The Worst Thing She Ever Did

Oct 26, 2011 Crini rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: a-ya, read-2011, genre-contemporary, released-2005-09, lang-german, s-standalone

Ein Buch für eher traurige Stunden:
Auf ganz besondere Art und Weise schildert Alice Kuipers wie es ist, nicht nur mit den alltäglichen Problemen eines Teenagers klar zu kommen, wie Streit mit der besten Freundin, Verliebt sein, dass Eltern einfach immer peinlich sein müssen, sondern zusätzlich noch mit dem Verlust eines geliebten Menschen umzugehen und damit beziehungsweise ohne ihn leben zu lernen.

Besonders gut gefallen hat mir, dass das komplette Buch als Tagebuch geschrieben ist. Und dabei he...more Ein Buch für eher traurige Stunden:
Auf ganz besondere Art und Weise schildert Alice Kuipers wie es ist, nicht nur mit den alltäglichen Problemen eines Teenagers klar zu kommen, wie Streit mit der besten Freundin, Verliebt sein, dass Eltern einfach immer peinlich sein müssen, sondern zusätzlich noch mit dem Verlust eines geliebten Menschen umzugehen und damit beziehungsweise ohne ihn leben zu lernen.

Besonders gut gefallen hat mir, dass das komplette Buch als Tagebuch geschrieben ist. Und dabei heißt es nicht nur einfach auf den ersten Seiten ‘dies wird mein Tagebuch’, sondern man merkt auch wirklich, dass es sich um ein Tagebuch handeln soll und dass nicht nur, weil jeder Abschnitt mit einem Datum versehen ist.

Alice Kuipers schreibt sehr authentisch, man hat wirklich das Gefühl in einem Tagebuch zu lesen und in Sophies geheime Gedanken einzudringen. Sie beschränkt sich dabei nur auf Schilderungen von Situationen, die man selbst auch in ein Tagebuch schreiben würde, die es wert sind, aufgeschrieben zu werden und lässt dabei immer mal wieder mehrere Tage aus. Hinzu kommt, dass vor allem eher kurze, knappe Sätze den Eindruck machen, als wären die Worte erst nach dem Geschehen aufgeschrieben worden, als handelte es sich wirklich nur um die Erinnerung an das Geschehen und nicht um eine Situation, die gerade erst passiert. Und dass zusätzlich Wörter komplett in Großbuchstaben gehalten wurden, um so zum Beispiel Schreien anzudeuten, vermittelt wirklich den Eindruck man habe Sophies Notizbuch vor sich liegen.

Außerdem ist dieses Buch voll von Poesie und macht es so zu einem unheimlich schönen Leseerlebnis. Immer wieder auftauchende, von Sophie oder ihrer Freundin geschriebene, Gedichte geben einen noch tieferen Einblick in ihre Gefühlwelt, vermitteln noch besser den Eindruck, wie es ist, mit dem Verlust eines Menschen umzugehen.

Allgemein hat Alice Kuipers damit ein sehr schweres Thema ausgewählt. Anfangs fing es mir dadurch auch sehr schwer, mich richtig in Sophie hineinzuversetzen, ich konnte manchmal ihre Taten und Gedankengänge nicht ganz nachvollziehen. Besonders eine Situation hatte zur Folge, dass ich sie für sehr egoistisch hielt. Ein Moment, in dem es mir von allem zu viel wurde und Sophie sich wirklich nicht mehr mit dem Schmerz des Verlusts herausreden konnte.

(view spoiler)

Trotzdem hab ich gerne und interessiert weiterverfolgt, wie es Sophie ergeht. Nach und nach kommt man so dem Augenblick näher, in dem Sophie erzählt, wie ihre Welt zusammenbrach. Dabei fand ich es vor allem interessant, wie sie sich nach und nach dem Thema und anderen Personen gegenüber öffnet und endlich über den Verlust spricht.

Ein sehr berührendes Buch, das auf eine ganz besondere und gelungene Art erzählt, wie ein junges Mädchen mit dem Verlust eines ihr geliebten Menschen umgeht und versucht, wieder in ihr altes Leben zurückzufinden.(less)

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Feb 12, 2012 Theresa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

Okay, when the main character describes herself as plain and expounds on that, you can't go and put a heavily-made-up model on the front cover- it just seems ridiculous. There is no reason to have this woman on the front cover- who the hell is she supposed to be?
I did love about this, and about Hold Still, that they both show how parents can want to the best for their kids, but not always know how to deal with their own hurt. Still, as I always say at work, kids tend to not pop out with an inst...more

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Sep 04, 2010 Larissa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own

Sophie is just trying to get on with things, isn't that what they tell you to do after something like this. She's sure she would be fine if people would just stop asking how she's doing. She doesn't want to talk about it, she doesn't even want to think about. She just wants to be left alone.
She's fine.

But slowly Sophie is coming to realise that she is not fine. Not by a long shot. Last summer Sophie's world was turned upside down and nothing has been right since, not her friendship with her best...more

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Aug 10, 2010 Stacy/GirlsInTheStacks.com rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A truly poignant story about loss and the people left behind.

Sophie was an average teenager until “it” happened last summer. All she wanted to do was forget about what happened and move on, however she couldn’t. Everything changed, everything seemed wrong and she couldn’t forget...

This story is told through the eyes of Sophie in journal format. Some days she has lots to say and others nothing more than a line or two. What I like about this is that we see concrete strides made by Sophie and her...more A truly poignant story about loss and the people left behind.

Sophie was an average teenager until “it” happened last summer. All she wanted to do was forget about what happened and move on, however she couldn’t. Everything changed, everything seemed wrong and she couldn’t forget...

This story is told through the eyes of Sophie in journal format. Some days she has lots to say and others nothing more than a line or two. What I like about this is that we see concrete strides made by Sophie and her journey through grief. She doesn’t always have the answers or make the smartest choices, but she is progressing. She’s working through her grief and her emotions.

Throughout this book Sophie tries to return to her former self i.e. going to school and parties, but everywhere she goes the tragedy is always there. Life for her is unbearable yet she is always honest with her feelings and actions (to herself) and that I respect.

Sophie’s relationships played a big role in her grieving process. Her relationship with her mom seemed real. Very real. They both were so sad and overwhelmed by loss that they were shells of themselves, which caused them to avoid each other and in turn made things worse. The events also strained her friendships, especially with her best friend Abigail. You could feel each girls struggle to understand the other and the drift coming in between them. However, it is with a new friend Rosa-Leigh that Sophie is able to start channeling her emotions into something tangible.

The event itself is not told immediately in the story, just bits and pieces at first. I won’t give away the event, or what happened but I will say that I did not see it coming. Not at first anyway. Overall, I’m glad that someone wrote this story, even if it is fiction, because (sadly) somewhere this story hits home.

I think this is a great story about grief and the power of hope and perseverance. This is a must read for everyone.

I give this book 4 STACKS

STACKGirl Stacy

ps – While reading this book I kept thing back to a book I read years ago, Go Ask Alice by Anonymous. The plots are completely different (Go Ask Alice is about depression,) however both are about a young girls coming of age facing hard realizations and their choices. Go Ask Alice is another book every girl should read.
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Jan 31, 2011 Meera rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: y-a, realistic-fiction, drama

Plot: It is about a girl called Sophie who struggles to forget an incident that happened last summer. It is all about how she copes with her new life after that. She finds it hard to communicate with the people around her; she rarely talks about it, and basically pushes people out. She starts writing a diary on a notebook her psychiatrist gave her at some point believing it’ll make her better. The book is Sophie’s diary stating her life on a day to day basis.
Likes: I did not find it that likeabl...more

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Jul 01, 2010 Christy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teen-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Told in first person, journal entries. Sophie is trying to recover from the trauma of losing her sister. You do not find out how her sister was killed until the end of the story but it is hinted at. I wanted to know right away so I was annoyed of course. And not knowing meant that I could not sympathize with her pain until I found out what had happened and while I was shocked and horrified and totally understood why she was having so much trouble coping - it came a little late in the story for m...more Told in first person, journal entries. Sophie is trying to recover from the trauma of losing her sister. You do not find out how her sister was killed until the end of the story but it is hinted at. I wanted to know right away so I was annoyed of course. And not knowing meant that I could not sympathize with her pain until I found out what had happened and while I was shocked and horrified and totally understood why she was having so much trouble coping - it came a little late in the story for me. I would have liked to have known earlier.

Her mother and her are not coping well. The mom seems unable to help her, and Sophie is so angry and confused and she is also suffering from anxiety attacks and post traumatic stress - although she can not put a name to her symptoms. Another reason why it would have been good to know what happened to her sister because Sophie is not only mourning her sister she is dealing with her own fall out from the tragedy. She pulls away from everyone including her best friend who has started hanging out with an unsavory group of girls to fill the hole created when the accident happened and Sophie stopped...well...being Sophie. Although they remain friends it is clear that there is serious strain in the friendship. At the same time a new girl starts at her school and a friendship develops between them. At her urging Sophie begins the long journey to recovery.

The writing is good and Sophie's voice is well done. I have read other stories with similar themes and I am not sure there is anything original in this story that puts it above the others. I'm also concerned with one aspect of Sophie's (former) best friend (can't recall the name right now) but she is engaging in a certain behavior (won't give it away because there is a big reveal at the end that the reader can see coming but Sophie is shocked when she finally figures it all out) anyway it felt like unnecessary drama tacked on the story and it was not handled well. I also did not believe the former bf could be as nasty to Sophie as she was. She is nasty to Sophie in the story because Sophie is no longer the same and I'm not sure I believe that a friend would turn on another friend (especially as close as these two were) just because the one cannot talk or deal with her grief.

Although I did not love this story it was not bad - especially if like stories about overcoming tragedy. Oh, and the Canadian title is The Worst Thing She Ever Did - why the change in title i have know idea. Lost for Words fits to much better.

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Apr 18, 2010 Falling Off The Shelf rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010

This review is being posted here first, rather than my blog due to release date information. (Watch my blog closer to the release date for this same review)

Sophie Baxter has a lot going on in her life, and it all started the day her sister was killed in a London bombing. Instead of finding an outlet, Sophie bottles up all of her feelings and holds onto them with the fierceness of a vice grip. It's only a matter of time before she can't handle the knowledge of the horrors she has endured, and she...more This review is being posted here first, rather than my blog due to release date information. (Watch my blog closer to the release date for this same review)

Sophie Baxter has a lot going on in her life, and it all started the day her sister was killed in a London bombing. Instead of finding an outlet, Sophie bottles up all of her feelings and holds onto them with the fierceness of a vice grip. It's only a matter of time before she can't handle the knowledge of the horrors she has endured, and she will explode. Her therapist gives her a notebook to begin writing down anything that will help her to cope, and this becomes her only outlet.

Lost For Words is written in journal entry form, and at first I thought this was going to be a big problem for me. I've never really been a big fan of reading books written to be like a journal, but in this case, it was the reason for it's success. I also thought that the short sentences would put a damper on my liking for this novel, but it only gave it more depth and feeling, as though a sixteen-year-old girl was truly pouring her heart out onto the pages.

I personally felt like I was prying into someone's private life when I started reading into the story. Sophie clearly didn't want anyone to know her dilemma, and wanted nothing more than to just forget. With her, we learn about how such a tragedy can take a toll on a whole family, and even the friends supporting it. You could literally feel how much Sophie wanted to turn back the tables and have everything be the way it used to.

The one thing that really got me in this book, was Sophie's feelings toward her sister. She was so heartbroken by her loss that nothing else mattered to her, not even her own life. It makes you think of what you may possibly be taking for granted. I have two younger sisters, and a little brother, and reading about Sophie's loss made me weep for her. Towards the end of this book I was bawling my eyes out, and practically hiccuping because I was so gripped by the story. It made me appreciate the family that I have, and since finishing it, I've been trying my hardest not to be so mean to them when they do little things that drive me insane. No one should have to go through the pain of losing someone so close to them.(less)

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Oct 18, 2011 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed

When I first saw this book at the library, I was instantly intrigued by the title (The Worst Thing She Ever Did). What on earth could this girl have done that was so bad? Why is she trying so hard to forget it?
I'll tell you right now, that title is misleading and the reason why is likely because that's actually not the title of this book. This book is called "Lost for Words" and THAT title makes sense.
After doing a bit of snooping around, I discovered that "Lost For Words" was published as "The...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Monica! rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011, reasonably-realistic, this-must-be-what-pain-feels-like

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this little book, and even more surprised that the deep, dark, terrible disaster--unrevealed until two thirds of the way through the story--wasn't what I assumed it was. Way to keep the reader guessing, author!

Sophie isn't necessarily a likeable protagonist. She's terrible to her mother, oblivious to her friends, whiny about her lack of boyfriend, and practically incapable of functioning in the real world. On the other hand, that's pretty much how I imagine...more

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Nov 22, 2012 Leslie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book I read, Lost for Words was about this teenage girl named Sophie and how she coped with the death of her older sister Emily. Sophie is the type of person who doesn't like to express her feelings and thoughts aloud, however the book is written in the form of a diary that she writes in everyday. She finds herself disconnecting with her old friends and finds a strange comfort/connection to this girl named Rosa-Leigh who is new to her school, and is sort of a mysterious type of girl. In the...more

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Dec 19, 2010 Midnight Bloom rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Worst Thing She Ever Did really took me by surprise. Based on the plot description alone, I knew I would probably enjoy it, but I had no inkling just how much I would come to enjoy reading the novel. Emotional and absolutely heartbreaking at times, it was a novel that pulled me in from the very first page and I simply couldn’t put it down… finishing the novel in a mere couple of hours.

Sophie was just like any other teen when one awful day in London, a terrible event suddenly rips away her ol...more The Worst Thing She Ever Did really took me by surprise. Based on the plot description alone, I knew I would probably enjoy it, but I had no inkling just how much I would come to enjoy reading the novel. Emotional and absolutely heartbreaking at times, it was a novel that pulled me in from the very first page and I simply couldn’t put it down… finishing the novel in a mere couple of hours.

Sophie was just like any other teen when one awful day in London, a terrible event suddenly rips away her older sister Emily. But Emily was more than just Sophie’s big older sister- she lost her closest confidante, her best friend, and someone she could always count on to be there for her. Struggling in the aftermath with a mother who barely leaves their home anymore, Sophie just wants to forget what happened that day… but the more she tries, the more she fails and Sophie only wishes she could go back in time to when she was happy again.

The novel is written in journal form, but Sophie narrates in a way that easily allows you to feel her grief and how normalcy is just something she doesn’t know anymore. She feels guilt for what happened that day with her sister, and it’s slowly tearing her apart, making her grow distant and draw away from her close childhood friend Abigail who’s unable to relate to what her friend is going through. With the arrival of Canadian student, Rosa-Leigh, who’s just arrived in England with her family, Sophie is introduced to poetry and slowly, we do see the potential for Sophie to heal… but it won’t be an easy road.

As the novel progresses, we steadily learn through Sophie’s memories about Emily and it’s not until near the end that readers learn how she dies… and when I did, tears began to fall and I couldn’t stop crying. Alice Kuipers did a wonderful job building up to the moment, slowly cluing in the readers with little pieces of the puzzle that finally click into place by the end.

The novel also explored the relationship between a mother and daughter grieving for a loved one as life carried on around them… but it also showed that you have to be strong to find the courage to keep moving forward.

The Worst Thing She Ever Did may have left me in tears, but it also left me with an appreciation for someone who I sometimes take for granted… my own sister.

*The Worst Thing She Ever Did is nominated for the 2011 White Pine Award.*(less)

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Nov 10, 2012 Skye rated it 5 of 5 stars

I truly loved this book. I was just searching in the library and spotted the title so I picked it up. I was the first of my friends to read this book, so I didn't know what to expect. I felt like I could really connect with Sophie throughout the entire story. We have such similar lives. (My sister's name is Emily, except she's not dead.) I could totally understand her changing relationship with friends and a tough relationship with her mother. I also really liked Rosa-Leigh. I'm from Canada and...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Nguyen Phuong rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: lost-and-healing, terrorists

Truly poignant story about loss and the people left behind.

Sophie was an average teenager until “it” happened last summer. All she wanted to do was forget about what happened and move on, however she couldn’t. Everything changed, everything seemed wrong and she couldn’t forget…

This story is told through the eyes of Sophie in journal format. Some days she has lots to say and others nothing more than a line or two. What I like about this is that we see concrete strides made by Sophie and her journ...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Erika (Rickie) Savage rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: febuary

This book is about a high school student named Sophie and how she wants to forget what happened, but she cant, because people are always asking her if everything is alright.Her mother is always at home, not feeling like talking and locked in her room.Soon she starts to lose her best friend Abigal but soon makes a new friend. Sophie starts to close up around herself.

Grace actually recommended this book to me.

I finished this book because I wondered what would happen. I love the suspense, and how t...more

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Jan 26, 2012 Zandra rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This moving story is about a sixteen-year-old girl named Sophie who has a hard time making sense of her life after the death of her sister. As she struggles with profound grief, she shuts out those she was once very close to. She refuses to share her pain with her mother and she begins to dislike and avoid her best friend. It is only after she seeks help from a therapist that she finally begins to heal. She is also helped in her recovery by new classmate, Rosa Leigh, who helps her to appreciate...more

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Jul 21, 2010 Angela (Reading Angels) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a truly griping story of a young girl who is trying to deal with the unbearable grief of losing her sister. Sophie is completely devastated, and her therapist tells her to keep a journal, which is what this book is. Every day Sophie goes through life trying to forget the fact that her sister is dead. Her mother walks around in a daze and barely talks to her. It's been a year spent in a house that is completely quiet.

Sophie's love for her sister was completely touching. I felt for her t...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Adele rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked this book. I liked how the story unfolds about what happened that makes Sophie so sad. As Sophie tries to overcame her problems her memories come back about random stuff about her and her sister Emily. Sophie is coping in the book about her sister being dead because of a terriost attack and how she blames herself for what happened to her sister Emily. Sometimes it was really painful and it was great to see how her and her siter were close. I get how she was mad at her mom about not being...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Nicolette rated it 3 of 5 stars

First off, My English teacher suggested this book as I might be meeting the author for my creative writing class, so I simply decided to read it. Let me just say this book was was very slow and a little boring. I did however enjoy Alice Kuipers' writing, I just wasn't a big fan of the story and some of the characters. Maybe it's because I'm a huge sucker for romance and their wasn't any in this story. Sophie was pretty much screwed up and had a this anger and sadness, but I don't really blame he...more

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Apr 26, 2010 Reaganstar rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have to say, that this book took a bit for me to get into. I thought it was going to turn out as a whole book of a girl being unable to move past the death of her sister. However, once I got about half way through the book things changed and you could see a huge change in not only her but other characters in the book, I was glad that by the end of the book there were others seeking help in many various ways.

After, the entire book I am gonna summarize the book as a good guide for others going...more

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Oct 02, 2012 Lucy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was very disappointed with this book. After reading Life on the refridgerator door a while ago i was really excited to find another Alice Kuiper book as that one was amazing! However i thought this book was very slow and pointless and while reading it i thought that whatever had happened to Sophies sister was going to really shock me and the book would go into alot of details about the event but the book didnt and i was very disappointed. I have read another book that is very similar to this o...more

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Aug 27, 2010 Brandi Kosiner rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is an emotional book written in journal entry form. In some cases, this is a problem with me for books, but Kuipers writes to where it feels seamless to me. I got the feeling I was peeking into someone's private life, so she was successful getting me in Sophie's mind and world.
The friendships are really unstable in this book, but I think that it reflects real life and the stress these are put under (ed and ptsd).
It is frustrating yet also beautiful how the story unfolds, and finding ou...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Brina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nachdem ich bereits von "Sehen wir uns morgen?" restlos begeistert war, stand für mich schnell fest, dass ich auch weitere Bücher von Alice Kuipers lesen möchte. "Vor meinen Augen" kommt an "Sehen wir uns morgen?" nicht heran, dennoch konnte mich die Geschichte zum Großteil von sich überzeugen.

Die Autorin hat einen wunderbaren Schreibstil. Auf sehr eindringliche und dennoch sensible Art und Weise, erweckt sie ihre Charaktere zum Leben und bringt diese dem Leser sehr gut rüber. Obwohl das Buch l...more Nachdem ich bereits von "Sehen wir uns morgen?" restlos begeistert war, stand für mich schnell fest, dass ich auch weitere Bücher von Alice Kuipers lesen möchte. "Vor meinen Augen" kommt an "Sehen wir uns morgen?" nicht heran, dennoch konnte mich die Geschichte zum Großteil von sich überzeugen.

Die Autorin hat einen wunderbaren Schreibstil. Auf sehr eindringliche und dennoch sensible Art und Weise, erweckt sie ihre Charaktere zum Leben und bringt diese dem Leser sehr gut rüber. Obwohl das Buch lediglich aus Tagebucheinträgen besteht, hatte ich nicht das Gefühl, dass es sich hier nur um ein reines Tagebuch handelt, denn dies fällt hier kaum auf und wurde von mir als normaler Roman wahrgenommen. Charaktere und Umstände werden gut und ausführlich beschrieben, allerdings konnten mich die Charaktere allesamt nicht vollständig von sich überzeugen. Besonders große Probleme hatte ich hierbei mit Sophie.

Alice Kuipers erzählt die Geschichte von Sophie, die den Tod ihrer Schwester verarbeiten muss. Dabei wird ihr der Rat gegeben, ein Tagebuch zu führen, um sämtliche Emotionen und Fortschritte aufzulisten. In ihrem Tagebuch schreibt sie über ihr zerrüttetes Verhältnis zu ihrer Mutter, angeknackste Freundschaften und Schwärmereien für Dan. Allerdings wird auch immer wieder ihre Schwester erwähnt, um die sie sehr trauert.
Die Trauer wird authentisch dargestellt, allerdings ist es mir an manchen Stellen dann doch zu viel, denn sie versinkt in Selbstmitleid und entwickelt sich dabei nicht weiter. Anstatt zu verarbeiten, klammert sie sich an die kleinsten Dinge fest. Dies mag zwar am Anfang ein schwacher Trost sein, aber auf Dauer hat es mich dann doch etwas genervt.
Ich konnte ihre Trauer, ihre Gefühle und ihre Gedanken ganz gut verstehen, allerdings hätte ich sie auch gerne wachgerüttelt. Verluste sind im Leben nie schön, erst recht nicht, wenn es um Familienmitglieder geht, aber die Art und Weise, wie sie alles verarbeitet, war eher kontraproduktiv. Ebenfalls etwas irritiert hat mich die Schwärmerei für Dan. Zwar gönnt man ihr dieses Gefühl, jedoch hab ich es nicht nachvollziehen können, da meiner Meinung nach alles viel zu schnell ging und ich mehrfach zurückblättern musste, weil ich das Gefühl hatte, etwas überlesen zu haben.

Allerdings geht es hier nicht nur um den Verlust ihrer Schwester und Dan, sondern auch um das Verhältnis zu ihrer Mutter, das ziemlich abgekühlt ist. Mutter und Tochter haben sich wenig zu sagen und leben eher nebeneinander her als miteinander. Auffällig ist dabei, dass ein ähnliches Verhältnis bereits in "Sehen wir uns morgen?" thematisiert wurde. Wenn man beides miteinander vergleicht, entdeckt man leider nur wenig neue Ideen. Ein komplett neuer Aufbau hätte mir in "Vor meinen Augen" deutlich besser gefallen.

Die Covergestaltung gefällt mir besonders gut. Sophie wirkt auf dem Bild sehr zerbrechlich, was zu ihrem Wesen passt. Allgemein gefällt mir das deutsche Cover weitaus besser als das Cover der US-Ausgabe. Die Kurzbeschreibung gefällt mir im Nachhinein eher weniger. Vor dem Lesen fand ich sie sehr gut geschrieben, nach dem Lesen war ich jedoch nicht mehr der Meinung, da sie sich nicht wirklich auf die Haupthandlung konzentriert.

Insgesamt ist "Vor meinen Augen" eine recht nette Geschichte für zwischendurch, die man trotz des eher ernsten Themas schnell weg lesen kann. Wären die Charaktere allerdings ein bisschen sympathischen gewesen, hätte ich deutlich mehr Lust auf diese Geschichte gehabt. Dennoch ist dieses Buch eine Kaufempfehlung wert, da der Schreibstil absolut wunderbar ist.(less)

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Jun 12, 2012 Shawna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teen-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book is about a girl named Sophie who writes her feelings down because she can no longer say them out loud. Throughout this book, Sophie is trying to figure out if she can go on with life after that one tragic day that her sister died. Sophie blames herself for her sister's death. She feels as if her mother doesn't care about her any more and that she wished it was Sophie instead of her perfect sister, Emily. Sophie's mother is always locked up in her office. They can't even have a normal c...more

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Jun 06, 2012 Lena rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Inhalt: Über ein halbes Jahr ist nun seit dem Tag vergangen, an dem Sophies Schwester Emily gestorben ist. Und obwohl sie so verzweifelt versucht, weiterzuleben und den traumatischen Tag aus ihren Gedanken zu verbannen, muss Sophie in jedem Moment ihres Lebens an ihre große Schwester denken. Die Trauer ist noch immer so groß und schmerzhaft, als ob Emily erst gestern aus ihrem Leben verschwunden wäre. Sophie nimmt den Rat ihrer Therapeutin an und schreibt ihre Gedanken über ihr Leben und vor all...more Inhalt: Über ein halbes Jahr ist nun seit dem Tag vergangen, an dem Sophies Schwester Emily gestorben ist. Und obwohl sie so verzweifelt versucht, weiterzuleben und den traumatischen Tag aus ihren Gedanken zu verbannen, muss Sophie in jedem Moment ihres Lebens an ihre große Schwester denken. Die Trauer ist noch immer so groß und schmerzhaft, als ob Emily erst gestern aus ihrem Leben verschwunden wäre. Sophie nimmt den Rat ihrer Therapeutin an und schreibt ihre Gedanken über ihr Leben und vor allem über Emily in einem Tagebuch auf.

Meine Meinung: ‘Vor meinen Augen’ ist wie ein Tagebuch aufgebaut. Für eine solch emotionale Geschichte hätte ich mir keinen besseren Aufbau vorstellen können. Die Tagebucheinträge geben nicht nur die Gelegenheit, die Protagonistin Sophie kennenzulernen, sondern bieten auch die Möglichkeit, sich tief in die Person hineinzuversetzen. So wird die gesamte Erzählung noch tragischer und dramatischer, sodass man nicht umhin kommt von der Geschichte ergriffen zu sein. Obwohl Sophie ihre Geschichte in ihrem Tagebuch aufschreibt und das Buch wirklich ‘nur’ aus diesen Einträgen besteht, wirkt der Schreibstil an keiner Stelle unpassend oder zu jugendlich. Im Gegenteil, er ist sehr sanft, oft poetisch angehaucht und regt zum Nachdenken an.

Sophie berichtet nicht nur über die Trauer über den Verlust ihrer Schwester, sondern auch über die Veränderung in ihrem Leben, nachdem ihre Schwester gestorben ist. Diese Veränderungen beziehen sich nicht nur auf ihr eigenes Leben, ihre Gefühle und ihr Verhalten, sondern spiegeln auch wieder, wie sich der tragische Tod von Emily auf ihre Umwelt ausgewirkt hat. Ihre Mutter lebt zunächst wie in Trance, kann ihrer Arbeit nicht mehr nachgehen, geht Sophie aus dem Weg. Freunde der Familie sind bemüht, der kleinen Familie in jeglicher Situation zu unterstützen und ihr Mut zu machen. Sophies Freunde wissen nicht mit der Trauer umzugehen und geben nach ein gewissen Zeit auf.

Erst im Laufe der Geschichte wird dem Leser offenbart, was sich tatsächlich am Tag von Emilys Tod zugetragen hat. Dies soll in meinen Augen nicht zum Spannungsaufbau dienen, sondern unterstützt vielmehr die Tatsache, dass Sophie bei ihren Freunden, ihrer Familie und bei ihrer Therapeutin stets betont, sie wolle nicht über diesen Tag nachdenken, geschweige denn über ihn reden.

Fazit: ‘Vor meinen Augen’ ist ein überaus ergreifender Roman über den Trauerprozess eines jungen Mädchens, der bis zur letzten Seite emotional und bewegend ist.(less)

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Jul 07, 2011 Michelle (FabbityFabBookReviews) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-young-adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 14, 2012 Splitterherz rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012

Ich bohrte meinen Stift in das Holz meines Tisches und schrieb den ersten Buchstaben meines Namens. S. Sophie. Ob ich ein völlig neuer Mensch sein könnte, wenn ich einen neuen Namen hätte? Ein Mensch ohne Vergangenheit. Ein Mensch, der nur die Zukunft vor sich hat.

Erster Satz:
Ich blicke auf die Worte hinab, sie sind schwarz wie Tintenspinnen, und ich betrachte die Netze, die sie weben.

Inhalt:
Manchmal brennen sich Bilder in dein Gedächtnis ein, verfolgen dich, wie ein Fluch. Als wollten...more

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Jun 19, 2010 Proud Book Nerd rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: do-not-have, blog-tours, ya

This was an interesting book. I had seen it all over the Internet lately, and was intrigued. Plus, I love the cover. (Yes, I do tend to judge a book by its cover. ;-) )

The story was OK. Having lost someone I love, I could feel Sophie's pain – to a degree. Thankfully, I've never been in a situation like she was in, so I can't fully understand. Anyway, it became clear to me pretty quickly that she likely was suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) – especially once she started having...more

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Sep 23, 2011 Brooke rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-own-a-copy, death-tragedy-suicide, realistic-fiction, disappointed-me, lovey-mushy-stuff, not-that-great

Honestly, this is a hard book to rate.

I didn't enjoy it, but I think that's the point. Sophie, the narrator and protagonist, really, really drove me insane. She's grieving after the death of her sister, yet doesn't 'reveal' (although I found it very obvious and saw where it was going early on) details as to how her sister died until about the last quarter of the book.

The book is set in the UK which I liked. I didn't really feel the voice Sophie was supposed to have, I guess due to my lack of int...more Honestly, this is a hard book to rate.

I didn't enjoy it, but I think that's the point. Sophie, the narrator and protagonist, really, really drove me insane. She's grieving after the death of her sister, yet doesn't 'reveal' (although I found it very obvious and saw where it was going early on) details as to how her sister died until about the last quarter of the book.

The book is set in the UK which I liked. I didn't really feel the voice Sophie was supposed to have, I guess due to my lack of interest overall.

I found Sophie to be naive, selfish, immature and unthoughtful. I mean, yes, she was grieving, but so was her mother. The way she spoke to, and treated, her mother was appalling. I honestly wanted to smack her round the head.

Sophie's 'friends' (I truly hope I never have 'friends' like them) were horrible. They were, I guess, the UK's version of "Mean Girls". although I did like the 'newcomer' to the school, Rosa-Leigh. She was a genuinely nice person. The writing style was, in my opinion, juvenile. It was full of very. Short sentences. Which drove me crazy. And THE USE OF CAPS which was SUPPOSED to express Sophie's annoyance, frustration, whatever was SEVERELY IRRITATING. (Yes, that is what several sentences on, say every second page, looked like).

Negatives aside, this was a thought proving read, and I'm sure to the right person it would be a good book. It just wasn't my cup of tea. I think the only thing that bumped it up to a 2 star rating for me was pages 197 - 209. That and a couple of poems which were supposed to have been written by Sophie;

The sticks on the trees
Stand up harsh and bare
With rings on their fingers
And knots in their hair

The silver of winter
Is smoky with rain
The witches of sunlight
Fly low again

In a puddle of grey
Last summer lies
Where nothing can swim
And my sister dies

The spring is weighted
With what has been
And she's still with me
Brightly unseen

and

... I remain turned outside in, the darkest corner of the forest open to hot, wet light. I remain without you; a glass half full to everyone else, half empty to me.(less)

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Nov 14, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

LOST FOR WORDS is the latest novel by Alice Kupiers.

Told in diary format, LOST FOR WORDS is Sophie's attempt to forget what happened last summer.

When I first picked up the book, I didn't know what the event was that Sophie alludes to at the beginning of the story. None of the synopsis I read had given any indication what Sophie was trying to run away from. But because I loved LIFE ON THE REFRIGERATOR DOOR so much, I wasn't that concerned about being in the...more

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Feb 11, 2011 Erin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: girl-main-character, death, t2-2010, teen, tough-topics

A sad story about coping with tragedy. Timely in its discussion of terrorism, and realistic in it's depiction of the main character as unable to face the reality of what's happened.

I liked the story, but thought it might be more appealing if she didn't add a hopeless crush on an obviously shady guy to her list of problems. The ending tied up pretty neatly with resolution, but while sometimes I feel like that's annoying, in this case it made a depressing story into something hopeful.

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title link	preview: The Worst Thing She Ever Did
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