Party

Feb 17, 2013 Butterblume89 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, jugendbuch

Zum Buch
Das Schuljahr ist rum und alles wollen nur eines: Party machen und die Nacht zu etwas unvergesslichem machen.
Doch die Party verläuft anders als gedacht...

Charaktere
In diesem Buch gibt es 11 Hauptcharaktere, die man als Leser nach und nach kennen lernt.
Da gerade das Kennenlernen der verschiedenen Protagonisten so interessant war werde ich auf Diese nicht weiter eingehen.
Doch eines kann ich sagen: Jeder hatte seine Eigenschaften, Macken und Schwächen. Keiner gleichte dem anderen und es gab...more Zum Buch
Das Schuljahr ist rum und alles wollen nur eines: Party machen und die Nacht zu etwas unvergesslichem machen.
Doch die Party verläuft anders als gedacht...

Charaktere
In diesem Buch gibt es 11 Hauptcharaktere, die man als Leser nach und nach kennen lernt.
Da gerade das Kennenlernen der verschiedenen Protagonisten so interessant war werde ich auf Diese nicht weiter eingehen.
Doch eines kann ich sagen: Jeder hatte seine Eigenschaften, Macken und Schwächen. Keiner gleichte dem anderen und es gab niemanden den ich gar nicht mochte.

Schreibstil & Aufbau
Der Schreibstil ist jugendgerecht aber auch für Erwachsene sehr ansprechend gehalten.
Jedes Kapitel wird aus der Sichtweise einer anderen der 11 Personen geschrieben, was mit Namen gekennzeichnet ist und man somit wirklich jeden nach und nach immer besser kennen lernt.
Das Buch nimmt relativ schnell an Fahrt an und der Schreibstil fesselt den Leser bis zum Schluss.

Fazit
Party von Tom Leveen hat mich begeistert. Die Idee hinter diesem Buch hat mir wahnsinnig gut gefallen.
11 Personen, alle auf dem Weg zur gleichen Party, alle haben andere Vorstellungen was sie in dieser Nacht erleben oder erreichen wollen und alle verbindet irgendetwas miteinander.
Die Idee des Autors jedes Kapitel aus einer anderen Sichtweise zu schreiben und somit dem Leser die Möglichkeit zu geben die Charaktere nach und nach, und nicht alle aufeinmal kennen zu lernen, hat mir sehr gut gefallen und mich total fasziniert.
Klar tauchte der ein oder andere schon einmal auf, doch dann endlich seine / ihre Sichtweise zu lesen und tiefer in die jeweilige Person einzudringen, war super interessant und faszinierend.
Die Atmosphäre wurde dank des tollen Schreibstils und der Wortwahl sehr gut rüber gebracht. Ich konnte die prickelnde Vorfreude auf die Party, die Spannung die über dieser einen Nacht lag quasi mit Händen greifen.
Auch die Charaktere waren mir alle, auf die ein oder andere Art und Weise, sehr sympathisch.
Mehr kann ich gar nicht sagen, weil ich nichts verraten will.
Ich kann dieses Buch ruhigen Gewissens zu einem meiner Lesehighlights im Januar zählen.
(less)

like 2 likes · see review

Sep 06, 2012 Max rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

This review is for an advanced reader's copy.

I think the premise of this novel was very promising and the climax and falling action were both great, but the writing was, for the most part, not so good. The style through some of the chapters was just plain awful; I understand the author was trying to capture the way teens think, but literally putting in "or whatever," "or something," and other sayings similar every couple of sentences is not necessary. It was actually aggravating and distracting....more

like 2 likes · see review

Oct 29, 2012 Michele Hines rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A)This book is about a group of high school students that are all going to a big party to kick off the summer. Everyone goes to the party for different reasons but at the end they all connect while there and become friends. But not everything is perfect while they are there, violence erupts and friendships are threatened.
B)The something I really enjoyed about this book is how each chapter is from a different character’s perspective. It allows t the reader to see various sides of the story and n...more

like · see review

Sep 19, 2012 Kylara Jensen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: writing

This book is more of a 3.5 because I liked it as a 3 but thought it was written really well and interestingly so a 4 for that. I recommend this book to writers but beware the mentions of sex and drinking because it takes place at a high school party.

Ok. This book isn't really up my alley either, but I'm really glad I read it. This book is YA Contemporary Fiction. It's nothing more than a book about 11 kids drinking, getting into fights and having sex at an end of the year high school party. But...more This book is more of a 3.5 because I liked it as a 3 but thought it was written really well and interestingly so a 4 for that. I recommend this book to writers but beware the mentions of sex and drinking because it takes place at a high school party.

Ok. This book isn't really up my alley either, but I'm really glad I read it. This book is YA Contemporary Fiction. It's nothing more than a book about 11 kids drinking, getting into fights and having sex at an end of the year high school party. But it is so much more awesome than it sounds. I read it because I met the author, Tom Leveen and there is something completely intriguing about this book. Each chapter is written from a different persons point of view. 11 kids, 11 chapters. There are like 3 subplots going throughout the book and arguably one main plot. It is amazing, AMAZING, how the author uses 11 different voices, completely credibly. And each subplot is introduced in a chapter from one characters pov and resolved from another character's pov. It's amazing. (view spoiler)[ Like this one chapter is about a girl named ..Morrisey, Morrigan? I don't remember so let's call her Morrey. In her chapter it shows how much her parents ignore her and really never show or tell her how much they love her. They are completely screwed up parents. In a random dude's pov you hear Morrey arguing with her parent's on the phone at the party. Then later in a pov of Josh (her ex-bf which is another subplot) The parents and Josh meet and he confronts them about their lack of affection and they think about it and later from Morrey's bf's pov you see her dad finally hugging her.
There is another subplot about this fight. First you meet this Turkish kid who is upset about people always looking at his fam with suspicion (Bc he's from the middle east) and he goes to the party and this black kid (anthony) picks a fight. And even though his father always tells him people are acting out of hurt and fear and to ignore them, he gets into a fight and is almost killed. Then in another chapter from teh black kid's pov you see his remorse at causing the fight and that he did it bc he was drunk and his bro was hurt very badly in Iraq and was lashing out. But then in his chapter the turkish kid forgives him and doesn't press charges from teh back of the ambulance. And Anthony has no idea why, but you know, because you've read Azize's pov and you know he finally understands his father, even though that is never explicitly stated.
But My favorite thing about it, is the plot which is arguably the book's main plot. The first chapter is from the pov of a girl named Beckett. Her mom got cancer 2 years ago and just died. No one knows, bc she doesn't want to go to foster care. Her mom wouldn't let her tell anyone about the cancer so she withdrew from her friends and now doesn't have any. She thinks she is invisible. Before her mom's death, her mom was sad she couldn't have a normal life where she stayed up all night with her friends and watched the sunrise on the beach. Well she goes to this party. More people notice her than she thinks. There is a guy with a helpless crush on her. Also her ex-best friend is Ashley who is now Morrey's bff. Well throughout the book we see Beckett and snippets of her interacting with everyone. She is finally "noticed" by Max who has a crush on her. And then she makes up with AShley. The last chapter of the book is from Ashley's pov and Ashley drives Beckett and Morrey home and they stop for breakfast at this beach restaurant and THEN THEY WATCH THE SUNRISE on the beach. She stayed up all night and is watching sunrise on the beach with her friends. The end of the book meets the beginning. And you won't even notice unless you are paying attention. It is awesome and an amazing feat of writing. (hide spoiler)]

So basically it is written amazingly well and a great study of character and voice and plot. But I spared you from reading it, because it is also full of swearing and drinking and meantions smoking and pot and there is a little bit of sex but nothing graphic bc it's YA.(less)

like · see review

Nov 17, 2011 Christina (Reading Thru The Night) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, ya-love

The Short of It

Eleven teens interact at one party.

The Long of It

This is the story of eleven different high schoolers who plan to attend the ultimate end of the year party. Mostly juniors who anticipate being on the top of the high school ladder and graduated seniors nervous about the up and coming “real life” experience are in attendance. Each chapter is told from the perspective of one character and by the end of the night we have fully experienced the Party.

The Thoughts about It

Ummm, okay. Has...more

like · see review

Nov 01, 2011 Oscar Gonzalez rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Sydnie Radtke

Recommended to Oscar by: no one

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Party by Tom Leveen

In the book "Party" by Tom Leveen is about the biggest party of the year and the life of ordinary teens living there life in a south suburb in California. In each chapter a new teen in introduced to us and we follow what they are doing or going to do before the party. Throughout each chapter we learn about their social life and how they get along with their family. I'm not going to tell you about every charter but I am going to tell you who my favorite character was. Beckett w...more Party by Tom Leveen

In the book "Party" by Tom Leveen is about the biggest party of the year and the life of ordinary teens living there life in a south suburb in California. In each chapter a new teen in introduced to us and we follow what they are doing or going to do before the party. Throughout each chapter we learn about their social life and how they get along with their family. I'm not going to tell you about every charter but I am going to tell you who my favorite character was. Beckett was introduced to us right in chapter one and her story I think was the most influential because she was a “social light” in the beginning of her high school years, but now she is a quite girl who no one really knows who she is. She would like to go out and have fun with her old friends but she has to make a living of her own. The reason why she needs to make a living of her own is because her dad left her when she was a young girl and her mom dies a couple of months ago. No one knows that she is dead because if the school finds out that she is living on her own she will be sent to a foster home, even though she is seventeen years old. People make fun of her because she’s not like anyone else in her town. Beckett worries about school and not about drinking and having a good time. The one thing I did not like about this book is that her story started and ended in chapter one. She was talked about in other chapter but her personal life was not talked about. What I got from this book is that you should wait to drink until you are old enough and should not do it just because everyone else around you is. What I also learned is that you should not judge a person by the way they look because you don’t know what’s going on in their personal life. This book reminds me of the TV show “Skins”. Because this book is scandals and in the TV show in every episode we get more detail about a character and that is how the book “Party” is. Overall I enjoyed the book and I would recommend it to Sydnie Radke because her and I have the same taste of books and TV shows.
(less)

like · see review

Aug 11, 2011 Les rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

***** Spoiler Alert *****

Basically this book took every teen caricature (wierd girl, man-whore, jock, drunk angst queen party girl, foreign student, skater boy, etc.) and threw them together into an end-of-the-year party. It would have been better if the characters or some of the scenarios had been more believable.

Beckett is the first character introduced and is probably the most likeable. She took care of her mother who eventually died from cancer. Mom wanted to keep it a secret so Beckett had...more ***** Spoiler Alert *****

Basically this book took every teen caricature (wierd girl, man-whore, jock, drunk angst queen party girl, foreign student, skater boy, etc.) and threw them together into an end-of-the-year party. It would have been better if the characters or some of the scenarios had been more believable.

Beckett is the first character introduced and is probably the most likeable. She took care of her mother who eventually died from cancer. Mom wanted to keep it a secret so Beckett had to totally withdrew from all her friends to take care of her without telling them why. Now she's broke and thinking about dropping out of school to work. That I could almost buy.

What doesn't make sense is the author stating that mom had breast cancer that lead to a liver transplant. First, there is no way that they will give a liver transplant to a patient with metastatic cancer. The cancer has already gone from her breast to her liver once so giving her a new liver isn't going to prevent it from happening again. Second, they're supposedly poor and no program is going to do a $250,000 procedure without heavy duty insurance or cash donations to cover the cost. Finally, there is no way to reasonably hide the fact that you've had a liver transplant. You're hospitalized for weeks then on immuno-suppression yet no one is supposed to know mom is sick? That illogic was almost enough for me to stop reading this, but I decide to keep going.

Morrigan is pissed at her parents since dad ignores her and mom kowtows to what ever dad says. She breaks up with her boyfriend because he won't have sex with her. She sneaks out to go to the party, gets hammered and damages multiple relationships. The most unlikeable of all the characters.

Ashley is the saintly friend trying to keep Morrigan out of trouble (she used to be best friends with Beckett but got dropped when Beckett went into stealth mode). She also has an older brother who is a local cop who becomes a convenient bit player.

The list goes on. Ryan is a total man-whore but is a good buddy of Josh, the guy that wouldn't have sex with Morrigan for religious reasons. The skater dude has admired Beckett from afar for 3 years but has never developed the cajones to speak to her. The jock is a time bomb because his older brother is a wounded veteran. The foreign student is abused for being a "towelhead," and so on.

Much drinking, brawling, sexing, puking, car wrecking, etc. ensues, but by the end of the evening they've all sung "Kumbaya" and every conflict is magically resolved. Beckett is best buddies with Ashley again and has a date scheduled with skater dude, Morrigan and her parents are working on being civil to each other and she's done a 180 on Josh, Ashley's brother (the cop) doesn't give Josh a ticket because he agrees Morrigan is a total bitch, the foreign student lies to the police to keep the jock from being arrested, etc.
(less)

like · see review

Jun 26, 2011 Karen Kaiser rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: summer-2011, five-stars, realistic-fiction, fiction

When I think about it, I can't honestly say why I gave this book five stars. Objectively, I probably should've given it four stars, but it just stuck with me. What I really liked about it was how normal it was. Sure, you've got Beckett, whose life really sucks. And Morrigan, who (despite her bitchy attitude) I felt a little bit of sympathy for. After all, her parents were completely idiots. And Anthony is dealing with his brother's injuries and his own football downward spiral. And Azize has to...more

like 1 like · see review

May 09, 2011 Jodi rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

OK, so I get that this was a novel with overlapping story lines. However, was it really necessary to repeat certain scenes over and over again?

The first narrator is Beckett, who I actually really liked. She was what gave me hope that this book might be pretty decent. She has such a hardknock life that automatically, as a reader, I was sympathizing and rooting for her. (I will say that I was happy to see where her character ended up).

However, from Beckett we went to Morrigan who might be my lea...more

like · see review

Apr 22, 2011 Charlene rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This actually turned out to be one of my favorite books! I've never read a book like Tom Leveen's, 'Party', since it had the 11 narrators, but I loved it. It's rare to find a book that has the perspective of pretty much all of the main-ish characters involved, so it doesn't leave you wondering, 'Wow, i wonder how they feel about this!'. I like the set up of the chapters too, so you're not confused how they randomly switched to a new narrator. When i first started reading this book i thought it w...more

like · see review

May 09, 2010 Lexie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-fiction, review-blog, genre-young-adult

When I first read the synopsis for this book I was intrigued because it sounded very much like the movies Crash and The Air I Breathe (and to a lesser extent the tv show Lost). When someone tells a story its obviously biased according to their background, their prejudices, their experiences. I find it fascinating to read the varied accounts, eye witness statements, about the same event. Details change, focus shifts and you get a much better idea of what could have happened by taking the viewpoin...more When I first read the synopsis for this book I was intrigued because it sounded very much like the movies Crash and The Air I Breathe (and to a lesser extent the tv show Lost). When someone tells a story its obviously biased according to their background, their prejudices, their experiences. I find it fascinating to read the varied accounts, eye witness statements, about the same event. Details change, focus shifts and you get a much better idea of what could have happened by taking the viewpoints of eleven different people into account.

Sometimes this worked really well for the book. As we travel chapter to chapter, each one dedicated to a different person of the eleven who was integral to the 'main event' (so to speak), little details fall into place. We know why Beckett is so withdrawn and uncommunicative (her 'story' is first), but we don't know why Antho (Anthony) suddenly began acting so erratically during the school year. We have Beckett's guess, but its vague at best because she had so many other worries. Equally we know why Morrigan seeks out Ryan at the party, but we don't find out until Ryan's chapter why he reacted the way he did. Little pieces that add up to a whole.

Unfortunately there were some chapters that left me feeling less enthused. I wouldn't say I was bored, but a couple chapters felt like Leveen wanted to get all his backstory about a character out there no matter what. For the most part the chapters ran at concurrent times (with some events intersecting others) or directly led into each other. This was a double-edge sword as Leveen would then have to backtrack in each chapter to give backstory that was relevant to that particular character, but to the overall story held little weight and thus distracted from the plot. A tighter focus in each individual chapter would have helped greatly, reducing the extraneous information considerably.

This was a somewhat different kind of novel for me to read. Not only in its format, but also because I don't tend towards the young adult genre fiction category too often. Actually I don't tend towards genre fiction in general. However, despite the kinks that needed ironing in the narrative the book did not disappoint in its initial premise; the story of how one party can be seen (and mean) such different things to eleven people. (less)

like · see review

May 01, 2010 Yan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It’s the biggest party happening in Santa Barbara and everyone’s coming. For some this party can mean something different. Told in eleven different point of views, Tom Leveen covers all the bases when it comes to personality.

The novel begins with Beckett the girl who was once so bubbly and fun had the life drained out of her when her mom got cancer. She promised to never tell anyone—not her father who left and not her best friend, Ashley, who she’s slowly distancing herself from—even when the ca...more

like 2 likes · see review

Apr 28, 2010 Barbara Bell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tom Leveen writes ‘Party’ in 11 chapters, one for each point of view presented. While we start with Beckett in Chapter 1, each additional chapter adds more information and additional perspectives, thus, building up the suspense and details that we can only get from the additional players in the story. The headings of the chapters are cool, as well, because all names are printed out, and the chapter’s lead character is highlighted.

Without being preachy, Leveen shows the world of YA that everyone...more Tom Leveen writes ‘Party’ in 11 chapters, one for each point of view presented. While we start with Beckett in Chapter 1, each additional chapter adds more information and additional perspectives, thus, building up the suspense and details that we can only get from the additional players in the story. The headings of the chapters are cool, as well, because all names are printed out, and the chapter’s lead character is highlighted.

Without being preachy, Leveen shows the world of YA that everyone has got something going on, for better or worse. Beckett is hiding a terrible secret and is making a plan of her own for her senior year of high school. Morrigan wants someone to show her that they love her, within her family and outside of her family. Tommy tries to be a good friend, even while checking out the evil ex-girlfriend’s friend (What harm could it do?) Brent is fed up with his love-sick friend and just wants to tear it up now that he’s finished senior year. Daniel checks out the blow-by-blow action, rooting for the demise of his friend’s ex-girlfriend, while checking out the potentials at the party. But this is where the suspense is turned up…WAY UP! Daniel forgets that he ordered a pizza…until the cops show up at the party.

I KNOW! Right?? Readers are started to get into the groove of this story and the individual mini-dramas of each, and then you get a bomb like that dropped at the end of the chapter…and it’s like, “What the hay is going on here, people?” Here’s my advice…plan for this A-bomb at the end of the chapter with Daniel. Don’t make any plans. Don’t think of starting this and then putting it down because from here on in, it’s an investment. You’re going to want to know what happens next. It gets better, scarier, more intense than you ever expected.
Our characters continue with Azize, the pizza delivery guy, who tries so hard to be good, even when the timing is not in his favor. Ryan is fiercely loyal, even when the situation looks as bad as it could get. Then there’s Anthony. Ah, yes, “Antho.” That boy just cannot get his mind off of his brother. He’s at a party and he’s watching the news, which gets some quizzical looks, but no one really messes with the guy, considering his size and position. Until someone does…mess with him that is. Someone who stands up to defend his honor, his family’s honor, and the honor of everyone else who has ever been profiled, racially or otherwise.

And this is where the A-bomb explodes. Everyone was having fun, until this thing that came from a place of fear mixed with Jack Daniels. It’s unstoppable, and readers begin to wonder if it can be fixed at all. The phrase that is haunting, “Make it right,” will stay with readers long after the book is finished.

Our closing chapters of Josh, Max, and then Ashley remind readers to go slow with your anger, take a chance on love, and to connect with real people. Isn’t that what life is all about?

Leveen has written a book not easily forgotten. It is mesmerizing in its dialogue and with its details.

If you'd like to read the original review, direct your browser here: http://www.examiner.com/x-15378-San-J...(less)

like 1 like · see review

Mar 24, 2010 Shanyn (Chick Loves Lit) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book reminded me a little of the movie Crash when I read the synopsis (lots of different lives coming together in the end), so I was excited to read it because I like when an author is clever about how characters are related.

Each chapter is written by one person in the story - we never get to revisit a character unless someone in a later chapter talks about them. For the most part this was okay, because I didn't particularly care to hear what some of the people were thinking about. In other...more

like · see review

Feb 02, 2011 MaryLeauna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

4.5

Party is the story of Santa Barbara High's must-go-to end of the year party. Summer is here and the student body is ready to let loose, really let loose. The book is told by the overlapping view points of eleven teens. If you want a vast array of personalities, Tom Leveen surely delivers. You may not be able to relate with all of the narrators, but there are sure to be a few you can really connect with. And trust me, your heart string will be pulled on at least once.

Pros:
The personalities and...more

like · see review

Jun 04, 2012 J rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tom-leveen-novels, gave-up-one, my-favs

High School Parties-----

How does one get invited? For those of you who are regrettably and "accidentally" left out or to those of you that pretend not to care about attending----you may be surprised at the guest list!

The "GUEST LIST" has a fair share of kids that are invisible to others on so many levels for so many reasons.

Party guest 1: The kid that attends a party hoping that someone, anyone will recognize who they are. This kid is emotionally bullied by their fellow classmates---invisible...more

like 1 like · see review

Jul 11, 2010 Midnight Bloom rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In Tom Leveen's debut novel, Party, the lives of eleven teenagers- Beckett, Morrigan, Tommy, Brent, Daniel, Azize, Ryan, Anthony, Josh, Max, Ashley- collide on a beautiful night in Santa Barbara. It's not the usual type of novel I often get a chance to read, with each 'chapter' broken down into the viewpoint of one teen and then moving onto the next one. It's an interesting concept and definitely proved to be most effective, drawing in my interest right from the get-go. I mean, eleven different...more

like · see review

Jun 10, 2012 Meera Pauline rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads

I was really anxious to start this one that I put it on the last on the list of my stock of books. And now let me just have a sigh of relief that it was well worth the suspense.

"Everything depends on your point of view..."

Just as its tagline states, Party is a contemporary story of teenagers written in 11 different perspectives -- all characters, whether directly or indirectly, related to each other. For one, they all go to the same high school, although they don't necessarily go along together....more

like · see review

Mar 19, 2012 Constance rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Even though this was just a a silly kids book it ended up being really thought provoking. As a whole I really enjoyed this book. It united themes of racism with underage drinking and a teenagers drive for acceptance in order to create a unique plot.

I have read alot of these party books during my time in high school, and now that I am in college it is fun to go back and pick up one again ( You know just for the hell of it) and even though I never behaved as badly as the kids in this book I can ce...more Even though this was just a a silly kids book it ended up being really thought provoking. As a whole I really enjoyed this book. It united themes of racism with underage drinking and a teenagers drive for acceptance in order to create a unique plot.

I have read alot of these party books during my time in high school, and now that I am in college it is fun to go back and pick up one again ( You know just for the hell of it) and even though I never behaved as badly as the kids in this book I can certainly identify with some of their rebellious behaviors.

This story is told from the viewpoint of multiple narrators and never stays on the same narrator more then once. We hear from Morrigan, a girl that is methodically ignored by her parents. We hear from her best friend Ashley, a strange longer named Beckett, a man-whore known as Ryan and a massive football played named Anthony. And these are just a few of the characters that we hear from, the rest of the cast is full of play boys, Christians, skaters, and outcasts. This gives the book the unique ability of appealing to everyone since you do not get caught listening to only one voice and hence get sucked into their stereotype.

Through all these narrators the story of the greatest bash is told. It is the end of the year and all of the teenagers are graduating and retreating to the party that marks the end of their high school education. However, when this party become a swarm of alcohol and hormones everyone ends up getting more then they bargained for.

I really liked this book and If you are just looking for something fun and mindless this is definitely the book for you. It ended neatly ( and may I add cutely) will most of the characters overcoming or at least facing the adversities which so clearly plagued them at the start of the night.

I wish everyone luck with their reading and hope that they continue toward this yearly goal!

I would suggest this book to high schoolers but would not pitch it to anyone younger then that. There is plenty of language ( Enough so that I would not feel comfortable letting my middle school siblings read it) and a lot of sex references ( One scene a blow job is described even though the act is never officially named)

This is a fun book though, so if your looking for something mindless with a cute ending this is about the best book you can find. Far from being corny the ending actually had me feeling a true sense of emotion for many of the characters as they overcame the adversities that had plagued them at the start of the night :)
(less)

like · see review

Jul 15, 2010 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have to say I had next to zero interest in reading this book. The cover and blurb made it sound like I would be spending the day with a group of pretentious alcoholic brats. I am reading and reviewing all of the Class of 2k10 books however, and Party is part of that class so when Lena from http://addicted2novels.blogspot.com/ offered to let me read her copy I was thrilled because it meant I didn’t have to buy it. Harsh – I know. Well the joke is on me because I loved this book so much that I r...more I have to say I had next to zero interest in reading this book. The cover and blurb made it sound like I would be spending the day with a group of pretentious alcoholic brats. I am reading and reviewing all of the Class of 2k10 books however, and Party is part of that class so when Lena from http://addicted2novels.blogspot.com/ offered to let me read her copy I was thrilled because it meant I didn’t have to buy it. Harsh – I know. Well the joke is on me because I loved this book so much that I read it in four hours AND I’m going to go buy my own copy anyway!
Party follows the stories of 11 people whose lives intersect as they go to the big end of the school year party. Each chapter is written in a different POV which I thought would get annoying, but since they overlap at times you get a very good picture of what’s going on from all perspectives.
At the risk of dating myself – this reminded me of an updated version of The Breakfast Club. We have the geeky/shy girl, the skater boys, the jock, etc. People from all walks of life get together and see that their preconceived ideas and impressions of other people aren’t always correct. I’m sure there are more recent references but what can I say…I’m old.
I am finding that some of my favorite books this year are from the male POV. This has both girls and guys POV but my favorite chapters were from the guys as they tried to figure out what the heck makes girls tick. I’m curious about that myself at times. Not everyone is likeable and I’m sure some people won’t enjoy this book for that very reason. Ryan is a man-whore by his own admission, Josh although obviously one of the good guys has definite anger issues I think need to be explored. Morrigan is a bratty teenager looking for attention in all the wrong places, Beckett and Max’s story is by far the sweetest. There are also Tommy, Brent, Daniel, and Azize. Ashley is a common thread throughout all the stories.
Because it is told in 11 points of view you do miss some of the background story to the characters. You do have to take a leap of faith with some of the storylines and fill in the blanks for yourself but I didn’t mind.
I was laughing my ass off for most of the book and there were so many good lines to quote. I kept a list and my poor husband had to be subjected to hearing the whole list. Here's one of my favorites because it’s just so sweet and swoon worthy and in no way a spoiler. I won’t even say who it’s by - it speaks for itself even out of context….

“You are a weird, weird chick, I think. And I’d give anything, anything in this world to make you feel better. Or kiss you.”

My only quibble would be with Anthony’s storyline. He’s a star football player with a lot more going on than whether he makes it to the pros after high school. His storyline required a little more foundation than it was given and I felt he got off WAY to easy. I don’t think you can resolve his type of issues that quickly.
As a true testament of how much I loved this book it made it into my subconscious. When I really love a book I usually dream about it – alternate endings – bonus chapters (I know I'm a dork!)….and I did with this one. I imagined their first dates, all of them when their older and who they would end up with.
Loved: It made me laugh. Leveen could have easily added another 100 pages and I would have been a happy camper. Max + Beckett = sigh.
Nitpick: Didn’t love the Anthony storyline. Not that it wasn’t important because it was – it was too important to be handled so quickly. Some POV’s weren’t as interesting as others but all facilitated the story.

I would give this 4 1/2 stars...

(less)

like · see review

Sep 23, 2010 Grant Hollenbeck rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book that I read is called PARTY by Tom Leveen, it is a great realistic fiction book about a party from 11 different perspectives. The books setting is in Santa Barbra, California. The book's audience is mostly for teenagers and up. I would recommend this book to many people, it is a great book that has many interesting and exciting points in the book. This book has made me think about who I really am, it shows teenagers about our age smoking pot and drinking liquor and having sex. I feel li...more

like · see review

Jul 05, 2011 Cherrylea rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is different from my usual reading style - not the first of its kind that I read, but different. Not any less good, though.
In this book, an entire story is told in eleven different points of view, never returning to a previous narrator, which I thought was pretty neat. Each of the character's lives connect in so many unexpected ways, never leaving any one story incomplete and managing to include the key points of eleven kids' lives, all in the span of one party, the largest in town. Ea...more

like · see review

Mar 15, 2013 Sari rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Party is told from the point of view of eleven different teenagers, all attending the same end of year party. Each chapter has bits from the others, only told from different points of view. I'm giving this 4.5 stars out of 5 but I round up instead of down, for Goodreads purposes.

I think Tom Leveen really did a great job - each character has a distinct point of view and their own secrets to hide, which aren't fully disclosed in their own chapter but only after reading the entire book. I have to a...more

like 1 like · see review

Oct 31, 2012 Shalia Purce rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"It's saturday night in Santa Barbara and school is done for the year. Everyone is headed to the same party. Or at least it seems that way. The place is packed. The beer is flowing. Simple, right? But for 11 different people the motives are way more complicated. As each character takes a turn and tells his or her story, the eleven individuals intersect, and reconnect, collide, and combine in ways that none of them ever saw coming."
The purpose the author wrote the book "Party" was because to show...more "It's saturday night in Santa Barbara and school is done for the year. Everyone is headed to the same party. Or at least it seems that way. The place is packed. The beer is flowing. Simple, right? But for 11 different people the motives are way more complicated. As each character takes a turn and tells his or her story, the eleven individuals intersect, and reconnect, collide, and combine in ways that none of them ever saw coming."
The purpose the author wrote the book "Party" was because to show the different lives of 11 teenagers Beckett, Morrigan, Tommy, Brent, Daniel, Azize, Ryan, Anthony, Josh, Max, and Ashley. All the things they go through and how one event can bring them all together. The impact on the audience is that many different people that read this book can connect to a different character. It was written in the characters point if view of the same event and their background to what or what they've decided to go to this "Party everyone's talking about.I connected with Morrigan because is a free spirited person who loves being with friends. I love hanging out with friends and having a good time no matter the what. The book did not bore me because they are teenagers as well as I am and I can relate. Yes the book was well written. The book was very dramatic and thought provoking because I never knew what would happen in the book. Every time I would read a chapter I would always get excited and really into it because it would be very interesting. I've never would expected the outcome of the book. I would recommend this book to a friend because it relates to us as teens. Some of my friend are going through the same events are the characters in the book. For example, one of my friend's mother's died from cancer just like Beckett. My friend shut herself away from the entire world and was very sad. She got out of the funk though just like Beckett did too. This book will have lasting value because many teens will look at the cover like I did. The cover brings people in because of the different people on it. You would've never expected the to connect with each other. (less)

like · see review

May 31, 2010 Amber rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rating: 3.5 stars

Party is one of those type of books that reminds me of a 90's teen movie. You know the type of movie you watched before high school that was based on this one epic night that brought all these people from different sterotypes together and something crazy, fun, disastrous, and everything in between happened. And the entire time you're watching you think to yourself woah - I want a night like that!

I know this read isn't for everyone. It has a lot of language, and I know a lot of r...more

like · see review

Feb 06, 2011 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: t2-2010, teen, tough-topics, realistic-fiction

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

like · see review

Apr 11, 2010 Alea rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-for-review

I love love love the concept of 1 story told in 11 voices, what a great concept that kept me turning the pages. And some of the characters were great as well like Beckett and Ashley, once friends that grow apart for a reason Ashley doesn't know and Beckett doesn't want to share.

But with a few grew characters come so not so great. I found a lot of the guys to be sort of carbon copies of each other. Just because a lot of them were friends doesn't mean 4/5 of them have to be so alike I can't rememb...more

like · see review

Jan 26, 2012 Zandra rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It’s Saturday night and the big end of the school year party is going down. Everyone will be there and each of them has different expectations for the night. Some want to spend one last night of fun with classmates before summer vacation, while others just want to get drunk. A few more just want to get noticed while some just want to make a friend. Party focuses on eleven different teens at the party and each chapter is written from one of their points of view. Their stories connect and intersec...more

like 1 like · see review

Jan 09, 2011 Piyola rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: already-read

This novel/book is about 11 people Beckett, Morrigan, Tommy, Brent, Daniel, Azize, Ryan, Anthony, Josh, Max, and Ashley. This story is written by all of these people. Every couple of chapters the person changes and it is read in first person.
So Beckett, she’s the girl that no one really knows, she used to be really close with a few people but they all drifted apart and found other friends. After her mom died she lived alone and took care of herself. She wanted to drop out of High school and go...more This novel/book is about 11 people Beckett, Morrigan, Tommy, Brent, Daniel, Azize, Ryan, Anthony, Josh, Max, and Ashley. This story is written by all of these people. Every couple of chapters the person changes and it is read in first person.
So Beckett, she’s the girl that no one really knows, she used to be really close with a few people but they all drifted apart and found other friends. After her mom died she lived alone and took care of herself. She wanted to drop out of High school and go work in order to make a living. She went to the party jus to talk to someone.
Morrigan, her parents are always busy watching television and they never answer back to her questions, she left with her best friend Ashley to go to the party and her parents didn’t even notice. She wanted to go to the party to have sexual contact because her ex didn’t want to have sex with her.
Josh is Morrigans ex, he really liked Morrigan but she broke up with him because he wouldn’t have sexual contact with her, he’s basically the good one he is very Christian and strongly follows through with it.
Tommy, Ryan , Matt, Tommy, Josh ,Daniel had always been the "Cinco Amigos" 5 best friends, he went to the party to just to watch out for his friends makes sure that Josh doesn’t kill Morrigan when he sees her & he decided not to drink
Daniel, went to party to find a cute girl to hang out with, he was jus drinking most of the time
Azize, works at the pizza store he just moved around there, he doesn’t really talk to everyone but wants to meet new people but every one kind of bullies him cause his name has a Arabic accent to it. Anthony the dark skinned football player gets into a fight with him and beats him up.
Anthony, he’s the one that beat up Azize but he felt so bad at the end he called the cops himself and he became cool with Azize and apologized.
Josh, Morrigan broke up with him. You can say that he is still upset about it outside he meets her parents & tells them how their daughter is not the most womanly daughter in the world, and that she wanted to sleep with him but he didn’t. So he said "I’m done being a nice guy about it" but then he doesn’t know how he’s feelings so he kind of regretted doing that because he really wants her back.
Max, he came to talk to Beckket a girl he has liked for many years but is too shy and never has there been a chance where he could have talked to her but finally they "kind of" talked
Ashley , helped Morrigan get in the car, since she was drunk, then she talked to Beckett. Her old best friend found out that her mom died and that she is living alone and got upset at the fact that Beckett never asked for help but anyways in the end they all became friends again & sorted out everything, after the party. (less)

like · see review

Jul 08, 2010 Jodi Papazian rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-reads

OK, so I get that this was a novel with overlapping story lines. However, was it really necessary to repeat certain scenes over and over again?

The first narrator is Beckett, who I actually really liked. She was what gave me hope that this book might be pretty decent. She has such a hardknock life that automatically, as a reader, I was sympathizing and rooting for her. (I will say that I was happy to see where her character ended up).

However, from Beckett we went to Morrigan who might be my least...more

like 1 like · see review

title link	preview: Party
avg rating	preview: Party Goodreads rating: 3.74 (895 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8708615-party?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320394469l/8708615.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8708615-party?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Party by Tom Leveen[/url]

Party

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (7)

Videos About This Book

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Tom Leveen

Books by Tom Leveen

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Party

Quotes from Party