This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn (The Dance Sequence)

4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 · rating details · 957 ratings · 138 reviews

From the winner of the Michael L. Printz Award and the Carnegie Medal, a work of astonishing intimacy and depth
Using a pillow book as her form, nineteen-year-old Cordelia Kenn sets out to write out her life for her unborn daughter. What emerges is a portrait of an extraordinary girl, who writes frankly of love, sex, poetry, nature, faith, and of herself in the world. Her...more

Hardcover, 816 pages

Published October 1st 2006 by Harry N. Abrams (first published October 25th 2005)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Long Good Books for Voracious Readers

9th out of 96 books — 80 voters

YA Sex & Pregnancy Novels

45th out of 209 books — 380 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 1,806)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Sep 25, 2007 Shelley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: youth, literature

I cannot believe I actually read this book. Okay, I kind of skimmed the first few hundred pages. But I was so sucked into Cordelia's story that I read the remaining six hundred. (Mostly after midnight and in increments of 150-200 pages. Damn two week check outs.)

It's not a book I'd have thought I'd like. The writing style is kind of lyrical at times, and I have limited patience for writing like that. There's also the a/b page phenomenon, which was odd. (I preferred the b pages.) As other reviews...more

like 10 likes · see review

Jul 06, 2007 Cara Marie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was thinking about this again as I'm reading The Pillow Book that serves partly as its inspiration. I liked the way it used a variety of writings to tell the story - not just the protagonist Cordelia's diary, but her essays, musings and 'mopes' - the latter being poetry of debatable quality. It was a lovely book. Cordelia could be annoying, and sometimes seemed too sort of well-adjusted liberal in her attitudes towards sex and her body to be real, but it's hard to tell if that was unrealistic...more

like 6 likes · see review

Dec 09, 2008 April rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating, raw, uncensored thoughts of a teenage girl, as written by an adult man. Suprisingly, he gets a lot of things right. I enjoyed this book simply because the character development was fabulous, and the story telling was honest and sincere. The book's format was also intriguing, not at all chronological, it jumps all over the place but is still cohesive. A book about falling in love and discovering oneself. I will read it again and again.

like 5 likes · see review

Jun 25, 2007 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Loooooooooooonggggggg! Confusing part in the middle where you have to read all the left pages in order and then go back to read all the right pages in order. Sad sad sad ending. The thing that really screwed up this book for me was the fact that it was really hard to read because the binding on the hardback wouldn't break so it was hard to hold with just one hand.

like 3 likes · see review

Dec 03, 2007 Gizmology rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: teens and twentysomethings or nostalgic reminiscing adults

I was loving this book -- the first section about her developing relationship with the boy she's decided to lose her virginity to was great -- all the anxiety and excitement and fear of it rang really true to me. BUT then there's THAT PART that everyone mentions, where there are suddenly two parallel storylines, A and B, for more than a hundred pages, like page 191-A, page 192-B, 193-A, 194-B, etc.etc., so you have to decide whether to go back and forth or read all of A and THEN all of B... AAAA...more

like 5 likes · see review

May 15, 2013 Nina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: haz, 5-star, language-italian, new-adult

I have nothing really deep or meaningful to say about this, except that this is one of the books that shaped my personality.
I first read this (secretly) when I was 12, and although I shouldn't have (it is pretty "adult") I am so glad I did it! - a total of three times.
This was my introduction to: lesbianism (I kind of couldn't visualize same sex relationships unless there were two guys in it? Weird brain), masturbation (o.O I'm allowed to do that?!), the long, drawn-out, dramatic, romantic, awkw...more

like 2 likes · see review

May 08, 2013 Inger rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: finished-2013

I can't believe I finally finished this book. I have never had this much problem with finishing a book before. And I've got to say, This Is All is one of the most unique books I have ever read.

The book is... strange. I have never had so many mixed feeling reading a book before. My feelings have been ranging between love, hate, admiration, fascination, disgust, anger, confusion, enchantment and frustration. I wanted to throw the book across the room frequently. It took me around TWO YEARS to fin...more I can't believe I finally finished this book. I have never had this much problem with finishing a book before. And I've got to say, This Is All is one of the most unique books I have ever read.

The book is... strange. I have never had so many mixed feeling reading a book before. My feelings have been ranging between love, hate, admiration, fascination, disgust, anger, confusion, enchantment and frustration. I wanted to throw the book across the room frequently. It took me around TWO YEARS to finish the book because at times it infuriated me so much I had to put it away and not pick it up again for more than six times. I only finished it after giving it a third chance.

Oh, Cordelia, where to start? She's such a... teenager. I honestly could relate so much to her at times as I read this book between the ages of 15 and 18 (my birthday is in December, therefore two years). The way Chambers describes how the teenage mind works astonishes me, how can a man of that age understand the thoughts of a teenager so clearly and convey them so vividly and realistically? At the same time, there were a lot of things that were a bit too much. Honestly Cordelia, when I don't want to know what you prefer a penis to be like, your daughter will certainly not want to know it. Also, I was absolutely revolted by how Cordelia tells us she want's to bury her face in Will's armpit hair and his pubes. Honestly. I've been so in love I've been out of my mind and acted like a complete idiot, and that though has NEVER crossed my mind. Chest, yes. Pubes, NO.

The book is built up of different "pillow books" and each book is quite different. I think the part of the book that was most annoying to me is the part where a very creepy thing happens. In that part the book is divided in small chapters that both follow the story line and talk about completely different things. I felt like all I wanted to know was what was going to happen, so I had to skip a lot and go back, which honestly was quite annoying. Generally I do like Chambers' writing. The most boring part of the book to me was all the spiritual stuff, I found it slightly unnecessary and completely uninteresting.

The book was so hard for me to finish and I hated it with a passion at times, but I couldn't help to love it all the same. I found myself caressing the book when I'd put it away and after I finished it, the third time I gave it a go that is. You know, the way you'd pat your cat or the cheek of a baby. The books ending was devastating, and it made me love it more. I might be weird, but I gotta admit I love myself a sad ending from time to time. There's a reason why I can't possibly love a movie more than I love Titanic.

All in all, it is a book that should definitely be read. If I'll read it again, I have no idea, but I do know that it was worth it. I would recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it, but I'm not saying you will feel the same things I did. Maybe you'll hate it through and through, or love it through and through. All the same, do it, experience it and feel everything it can make you feel to the fullest. (less)

like · see review

Jan 29, 2013 Emily Post rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is by far my absolute favorite Realistic Fiction book.
I've read it twice now, and I can't decide which time I liked better.
The first time was an interesting experience, of course, because I was able to be surprised by the plot and meet the characters. However, reading it a second time was like wrapping myself in a warm blanket with a cup of hot cocoa. Not only did I get to return to the wonderfully developed characters, but different aspects of the story stuck out to me anew that might've g...more

like · see review

Sep 26, 2012 Rachel Crooks added it

"This is All" had a deep effect on me in quite a few ways, but I also have a hard time recommending it.

I liked Cordelia, who begins her story as a fifteen-year old. She is almost universally likeable for a few reasons: she is a blank slate, open to what life will give her, and yet she is an intelligent interpreter of experiences, and she knows enough of who she is to give her a shape and unique voice on the page. Like most coming-of-age stories, the evolution from carefree youth to thoughtful,...more "This is All" had a deep effect on me in quite a few ways, but I also have a hard time recommending it.

I liked Cordelia, who begins her story as a fifteen-year old. She is almost universally likeable for a few reasons: she is a blank slate, open to what life will give her, and yet she is an intelligent interpreter of experiences, and she knows enough of who she is to give her a shape and unique voice on the page. Like most coming-of-age stories, the evolution from carefree youth to thoughtful, serious adult is important, and particularly eloquent here because you follow this transformation through 800 easily-turned pages. The tone is confessional, and she leaves nothing out.

The insights Cordelia draws from her life are at times stunning and truly caused me to stop and reflect on my life; though the circumstances have been much different from hers, the same truths are evident.

However - and this is why I can't recommend it - I found this book in the teen section of the library. I canot think of a single teen to whom I would feel safe giving this book, both for its contents and underlying philosophies.

Cordelia's landscape is a modern neo-pagan and pantheistic community in Britain, which apprently represents the worldview of the author. This is a worldview in which there is not really right or wrong, or at least it seems that the characters derive their moral compass from their experiences and how they feel. Morals and Christianity are very subtly portrayed as being from an antiquated, male-dominated world, and Cordelia (as well as her adult mentors and guides) are instead lead by the energies of the elements, ancient fairy folklore, and meditation. The key mentor suggests that God is everyone, which Cordelia comes to accept as her truth.

As an adult, this book was helpful to me because I saw my own beliefs from outside, through a pantheistic and neo-pagan mindset. It helped me to think and articulate answers to the author's views of Christianity, and his presentation of neopaganism as something more real and of the earth.

The danger of a book like this to a teenager might be that the confessional tone of a "diary," can be subversive in its promotion of ways of thinking. Apart from a manifesto or treatise, which sets out with such a purpouse very straightforwardly, I sensed that this diary was Chambers' attempt to do the same, under the radar. The reason: reading a diary, the reader feels in control - the writer's vulnerable thoughts are laid bare, and the reader has a certain power. However, as a work of fiction, a "diary" can serve points of view across much more persuasively and without debate. You can be lulled into submission through a diary, because, after all, the "truths" that are told there are merely the result of the writer's experiences. The writer doesn't outwardly try to claim that any of it is universally true, only offers a compelling suggestion that they are. So, while the reader feels like the one in control, reading the defenseless confessions of the diary "writer," the real writer, like the wizard behind the curtain, has the power to promote his ideas through the guise of such vulnerability.(less)

like · see review

Feb 26, 2012 Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides marked it as decided-not-to-read

Shelves: children-ya

I was in a HPB the other day, looking in the YA section for something else, when I saw this in the mature teens section. Being someone who has been known to geek out over classical Japanese lit, "pillow book" caught my eye, and I read the jacket copy, then flipped it open to a random page. And it's this section where the narrator is talking about how everyone thinks breasts are sexy, but they are also awesome because they can feed babies. (The premise of this book is that the narrator is recordi...more

like · see review

Dec 26, 2010 Shannon Mooney rated it 3 of 5 stars

My first impression: This book is so long I'm never going to finish it. It will go by so slow.
Impression when I finished the book: How did that go by so fast?!

If you're concern is with the length of the book, don't be. I'm notorious for ending books halfway through and never finishing them, even fairly short ones. But this one kept me drawn in. I absolutely loved the characters, except for...Cordelia Kenn. I know, it's horrible to hate the main character but she was so completely unrealistic, ma...more

like · see review

Aug 03, 2010 kristina rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: someone who likes long books, a girl, someone seeking inspiration, someone who likes love stories

Recommended to kristina by: a male friend

I first picked up this book when a male friend recommended it to me. I've encountered bits and pieces of it through him and when I first went to pick up the book, its size astonished me. When I began to read it, my astonishment only grew - a book with a female narrator, practically spilling herself into these books/boxes that she kept? At sixteen, I instantly liked it, and fell in love with Cordelia. This book immediately became a big source of inspiration for me; I loved the way she could jump...more I first picked up this book when a male friend recommended it to me. I've encountered bits and pieces of it through him and when I first went to pick up the book, its size astonished me. When I began to read it, my astonishment only grew - a book with a female narrator, practically spilling herself into these books/boxes that she kept? At sixteen, I instantly liked it, and fell in love with Cordelia. This book immediately became a big source of inspiration for me; I loved the way she could jump from one thing to the next, I loved her essays, lists, "mopes", I loved the lyrical tone of her writing. A couple hundred pages in I decided to look into some information about the author (I kept thinking "Aidan" could possibly be a female) and I was shocked to learn that he is a man! His portrayal of this female protagonist is exceptional.
The length of this book was no issue for me - it's safe to say that I finished it in just under two weeks. I couldn't put it down, and the only obstacle I had was the split a/b pages. It wasn't something that I've seen before, but I shrugged it away.
The ending blew me away. I always steer clear of flipping forward and spoiling the ending or plot twist of a book for myself, so when I finally reached the final book, it hit me harder than I could possibly expect. I cried impossibly hard, especially considering the fact that I had already been reading for two hours straight (I was nearing the end and desperately wanted to finish that night) and I can honestly say, no other book has drawn this many tears out of me. The success of this book lies in the fact that it draws the reader in - Cordelia is so believable, honest and flawed, yet terribly lovable, at least for me. As a young girl who slowly grows older through the hundreds of pages, it's easy for others to fall in love with her insights and passions. After reading for a long stretch of time and diving into the very essence of Cordelia, the loss of this character simply breaks your heart.
All in all, this book got my creative ball rolling and at times I would catch myself thinking back to it. I recommended it to a few friends, but most of them never bothered to finish, to my surprise. I am planning to re-read it in the near future.(less)

like 6 likes · see review

Nov 09, 2009 Beth rated it 5 of 5 stars

The pillow book is actually more than one volume: journals of most intimate musings, modeled after a Japanese pillow book that Cordelia's friend Izumi gives her. The premise is that motherless Cordy, nineteen and pregnant, is recording the trials and tribulations of her young adulthood, mostly concerning her first lover, Will, and plans to give them to her daughter when she turns 16, so they can share them. The books are incredibly thoughtful; a poet wannabe, Cordy's voice is that of a gifted wr...more The pillow book is actually more than one volume: journals of most intimate musings, modeled after a Japanese pillow book that Cordelia's friend Izumi gives her. The premise is that motherless Cordy, nineteen and pregnant, is recording the trials and tribulations of her young adulthood, mostly concerning her first lover, Will, and plans to give them to her daughter when she turns 16, so they can share them. The books are incredibly thoughtful; a poet wannabe, Cordy's voice is that of a gifted writer and even her prose (or, Chambers prose) has rhythm and symbolism and entendres and cadence. The British setting doesn't limit the audience; no glossary is needed. I never had any doubt of the character's authenticity, and Chambers deserves a medal for poking around the territory of female puberty so believably and frankly as a male author.

Book one is mostly concerned with the chase after the boy, much of the rest of the book is how to keep him, and how to cope when he's gone, but Cordelia addresses issues of family, other relationships, loss, and more. A dense 800 pages, there are only two troublesome spots: in one book, the story splits into 2, and you have to read all of the odd pages, then all of the even pages in the section for the story to make sense, and in a later book, a kidnapping is a slightly outlandish plot device to bring the estranged star crossed lovers back together. Still, the voice rings true, and the supporting characters are interesting and lushly drawn. It's not for all readers, but I can think of many girls who will delight in the opportunity to wallow for a while in the depths of this tome.

Chambers has said he believes life imitates art - that young readers look to their literature to discover how to BE - and Cordy is a model for supportive adult role models and mentors, planning and decision making, even reading for pleasure (she loves Shakespeare, whom she affectionately calls Shakes). A very strong character driven novel, this is the best book I've read this year, and a fine contribution to the canon of YA literature for it's style, content, and character study.

(less)

like · see review

Apr 29, 2009 Hallie rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Kelley

I hesitated between three and four stars for this book. On the one hand, it had some excellent qualities: sheer length (~800 pages) without becoming dull, for the most part well-developed characters, a non-linear structure that is intriguing and ends up mostly making sense, and the fact that a middle-aged man successfully and convincingly pulled off a first-person narrative in the character of a teenage girl. On the other hand, while not as creepily all-consuming as Twilight, this novel's love s...more

like 3 likes · see review

Jun 16, 2009 Meredith rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: england, young-adult, reviewed

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. (I have marked this as spoilerish in content, but wish to reiterate here that this review contains MAJOR spoilers.)

If I could, I would give this book 3.5 stars; however, since that isn't an option, I will give it 4. I try very hard not to grade a book down when the ending doesn't go my way. Some of the best books I have read have had disappointing/ambiguous/depressing endings, but ones generally in keeping with the tenor of the narrative. But I do not enjoy cheap narrative tricks (i.e., contrive...more (I have marked this as spoilerish in content, but wish to reiterate here that this review contains MAJOR spoilers.)

If I could, I would give this book 3.5 stars; however, since that isn't an option, I will give it 4. I try very hard not to grade a book down when the ending doesn't go my way. Some of the best books I have read have had disappointing/ambiguous/depressing endings, but ones generally in keeping with the tenor of the narrative. But I do not enjoy cheap narrative tricks (i.e., contrived "twists", Hollywood tearjerker sleights of pen, or saccharine big-red-bow endings).

Unfortunately, Book Five of this narrative involved a rather unrealistic big-red-bow sequence of serendipities; jobs, income, dwellings, office help, and even rent waivers fell from the sky and into Will's and Cordelia's laps. After so much struggle, their starting a life together felt somewhat effortless. These were college-age kids trying to strike out on their own. Where was the ramen, so to speak? Where was the initial financial struggle that couples even a decade older face? Simply put, where was the realism? Perhaps Chambers knew that he was running low on real estate, that his epic adolescent tome was already several inches thick and in need of an ending, so he had Cordelia apologize on his behalf for rushing through this part of the narrative. Unfortunately, in doing so, he forfeited some of the overarching realism that made this story so endearing.

Book Six, however, was when this book jumped the Heinian shark for me, and an otherwise unique narrative inspired by a timeless Japanese classic became a hackneyed tearjerker. Let me preface this by remarking that this story was a bold endeavor from the get-go--a male author taking on the psyche of a teenage girl. Chambers did the feminine adolescent mind justice throughout much of this book, with a few minor missteps here and there. However, Book Six was where he made his most egregious miscalculation. In killing off Cordelia and finishing the story from Will's point of view, he essentially broke the promise of the first five books--that this was Cordelia's story, her psyche, her gift to her child. She was not allowed to finish her own story; instead, she was disposed of (literally) at her beloved Uffington White Horse and we were left with nothing but Will's closing statements. We experienced some of the most pivotal moments of her life--her wedding, her baby's naming, and her few months of motherhood before death--through her husband's eyes. Thus, both narrator and reader were robbed of something vital.

Cordelia's voice carried us through nearly 800 pages of teenage angst, heartache, joy, musings, and relationships. It strikes me as strange that, in the final pages, the author took away her voice and replaced it with that of a man. (less)

like 3 likes · see review

Mar 12, 2013 Maggie Eiberger rated it 5 of 5 stars

I do not think the a/b page thing is a big deal. people complain about it, but I believe that Chambers did that for a reason. I love it because the writing style of the entire book is extremely unique, and is a nice break from the traditional novels. I fell in love with the characters, and was impressed by the way Chambers portrayed them. although cordelia does not think or act the way you would expect a teenager to act, I related to her well and understood her. this book teaches a lot of lesson...more

like · see review

Mar 03, 2012 Elissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really got a lot out of this book- it made me think. Cordelia is similar to myself in that she is very logical, rational, and analytical about herself and her life. It's always interesting to see yourself in someone else. The ending was a complete surprise to me, I never saw it coming.

This book is aimed at a teenage audience but has a lot of sexual parts so I'm not really okay with that.

Some of my favorite quotes:

Intellectual cleverness is often distrusted by those who don't possess it.

What yo...more

like · see review

Apr 03, 2011 Jackie rated it 5 of 5 stars

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

like 1 like · see review

Jan 26, 2011 V. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, 2011-books

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

like · see review

Apr 03, 2009 Julia rated it 5 of 5 stars

The idea behind the story is that Cordeila is compiling a book for her unborn daughter from diaries/writings about her life from the age 15. It tells of incidents of Cordeila growing up, falling in love for the first time, d dealing with life changes, befriending an English teacher who become her spiritual guide, etc....and in the proccess of describing events goes off into tangets about her thoughts about writing, books, people, sex, memory, friendship, Shakespeare, spirituality, and a lot more...more

like · see review

Aug 19, 2012 Christof Jans rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: jeugd

I admit, I am no macho. This book is meant for adolescents and preferably the ones of the female kind. That said, this was the first book that left a strange feeling after I had closed it. There were some tears in my eyes and I couldn't explain it to my wife at that moment. I am not going to spoil what gave me that feeling, but this is a great book with no fake sentiments. Thanks to my friend Jane, I got to read the rest of the work of Chambers. And they are all quite strong, but none of them ga...more

like · see review

Apr 06, 2012 Linda Cee added it

Shelves: worst-books-ever

There are two books that I HATE and really wish I hadn't wasted my time reading they are:
Twilight
and
This is all: The Pillow book of Cordelia Kenn

My opinions on Twilight are seldom popular so I don't discuss it except with people I know dislike it as much as I do :)

But This is all? That one I will roundly bash, mainly due to the fact that I found it in the teen section of my library and it is NOT a book for teens (not young teens anyway) way to mature even for me at the time and I was 16, it als...more

like · see review

Jan 14, 2011 Lizz rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am halfway through this book. Took a break to reread "Annie on My Mind" because I needed something I could blitz through. I figured I owe Melody the start of a review.

This is a very complex book, in so many ways. It would be very, actually too, easy to say this book annoyed you or lost you or bogged you down in poetic paragraphs that boiled down to making one simple point. Aha! If you say that and are annoyed, then you are missing the point. Or burned your teen years journals. if you did not b...more I am halfway through this book. Took a break to reread "Annie on My Mind" because I needed something I could blitz through. I figured I owe Melody the start of a review.

This is a very complex book, in so many ways. It would be very, actually too, easy to say this book annoyed you or lost you or bogged you down in poetic paragraphs that boiled down to making one simple point. Aha! If you say that and are annoyed, then you are missing the point. Or burned your teen years journals. if you did not burn said journals, mix yourself a strong drink and read a few pages. Blech! They suck. And yet they express a bare bones, honest version of yourself that might have since been lost to paying bills and broken hearts. Which is good, because if we acted and thought and felt like we did as teens for the rest of our lives, the world would resemble an overwrought open mic night.

Chambers inhabits Cordelia so deeply you wonder how he did it and how he got out. Aspiring teen poet Cordelia is making a book for her unborn daughter. She's also trying to figure out who she is and what is she doing here. Which is what we all did, with varying degrees of success, as teens. It's your JOB. Dear lord, your brain development and hormone levels are damn near biologically designed to have you do this. And it's those things that make revisiting our Loving-Lord-Byron years so painful years later. What seemed deep, magical and so significant now seem silly, hystrionic, but so painfully true you want to bury yourself.

That is the trick of Cordelia. She is someone to whom teen readers can relate. And she is someone with whom adult readers struggle to not relate. Because it might mean admitting that perhaps the world was more magical, more real, more significant, more EVERYTHING back then. How many of us fall in love over and over and over, hoping for that intense period of honeymoon which we first experienced as teens? Yeah, I thought so. Give this book more credit than you might. It's not an annoying teen girl's diary. It is at times, but that is what makes it so special.

And a final word: as the book nears it's end, it grows in intensity. Both in terms of situations Cordelia finds herself in and emotional reactions to them. I found myself quite tuckered out by the end.(less)

like 1 like · see review

May 18, 2009 Claudia rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Creative readers and writers

Recommended to Claudia by: Paige

Shelves: chick-lit, ya-books

"When I've read a book which I really like,a book which MATTERS, I feel it belongs to me." Cordelia is NOT talking about THIS IS ALL, but that's the way we all feel while and after reading this amazing book. Cordelia is organizing her journals and 'pillow books' as a gift to her unborn daughter. She wants the baby to know her mother and father as young people, how they met and fell in love, what tore them apart, and what ultimately brings them together again. Cordelia is wise, passionate, observ...more

like 1 like · see review

Jan 29, 2010 Aileen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

I honestly don't think there will ever be a book that not only captures the essence of girls, but is also the most heart-wrenching and tear inducing book I will ever read. This book starts off when Cordelia Kenn is only 15. 808 pages later she is twenty and two months old. The reader, girl or boy, learns more about life, love, girls, friendship, relationships, basically everything you can imagine. Though this was a work of fiction, I have never felt closer to a character. One of the best parts o...more I honestly don't think there will ever be a book that not only captures the essence of girls, but is also the most heart-wrenching and tear inducing book I will ever read. This book starts off when Cordelia Kenn is only 15. 808 pages later she is twenty and two months old. The reader, girl or boy, learns more about life, love, girls, friendship, relationships, basically everything you can imagine. Though this was a work of fiction, I have never felt closer to a character. One of the best parts of this book is how it jumped around. Though some may not have liked that, I did. Especially towards the end of the book when everything with that creeper Cal happened. The great thing was that it kept you interested, but because the author jumped around you didn't get bored and rush through it. If you read all of the extra parts, it made the juicy parts that much more interesting. I have to say, when I first started reading I would look through to see the beginnings of the next books and I accidently read the beginning of the sixth book a long time before I got there (since I MAY have stopped reading for a VERY long time around the middle...) and I didn't think that it would affect me the way it did since I already knew. The thing is that I had that hope that maybe I read it wrong, or that hope that it'll still turn out all right. But I wasn't and so almost the entire time reading the six book, the blue box, I cried with unrestraint. I don't think that I have ever cried that much or that hard for any other book, even during the 7th Harry Potter book, or so many others, this one, because you knew Cordelia so well, so completely, so much that you felt you knew more about her then anyone else, and I think that's why when you started reading the sixth book it was like you knew exactly what Julie and Arry were going through. When I came to the end of the book, to that 808th page, my tears had finally dried up, because it was probably the most perfect ending to this book. The is a quote from this book that says "To live is to remember, to die is to forget." And I think that there are no truer words ever spoken.(less)

like · see review

Mar 31, 2013 Lotte rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loooooooveeed this book, really. This book is sad and happy at the same time. You really get to know Cordelia and where she is living for, and I absolutely adored this main character. Cordelia is smart, but also funny. When she decides to get Will as her boyfriend, she strongly believes she gets him, and she gets him. The poems and literature are also very tastefull and funny. I loved Will but I adored Arry so much! The first book was the funniest, the second one was a bit mindfucking because...more

like · see review

Jul 02, 2012 Heleen rated it 5 of 5 stars

I brought this thick book with me, last summer when I was in France. Lying in the sun,
with great food and a little breeze: it was the perfect sitiation to read a book! And this book was amazing! With almost 800 pages I expected it to be a little bit boring and tedious. But it wasn't at all. Cordelia goes through a lot of things; difficult and wonderful things. One of the wonderful things is falling in love, but love brings also pain and this book describes these feelings as well. When I finished...more

like · see review

Mar 21, 2009 | J rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

This is one of the thickest books I've ever conquered in such short time. But Aidan Chambers makes it such an easy read. I fell in love with his main characters, as I suppose was the intention. It reads as a diary, from a girl who is astoundingly committed to maintaining it. I envy her for her determination. The ending is abrupt and unfair, but then again so is life. Point made.

I must admit it is almost insulting how much Aidan Chambers understands about young females. We think we're so mysterio...more

like 1 like · see review

Mar 01, 2009 Shaya rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: realistic-fiction, before-goodreads

This book has stuck with me. I loved the realism in it. Maybe it's the format but it seemed so much more realistic that this could actually have happened to someone than almost any other realistic fiction book I've read. Or the thoughts were releastic, perhaps? The book's honesty is very refressing. The characters are flawed but they mostly try to do the right thing. I didn't mind the slower parts of the book or the mundane parts, the story sucked me in and I was perfectly happy to go along with...more

like · see review

Feb 06, 2011 Kaylee Hix rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: grade-for-2-9-11

This book is long but worth it. Chambers is not afraid to tell you exactly what is going on in Cordelia Kenn's life. Here life is laid to bare for you and it is easy to connect with. She struggles with what she wants to do, and her boyfriends pushy mother. The book is intended for her unborn child (her daughter if i recall correctly) and she address the read as such. It makes everything much more personal. This character just comes to life. I want to write a character so believable that I forget...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 60 61 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Bokt goodreads gr...: Aidan Chambers - Dit is alles	1	3	Aug 05, 2011 06:14am

combine
Other Editions (9)

More editions...

Genres

Young Adult

39 users

Romance

9 users

Realistic Fiction

8 users

Contemporary

4 users

Young Adult > Coming Of Age

4 users

Diary

2 users

Poetry

2 users

Young Adult > Teen

2 users

Literature

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Aidan Chambers

Born near Chester-le-Street, County Durham in 1934, Chambers was an only child, and a poor scholar; considered "slow" by his teachers, he did not learn to read fluently until the age of nine. After two years in the Royal Navy as part of his National Service, Chambers trained as a teacher and taught for three years at Westcliff High School in Southend on Sea before joining an Anglican monastery in...more

More about Aidan Chambers...

Books by Aidan Chambers

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About This is All: The ...

6 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from This is All: The Pillo...

“Love, being in love, isn’t a constant thing. It doesn’t always flow at the same strength. It’s not always like a river in flood. It’s more like the sea. It has tides, it ebbs and flows. The thing is, when love is real, whether it’s ebbing or flowing, it’s always there, it never goes away. And that’s the only proof you can have that it is real, and not just a crush or an infatuation or a passing fancy” — 116 people liked it

“I’ve always been a slow learner in some areas of my life.mostly the areas known as myself. Or maybe I should say ‘selves.’because the fact is, I’ve never, even as a child, felt I’m only one self, only one person. I’ve always felt I’m quite a few more than one. For example, there’s my jokey self, there’s my morose and fed-up self,there’s my lewd and disgusting self. There’s my clever-clogs self, and my fading-violet-who-cant-make-up-her-mind-about-anything self. There’s my untidy-clothes-everywhere-all-over-my-room self, and my manically tidy self when I want my room to be minimalist and Zen to the nth degree. There’s my confidant, arrogant self and my polite and reasonable and good listener self. There’s my self-righteous self and my wickedly bad self, my flaky self and my bsentimental self. There are selfs I like and selfs I don’t like.there’s my little-girl selfnwhonlikes to play silly games and there’s my old-woman self when I’m quite sure I’m eighty and edging towards geriatric.
The self I show in action at any moment depends on where I am, who I’m with, the circumstances of the situation and the mood I’m in.” — 60 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn
avg rating	preview: This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn Goodreads rating: 4.23 (957 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/590348.This_is_All?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347374234l/590348.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/590348.This_is_All?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn by Aidan Chambers[/url]

This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn (The Dance Sequence)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website