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Abby, My Love
Chip and Abby establish a loving friendship that is shaken when Abby reveals that she has been the victim of her father's sexual abuse since childhood
146 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 16, 2011
A book everyone should read.
Chip is a young guy who lives with his mom and he has crush on Abby who goes at the same school as him. To get to know Abby isn't the easiest thing in the world. She is smart but very modest. He only gets contact with her through her very outgoing little sister. But after a while Chip finally gets to know Abby a bit and they hang out time to time. They get each other and join each other's company. But Abby is having a terrible dark secret. And how is her best friend Chip gonna handle it if he finds out about it?
I had completely forgotten about the book when I this summer went through the books that I have had since I was kid and in my youth. I have a room where I save all kinds of stuff, mostly books that I have been saving all my life. (I don't have the heart to throw them away). I was a member in many different book clubs over the years. That's one of the reasons I have a lot of books. And when I was cleaning those shelves I discovered this book and wanted to read it. I also discovered other books that I never had the chance to read but that I am gonna read now. So, I'm glad I went through the collection.
This is a young adult book that brings up a serious and sad subject. Unfortunately there are kids out there who is abused by someone they know really well. What they go through is something I don't want to know about. That's why it's important to write about subjects like this to wake us up and let us know that there is actually terrible things happening in this world. Gruesome stuff happens and what is worse than gruesome stuff happening in your own home where it's suppose to be safe? Can anyone let someone close again after going through such an awful thing? Who can you trust? It's just some of a lot of questions as a reader asks while reading such a book. And I got even more grateful for having a safe and good childhood myself. 'Cause everyone doesn't get the ability to have that.
Abby, My Love is an important and hurtful book that gives a lot of impression. The book is warm and sad. And it gives a different perspective about how important safety really is.
Highlights: The book brings up a subject that no one wants to talk about.
Downhill: I wish the book was thicker 'cause I liked Chip and Abby a lot.
August 21, 2016
1. I really liked the tone and voice of the "Valedictory" chapter but it seemed to change after that chapter. Speaking of which, I love the word valedictory and think we need to bring it back.
2. Chip's mom putting the beer in the fridge made me laugh out loud.
3. I went and read the A.A. Milne Buckingham Palace poem for the first time.
4. I'm an English teacher so I'm stealing Mr. Hansen's idea about the Spoon River poetry. Bam.
5. I then had to look up Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson. I read Sophistication while I was at it. I see the parallels of the maturing of boy and girl to man and woman. But also trying to hold on to youth. The pull of outside forces against a relationship. The sophistication of a boy in love with a girl.
6. Basically the turnaround of Chip inspired me as a teacher.
7. I also had to look up names of people Chip and Abby would talk about such as Lilian Gish.
8. Another part that made me laugh out loud: Chip gets his new car and Abby says, "It's a beautiful car. I'm particularly impressed with the air conditioning. Did you know you can see the ground through the floor on my side?"
9. I feel like I'm reading a John Green novel if he wrote in the 80s. The part about them skipping school to go to the Capitol especially.
10. May Abby's dad rot in hell since he's obviously not getting arrested. Times have changed since 1985 when this was written.
11. Abby was a clever girl by using Mildred Fillmore as a reflection of herself.
12. I want to snap Abby's mom in half.
13. I just really love this book and thought it was so smart.
14. Chip's love for Abby is so pure and sweet.
15. One of my students gave me this book and she picked up on something that was brilliant. She said that the alligator that Chip peeled off of his shirt was a brand name at that time and now people kill to have brand names splashed across their clothes. They probably did then too which sort of shows the maturity level of Chip and the lengths he went for Abby.
16. I read To a Waterfowl by William Cullen Bryant that was mentioned in the book too. I suppose we can compare Abby to a bird who will one day take flight away from the things that are holding her back and become the young lady she was always intended to be. The poem says about birds, "The long way I must tread alone." Abby doesn't tell anyone about her secret for years and treads alone for so long.
2. Chip's mom putting the beer in the fridge made me laugh out loud.
3. I went and read the A.A. Milne Buckingham Palace poem for the first time.
4. I'm an English teacher so I'm stealing Mr. Hansen's idea about the Spoon River poetry. Bam.
5. I then had to look up Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson. I read Sophistication while I was at it. I see the parallels of the maturing of boy and girl to man and woman. But also trying to hold on to youth. The pull of outside forces against a relationship. The sophistication of a boy in love with a girl.
6. Basically the turnaround of Chip inspired me as a teacher.
7. I also had to look up names of people Chip and Abby would talk about such as Lilian Gish.
8. Another part that made me laugh out loud: Chip gets his new car and Abby says, "It's a beautiful car. I'm particularly impressed with the air conditioning. Did you know you can see the ground through the floor on my side?"
9. I feel like I'm reading a John Green novel if he wrote in the 80s. The part about them skipping school to go to the Capitol especially.
10. May Abby's dad rot in hell since he's obviously not getting arrested. Times have changed since 1985 when this was written.
11. Abby was a clever girl by using Mildred Fillmore as a reflection of herself.
12. I want to snap Abby's mom in half.
13. I just really love this book and thought it was so smart.
14. Chip's love for Abby is so pure and sweet.
15. One of my students gave me this book and she picked up on something that was brilliant. She said that the alligator that Chip peeled off of his shirt was a brand name at that time and now people kill to have brand names splashed across their clothes. They probably did then too which sort of shows the maturity level of Chip and the lengths he went for Abby.
16. I read To a Waterfowl by William Cullen Bryant that was mentioned in the book too. I suppose we can compare Abby to a bird who will one day take flight away from the things that are holding her back and become the young lady she was always intended to be. The poem says about birds, "The long way I must tread alone." Abby doesn't tell anyone about her secret for years and treads alone for so long.
August 3, 2016
I wanted more from this book. I think a story about incest should heavily focus on the aftermath of the truth having coming out. The major issues seemed to be glossed over. I wanted to know how Abby's mother reacted when her husband was accused, I wanted to know if anything substantial was going to happen to him.
I wasn't getting anything I wanted so I started skipping around. The end was very unsatisfying. It seemed like nothing much at all was going to happen.
I wasn't getting anything I wanted so I started skipping around. The end was very unsatisfying. It seemed like nothing much at all was going to happen.
April 17, 2013
I actually had the honor of meeting the authors at an 8th grade writing conference. Loved this book then, still a great read and definately one I would recommend to my children.
December 13, 2016
Abby My Love written by Hadley Irwin is about Chip is a young teenager growing up without a father and falling in love. Chip goes threw many stages like when he gave up on girls and joined a club where the only rule were no girls, he also didn't take showers or comb his hair. His mother grew very worried and came to him "Your a complete slob". I really thought Chip was a strong character because of him growing up without a father and him overcoming all these things and handling the situations with Abby.Chip quickly fell in love with Abby even though she's complicated, Abby is also extreamly smart and her and Chip get to know each other a lot better when she gets moved up to the older kids class and has English with Chip. Chip try's to get close to Abby but quickly notices that she zones herself out or as he says she's at two places at once. He continues to try to get Abby and finally asks her to the dance. Abby is also a very strong character but I feel like she could have handled the situation in many different ways about what was going on in her life than just a phone call. instead of them walking home from the dance Abby's farther picks them up, Abby's Farther also tells Chip that "Abby is mine". Abby's father also meets with Chips mother to ask her if Chip and Abby are doing anything they shouldn't. Abby continues to get closer with Chip they make up Fake birthdays and skip school together, This was one of my favorite part in the book because this is when we really get to know Abby better and really see how she distances herself from everything because of her dad hurting her. not long after Abby's mother and sister Pete decide to leave for vacation a week before Abby and her father, That when Abby decides she can't do it anymore and meets Chip at the park to tell him her father has been raping and molesting her. Chip and Chips mothers boyfriend talked Abby into going to Children's protection and telling them what has happened. in the end Abby and Chip end up together with Abby's Father far away. I was very proud of Abby in the end of the book for over coming everything and finding in her heart that she loves Chips.
August 15, 2015
Dit is young adult toen young adult nog niet as such bestond, Rainbow Rowell voor de tieners van een kwarteeuw geleden: Chip wordt verliefd op Abby maar het is allemaal nogal gecompliceerd, want Abby laat zich niet zomaar vangen en dan blijkt dat ze een groot geheim met zich meedraagt.
Anders dan Rowell winden Hadley Irwin – het is immers een schrijverskoppel – er geen doekjes om en het resultaat is een dun boekje, met een onomwonden verhaal dat recht op z’n doel afgaat. Geen groots schrijverschap, maar een mooi verhaal.
En ze hebben er nog meer, alleen weet ik niet of ze die tegenwoordig nog uitgeven allemaal. Jammer!
Anders dan Rowell winden Hadley Irwin – het is immers een schrijverskoppel – er geen doekjes om en het resultaat is een dun boekje, met een onomwonden verhaal dat recht op z’n doel afgaat. Geen groots schrijverschap, maar een mooi verhaal.
En ze hebben er nog meer, alleen weet ik niet of ze die tegenwoordig nog uitgeven allemaal. Jammer!
March 24, 2010
I read this book in 1995 when i was still a school girl. Recently while i was cleaning my old house shelves, i stumbled upon this book and I am reading it again. many parts of the story i have forgotten but i could still remembered reading this book and thinking about sexual abuse. It's a good book for youth so that they are aware of such acts and know how to deal with it.
June 5, 2014
I remember reading this book when i went to junior high, and I remember the feelings I felt after reading it. It was like it change my world some how. I no longer watched the world with the eyes of an naive little girl. I learned that things isn't always as it seems with people, and to not jugde before you know the hole story.
If you havn't already read this book then buy it one!
If you havn't already read this book then buy it one!
October 16, 2011
I had fond memories of this book. It was not the first book that i read, but it was the first that really mesmerized me. It was hilarious and bittersweet at the same time. Thanks goodreads. i've been searching for this book for ages.
January 5, 2013
Too unpleasant a subject, not handled with enough depth.
July 1, 2014
Good book overall! Not too of big events going on. It's a good 4/5.
January 14, 2018
This isn't an easy book to read.
Lyrical and haunting we follow the story of a boy who loves a girl - which should be a typical teen romance. But the many layers of this story, as they're peeled back, leaves you reeling when you find out what this child is having to endure.
Told in an unusual style, the book becomes almost poetic at times. We cover years, and oddly enough, while there's digressions that leap you ahead, and then flashbacks everywhere, you can follow the action. And by the time you get to the end, you're not entirely sure if everything is going to be OK, though you THINK it will, which maybe is the most honest portrayal of a relationship that I've ever seen in a book. Because there are no happily ever afters without a lot of work, and even then there is a lot of complex emotion, especially when you've been abused by someone you love.
I'm glad the book isn't graphic. What's going on is almost unspoken. But there doesn't need to be. I've seen other, more modern teen books take on the same issue very graphically and have felt mildly (and even not so mildly) traumatized by them. This one...is a little safer. Which makes it an excellent story to open a discussion without wounding the reader.
Lyrical and haunting we follow the story of a boy who loves a girl - which should be a typical teen romance. But the many layers of this story, as they're peeled back, leaves you reeling when you find out what this child is having to endure.
Told in an unusual style, the book becomes almost poetic at times. We cover years, and oddly enough, while there's digressions that leap you ahead, and then flashbacks everywhere, you can follow the action. And by the time you get to the end, you're not entirely sure if everything is going to be OK, though you THINK it will, which maybe is the most honest portrayal of a relationship that I've ever seen in a book. Because there are no happily ever afters without a lot of work, and even then there is a lot of complex emotion, especially when you've been abused by someone you love.
I'm glad the book isn't graphic. What's going on is almost unspoken. But there doesn't need to be. I've seen other, more modern teen books take on the same issue very graphically and have felt mildly (and even not so mildly) traumatized by them. This one...is a little safer. Which makes it an excellent story to open a discussion without wounding the reader.
December 4, 2017
I really liked the book because it shows to never give up no matter how hard it must be and someone will always be there for you no matter what so never stop trying. when Abby finally tells chip about her father sexually abusing her chip didn't leave her, he helped her and that shows a true sign of friendship and whats even better, love. I might just be saying I love this book because it's about love and I love all things that talk about falling in love and being in love, all things like that but this book was very amazing, it was not like many books I have read, this one talks about braveness, courage, and a lot of other traits that most people could not have and never will have because in that situation some simply not be strong enough. like I said this book talks about all those things, Abby has them and that's why she's my favorite cause she can overcome anything it seems like. and Chip will always be there to help her cause he loves her.
December 30, 2016
So I NEVER read the backs of books, and it's books like these that make me glad I don't. I had no idea what Abby's secret was until I read it. Of course I might have guessed it, but it was still fun to be a little surprised. LOOOOOOOOOVVVVVEEE Chip though.
Want to read
January 18, 2011Sequoyah Winner: 1987-1988 (YA)
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews