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92nd out of 301 books
—
1,987 voters
The Best and Hardest Thing
by
Pat Brisson
Fifteen-year-old Molly Biden has always been studious, dependable, some might even say saintly. And she's sick of herself. So when she spots mysterious bad boy Grady Dillon, she devises a plan to make herself over into someone new, someone who will attract Grady's attention. She succeeds but a little too well. When Molly discovers she?s pregnant, she's forced to make the h...more
Hardcover, 240 pages
Published
May 13th 2010
by Viking Juvenile
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The main character is Molly Biden. A teenage girl that's smart, likes studying and she is known as a "saint." A good little girl. Only talks to one girl has no friends, because she doesn't like having a group of friends. Another important character is Grady Dillon. The boy Molly changes for, into being a "saint" into a "bad girl." He's very attractive and a lot of girls try to get at him. A third important character is Molly's Grandma & her best friend Barbara they both are nice to her and...more
I picked up this book because it sounded really interesting...a book written in poetry. I've never been one for poetry, except for the typical teenage-girl-pining-away-in-misery in high school, so I really wouldn't know good poetry if it bopped me in the face. (Dr. Seuss excluded, of course.) So really, I don't know if the poems were any good. But the whole idea was really cool and something different to read.
The book is about Molly, a good girl, who gets upset to find all her classmates think o...more
The book is about Molly, a good girl, who gets upset to find all her classmates think o...more
Molly Biden is described by her classmates as “saintly” and “nice” and she wants to change that. With the help of her best friend, she makes drastic adjustments to her appearance and gains the attention of the token hottie and bad boy of the school. When things get out of hand and her ambitions go a little far, she finds herself pregnant and having to make the decision of a lifetime.
Author Pat Brisson tells this timeless tale through the use of poetic form, which does limit the character develop...more
Author Pat Brisson tells this timeless tale through the use of poetic form, which does limit the character develop...more
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REVIEW FOR THE BEST AND HARDEST THING BY PAT BRISSON
I guess you can say that from my five star rating that this was a book that was meant to be gushed over- but in all seriousness, this was not those kinds of books. Instead, it was one that had a funny, but an also sullen and solemn mood. The thing that attracted me the most to this book was its interesting format- a collection of poems that told one story and novel. The style reminded me of the book What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones, w...more
I guess you can say that from my five star rating that this was a book that was meant to be gushed over- but in all seriousness, this was not those kinds of books. Instead, it was one that had a funny, but an also sullen and solemn mood. The thing that attracted me the most to this book was its interesting format- a collection of poems that told one story and novel. The style reminded me of the book What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones, w...more
Molly's always been the good girl.
Smart, studious, loyal, blah.
Ready for a change
with her eyes set on a goal.
New wardrobe, new attitude,
will she score the boy in her sights?
Even good, smart people make mistakes.
How will Molly handle the consequences?
What choice will she make?
Her heart will knows
the best and hardest thing .
Why I picked up this book: I've been reading a lot of books about teen pregnancy and adoption and I was interested in how this author would tackle the subject.
Why I finished t...more
Smart, studious, loyal, blah.
Ready for a change
with her eyes set on a goal.
New wardrobe, new attitude,
will she score the boy in her sights?
Even good, smart people make mistakes.
How will Molly handle the consequences?
What choice will she make?
Her heart will knows
the best and hardest thing .
Why I picked up this book: I've been reading a lot of books about teen pregnancy and adoption and I was interested in how this author would tackle the subject.
Why I finished t...more
This book is written in verse from the point of view of fifteen year old Molly. She hates being considered a goody two shoes so she starts dressing differently and attracts the attention of the school bad boy Grady. When she finds out she is pregnant she struggles with the decisions she has to make. Does she want to keep the baby?
Molly is a frustrating teenager, her grandmother is not shy about telling Molly to be careful and even provides her with contraceptives. She tried so hard to attract G...more
Molly is a frustrating teenager, her grandmother is not shy about telling Molly to be careful and even provides her with contraceptives. She tried so hard to attract G...more
Molly is a good girl - a smart honors student who is labeled "saintly" by her classmates. She decides to rebel against this perception and ends up pregnant. The book is written in a series of poems. I really liked that the poems were all different. (Brisson has a glossary of the different types of poems she used on her website, which was a really interesting read.) I really liked Molly - it was interesting to see how she channeled the determination previously reserved for being good and getting...more
This is a YF book. It is a quick read, took me about 2 hours. It is written in poetry, in different styles, of different lengths. I loved the poetry. I am a fan of poetry and it really added a raw emotional aspect to this story. As you can already tell from the cover, this story is about a young girl who got pregnant. It is written from her point of view as she tells what she is feeling about the whole situation from sitting next to the hot boy at lunch to wrestling with her choices of abortion,...more
Molly Biden, sick of being seen as "saintly," decides to go after bad-boy Grady Dillon. With the help of her best friend she undergoes a makeover to become the sort of girl a boy like him could be interested in and for the first time in her life she isn't the quiet, studious good girl everyone expects her to be: she's bad. But when she ends up pregnant, she realizes that her new personality and affections for a boy she really doesn't know very well has gone too far and she finds herself having t...more
This is the first book I've read in less than a week. The format was really cool how it was written in different poem lengths and how the personal thoughts of the main character were portrayed as if we were hearing them. The book had a sad ending, because she gave the baby up for adoption, but that was the whole point of the story. I was hoping that after the babies dad was put in jail that she would choose to keep the baby and raise it with the help of her " Gram". But at only 15, Molly had to...more
This is the sixth of the 15 "Florida Teens Read" books for next school year that I've read, and it is my favorite so far. It is the story of a high school sophomore who seeks to shed her "good girl" image and ends up with much more than she'd planned on, becoming pregnant by a new boy in town who ends up in jail on drug charges. Told in verse, the story follows the course of her pregnancy and the many choices and challenges she faces. This is a very quick read, I finished it in an afternoon, and...more
I'm certain anyone who actually reads the title, would be able to figure out what decision Molly makes in the end. However, just in case, I won't say what she decides.
Pat Brisson does a wonderful job of hooking you in, straight from the beginning. The very first poem walks you through the event that led Molly to the changes she decides to make. I had trouble putting it down after that point.
One thing that I found annoying was, the change seemed too quick, and worked a little too well. I realize...more
Pat Brisson does a wonderful job of hooking you in, straight from the beginning. The very first poem walks you through the event that led Molly to the changes she decides to make. I had trouble putting it down after that point.
One thing that I found annoying was, the change seemed too quick, and worked a little too well. I realize...more
Molly Biden at fifteen is a saint. At least that's what everyone calls her. She always follows the rules, does what she is told and is in general a good girl. Molly decides that she wants to kick her saintly image and decides to try on a more rebellious side. She starts to flirt with the (extremely attractive) new guy. When one thing leads to another Molly at sixteen winds up pregnant and facing a very difficult decision.
Hooray for novels in verse, they really are just fantastic. This novel was...more
Hooray for novels in verse, they really are just fantastic. This novel was...more
Fasenating!; the way Pat Brisson made a book out of many types of poems. she also included very popular issues with teenagers today. This book teaches a lesson in my oppinion.This book is an exmple of when teenagers go too far and they need to be reponsible and take the consequesnses.The hardship and struggle Molly faces due to the decisions and actions she made. she wanted to be something she is not. It was as if she were playing with fire and got burned.
Molly's teacher instructs the students to write adjectives about each other. When Molly sees the adjectives describing her, she is embarrassed to see words like, "pleasant," "nice," and "saintly." She decides she isn't going to be a saint anymore. As the cover reveals, Molly gets pregnant.
This is a quick read, as it is a book in verse. I liked how many of the poems were written in different formats.
This is a quick read, as it is a book in verse. I liked how many of the poems were written in different formats.
Written in verses, this book tells Molly's story about how she wound up pregnant during high school. This isn't the first book I read in verses. And eventhough the character discusses her emotions, I thought her motivations and desicions were too quickly made: you want a guy to like you, you dress up sexy. You want him to like you more, you have sex with him.
It just felt a bit too dry.
It just felt a bit too dry.
Concept/Ideas: 4/5
Storyline/Plot: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 3/5
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars
Mixed feelings about this one. Yet another book on teenage pregnancy, but with a twist. The author decided to write this novel through verse, which I thought was fresh.
The characters were pretty shallow though, and not a lot of detail was put into them. I felt like it definitely wouldn't have been impossible (seeing how Ellen Hopkins can pack a whole lot of feeling and character development in her nove...more
Storyline/Plot: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 3/5
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars
Mixed feelings about this one. Yet another book on teenage pregnancy, but with a twist. The author decided to write this novel through verse, which I thought was fresh.
The characters were pretty shallow though, and not a lot of detail was put into them. I felt like it definitely wouldn't have been impossible (seeing how Ellen Hopkins can pack a whole lot of feeling and character development in her nove...more
I won this book on First Reads. It's a book entirely written in poetry. Kind of like a journal. It's about a girl who is a goody-goody and wants to become Something else. So she sets herself up for disaster by giving herself a make-over.
It's an interesting way to write a story. I appreciate the effort. But I hated the character. She was too stupid to have once been a smart girl. I only gave it an okay because the poetry was kinda cool. Otherwise I didn't like it.
It's an interesting way to write a story. I appreciate the effort. But I hated the character. She was too stupid to have once been a smart girl. I only gave it an okay because the poetry was kinda cool. Otherwise I didn't like it.
this book was better than i thought it would be. the cover with a pregnant teen was actually a little off putting and seems to be with some students as well. i decided to read it to check its appropriateness and found it to be extremely so. it has a very good lesson for girls who are starting to get boy crazy and is done bluntly but well. a verse novel.
Mar 25, 2011
Krista the Krazy Kataloguer
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
read-ya,
read-novels-in-verse
Fifteen-year-old Molly, an honor student, decides to become more popular by getting a boyfriend, but acts without thinking things through and gets pregnant after her first sexual encounter. Brisson portrays Molly's naive view of love and her rude awakening afterward, her denial of her pregnancy, and, finally acceptance. She also portrays how various people around Molly react to her. Why do kids avoid a classmate who becomes pregnant? I saw it happen when I was in school. I guess seeing a pregnan...more
This book was a decent read, had to look up the different types of poems so I learned some things. But I have a hard time believing that the main character, even though we know she's trying to break her good girl image, would choose a cemetary on a gravestone to experience her "first time"
I really had a hard time with the format of this book (the poem layout) and wished it were written like a normal novel, but I quickly got into the grove and really liked this book. I cried a few times, so that means the book will stick with me for a while.
This book was wonderful and touching. Molly decides she's tired of being known as only the good girl. She sets out to change all that. And boy, does she ever! This book has humor, sadness and even hopefulness thrown in. One of the things I really loved is that it's not all free verse. When a different form of poetry is used, it's listed. I particularly loved the poem Molly wrote to her virginity.
Once upon a time, I used to write a great deal of poetry and wouldn't mind getting back to some of i...more
Once upon a time, I used to write a great deal of poetry and wouldn't mind getting back to some of i...more
This was very... Different. I guess that's how I want to describe it. Obviously this book is aimed towards teenagers and I guess it's sort of a "warning" as to what happens if you have unprotected sex and end up being pregnant at such a young age. I mean honestly, when I was growing up, everyone was always talking about sex sex sex and girls were always trying to get the guys attention by dressing provocatively and whatnot. I feel like in this time period, it's just going to happen whether we li...more
I loved this book. Simple, well written, to the point. But even though I felt it was to the point, the emotions that were conveyed, amazing. I liked how the story was told through poetry. Each poem told a different tale to make up the story of this lost girl looking for love.
Besides the writting style, I loved the emotions of the book. I think that this is a very relatble concept to want to be seen as someone different and to be loved. And a lot of times we go and do things that we don't want j...more
Besides the writting style, I loved the emotions of the book. I think that this is a very relatble concept to want to be seen as someone different and to be loved. And a lot of times we go and do things that we don't want j...more
It's rare that a book features a protagonist that I want to shake some sense into, while keeping it entirely realistic that she would think and act that way. The whole time Molly is chasing Grady, I'm wondering why, what she sees in this boy who is so obviously no good (the only person surprised by what becomes of Grady is Molly) while at the same time knowing that it doesn't matter. It was so real that I ended up feeling sorry for her throughout her pregnancy. Which yes, went by rather quicker...more
This book was alittle hard to follow. Just the set up in general, not the story line. It's written in forms of poems. Just not typical.
fast read. loved the poetry. Of all the adoption/teen pregnancy novels I've read, this comes the closest the capturing my reality.
Enjoyed it, but I wasn't wowed. The poetry, the feeling and variety, was nice, but I felt somehow shortchanged by the style.
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I have been writing picture books and easy-to-read chapter books for the last twenty years. My first YA, The Best and Hardest Thing, a novel in verse, will be coming out in May 2010.
I am a former elementary school teacher, school librarian and reference librarian in a public library. I now write full-time and do author visits to schools.
My husband and I have four grown sons. We live in Phillipsbu...more
More about Pat Brisson...
I am a former elementary school teacher, school librarian and reference librarian in a public library. I now write full-time and do author visits to schools.
My husband and I have four grown sons. We live in Phillipsbu...more
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“What was he like afterwards?
Totally adorable-he fell asleep right on top of me!
What was he like afterwards?
I thought he'd died. No, Really! He fell asleep-I had to roll him off of me so i could breathe”
—
3 people liked it
More quotes…
Totally adorable-he fell asleep right on top of me!
What was he like afterwards?
I thought he'd died. No, Really! He fell asleep-I had to roll him off of me so i could breathe”
