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283rd out of 608 books
—
2,006 voters
Funny How Things Change
Remy Walker has it all: he found the love of his life at home in crumbling little Dwyer, West Virginia, deep in his beloved Appalachian Mountains where his family settled more than one hundred and sixty years ago. But at seventeen, you’re not supposed to already be where you want to be, right? You’ve got a whole world to make your way through, and you start by leaving your...more
Hardcover, 208 pages
Published
April 27th 2009
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
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I loved this book until the last 15 or 20 pages. I mean I loved, loved, loved it – while I was reading it, I was already savouring the idea of rereading it. It’s a rare YA book that has such strong rural characters. I just loved this protagonist, and the way his story is told, and the fact that his story is a microcosm of a hugely important story of a whole society. I would definitely recommend this book.
But I think I got too attached to the hero, maybe projecting too much onto him, and somehow...more
But I think I got too attached to the hero, maybe projecting too much onto him, and somehow...more
Reviewed by coollibrarianchick for TeensReadToo.com
It's not very often that you read a love story from a guy's point of view. FUNNY HOW THINGS CHANGE by Melissa Wyatt is not a typical love story, either, which makes this book all the more desirable.
When you grow up you, you move out and move on, at least that is what Remy's girlfriend, Lisa, is doing when she heads to Pennsylvania in the fall for college. Of course, Remy wants to go - it's what Lisa and him have been talking about for years. The...more
It's not very often that you read a love story from a guy's point of view. FUNNY HOW THINGS CHANGE by Melissa Wyatt is not a typical love story, either, which makes this book all the more desirable.
When you grow up you, you move out and move on, at least that is what Remy's girlfriend, Lisa, is doing when she heads to Pennsylvania in the fall for college. Of course, Remy wants to go - it's what Lisa and him have been talking about for years. The...more
This was a refreshing, quick read about how even the best laid plans can change when we discover what's truly important to us. Remy (Remington) Walker is a 17 year old native of West Virginia whose long time love, Lisa Perkins is getting ready to go away to college in Pennsylvania. They've always dreamed of getting out of their deadened town and even though Remy won't be going to college himself, he plans to go with her so they can get started on their life together. That is, until Dana, a talen...more
There’s almost no hope for a win-win conclusion to this romance.
Remy and Lisa have just graduated from high school in the worn out West Virginia mountain town of Dwyer. There’s no doubt they’re in love. But that’s where the certainties end.
Remy has no plan for college, and can’t imagine abandoning his divorced father to their mountain-side trailer. Lisa is going to college in Pennsylvania, and can’t imagine leaving Remy behind, even though that’s exactly what her parents are scheming for.
To s...more
Remy and Lisa have just graduated from high school in the worn out West Virginia mountain town of Dwyer. There’s no doubt they’re in love. But that’s where the certainties end.
Remy has no plan for college, and can’t imagine abandoning his divorced father to their mountain-side trailer. Lisa is going to college in Pennsylvania, and can’t imagine leaving Remy behind, even though that’s exactly what her parents are scheming for.
To s...more
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I like books that introduce me to new places, new types of characters, but in ways that I can be sympathetic with. This book by Melissa Wyatt is a gem. Set in the mountains of West Virginia, readers are introduced to a rural town that is a shadow of its former 'coal mining' glory. And we meet two new high school graduates deeply in young love - Remy and his lady love Lisa. The issues that Remy struggles with I think are felt by any teen on the cusp of moving beyond school days and trying to find...more
There was no really huge in depth story to this book, but I think that's why I liked it so much.
It's basically about a young guy who loves his girlfriend. Lisa's going away to college and she wants him to go with her. Remy Walker is a towns boy, lives on the mountain, apart of the mountain and apart of that dying town. So why not want to just go and experience something new? Change? As long as he could be with her. Things were settled and while it wasn't all worked out, Remy and Lisa were going...more
It's basically about a young guy who loves his girlfriend. Lisa's going away to college and she wants him to go with her. Remy Walker is a towns boy, lives on the mountain, apart of the mountain and apart of that dying town. So why not want to just go and experience something new? Change? As long as he could be with her. Things were settled and while it wasn't all worked out, Remy and Lisa were going...more
Mar 21, 2009
Claire
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
high school boys and girls
Shelves:
high-school-and-beyond
Coming of age story. Remy is head over heels in love with Lisa who wants to leave Dwyer, West Virginia a pretty little town in the hallows of Appalachia. Remy knows and loves this place as well or better than anyone. His mom blew out when he was a little boy, he could go live with her at any time, if fact he tried, but love for the land and his dad brought him back. He is poised to give this up to join Lisa when she goes away to college. It is a torturous decision to make this summer after gradu...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Nov 15, 2009
Lisa
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Lisa by:
Nico
Shelves:
art,
capch-14-and-up,
coming-of-age,
environment,
families,
moving,
romance,
summer,
values
Remington Alvin Walker's deep love for his mountain home in Dwyer, West Virginia and his love for Lisa Perkins are at odds as he struggles with his decision to follow Lisa to her college in Pennsylvania and find a job there. When Remy meets Dana, an artist who's in town for the summer painting a mural on the town's water tower, his confusing feelings for her complicate his decision. To further complicate things, Remy's father, Alvin, offers to sell Walker Mountain to the mining company to fund R...more
When you are seventeen and live in a dying small town, the only direction to head is out, right? That’s the message that Remy Walker hears from every direction, “Get up, get out. That’s the answer to being poor in West Virginia.” His girlfriend Lisa is heading to college in the fall and wants him to join her. Not for college of course. Majoring in something like front-end alignments is more his style, but there is no money for that. She tells him he can find a job, that there are gas stations in...more
Coming-of-age story about a teenage boy who has to choose between following his girlfriend to her college and staying on his family's land in a depressed Appalachian mining town in West Virginia--and the choice isn't nearly as clear-cut as one might think. The thin prospect of a better life upon escaping his childhood home becomes less attractive as Remy contemplates what he really wants in a relationship and what his family home means to him--especially in the face of devastating mountain-top r...more
It’s the summer after Remy Walker’s senior year in high school in tiny Dwyer, West Virginia, where there’ve been Walkers living on Walker Mountain for 160 years. Remy’s girlfriend is going to college in Pennsylvania, where they thought they’d share an apartment. Lisa’s, the girlfriend, parents think she should stay in the dorms. Remy meets Dana, an artist, in college on summer break, who is painting murals on the water towers in and around Dwyer. (view spoiler)...more
Remy is in love with 2 things; his girlfriend and his hometown.
Melissa Wyatt really fleshes out the lead character and makes me want to visit Dwyer, West Virginia. Wyatt's writing made me fall in love with that place.
It seems Wyatt knows boys/men really well. The relationship between Remy and his dad is very believable, it could have been me and my dad. The descriptions of how he feels when he is with Lisa are so spot on. Wyatt has an amazing way of getting into the male mind. Great coming of a...more
Melissa Wyatt really fleshes out the lead character and makes me want to visit Dwyer, West Virginia. Wyatt's writing made me fall in love with that place.
It seems Wyatt knows boys/men really well. The relationship between Remy and his dad is very believable, it could have been me and my dad. The descriptions of how he feels when he is with Lisa are so spot on. Wyatt has an amazing way of getting into the male mind. Great coming of a...more
No offense to the author because the writing style was great, but during the whole book I kept wondering when I'd get to the good part, I just kept waiting and waiting and then it was over...Don't get me wrong the ending was good and all, but nothing really happened that made me think that the book was worth reading. It was entertaining and everything, but I think that it just was missing the whole point. All that happened was a guy was trying to make a hard desicion and he made the right choose...more
I really loved this book. I chose it because it was on the Tayshas list, and I was in the mood for a love story. It is unique because it is told from the boy's perspective, and we don't always get the chance to hear about romantic male characters. I also connected to the book because I spent three summers working in the Appalachian mountains in Kentucky, so I liked the descriptions of the mountains. It's a straight-forward book that I think a lot of students will like. I'm really glad that I pic...more
Remy is seventeen and in love with Lisa. The roots of his small hometown run so deep into him. The question is, do they run deep enough to hold him there? This book was a creeper, meaning the story slowly crept over me and pulled me right into it. It wasn't long and I could feel Remy's desperation at wanting to escape his small town. Then the reader gets tossed about with his confusion. Remy is a very relate-able guy.
The interesting thing about this book, is that it told a fairly simply story in...more
The interesting thing about this book, is that it told a fairly simply story in...more
I'm always happy to find a love story told from a young man's perspective. This one is suffused with love of place as well, and it's quite believable. Remy's quick temper and outraged feelings ring so very true, as does his bewilderment when it comes to relationships. He's a genuine person, one I'd like to know. The secondary characters are a delight, and the backstory feels full, although it's not explicitly told. Well-done, engaging, and recommended.
Remy loves a girl - and a mountain. And when his girl plans to go off to college and wants Remy to come with her, he has to choose. Then a new girl comes to the mountain, causing Remy to look at things in a new way and forcing him to re-evaluate his decisions, figure out his dreams, and decide what is really important in his life. A quiet book with interesting characters and a fresh take on the leaving home/growing up theme.
Slammed home a current method of coal mining that blasts the top off mountains in Appalachia- devastating even if mitigation is achieved - the beautiful mountains are damaged for generations to come- this is clean coal??
Also a coming of age story in which a young man must come to terms with what he is willing to give up to be with a young woman he loves. Well done.
Also a coming of age story in which a young man must come to terms with what he is willing to give up to be with a young woman he loves. Well done.
Very nicely written and I really enjoyed the ending. It shows a different perspective than the usual kids want to get out of dodge story. I really enjoyed Remy's voice and how his parents, while not always perfect, were there for him in their own way. Though, I did think Lisa was a little flat and I wasn't fond of her as a character but overall a great and engaging read.
This was a really great story of how Remy has to decide what to do with his life. It is about making decisions when you are convinced you are totally right,then to discover that you might not have been on the right track after all. It is about knowing yourself inside and out, and doing what is right for your inner soul. Every high school senior should read this!
I'm not usually a big fan of quiet books, but I loved the characters in this one. It had the mining town background of Big Stone Gap or October Sky. Melissa Wyatt did a good job of putting you there and letting you know the people, which is so different from what most people are used to.
May 18, 2010
Betsy
added it
I read this title for the Caroyln Field PA youth book award, and I thought it was more of an adult/ older teen title, because Remy is confronted with a major life decision as he graduates from high school. His decision makes him seem older than his age.
Pretty good. This was required reading for a young adult literature class I was taking. This book gives teens the notion that there is life outside of their hometown - something I didn't know when I was growing up. Remy seems like a cutey!!!
One of the most thoughtful YA novels I've read. The characters are vivid and realistic and although there isn't a ton of action, the novel - an atypical love story set in the mountains of West Virginia - sucked me in and forced me to care.
I liked this book to a degree. I feel like the setting being in West Virginia, that I had a little bit of a connection since I live in Kentucky. When she described the setting and the way everyone acted, I felt close to Remy.
I had high hopes for this book (a young adult novel about a teenage auto mechanic)--would have been perfect for my vocational students, but I felt that the main character's internal conflict was reduced to hormonal indecision.
i found this book really cool. it showed me that you can always change your mind and that not everything is ment forever. i total agree with the book. i really wish that they hadn't distroyed the mountian's though.
This was a simple, quiet, well-written book about a young man trying to figure out his place in the world. Remy's struggle felt very real to me and I so wanted to see him make the right decision(s) about his future.
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