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Jun 28, 2011

Catie rated it:

Sometimes I read so many mediocre young adult books in a row that I just start to despair of the whole section. I start to question why I spend so much time over in YA…I mean…these books are obviously not written for me. I find so many of them to be far too casual, superficial, and unrealistic…not to mention poorly written. Every once in a while though, I come across a book like this, that’s so well written and honest and devastating, that I know why I keep crossing the aisle.

Li More...

16 comments like (12 people liked it)

Jul 11, 2010

Kurtis rated it:

The author told me I'd hate this book, but I really liked it, maybe just out of spite.

The book is somewhat but not dauntingly experimental, with four characters relating events, each with his or her own skew and bias -- one is a secondary (but integral) character who provides brief bracketing passages, but the bulk of the book is three longer bits by good friends who comprise a love triangle, each of the three dealing with personal and family issues and focusing on their own story w More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Sep 08, 2010

Kelly rated it:

I can see this being a nominee for either the Morris or the NBA. A lot of swearing, but the themes and realistic portrayal of a subgroup of teens is spot on.
Full review here: http://stackedbooks.blogspot.com/2010/09...(Stacked)

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 22, 2010

Vahini rated it:

Steve Brezenoff’s the Absolute Value of |-1| is an unapologetic look at the lives of three teenagers as they grow up. The voices are distinctive, the characters fully rounded and the story at times insightful, at others heartbreaking and funny.

I finished this book in one night. The prose is so clean, and carries just the right amount of emotional resonance.

But. I wouldn’t say I’m in LOVE with this book. I’m just kind of severely crushing on it (if my romance comparison h More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 04, 2010

Laura rated it:

(3.5 stars, rounding up because it picked up at the end)

This book got off to a slow start for me. I found Lily interesting in a fairly abstract way, but I never found her or her story compelling.

It really picked up for me when the book switched viewpoints, and I started to see Noah's perspective on some of the same events. If anything, Noah is a less interesting character, but the shift really pulled me in.

Then we got to Simon's section. I hadn't been More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 22, 2012

Carmen rated it:

This book is about this three teenagers that use to be bestfriends. When they got into highschool, everything changed. This friendship consist of Noah, Simon and Lily. They started off the book with Lily's point of view, she faced a lot of challenges in life. She had this major crush on this guy that was her friend for so long, Simon. Even though she liked him, she was revolved with even bigger problems in life - her parent's divorce problem. Everything surrounding was just so tiring and very More...

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Sep 12, 2011

Doug rated it:

High school: Noah loves Lily, Lily loves Simon, Simon loves pot; Noah deals pot. I was lucky enough to never be a vertex in a warped little quadrilateral precisely like this, but the geometry of misery feels plenty familiar and accurate anyway. Brezenoff lays it out in first-person narration from the three principles, with book-ending asides in a sibling’s voice.
I have four teeny quibbles with this book. It bounces around in time quite a bit, and I was sometimes a little confused between “ More...

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Mar 26, 2011

T. rated it:

There is an audience for this book, but it is not me. Upon finishing the book, I yelled "What the hell." I only kept reading in hopes of making sense of the story and the connections.

In this story, there are three stoner friends. One (Noah) loves the girl (Lily). The girl (Lily) loves the other boy (Simon). Simon is dealing with stuff at home involving his dad. The same events are told in their three points of view and this is where I got confused. Generally, each story line More...

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Dec 30, 2010

Donna rated it:

Don't let those blurbs fool you. The only one that's the most relevant is Lily's. The others all look like they're wrapped up in some weird love triangle of angst but it's so much more than that. Except for Lily. That's really all it is about since she had such tunnel vision for Simon.

Again, Carolrhoda Lab has not let me down with one of their books. Brezenoff's writing digs so deep, gets down underneath the emo and the angst and the teenagery to something so much more powerful. Lily More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 28, 2010

Chris rated it:

It's been said "nobody loves no one."* No one wants to be alone and it's easy to fixate on someone to want. The hard part is loving someone who loves you back with circumstances and timing that allow it to work. That's not the story of this book. No, this offers three-and-a-half studies of characters who yearn for those they can't have. Each tells his or her version of the story in turn, relating the events from an individual perspective and in a distinct voice. They're real and More...

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Oct 14, 2010

Kari rated it:

The Short Version:
A multiple voice narrative, each distinct in it's own way, and a hugely realistic portrayal of events make The Absolute Value of -1 a painful but enlightening read. The interactions between these three friends aren't as great as they seem, and the slow realization for the trio comes as a new shock, each time. Mixing in love and lust, drugs, and a need for both connection and solidarity, Brezenoff has pitched a beautiful look that will resonate with plenty. The writing shi More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 09, 2010

Megan rated it:

The Absolute Value of -1 pulls no punches.

The structure of the book is what initially appealed to me: three sections, each narrated by one of a trio of friends, primarily describing a series of events that defined their sophomore year of high school. (There are also two short passages by a fourth character that bookend the three main sections.) One of the most important lessons I learned in high school was that my truth wasn't necessarily the same truth experienced by even my closest f More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 09, 2010

Alisha rated it:

The Absolute Value of -1 was angst galore. But that's okay, because I embrace Angst like the old frenemy he is. So, no problems on that front at all. The Absolute Value of -1 takes everything that made you ache and hurt in high school and puts it right up there for everyone to see and feel all over again. It makes you realize that the hurt and heartache you were suffering...is pretty much a staple in high school life. Yep, high school. It's almost always angsty and very rarely all pretty. More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 06, 2010

Jessica rated it:

Books that deal with younger characters have always had a draw for me. Especially when they deal with the subjects that most parents don't seem to want to broach with their children. It always seemed to me that kids will find the information that they are looking for one way or another, so wouldn't you rather it be accurate? At least if a book properly and effectively deals with a touchy subject, a younger person can get the information that they are seeking. Books like this have power.

More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 11, 2010

Sara E. rated it:

This was a strange little book, but I enjoyed, nonetheless. The book shifts between a few perspectives; three teens involved in a love triangle, Lily, the good girl gone bad who has eyes for no one but Simon, Noah, Simon's friend/dealer who is in love with Lily, and finally the mysterious Simon, who is struggling with issues from his own. The prologue to the book is in told from the prospective of Simon's older sister Suzanne, who is reeling from an incestuous kiss shared with her brother, among More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 21, 2011

Cathy rated it:

Three stoner high school kids hang out day after day not doing much. Lily, a math phenom, likes Simon, but he's not so into her; he's like a slippery bar of soap in a shower and she can't hold onto him. Noah is a dealer whose father beats him and who is hot for Lily. He sometimes invites popular jocks over who hate Simon and like to beat the crap out of him since he won't give them any respect. The book is told from each of their viewpoints and the reader gets the same scenarios from three p More...

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Sep 22, 2010

Crystal rated it:

Why I read this: It sounded interesting, simple as that.

How is the novel driven: It's all about the characters - this is the story of Noah, Lily and Simon who are friends in some ways and yet not friends in others and it's told from each of their points of view, so it's all character.

My thoughts: I couldn't write my review of this one right after I finished it. I admit I don't write most of my reviews right after I finish the book, but with this one I needed More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 26, 2010

Tara rated it:

LOVED this book. Some of the most authentic teen voices I've ever read, pitch-perfect dialogue, and flawed, fully-realized characters I wanted to smack and hug at the same time :) I was especially impressed with how well Brezenoff differentiated the voices of his characters, something many authors (including myself) seem to struggle with. As a teen, I knew a few Noah's and at least one Simon. Brezenoff did a great job with Lily too. I was the underachieving smart girl with mostly guy friends in More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 17, 2010

Katelyn rated it:

We all know that no two people are the same. Everyone deals with different situations, everyone has an image they want to project to others, and everyone deals with problems (be they big or small) at some point in their lives. Steve Brezenoff introduces us to Noah, Lily and Simon and gives us a taste of his take on relationships and what brings us together and the distance that is inevitably between us.

I've really become a fan of author's giving us multiple narrators and points of More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jun 03, 2010

Sherry rated it:

The Absolute Value of -1 shows the reader different points of view from four characters. Three characters perspectives on the same period of time is used throughout the majority of the book whereas the fourth character leads the introduction and then brings about the end of the novel.

Brezenoff did an astounding job with each of his individual characters. To read the same thing occur three times and in such different ways, it was written extremely well. The characters of Noah, Lily an More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 29, 2011

Hannah rated it:

I absolutely loved Steve Brezenoff's Brooklyn, Burning (review), so I was really excited to read his debut. While the writing is just as great in The Absolute Value of -1, I didn't like it quite as much as Brooklyn, Burning, just because I couldn't really connect to two of the main characters.

The book starts out with a chapter from Suzanne's point of view. That part really confused me, but I figured that was the point and just kept reading. Then there's a longer part from Lily's poin More...

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Jan 02, 2012

Jessica rated it:

From shutupimreading.blogspot.com

Going into The Absolute Value of -1, I had no idea what to expect. I just knew I'd heard it was good and it was about three friends. Aside from that, I had no real idea what it was even about. Luckily, it didn't matter because I ended up liking it anyway.

-1 is told in three parts, each with a different narrator that each had a different and (really) authentic voice. Going into a part, I would dislike a character...until I read their narration. More...

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Dec 01, 2010

Bookworm1858 rated it:

The Absolute Value of -1 by Steve Brezenoff
Lerner, 2010
289 pages
YA; Contemporary
4/5 stars

Source: Netgalley

Summary: Told from multiple perspectives, looking at the entwined lives of four young people as they try to live their lives.

Thoughts: It opens with someone named Suzanne in a way that confused me. Then it jumps to the first part with Lily sharing about her awful family and telling her story about her love for Simon; I really identified with More...

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Sep 28, 2010

Sara rated it:

Having never heard of THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF -1, I had no expectations as I cracked the cover. Not one. Which is why I was shocked to discover that this novel, Steve Brezenoff's YA debut, has landed squarely on my Best of 2010 list.

The novel is divided into three main sections - one for each character - but the first and last pages are told by Suzanne. I'll admit to being a bit confused when I saw her name printed largely on the first page... there's no mention of a Suzanne in the de More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 25, 2010

Kelsey rated it:

The Absolute Value of -1 was an original and unique young adult debut novel that was very different than anything I’ve read before.

For starters, it was told in four different perspectives: Suzanne, Noah, Lily, and Simon. I enjoyed getting to know each of these characters and to learn about their opinions on each other and their different experiences. Simon had the biggest section and, by the end, I felt I knew his character the most. He had been through a tough time and his life was More...

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Jul 03, 2011

Sharli rated it:

I think we don't really understand how different things must seem from someone else's point of view and this book shows us exactly that.

The story is divided in parts, each told from the point of view of one the characters, Lily, Noah and Simon and giving us their side of hte story. We get to read about the same events from each of heir perspectives and although that may seem repetitive, it really isn't. Things change so much from one character to the other and it makes you understand More...

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Oct 31, 2010

Jamie rated it:

The Absolute Value of -1 is, well, a bit different. And I must say, I like different. The story follows Noah, Lily, and Simon and is mostly told from their three perspectives. Noah loves Lily who only has eyes for Simon who really doesn't give a crap. As they enter high school, it's as if time is moving too fast, too many things are happening simultaneously, and the once tight trio is being pulled apart at the seams. I felt like this is the same story of so many of our own lives, the ever-changi More...

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Aug 06, 2010

AtenRa rated it:

The Absolute Value of -1 is a book about three teenager's, Noah, Lilly and Simon,relationships, and how they change as they grow older along with their perception of the world and the way it works.This is a book about their lives.

I know that you are all probably thinking that you've read books with a similar, if not the same, theme before.But I would suggest that you don't think about all the other books you've read on the subject and read this one with an open mind.

More...

29 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 01, 2010

Jessica rated it:

Books that deal with younger characters have always had a draw for me. Especially when they deal with the subjects that most parents don't seem to want to broach with their children. It always seemed to me that kids will find the information that they are looking for one way or another, so wouldn't you rather it be accurate? At least if a book properly and effectively deals with a touchy subject, a younger person can get the information that they are seeking. Books like this have power.

More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 15, 2010

Cait rated it:

I can honestly say I don’t remember ever reading a book quite like THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF -1. Told in four points of view, the book follows three friends, Lily, Simon and Noah, through a few months of their grade ten school year. The story is raw, honest and unapologetic. Lily, Simon and Noah exist in (what we called in high school) the “druggie” clique. All three smoke (cigarettes and weed), skip school and drink, are all quite smart and in Lily’s and Simon’s cases were/are on team sports. It’s More...

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