers often just make her crazy. One of the twins, Seb, has autism. Tink's BFF, Freddie Blue, is a true blue friend, at least for a little while. There seems to be a competition between the girls as to who will have the first boyfriend, and while Tink...more
I don't read a lot of middle grade books, but I grabbed an ARC of this at ALA because it sounded cute. After skimming the first page, I decided to give it a try and ended up not being able to put it down! The main character, Tink, is so real and the thoughts she has throughout the "encyclopedia" are exactly like ones I'd had as a 12-going-on-13-year-old. Especially the back and forth and friends but not friends situations she has with her BFF. So much of that could have been me at that age. I'm...more
Tink Aaron-Martin has been best friends with Freddie Blue Anderson forever, getting into trouble more times that she can count. Now that she has been grounded, yet again, Tink decides that she's going to write her own encyclopedia. As she writes, her friendship seems to be falling apart because Freddie wants to be popular more than she wants to be BFFs. Also they both like Kai, the new boy next door to the Aaron-Martins, Tink begins to skateboard with Ruthie (an unpopular girl Freddie can't stan...more
I didn't stick with this book even though I said I would. The encyclopedia of me by Kaaren Rivers is a realistic fiction novel. I've taken a break from those for a while so it just may be the transistion back into the genre. The book is written in thirteen year old Tink Araon-Martin's perpective. She comes from a family of five. Being the youngest she really only gets attention when she does something bad. It;s especially hard on Tink because her life pretty much revalves around her fifteen year...more
I really enjoyed this book because of the characters and the story. It's told in the format of an encyclopedia which is fun and kind of unique. It also has footnotes(1).
It took a bit to get the story going - a fair amount of explaining who's who and what's what - but that was all entertaining, so that was fine. There was a great story about family, friendship, growing up, and love all woven together in a humourous and enjoyable way. I think middle grade readers will really enjoy this book.
(1)I h...more
It took a bit to get the story going - a fair amount of explaining who's who and what's what - but that was all entertaining, so that was fine. There was a great story about family, friendship, growing up, and love all woven together in a humourous and enjoyable way. I think middle grade readers will really enjoy this book.
(1)I h...more
I received a copy of this ARC at ALA - the book is coming out Sept2012. I would give it three stars personally -- but 4 stars if I were 11-13 years old. I though the encyclopedic format would disrupt the pace of plot, but it actually worked quite well after the first couple of letters. The main character was fantastic and I though the author did a great job portraying the ups and downs of a dysfunctional family, complete believably real parents, faults and all. I also loved that the main charact...more
This and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes
Cover Impressions: The cover is cute and would definitely appeal to a teen audience. The imagery charmingly hints at a kiss and the colors are eye-catching.
The Gist: Tink Aaron-Martin is not your average teenager. After being grounded (again) she forgoes the moping and whining typical of her age and instead escapes with her laptop up her favorite tree and proceeds to write an encyclopedia of her life.
Review: This novel has a very uni...more
Interesting format ... carried off well in light of the fact that encyclopedias are usually not gripping reading.
Good humor and interesting POV.
Some real life issues involved - autism, family dealing with a family member needing extra care, friendship, boyfriends, kissing, parental strife, hobbies, etc. From a psychological point of view ... not advocating preachy or heavy but ... getting a boyfriend and lots of kissing is what one is rooting for/the goal, and without being moralistic I would...more
Good humor and interesting POV.
Some real life issues involved - autism, family dealing with a family member needing extra care, friendship, boyfriends, kissing, parental strife, hobbies, etc. From a psychological point of view ... not advocating preachy or heavy but ... getting a boyfriend and lots of kissing is what one is rooting for/the goal, and without being moralistic I would...more
This was a good realistic fiction story for girls. Starting out as a girl writing an encyclopedia of her life while grounded, it slowly turns into more: Tink's friendship with FB (Freddie Blue), her crush on the boy who moves in next door, and her brother's autism. Tink's friendship with FB changes as the girls grow in different directions, and some of the events that occur ring very true for middle school girls. The story flow from one encyclopedia passage to the next and is filled with humor,...more
So very fun. Young girls are going to get a HUGE kick out of Tink, or Is, or Isadora.. whatever it is she ends up wanting to be called.
Isadora is an 8th grade girl, who is very vibrant, witty and engaging. I loved her personality, she is someone most girls will identify with. She lives with her parents and 2 brothers. One of has autism which leaves the family stressed and a bit broken. But they all lean on each other, and Tink will have you laughing out loud.
Karen Rivers has a wonderful talent,...more
Isadora is an 8th grade girl, who is very vibrant, witty and engaging. I loved her personality, she is someone most girls will identify with. She lives with her parents and 2 brothers. One of has autism which leaves the family stressed and a bit broken. But they all lean on each other, and Tink will have you laughing out loud.
Karen Rivers has a wonderful talent,...more
Tink is growing up, stuck when we meet her in that horrible place between a young girl and a young woman. We see her transition gradually, step by step, which is often how that transition happens. The beginning feels younger than the end, which is the way it should be. There's a family that is imperfect (including parents who disagree on how to raise Tink's brother who is on the spectrum [and that's rarely portrayed]) and a cute boy next door. A great, clean recommendation for those younger kids...more
Okay. Perhaps I'm a bit old to be reading books for children, but I feel like I get away with it because I'm a teacher and am hoping to one day be a teacher-librarian. That being said, I read a lot of novels for kids and I had high hopes for this one - hopes that were assuredly disappointed by page 25.
The premise of the story taking place as an encyclopedia was very interesting to begin with - but in the end it made it more annoying than interesting. No one really cares that Aa is a kind of lav...more
The premise of the story taking place as an encyclopedia was very interesting to begin with - but in the end it made it more annoying than interesting. No one really cares that Aa is a kind of lav...more
Cover Impressions: The cover is cute and would definitely appeal to a teen audience. The imagery charmingly hints at a kiss and the colors are eye-catching.
The Gist: Tink Aaron-Martin is not your average teenager. After being grounded (again) she forgoes the moping and whining typical of her age and instead escapes with her laptop up her favorite tree and proceeds to write an encyclopedia of her life.
Review: This novel has a very unique style. The narrative is woven throughout encyclopedia entr...more
Take away the format (an encyclopedia with entries from Aa to Zoo) and you're left with a rather average story about a girl, Isobel (known as Tink). She's 13, her BFF is named Freddie Blue, her father is Afro-Caribbean and her mother is a white redhead, and she has two older twin brothers, one with autism and one without. Tink goes through the usual crises of the early teen years of watching her BFF change, finding other friends (or not), getting a boyfriend (or not), etc. much as any other 13-y...more
This is one of the funniest books I have ever read, which is why it's made it to my favorites on my GoodReads bookshelves! The kids were so awkward with each other, it made me laugh mid-sentence. And having all those shortened words, that was definitely different, but I liked it, it made me think sometimes about the actual word Tink was trying to say.(Tink is the main character). What I LOVED was the whole encyclopedia setup of the book. I've always heard about people reading a set of encycloped...more
I was impressed at how smoothly Ms. Rivers was able to move the story along using the format of an encyclopedia. I expected that by followig the alphabet the story would be choppy and disjoineted, but it was actually a very clever way of telling the story. My only complaint was the use of the teen "jargon". Working with students around that age , I have never heard anyof them use words like "glam" "malg" hilar" "geni" etc... I think that using those types of expressions made Tink seem immature a...more
At the end of the summer before 8th grade, Tink Aaron-Martin begins writing an encyclopedia about herself. A cute boys moves in next door, her older brother’s autism escalates family issues, her BFF has a new friend (Tink’s WEE - worst enemy ever) and school is about to start. Tink can’t even enjoy the last weeks of summer because she seems to be constantly grounded! Told in the style of encyclopedia entries and footnotes, this book made me laugh and cry. A good, clean read with a bit of teen ro...more
I like the character Tink and inclusion of brother Seb and his impact on family; I dislike the encyclopedia format—I found it clunky and disjointed. I didn’t feel involved in the story & was content to skim quickly (w/o reading the footnotes) to finish. I felt no need to read more deeply. Focus was more on longtime friends growing apart in middle school than a family living with autism, making it just another on that theme.
I did not really care for this book. The main character, whose name is Tink, decides to write an encyclopedia about her life. The way the book is laid out is amusing, with each section having a title and arranged alphabetically. Some sections were longer than other. My issue was that the plot was very light and airy, and a lot of the dialogue was kind of hard to believe and follow.
The book is well-written, unusual, believable-enough characters, sympathetic family, good plot despite the encyclopedic format...which was interestting to use but somehow managed to make the book and the alphabet seem very long. Reminded me a bit of Angus, Thongs by Rennison...but this book is for slightly younger and much more patient readers.
Very good realistic fiction for girls with a fun format and some real issues folded in. Friends and how friendships change, family issues (autistic brother), standing up for yourself and defining who you are and who you want to be. Mix in romance, writing, skateboading, and silly new made-up slang vocabulary for a fun, cool read.
This was a cute middle grade book. Tink is a very likable narrator and I was very glad that her parents didn't actually name her Tink. She makes interesting choices that are not always for the best but that is how a lot of girls her age are. Her brother's autism was well-dealt with and the encyclopedia format worked out very well.
I am thoroughly impressed. Smart, funny and learning-to-be-brave protagonist, a horrible (but not one-dimensional) best friend, a clueless and cute boyfriend, and a fantastic format! It creates so many opportunities and Rivers takes full advantage of the randomness available by following an alphabetical path.
That was pleasant enough. You can't think too hard about the book's format and how characters conveniently have last names that fall alphabetically in places that correspond with where they need to be introduced chronologically. But that's easy enough to do because the story is otherwise cute and funny.
This was a sweet YA read. It felt more like a middle grade story, which is perfect because it is about a girl's, Tink's, first love and how friendships can change as people grow and become different people. She also shares information about how living with a brother with autism can be interesting and difficult at the same time.
For me it was really all about the format: Tink is a writer and she's writing an encyclopedia entry for each element/person/item that is important in her life. It was als...more
For me it was really all about the format: Tink is a writer and she's writing an encyclopedia entry for each element/person/item that is important in her life. It was als...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| what did you think? | 1 | 2 | May 01, 2013 09:26am |
Karen Rivers is too thrown by the "Date of Death" drop down that has appeared below her name in the editing section of this page to actually write anything about her life. When she recovers, this box will be filled with imperative biographical information and may include SECRETS and probably also a few LIES. Now she is going to sit back and anxiously track that "Date of Death" box in case a date s...more
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