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70th out of 379 books
—
137 voters
The Queen of Everything
by
Deb Caletti (Goodreads Author)
"People ask me all the time what having Vince MacKenzie for a father was like. What they mean is, was he always crazy?" High school junior Jordan MacKenzie's life was pretty typical: fractured family, new boyfriend, dead-end job. She'd been living with her father (the predictable optometrist) since her mother (the hippie holdover) had been too embarrassing to be around. Jo...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
May 25th 2004
by Simon Pulse
(first published November 1st 2002)
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Jul 21, 2010
Morgan F
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
young-adult,
2000s,
own,
ive-got-issues,
its-a-girl,
read-2010,
favorites,
medium-sized,
realistic,
fiction
I really did love this book. So, to clarify, I would rate it 4.5 stars if I could.
It's about Jordan, an average teenager with divorced parents. She lives with her father, a predictable optometrist because her mother is too eccentric for her tastes. Her summer after her junior year was off to a normal start- a best friend, dumb job, and a new love interest- but then came Gayle D'Angelo. Gayle D'Angelo is her father's new girlfriend.....who happens to be married. But Jordan's father no longer lis...more
It's about Jordan, an average teenager with divorced parents. She lives with her father, a predictable optometrist because her mother is too eccentric for her tastes. Her summer after her junior year was off to a normal start- a best friend, dumb job, and a new love interest- but then came Gayle D'Angelo. Gayle D'Angelo is her father's new girlfriend.....who happens to be married. But Jordan's father no longer lis...more
This is a book I just could not put down. Well, ok, I put it down a couple of times but it was for things like eating and sleeping and going to the bathroom, all things us humans (especially the pregnant ones) need to do (a lot).
Anywho, what a page turner! I knew what was going to happen, protagonist Jordan knows what is going to happen, the whole world could see what was going to happen--and you just want to get to the implosion as fast as you can. Best part? Jordan is a very real character an...more
Anywho, what a page turner! I knew what was going to happen, protagonist Jordan knows what is going to happen, the whole world could see what was going to happen--and you just want to get to the implosion as fast as you can. Best part? Jordan is a very real character an...more
This was the 4th Deb Caletti book I have read. I found 'The Fortunes of Indigo Skye' at the library and was quickly hooked on Caletti as a writer.
The Queen of Everything is not Caletti's best. It is one of her earliest books, and the others I have read are much better. Caletti definitely has a gift for explanation and description. However, it is a little overkill in The Queen of Everything.
Caletti's style seems to be that she begins very slowly and then rushes through the end. In other stories,...more
The Queen of Everything is not Caletti's best. It is one of her earliest books, and the others I have read are much better. Caletti definitely has a gift for explanation and description. However, it is a little overkill in The Queen of Everything.
Caletti's style seems to be that she begins very slowly and then rushes through the end. In other stories,...more
Deb Caletti's "The Queen of Everything" intrigued me from the very start. I can honestly say that it turned out to be one of my favorite novels, and succeeded my every expectation. "The Queen of Everything" is narrated by a teenage girl, Jordan, who appears to be living the epitome of regular 21st century life. Her parents are divorced, though her dad seems to be the more normal of the two. When Jordan discovers that her seemingly-sane father is having an affair with a woman he knows is married,...more
This is the second Deb Caletti book I've read. I wasn't impressed. Those that compare her to Sarah Dessen and Elizabeth Scott are mistaken.
One thing I've noticed about Caletti is that she has a tendency to ramble. Rambling isn't a bad thing. In fact, rambling can be a very good thing when used properly. But Caletti has a tendency to ramble about non-essential things that have nothing whatsoever to do with the plot. She'll introduce a minor character with a lot of exposition, then she'll forget...more
One thing I've noticed about Caletti is that she has a tendency to ramble. Rambling isn't a bad thing. In fact, rambling can be a very good thing when used properly. But Caletti has a tendency to ramble about non-essential things that have nothing whatsoever to do with the plot. She'll introduce a minor character with a lot of exposition, then she'll forget...more
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Jordan found her hippie mother to be a bit too "out there" so she decides she should live with her father. He's an optometrist, and very level-headed. At least, he used to be. Lately he's been acting a bit strange and Jordan thinks she knows the cause...Gayle D'Angelo. She's a married woman and her dad is in love. Jordan knows there's not a lot she can do about it since he is an adult, but she can tell that this is wrong. Besides that, Jordan is living a typical teenage life. She has an accident...more
Deb Caletti writes lovely prose, and captures so much really spot-on emotion in this book. I really enjoy YA books dealing with parents, for some reason, so this book was incredibly readable.
I am a bit worried that now I've read two of Caletti's books that featured the same sort of "bad boy" with similar reactions by the protagonists, but I was at least relieved in this book that a bad decision re: sex wasn't grounds for punishment.
I am a bit worried that now I've read two of Caletti's books that featured the same sort of "bad boy" with similar reactions by the protagonists, but I was at least relieved in this book that a bad decision re: sex wasn't grounds for punishment.
The book is a re-telling of the summer Jordan's life changed.
It was a little hard to follow at first, with all the flashbacks here and there, and the long narratives that take quite a while to get to the point. The Queen of Everything has a slow buildup, very slow if i say so myself, that it's no wonder it took me almost a week to finish it. You just don't get hooked quite easily.
But i guess the long narratives meant to serve well. It built the foundation of the summer where Jordan's seemingly n...more
It was a little hard to follow at first, with all the flashbacks here and there, and the long narratives that take quite a while to get to the point. The Queen of Everything has a slow buildup, very slow if i say so myself, that it's no wonder it took me almost a week to finish it. You just don't get hooked quite easily.
But i guess the long narratives meant to serve well. It built the foundation of the summer where Jordan's seemingly n...more
3.5 stars I am a fan of Deb Caletti's books and this one was next in my quest to read all her books. I really liked it. This book had a lot of family drama that kept things moving along. Even though I had figured out the direction things were headed, it didn't affect how much I enjoyed it that much. I think what was different about this book was that the drama is centered around the adults rather than the main character. Although, Jordan was affected by everything that happened she was not the m...more
This was another one that has been sitting on my bedside table for some time. I got it at a library book sale because I had read good things about the author, but in the meantime I read a couple of other books by her, one that I liked (The Nature of Jade) and one I didn’t (Honey, Baby, Sweetheart), and I lost interest. I would say that this one fell in between. She once again focuses on a female teenage protagonist who is trying to figure out her identity; this time the hook is that Jordan is w...more
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I would recommend the book I am reading, The Queen of Everything by Deb Caletti, to a friend because if you get embarrassed with your parents you could easily relate to this book. One example that kids can relate to is “People ask me all the time what having Vince MacKenzie for a father was like. What they mean is: Was he always crazy? Did he walk around the kitchen with an ice pick in the pocket of his flannel bathrobe every morning as he poured himself a cup of coffee,” (1). This is embarrassi...more
I first read this in the 7th grade, and I remember loving it. I frequently read it while walking to school and ended up walking into parked cars all the damn time.
Reread it as an almost-21 year old. My god was it infuriating. One, the fat jokes and incessant talking about 'sweaty, thick fingered, rolly-polly' girls where Jordan works is not only rude, it's incredibly insulting. Two, hot damn Caletti rambles on and on. I frankly don't care about that one time Jordan did blahblahblah when she was...more
Reread it as an almost-21 year old. My god was it infuriating. One, the fat jokes and incessant talking about 'sweaty, thick fingered, rolly-polly' girls where Jordan works is not only rude, it's incredibly insulting. Two, hot damn Caletti rambles on and on. I frankly don't care about that one time Jordan did blahblahblah when she was...more
What a fantastic tale Deb Caletti writes about Jordan and her family and friends. Jordan is a remarkable young woman with sass and self-confidence. The characters are convincing and likeable. This extremely well written book is very sensitive, humorous, endearing and entertaining! It holds your interest throughout. It was not a book that I could put down once I started it and I read it into the night. When I completed it, I read it again as I didn't want it to end! I could vividly picture the ch...more
Sometimes it's just one little thing an author does that can compound and really taint a book for me (like the one Sarah Dressen book I read that constantly used the word "though")... That in mind, for whatever reason, I could not shake the feeling like the author had to put every fun/amusing/interesting insight she has ever had into this book. E.g., about how when men cook a meal they need people to tell them how great it was, but not so for a woman. These "insights" were everywhere in this boo...more
omg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this book had me shaking of every moment that i began reading.!!!!!!!!!!!! her life was so messed up and i loved that deb Caletti made everything all right even though her father is in jail. who would have thought that when u love someone so much u would kill to have them????? but what i think is that the woman had called him to kill her husband. and to imagine she said that she loved jordans father but she turns against him!!!!!!!!!!!! what a BITCH!!!!!!!!!!! she should die!!...more
Jordan was a character that, while I could not empathize with her situation, that I definitely felt I could sympathize with. Her voice was real, poignant, and also extremely funny. Every character was extremely well developed. Most importantly, nothing that Jordan did- even her most stupid decisions- made me dislike her. Caletti did a great job of showing us her emotional struggle and desperation.
Filled with great advice along the way and a satisfying resolution, this book is touching, serious b...more
Filled with great advice along the way and a satisfying resolution, this book is touching, serious b...more
As my first Deb Caletti book, The Queen of Everything got me hooked on her writing. I like how Deb Caletti slowly reveled details to the reader throughout the story - this way you weren't overwhelmed, could really absorb everything, and couldn't put the book down. A few eccentric characters and Jordan's narrative style provide entertainment in this novel, which is good because otherwise teens could've gotten frightened away by the seriousness of murder, mental health, and family drama. The first...more
What I liked most about this book is the main character, Jordan. Her decisions and her mistakes make her real. It's one of the books that I think is underrated (in the Philippines; I don't know with the other countries). It's not the most popular book like Twilight or Gossip Girl, but that's the thing that I loved about this book. I would want to read this again mainly because of Big Mama's words of wisdom. As of now, I'm consumed with my new books that are waiting to be opened and read. But I p...more
There is just something about Deb Caletti's novels that reel me in every time i pick them up. There is something in the words and the characters that makes you feel one with the novel and just connect. Just as i adore Sarah Dessen, i just about love Deb Caletti.
The Queen of Everything was definitely different from what i had read before. Jordan has to live with the fact that her father is going crazy when he starts having an affair with a married woman. She has her own problems as well, a douche...more
The Queen of Everything was definitely different from what i had read before. Jordan has to live with the fact that her father is going crazy when he starts having an affair with a married woman. She has her own problems as well, a douche...more
IRB #7 I give this book three stars because personally it wasn't intriguing. I feel that the main character (Jordan) was somewhat hiding who she truly was. She liked her neighbor , but because he was considered a "freak" she worried what her best friend might think. Instead, she plays along with Kale, a guy she wanted nothing to do with, but didn't know what to do about it. I really thought this book was going to be more interesting and I wasn't going to be able to put my book down, I was disapp...more
Queen of Everything moved me. Caletti has brought her character to reality. Jordan's voice is a mirror to anyone else that this thing happens maybe not to us but other people. Some may see it like a normal sarcastic situation that happens badly to a person but what we don't see are the things that lie beneath. The hurtful feeling that Jordan had felt as a teen is so real. Real. The stubborn stuffs she'd done so real that you'd want to get involved. A good read, worth spending the day.
I found Jordan difficult to relate to (*note i don't find relatablility a requirement in my novels). I did appreciate the different layers of relationships, grandparents, son-daughter, mother-daughter, friend-friend, siblings, peer-peer. I found myself wanting more from the father, why he did what he did, why he treated women the way he did, why he treated his daughter like that. Im typically a big fan of Caletti, but this one left me desiring more.
This book had a great starting...it was very discriptive...but sometimes alittle too discriptive that she gets off point...I had to skim through some parts because they were so not important...also, the whole book was about build up of the ending which like the last chapter which kinda sucked...like she made it all lead up to a boring ending...the ending could have been much much better...all in all...the book was ok, not great...I give it a 2.5 or so...
This is the second Deb Caletti book I have read and while it was better than the first, I still don't like her writing as much as Sarah Dessen's. I'm really trying to like Deb Caletti because I saw her in person and she was lovely, but I think I just compare her too much to Dessen. Overall, this book had an interesting plot and and the main character was pretty likeable. This is probably a good book to recommend to a young teen girl.
This book... disappointed me. It had so much potential, and at times it exceeded my expectations. However, most of this book was lacking, which was major disappointment as I like Deb Caletti! I would recommend "Wild Roses" and "The Nature Of Jade" instead of this book - they were much better, everything that this book could have been but failed to do. I guess every writer has a few hits and a few flops; for me this was a flop.
My favourite part:
"Big Mama assures me that real love is deep and true and careful. And finding it is like a long, long walk on the beach. Where a lot of other things get put in your pocket - rocks ugly when dry, jagged parts of shells, all called treasures - before you find that whole, white sand dollar. That whole sand dollar that you trust has the five bony seagulls inside, but you'll never break it open to find out for sure.
"Big Mama assures me that real love is deep and true and careful. And finding it is like a long, long walk on the beach. Where a lot of other things get put in your pocket - rocks ugly when dry, jagged parts of shells, all called treasures - before you find that whole, white sand dollar. That whole sand dollar that you trust has the five bony seagulls inside, but you'll never break it open to find out for sure.
I like the plot and I like it that it is in the point of view of the child of the "bad" guy. She is good at describing things. I just did not like that there was too much foreshadowing. She did a good job of building up tension but I knew what her dad was going to do. I love foreshadowing, but only enough so that I feel stupid when the end is revealed. I like it when I am stunned at what happens.
It starts off with some prissy girl who thinks she's in control of everything, which I made me groan internally in the beginning. But eventually, when her father starts sleeping with a married woman, everything spins out of control, and it ends violently and disturbingly. It was very well written and I like how the main character finally gained some insight.
What do you do when normal lets you down? Caletti - never shy about dealing with issues - turns her sharp eye for characterization toward the story of a girl whose life becomes the stuff of the six o'clock news. As always, reading Caletti is likely binging on Ben & Jerry's after having gone fat-free for months - rich, sumptious, and eye-rollingly good.
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| Mike Peet | 1 | 4 | Feb 22, 2012 03:38am |
Deb Caletti is an American writer born in San Rafael, California. She was a National Book Award finalist, as well as the recipient of other numerous awards including PEN USA finalist award, the Washington State Book Award, and SLJ Best Book award.
Deb went to Lake Washington High School in Kirkland, Washington, U.S.A., and graduated in 1981. She earned a BA in Journalism/Communications from the Uni...more
More about Deb Caletti...
Deb went to Lake Washington High School in Kirkland, Washington, U.S.A., and graduated in 1981. She earned a BA in Journalism/Communications from the Uni...more
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“It's good to let God pick a man for you. We don't do so well when we pick them ourselves. They end up lipsticks in a drawer, all those wrong colors you thought looked so good in the package.”
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141 people liked it
“Darkness does this. It finds all the places you are hiding in. It finds all the things you are holding onto tightly and makes you let go.”
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47 people liked it
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