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Everything Beautiful in the World
Lately I feel like an astronaut out on a space walk – constantly praying the tube attaching me to the ship doesn’t snap and send me flying into outer darkness. The only good thing about having a mother with cancer is that people are willing to let you get away with pretty much anything. Like failing a Latin test. Or being late to class. Or skipping tennis practice. But there’s one thing Edna’s fairly certain even she can’t get away with – her burgeoning romance with Mr. Howland, her fourth-period Ceramics teacher. That day when Mr. Howland kissed her in his office, she felt like she was floating, like she could levitate right out of her skin. It’s Mr. Howland, with his tousled blond hair and his beautiful guitar and his spot-on impression of Dracula, who makes Edna feel happy for the first time in a long time. But what does Mr. Howland want? And how does Edna really feel – about her mother, about Mr. Howland, about moving forward? Set in New Jersey in the 1980s, this is a piercing story about decisions both heart-wrenching and wonderful, and how life and love so often lead us down unexpected paths.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published October 28, 2008
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475 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
August 17, 2009
Okay, so I wasn't one to sleep with my art teacher and I don't believe my daughter is (please, please, please) so I'm having a bit of a hard time relating to this. But, I did have a mom with Cancer and I have seen a shrink, so maybe I can voice some thoughts.
For a debut novel, the style is reasonably well written. If you're into the teacher makking on students vibe, I'd recommend Boy Toy by Barry Lyga. Now, that one had some creepy crawly imagery that seriously had me thinking about home schooling.
Here you meet Edna... she's 17, her mom has been in the hospital for over a month with cancer of the lymph nodes and she can't bring herself to visit. I can relate. Who wants to admit that one of the only stable impressions in your life might not be there tomorrow? Better to play dumb, trust me on this one. It's the guilt pill that you have to swallow later on. So, she fixates on her pottery teacher, Mr. Howland. He's cool, he listens to Dylan and Zeppelin (this is 1980, btw) he has great hair and he is wholly, entirely, THERE. He's also pretty fucked up for falling for a seventeen year old, but does that really need to be stated?
Like in Boy Toy, we are present through Edna's eyes and even though she is a self indulgent teen who takes advantage of a sick mom to screw with her shrink, you can also, subtly, watch her lapse and it can be heartbreaking at times:
I walk out to my car through the same door as the man before me. The rain has stopped, but the sky is still very cloudy and threatening. I feel strangely similar to the way I did after my first trip to the secret spot with Mr. Howland. This time, however, I don't feel any older or smarter. I feel sad. I have discovered yet another new place inside me. This place I've discovered is not a new continent. It is a black hole, and I don't know how to fill it up.
Think back to your teen years, with or without a creepy relationship with a teacher, could you have been so eloquent?
I could have done without so many Styx references though.
For a debut novel, the style is reasonably well written. If you're into the teacher makking on students vibe, I'd recommend Boy Toy by Barry Lyga. Now, that one had some creepy crawly imagery that seriously had me thinking about home schooling.
Here you meet Edna... she's 17, her mom has been in the hospital for over a month with cancer of the lymph nodes and she can't bring herself to visit. I can relate. Who wants to admit that one of the only stable impressions in your life might not be there tomorrow? Better to play dumb, trust me on this one. It's the guilt pill that you have to swallow later on. So, she fixates on her pottery teacher, Mr. Howland. He's cool, he listens to Dylan and Zeppelin (this is 1980, btw) he has great hair and he is wholly, entirely, THERE. He's also pretty fucked up for falling for a seventeen year old, but does that really need to be stated?
Like in Boy Toy, we are present through Edna's eyes and even though she is a self indulgent teen who takes advantage of a sick mom to screw with her shrink, you can also, subtly, watch her lapse and it can be heartbreaking at times:
I walk out to my car through the same door as the man before me. The rain has stopped, but the sky is still very cloudy and threatening. I feel strangely similar to the way I did after my first trip to the secret spot with Mr. Howland. This time, however, I don't feel any older or smarter. I feel sad. I have discovered yet another new place inside me. This place I've discovered is not a new continent. It is a black hole, and I don't know how to fill it up.
Think back to your teen years, with or without a creepy relationship with a teacher, could you have been so eloquent?
I could have done without so many Styx references though.
April 7, 2015
This is a strange and lovely and bittersweet book. Edna is seventeen, her mother is in hospital with cancer, and she finds herself becoming involved with her married art teacher. She's a pretty troubled girl, she can't bring herself to visit her mother in hospital, and there's an unknown mystery about her brother who died as a child.
The central student-teacher relationship is well written. It starts with Edna's clear crush on Mr Howland, the school's heartthrob ceramics teacher.
His attraction for her grows more gradually, and apparently against his wiser judgment, but he seems to fall in love with her for her character as much as her looks.
Even as they get together she starts noticing things about him that make him more human, on less of a pedestal. Edna's still enthralled by him, but you can see the flaws setting in from the start. She's aware of the challenge of their age gap: 17 vs 32.
She's aware that his "I love you" sound more real than hers, probably because hers are still more of an adolescent crush. "Are you sure you love me?" he asks her but she's flippant in her response. Later he complains that "this is all a big joke to you".
Ultimately their relationship is about their mutual need to escape from reality. They are not really compatible. He takes her to art galleries and it comes across as a parent dragging a reluctant child around a museum, when the child would much rather go to a funfair. "He seems genuinely interested in art, and he seems genuinely surprised that I am not."
As Edna's life starts to get back on track she simply doesn't need Mr Howland any more. She outgrows him. She starts finding him old and irritating. He failed to recognise that her love for him was that of an immature, troubled schoolgirl in need of adult affection, despite endless signs.
Highly recommended for fans of teacher student relationships. There's much to enjoy here, and a happy ending in so far as Edna's life is back on track by the end of it.
The central student-teacher relationship is well written. It starts with Edna's clear crush on Mr Howland, the school's heartthrob ceramics teacher.
His attraction for her grows more gradually, and apparently against his wiser judgment, but he seems to fall in love with her for her character as much as her looks.
Even as they get together she starts noticing things about him that make him more human, on less of a pedestal. Edna's still enthralled by him, but you can see the flaws setting in from the start. She's aware of the challenge of their age gap: 17 vs 32.
She's aware that his "I love you" sound more real than hers, probably because hers are still more of an adolescent crush. "Are you sure you love me?" he asks her but she's flippant in her response. Later he complains that "this is all a big joke to you".
Ultimately their relationship is about their mutual need to escape from reality. They are not really compatible. He takes her to art galleries and it comes across as a parent dragging a reluctant child around a museum, when the child would much rather go to a funfair. "He seems genuinely interested in art, and he seems genuinely surprised that I am not."
As Edna's life starts to get back on track she simply doesn't need Mr Howland any more. She outgrows him. She starts finding him old and irritating. He failed to recognise that her love for him was that of an immature, troubled schoolgirl in need of adult affection, despite endless signs.
Highly recommended for fans of teacher student relationships. There's much to enjoy here, and a happy ending in so far as Edna's life is back on track by the end of it.
May 18, 2009
Loved it! It looks deceptfully simple, but it's deep, and Levchuk masters the point-of-view thing, meaning she gives the protagonist, Edna, a unique outlook and definitive personality. We really get to know this high-schooler as she enters a relationship with her art teacher who falls in love with her and she deals (or doesn't deal) with her mom's cancer. She's afraid to see her mom, fearing that if she does, it will be the last time she sees her. So Edna has some things to work out. Takes place in 1980. I didn't get all of the music references.
Want to read
June 19, 2008Released November 2008
June 2, 2009
Loved this book! Some teenage girls will probably become familiar with the storyline. At the end of the book, the narrator gives an important message, that I felt was so true. A huge recommendation.
August 6, 2009
This was a nice surprise. I hadn't heard anything about it, I just happened to pick it up off the new YA pile at work. I don't actually think much of the cover, it looked kind of boring to me, and I almost took it back unread. So glad I didn't! This is a beautifully written first novel. It's a coming-of-age story set in 1980. The protagonist, a seventeen year old girl named Edna, is dealing with a host of different problems. One thing that set this apart from a lot of YA, she isn't just dealing with any one thing. There are some big concerns in her life: Her mother has cancer, she's having an affair with a married teacher, but all of the issues in her life are interconnected. The story is written in short vignettes with descriptive titles like "A Quick Stop at Home" and "My Mother's Room" that move the story along quickly and fluidly even though there are so many nuanced layers to Edna's experiences. Lots of beautiful writing here. I will look for this author's next book.
November 9, 2010
I mistook the prose style for passive summarizing, so at first I was dragging my feet reading this book. Then I began to get it. This is the internal world of a teenger who wants to think about anything except the worst thing that's happened to her: her mother getting cancer. She feels the weight of an imaginary guilt, believing it is her fault that bad things happen to the people around her, but even knowing that belief is irrational, she has trouble shaking it off. Her journey is handled with thoughtful intelligence by the author. A touching, well-written book.
(P.S. You might get the impression this is an edgy or scandalous book because the teen narrator has a relationship with a teacher, but the relationship is about her development as a character, rather than sensationalism for sensationalism's sake.)
(P.S. You might get the impression this is an edgy or scandalous book because the teen narrator has a relationship with a teacher, but the relationship is about her development as a character, rather than sensationalism for sensationalism's sake.)
July 29, 2011
at first: Strange that about 20 pages in, you find out that it's 1980. That makes you re-think everything you just read but oh well.
Edna -- I like so far how every few pages you learn something new and unexpected about her. (Good name.)
The music references provide a flashback of a soundtrack that put you right when you need to be.
upon finishing: The spine on my library copy says YA but I don't care and it might not even be true. This is a pertinent, raw novel that makes me cry. Edna is confused, direct, deluded, wise and I've never met a character like her before. Or is she every teenaged girl? It doesn't matter. This book is so much better than I thought it would be when I first picked it up.
I have learned that you don't necessarily need to tell everyone everything. p. 201
Edna -- I like so far how every few pages you learn something new and unexpected about her. (Good name.)
The music references provide a flashback of a soundtrack that put you right when you need to be.
upon finishing: The spine on my library copy says YA but I don't care and it might not even be true. This is a pertinent, raw novel that makes me cry. Edna is confused, direct, deluded, wise and I've never met a character like her before. Or is she every teenaged girl? It doesn't matter. This book is so much better than I thought it would be when I first picked it up.
I have learned that you don't necessarily need to tell everyone everything. p. 201
April 7, 2009
This book was about a 17 year old girl whoes name was Edna. She fights with her mother alot and they claim not to like each other but when her mother tells Edna that she has cancer the fights stop. While her mother is at the hospital she doesnt visit her at all and believes now she has a chance to do whatever she wants. Her and isnt talking to her and nethier is she talking to him. SO she is free to do anything. Mr.Howland is her teacher and he scares her. She tells him whats up and he questions about her brother that died a long time ago.
Its a sad book but very intresting to read. If you are into family related books i would advise you to read it because it was mad good.
Its a sad book but very intresting to read. If you are into family related books i would advise you to read it because it was mad good.
August 6, 2012
Most commenatators here are giving plot summaries (wrong) rather than evaluations (correct). Also, mostly everyone is missing the humor! This is a VERY funny book, honest and truthful, real, no holds barred. The point is not that Edna is supposed to be perfct. Hello--what planet is this? Who of us is perfect, especially what 17-year-old kid on her own trying to find her way? Think again, please, folks. This is not fantasy fiction. It's real life.
November 28, 2008
I don't know why I liked this book so much... but I did! Perhaps because it takes place in 1980... though it did take me awhile to pick up on that.
January 1, 2009
This is one of those more psychological YA reads. Not a lot of action, but compelling and suspenseful nonetheless, which is impressive.
February 28, 2009
Critics are always tossing around comparisons to Catcher in the Rye when writing about YA books; in this instance it actually fits.
May 13, 2020
This book infuriated me when I read it 10+ years ago 😂😂
March 10, 2022
Tbh I picked it cause I liked the cover and was in a rush, definitely was expecting more but the ending was alright, would’ve like to read more of that part tho
May 19, 2024
It's a fast read, but probably more ideal for a younger audience as it's somewhat predictable.
June 12, 2014
Lisa Levchuk purpose of writing the book “Everything Beautiful in the World” is not very clear. Edna’s behavior Edna's behavior appears largely random. Her impulses, while natural enough for her age, are exaggerated and irrational. This suggests some form of mental illness, but left unexplained, they basically confuse the reader. For me, this made the story more interesting. I don’t think this book could have a lasting value. Well for it really didn’t have one because it was basically a novel.
Yes, this book is well written. It’s really easy to read has flexible vocabulary, it’s pretty much clear. It has very descriptive scenes which I really enjoyed the most. The way they describes the character where clear and you could actually imagine them. For example “He’s got sandy blond hair that always looks tousled in a cute just-go-out-of-bed way. Aside from his never combed-year stylish hair. He wears horn-rimmed glasses that would most likely look stupid on someone else, but he makes them cool. Mr. Holland told us about the prep school in Virginia he attended where you had to wear a coat and tie every day, and it is very appealing that he still has a preppy style. He could easily star as Jay Gatsby in a movie of The Great Gatsby” (Levchuk7). The character description is very simple and descriptive. In this passage they also compare Mr. Holland with The guy in the Great Gatsby with its really interesting. Yes, the book was really captivating. I really didn’t relate to any character on this book but the story that the author brings is fantastic. This book was serious, dramatic and though provoking. This book was really interesting to me because is the first time I read something that has to do with a student failing in love a married teacher. It’s kind of awkward but at the same time very interesting. The greatest strength of this book is that is really easy to read and the vocabulary is flexible. Another greater strength that this book has is that is gives flashback about Edna childhood with helps the reader understand better. For Example “I think maybe I should use this chance to talk about how I spend most of my childhood afraid of contracting or developing a fatal disease. My parent banned me from watching Medical Center and reruns of Dr. Kildare back in elementary school because every week I had a brand-new set of symptoms. My mother got so tired of listening to me complain about things like ringing in my ears, the inability to swallow, blinding headaches, brain tumors, and so forth that she finally decided I couldn’t watch any more doctors shows”(Levchuk41).
I would recommend this book to a friend because I think they will truly enjoy it. This book is really interesting. It’s easy to picture the themes and what is going on in the story. It has all the dramatic things that girls like to read. Once you start reading this book you would just keep on reading it. Every page of this book you would find something new. This book is the best book I have ever read and I positive that if someone read it they would love it as much as I did.
Yes, this book is well written. It’s really easy to read has flexible vocabulary, it’s pretty much clear. It has very descriptive scenes which I really enjoyed the most. The way they describes the character where clear and you could actually imagine them. For example “He’s got sandy blond hair that always looks tousled in a cute just-go-out-of-bed way. Aside from his never combed-year stylish hair. He wears horn-rimmed glasses that would most likely look stupid on someone else, but he makes them cool. Mr. Holland told us about the prep school in Virginia he attended where you had to wear a coat and tie every day, and it is very appealing that he still has a preppy style. He could easily star as Jay Gatsby in a movie of The Great Gatsby” (Levchuk7). The character description is very simple and descriptive. In this passage they also compare Mr. Holland with The guy in the Great Gatsby with its really interesting. Yes, the book was really captivating. I really didn’t relate to any character on this book but the story that the author brings is fantastic. This book was serious, dramatic and though provoking. This book was really interesting to me because is the first time I read something that has to do with a student failing in love a married teacher. It’s kind of awkward but at the same time very interesting. The greatest strength of this book is that is really easy to read and the vocabulary is flexible. Another greater strength that this book has is that is gives flashback about Edna childhood with helps the reader understand better. For Example “I think maybe I should use this chance to talk about how I spend most of my childhood afraid of contracting or developing a fatal disease. My parent banned me from watching Medical Center and reruns of Dr. Kildare back in elementary school because every week I had a brand-new set of symptoms. My mother got so tired of listening to me complain about things like ringing in my ears, the inability to swallow, blinding headaches, brain tumors, and so forth that she finally decided I couldn’t watch any more doctors shows”(Levchuk41).
I would recommend this book to a friend because I think they will truly enjoy it. This book is really interesting. It’s easy to picture the themes and what is going on in the story. It has all the dramatic things that girls like to read. Once you start reading this book you would just keep on reading it. Every page of this book you would find something new. This book is the best book I have ever read and I positive that if someone read it they would love it as much as I did.
September 28, 2015
Everything Beautiful in the World by Lisa Levchuk
by Hailey Marley
Edna is far from normal. I mean, really, really, far from normal. How normal could having an affair with a teacher get? Not very close. With her mother ill and in the hospital and her father entirely estranged and awkward, she's just about free to do whatever she pleases, it seems. As a 17-year-old girl, that's just what she wants. The pity of having a sick mother gets her more free passes than she can count, but why can't she bring herself to visit? She has isolated herself, feeling like a fork in the washing machine spinning around and around. She's been able to keep a comfortable distance from any ounce of feeling or responsibility until everything worsens and closes in on her; leaving her no choice other than to face her unspoken fears.
This book drags the reader along, leading you to almost forget the responsibilities Edna has neglected for so long. It is outrageous and leaves you wondering about everything you thought you knew. Is it really so crazy that Edna neglects just about everything or is there a reason?
This book stays interesting as the entire plot is carried out and changes as you do as a reader. The plot is really interesting and remains unpredictable throughout the entire book. The reader is left with questions of themselves and a faint familiarity of the same things Edna feels.
A younger audience would appreciate this book the most, as Edna is in high school. The components of school, stress with grades and the overtaking consequences of deciding you "just don't care anymore" ring true from the book into the lives we all live each and every day. This is a story that will leave you in awe but also bring you comfort in the feelings we don't like to admit to having, (how Edna refuses to deal with her mother and take control of her grades, etc.).
by Hailey Marley
Edna is far from normal. I mean, really, really, far from normal. How normal could having an affair with a teacher get? Not very close. With her mother ill and in the hospital and her father entirely estranged and awkward, she's just about free to do whatever she pleases, it seems. As a 17-year-old girl, that's just what she wants. The pity of having a sick mother gets her more free passes than she can count, but why can't she bring herself to visit? She has isolated herself, feeling like a fork in the washing machine spinning around and around. She's been able to keep a comfortable distance from any ounce of feeling or responsibility until everything worsens and closes in on her; leaving her no choice other than to face her unspoken fears.
This book drags the reader along, leading you to almost forget the responsibilities Edna has neglected for so long. It is outrageous and leaves you wondering about everything you thought you knew. Is it really so crazy that Edna neglects just about everything or is there a reason?
This book stays interesting as the entire plot is carried out and changes as you do as a reader. The plot is really interesting and remains unpredictable throughout the entire book. The reader is left with questions of themselves and a faint familiarity of the same things Edna feels.
A younger audience would appreciate this book the most, as Edna is in high school. The components of school, stress with grades and the overtaking consequences of deciding you "just don't care anymore" ring true from the book into the lives we all live each and every day. This is a story that will leave you in awe but also bring you comfort in the feelings we don't like to admit to having, (how Edna refuses to deal with her mother and take control of her grades, etc.).
May 8, 2016
This book caught my eye, I honestly thought it would tell me about topics of beauty that people don’t see everyday or doesn’t appeal to the normal eye. Instead, I found myself reading about a girl named Edna, with a mother diagnosed with cancer that gets her free tickets out of things the normal kid wished they could get out of. The book ended up being the complete opposite to my surprise where the main character Edna, fell in love with her art teacher Mr. Howland which causes her a load of problems down the road. The personalities of both characters is what really got me hooked into this book. Most of the time i thought this book would be about appreciating nature but actually turned out to be the life of a teenager and her life dealing with her mother’s illness. In the end, this book was a great one but left me feeling neutral about the whole topic in general. Even though there’s not an illness in my family, this book helped me perceive what it would be like in the mind of a teenager. This is a book unlike any other I’ve ever read and I’m glad to say that I came across it not he library shelf. It was a fast read, but it was a read where I just couldn’t close the book. I HAD to read more and by the time I knew it I was dying to read more. Something I really enjoyed was the taste of music the author provided, it really made me feel like I was in the 80’s. Something I didn’t really find pleasing is that somebody would use a terminal illness such as cancer to get out of things. I rated this story a four, because although it was an amazing read I just couldn’t relate. Hopefully I’ll see myself reading more from the author, Levchuk again because i enjoy her young writers mind in her literature. If you’d like an unpredictable quick read, than this book would be the one for you!
January 20, 2010
Edna’s mother has cancer and the only good thing about that is people are willing to let her get away with pretty much anything. If she fails a test, is late, or misses tennis practice, everyone understands. What they wouldn’t understand is her illicit romance with her art teacher, the one thing that makes her feel happy lately. Not that she’s going to tell anyone – especially not her therapist who wants to convince her to visit her mother in the hospital. But she just can’t and no one is going to make her...
I was blown away by this book, pure and simple. Debut Author Lisa Levchuk manages to capture perfectly the feeling of being a teen that has a mother with cancer (and I should know). Edna’s voice is so raw and honest while still managing to be witty and endearing. You want to give her a hug at the same time you want to shake her and make her come to her senses.
The narrative tension is two-fold: Will she overcome her fear and visit her mother and will she and her teacher get caught? The novel is rich, deep, and ripe for discussion – from the characters relationships with one another (not just Edna’s relationship with her teacher but also with her distant father), to the pressures of small town life and the importance of music and art.
I was blown away by this book, pure and simple. Debut Author Lisa Levchuk manages to capture perfectly the feeling of being a teen that has a mother with cancer (and I should know). Edna’s voice is so raw and honest while still managing to be witty and endearing. You want to give her a hug at the same time you want to shake her and make her come to her senses.
The narrative tension is two-fold: Will she overcome her fear and visit her mother and will she and her teacher get caught? The novel is rich, deep, and ripe for discussion – from the characters relationships with one another (not just Edna’s relationship with her teacher but also with her distant father), to the pressures of small town life and the importance of music and art.
October 31, 2011
The the book, Everything Beautiful in the World, by Lisa Levchuk is very enjoyable and hard to put down. In the book, Edna faces the many challenges of life. Her mother has cancer, she barely speaks with her father, has an affair with her teacher, and ends up running away. Because her mom is sick with cancer, Edna uses that to her advantage with having people feel sorry for her. She comes to class late, misses tennis practices, and sometimes doesn't even show up for school at all. Edna's world is very dark and dismal until she starts her affair with Mr. Howland. He makes her feel safe and happy. Edna knows that what they are doing is wrong,and that she is hurting herself and her best friend, and doesn't confess to herself until the end of the book when she visits her mom for the first time since she's been in the hospital. Edna's visit makes her realize how lucky she is to have her mom still alive. She's happy that her mother forgives her and cannot wait for her mother to come home. This book is similar to the book I once read, What My Mother Doesn't Know. It has a similar moral of the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 7, 2009
I feel like this book was very dull. It only got two stars because the subject was interesting. A student/teacher affair is juicy novel stuff. I feel like Levchuk was so intent on making the book artistic, that she forgot to fully develop her main character.
Edna feels like she is in over her head, which is true, but we never hear from her, really. She's narrating the story and yet we still never grasp the full idea of her emotion.
Mr. Howland is either in love, or a complete jerk. He obviously hates his wife, and he says he loves, Edna, but I'm not seeing how Edna has given him reason to love her. They have sex. That's about it.
The underlying part of the book where Edna's mom is in the hospital is probably one of the only good things about the book. Edna's main problem is that she's afraid to see her mom because they were fighting when her mother got the phone call that she had cancer. It's a very consistent problem that overrides all of her problems with Mr. Howland, Patty, and her father.
Edna feels like she is in over her head, which is true, but we never hear from her, really. She's narrating the story and yet we still never grasp the full idea of her emotion.
Mr. Howland is either in love, or a complete jerk. He obviously hates his wife, and he says he loves, Edna, but I'm not seeing how Edna has given him reason to love her. They have sex. That's about it.
The underlying part of the book where Edna's mom is in the hospital is probably one of the only good things about the book. Edna's main problem is that she's afraid to see her mom because they were fighting when her mother got the phone call that she had cancer. It's a very consistent problem that overrides all of her problems with Mr. Howland, Patty, and her father.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 26, 2012
Edna is a young student struggling with the sickness of her mother, death of her brother, and the loss of a real relationship with her father. In time, she falls in love with Mr. Howland, her teacher, but the relationship soon causes more troubles for her. Throughout this book, I felt a lot of ups and downs; there were parts in which I thoroughly enjoyed what I was reading, and other times when I could not remember why I had picked up this book in the first place. I felt like the author, Lisa Levchuk, put a lot of effort into the plot of the book, and I enjoyed all of the little elements that continued to appear throughout the story. The little touches made the story lively. However, some “touches” became tedious – constant flashbacks seemed to make the story move slowly. I was also unsure about how I felt about the main character, Edna, a lot of the time. She was very unlikable in many circumstances and difficult to relate to. I did not particularly enjoy this book, but I did not dislike it either.
February 25, 2010
I have to say, when I got this book from ALAN to review, I had no idea what it was about. When I started reading it, I was extremely disturbed. It's the story of seventeen year old Edna and the love affair she begins with her high school art teacher Mr. Howland. Edna's mother is in the hospital being treated for cancer and her father is not around. This basically gives her the freedom to come and go and do as she pleases. It makes the affair between her and Mr. Howland possible and allows for her to experiment with love and sexuality. While Levchuk's writing is very well done and her characters are very complex, the story itself is tired and worn out. We all know about the amount of supposed love affairs that occur between teachers and students. I didn't feel the story gave a good representation of teacher/student relationships. I liked the book, but I didn't like how it portrayed teachers.
December 22, 2008
I liked the voice in this book about a teenage girl whose mother is in the hospital due to cancer. The protagonist, Edna, refuses to go and visit her mother. Meanwhile, Edna and her father maintain a no-talking relationship and she has an affair with her ceramics teacher. She is also dealing with the death of an autistic brother whom she never knew and who is never discussed. She sees a shrink weekly, but spends most of the time trying to manipulate the session. The author did a great job weaving all of these issues and creating a dynamic character who I cared about. I couldn't wait for her to dump the creepy teacher who took over her life or to finally tell her doctor everything that worried her. It is set in the early 80's which made the book even more enjoyable for me, a child of that decade.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2009
Taking place just as the disco era gives way to new wave, Jersey Girl Edna must deal with her mother having cancer, and also with her growing infatuation with her high school ceramics teacher.
the author gives voice to Edna in such a manner that it is possible to remember what it's like to be seventeen and filled with conflicting emotion. Often times what you're experiencing doesn't make sense, or follow any rhyme or reason.
As an adult, and as an educator, I naturally had issues with the ceramics teacher, but thankfully things turn out for the better for Edna.
Having grown up in the town and era portrayed in the story, it was a hoot to catch veiled references to locations and people in the story.
the author gives voice to Edna in such a manner that it is possible to remember what it's like to be seventeen and filled with conflicting emotion. Often times what you're experiencing doesn't make sense, or follow any rhyme or reason.
As an adult, and as an educator, I naturally had issues with the ceramics teacher, but thankfully things turn out for the better for Edna.
Having grown up in the town and era portrayed in the story, it was a hoot to catch veiled references to locations and people in the story.
May 9, 2010
I read "Everything Beautiful In the World" and I thought it was by far one of the best books I've ever read. I love all the obstacles that Edna is faced with. I love the way Edna's mind works in the story. There are moments where she has flashbacks about things in her childhood, things that made her into the person she is today. Edna's steemy relationship with her art teacher is also another thing that keeps the reader from closing the book. Each time they are together you wonder if they'll get caught. Being a teenager with a mother who has cancer is hard enough, let alone trying to keep your affair with your teacher a secret. I'm so sorry for spoiling some of the good juicy stuff but I assure you there's so much more.
November 18, 2014
This was way better than a story about an adulterous high school teacher/student relationship should be. In fact, I ended up being rather fond of it. I don't know why. I wanted their love to somehow triumph in the end! The real reason this book stands out to me, though, is that it was the first one I'd ever read with a student/teacher relationship, and instead of confirming my suspicions that it would be terrible, it made me curious about how many other takes the library shelves might have on it.
(as a result of subsequent comparisons, I'm downgrading my original 4-star rating to 3, because this one had a scene or two I remember as being uncomfortably explicit, or at least too skilled at painting explicit images in my head)
(as a result of subsequent comparisons, I'm downgrading my original 4-star rating to 3, because this one had a scene or two I remember as being uncomfortably explicit, or at least too skilled at painting explicit images in my head)
April 7, 2009
So, yeah, this book started off like it was going to be a poignant book about Edna dealing with her mother's cancer and ended up being a book about her creepy "affair" with her art teacher. I never like books with student-teacher love affairs and this one was even worse than usual because the teacher (who Edna continues to refer to as Mr. Howland ever after they have sex--ICK!) is clearly a predator taking advantage of the fact that she is in a bad emotional place because of her mother's disease. Plus, there wasn't really any resolution to that plot line--I wanted one of the adults in her life to realize what was going on and punish his lousy ass!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2010
It is so far about a girl named Ester and her mother in diagnosed with cancer and is put into the hospital. She is denial and starts to have an affair with her art teacher, Mr. Howland. She refuses to see her mother and isn’t sad about her getting cancer because she wouldn’t have been able to be with Mr. Howland. Now her wife has found out about the affair between Ester and Mr.Howland. They have to face the struggles of getting caught and someone else fidning out. Then Ester finally comes to grips with her feeling of her mtoher having cancer when she starts crying durning one of her therapy sautions
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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