Marty’s small town in Alaska is the most beautiful place in the world. There she and her beloved boyfriend, Steven, can walk through fields ...
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reviews
Apr 13, 2008
Erika
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i wanted to know what had happened to marty from page one and was held by the tale the whole time. it is romantic, feisty and full of hope that life does go on. lovely.
Jun 02, 2008
Lily
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I really enjoyed this book a lot because it had so many metaphors and deeper meanings. I think that this book was also extremely well written. I highly recommend the author, Melissa Lion, I believe that her writing style is extremely unique and fun to read. One of my favorite things about this book is the metaphor made my comparing a whale to the concept of moving on and forgiving. It is actually an interesting concept because the main character, Marty, met her boyfriend because of a whale that
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Nov 11, 2007
Sarah H.
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Upstream is quite a good book. The main character is this small town Alaskan girl named Marty. She is going to start her senior year of high school by herself without her boyfriend. Know one knows exactly what happened to him. Only Marty knows what actually happened. She was the only one that was there that saw him die. She wants to leave her beautiful Alaskan town to leave everything behind. Just to forget everything that happened that awful day. You want to keep on reading to find out what act
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Apr 01, 2009
Apsara
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This was great in the beginning and then it just went mediocre.I felt obligated to finish the book because I had to know if the main character made it through. I definitely felt a connection with the family and somehow you find yourself hoping and cheering them on. I definitely don't recommend this as a must read but it's a simple no brainer book.
Oct 08, 2009
Jennifer
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This is a quiet little book abotu grief. I hand sell this book often adn my more advanced teen readers have liked it. Cool female relationships, strong women, beutiful descriptions of alaska.
Apr 18, 2009
Sommer Ann
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I loved the messages in this book. It's one of those novels that even after you've turned the last page and returned it to the library, the haunting storyline will pop up in your mind months later. The achingly true voice of the heroine attaches to your soul, and you feel her struggles within you. You can tell that she is real, that her problems are hard to deal with, that she had many more issues that just life to deal with. Incorprating many sub-plots including a boyfriend who died, a new woma
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Jun 20, 2011
Riley
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i seriously hated this book, i was bored the whole time. it had no plot what so ever. i felt i needed to finish it because i thought it would get better or something. it obviouly didnt!
Jan 29, 2010
Crystle
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The beginning and middle of the book were great and they kept building up to a high point, but the end was very disappointing and anticlimactic. It wasn't exciting at all.
Aug 08, 2009
Lori (BNPL)
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This book was thought-provoking, and filled with an underlying tension. You want to know the whole story, but you don't want to know the whole story. A wonderful book that shows how strong young adults can be and explores the importance of family and friends.
I really did like this book.
I really did like this book.
May 29, 2011
Molly
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Not very good, the book was all laid out for the reader already and there was no need to imagine or predict upcoming events.
May 07, 2011
Emily
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I can't remember much about this book. I do remember that it was a sad novel.
Mar 09, 2010
Christina
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If you like Speak, and Story of a Girl, this might be another option for you!
Jan 01, 2010
Alison
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Reading it started out with promoise, but as I read on it just felt more like a chore and dragged on. The ending was a nice lesson for young girls with the promise that life does go on.
Aug 26, 2009
Kai
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I felt like this was mostly just a depressing book, with a depressing main character, with a depressing problem. The ending didn't really sum up anything either.
May 27, 2009
Amanda-Lynn
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jan 04, 2008
this book was about a girl who's boyfriend died and and nobody knows exactly what happend to him accept marty! S he wont tell anyone she lives in a nice small town and wants to leave to leave her child hood and good memories behind because it all reminds her of him.
I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a mystery and wonder what is going to happen then find out at the end. The best thing is about this book is that there is no clues or hints on what will happen at the More...
I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a mystery and wonder what is going to happen then find out at the end. The best thing is about this book is that there is no clues or hints on what will happen at the More...
Mar 24, 2008
Megan M.
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This was a really good book. It takes a few hours to read and it is a good cry.
It takes place in the beautiful setting of Alaska. It's about this girl's boyfriend who dies and she keeps having memories of them together. You don't know how he dies exactly, but it reveals it throughout the book. She is depressed during the whole thing, but with her two other sisters there, her mom, and a really good friend from California, she gets through the horror of her life.
It takes place in the beautiful setting of Alaska. It's about this girl's boyfriend who dies and she keeps having memories of them together. You don't know how he dies exactly, but it reveals it throughout the book. She is depressed during the whole thing, but with her two other sisters there, her mom, and a really good friend from California, she gets through the horror of her life.
Jan 06, 2010
Jessica
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It had a lot of potential to be a really amazing book, but it was okay....
Jul 03, 2008
Kate
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Lion is an energetic writer---she does not wait for us to rephrase her thoughts. First person, we are well within the character of Marty and lost in her sorrows. This is not a book for the impatient, nor for teens younger than 13-14.
The ending, well, you judge. Neither happy nor complete, the ending is what it is. Reality and years of lives move ever forward. Do not miss this book if you love YA stories.
The ending, well, you judge. Neither happy nor complete, the ending is what it is. Reality and years of lives move ever forward. Do not miss this book if you love YA stories.
Mar 29, 2008
Jess
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I'm not quite sure how I came to pick this one up; it took me a little while to get into the rhythm of the book, but once I did I couldn't put it down until I'd finished it. I appreciated that the story never turned into a big drama, and stayed a smaller, personal story. The ending was well-played, and the sense of setting was impressive.
Sep 01, 2007
Carrie
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I checked this out because the cover photo was pretty. Otherwise, it's worth reading solely for the relationship between the sisters (I think I could count on one hand the number of good sisterly relationships I've read) and you know, small town, quirky Alaska is always fun, but the rest of it was kind of blah.
Jul 23, 2008
MaryAnn
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I was wishing I had a blog entry on this to reference but I don't. I preferred Swollen but truthfully I was surprised when I learned they were written by the same author. I think Upstream handles grief very well. For a slim book it packed a punch.
Dec 16, 2010
Erin
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I liked the Alaskan descriptions and can understand the beauty in a location but the story was a little flat. Not enough detail or concern about the character to really hold my interest.
Jul 23, 2008
Zoe
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A lovely, haunting book with interesting characters, complex relationships, and moments of quiet, subtle beauty. I feel lucky to know the woman who wrote it.
Aug 23, 2008
Isabela
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Beautiful. The story was so emotionally written that I cried - or nearly cried - through most of it.
Jan 25, 2012
