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The Snowball Effect
Lainey Pike can tell you everything you need to know about the people in her family just by letting you know how they died. Her reckless stepfather drove his motorcycle off the highway and caused the biggest traffic jam in years. Her long-suffering grandmother lived through cancer and a heart attack before finally succumbing to a stroke. And Lainey's mother; well, Lainey's mother hanged herself in the basement just days after Lainey's high school graduation. Now Lainey's five-year-old brother is an orphan and her estranged older sister is moving back home to be his guardian. Meanwhile, Lainey's boyfriend is thinking about having a family of their own, and her best friends are always asking the wrong sorts of questions and giving advice Lainey doesn't want to hear. As she tries to pull away from everything familiar, Lainey meets an intriguing new guy who, through a series of Slurpees, burgers, and snowballs, helps her to make peace with a parent she never understood.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 20, 2009
3 people are currently reading
1050 people want to read
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July 15, 2010
I'm having a hard time thinking of the right words to put down to describe my experience in reading this book, but I'm going to try...
Lainey is named after a soap opera character and the weirdness doesn't stop there. Her mother decided to kill herself just after she graduates, and the death isn't the first she has had to deal with. At first Lainey doesn't deal with the death as most people would expect. She carries a strong resentment towards her mother. Since the news of her mother's death her estranged half-sister, Vallery, comes to take care of their adopted brother Collin. If it sounds kind of confusing because it kind of is, but in a odd way it works for them.
From the beginning you can tell Lainey is not in the best place in her life, even though she has good friends and a wonderful boyfriend. They can't seem to get through to her the way she needs them to. It's not their fault or her fault it's just something she has to learn to get through herself. At times I would get completely angry and frustrated with Lainey. She could be just plain nasty to her boyfriend Riley, and easily would ignore Kara, her bestfriend. In comes a complete stranger who in a way teaches her what she needs to know without knowing fully who she really is. It was kind of like because he didn't know everything about her he could tell her things that the people who knew her wouldn't have thought to mention.
The one thing that really stood out to me was Lainey's personality. If you didn't really know her she would seem pretty aloof and uncaring, but she's not. In real life I probably would be turned off by her persoanlity, but through this I can come to really understand people who are like her. In the end she really could come to peace with her mom and move on to do what she feels is right and trust that, that is enough.
Lainey is named after a soap opera character and the weirdness doesn't stop there. Her mother decided to kill herself just after she graduates, and the death isn't the first she has had to deal with. At first Lainey doesn't deal with the death as most people would expect. She carries a strong resentment towards her mother. Since the news of her mother's death her estranged half-sister, Vallery, comes to take care of their adopted brother Collin. If it sounds kind of confusing because it kind of is, but in a odd way it works for them.
From the beginning you can tell Lainey is not in the best place in her life, even though she has good friends and a wonderful boyfriend. They can't seem to get through to her the way she needs them to. It's not their fault or her fault it's just something she has to learn to get through herself. At times I would get completely angry and frustrated with Lainey. She could be just plain nasty to her boyfriend Riley, and easily would ignore Kara, her bestfriend. In comes a complete stranger who in a way teaches her what she needs to know without knowing fully who she really is. It was kind of like because he didn't know everything about her he could tell her things that the people who knew her wouldn't have thought to mention.
The one thing that really stood out to me was Lainey's personality. If you didn't really know her she would seem pretty aloof and uncaring, but she's not. In real life I probably would be turned off by her persoanlity, but through this I can come to really understand people who are like her. In the end she really could come to peace with her mom and move on to do what she feels is right and trust that, that is enough.
August 26, 2014
This was a pretty fun read. Well, except for the beginning, which was a bit sad and depressing. Lainey was also a bitch at the beginning, I mean, hey, she lost a lot of people in the span of one year, that was pretty understandable, but it got on my nerves sometimes. But at least she improved later on. She was pretty fun but a bit confusing with all her undecidedness. (is that even a word? Undecidedness. It seems weird.)
I liked Vallery. She's like the cool sister I always wanted but never had. My sister's cool, too, but not Vallery cool. Let's just hope she never reads this. I liked Vallery's personality; she's very relaxed and responsible at the same time. Usually, characters with a "cool" personality tend to be slackers that's why I kept waiting for her to drop everything and leave. Okay, she sometimes ditches her job, but she's doing a decent job taking care of her siblings, so that's something.
Now for Riley vs. Eric. Honestly, I liked Eric better than Riley. Eric's more fun and, fine, he has a beard. I dig guys with beards, okay? Riley is just not realistic. He's so perfect and loves Lainey so, so much it's sickening. No, wait, I take that back, I actually used to know a guy like that. They're this couple who've known each other for about 4 years now? I don't care. They think they will get married and be with together for forever, which is sweet, but they're kind of sickening when I'm around them for a long time. They're just like Riley and Lainey.
Overall, it's a good family book that deals with death and grief without it overpowering the whole story, which was fine for me.
I liked Vallery. She's like the cool sister I always wanted but never had. My sister's cool, too, but not Vallery cool. Let's just hope she never reads this. I liked Vallery's personality; she's very relaxed and responsible at the same time. Usually, characters with a "cool" personality tend to be slackers that's why I kept waiting for her to drop everything and leave. Okay, she sometimes ditches her job, but she's doing a decent job taking care of her siblings, so that's something.
Now for Riley vs. Eric. Honestly, I liked Eric better than Riley. Eric's more fun and, fine, he has a beard. I dig guys with beards, okay? Riley is just not realistic. He's so perfect and loves Lainey so, so much it's sickening. No, wait, I take that back, I actually used to know a guy like that. They're this couple who've known each other for about 4 years now? I don't care. They think they will get married and be with together for forever, which is sweet, but they're kind of sickening when I'm around them for a long time. They're just like Riley and Lainey.
Overall, it's a good family book that deals with death and grief without it overpowering the whole story, which was fine for me.
July 29, 2010
A complex novel about family and death.
Lainey's family is unconventional - she hardly knows her older sister, Vallery, as she spent most of her life living with her dad. Her younger brother, Collin, is adopted and has behavioral issues ranging from being on the autism spectrum to ADHD. The three are thrust together to make a new family after their mother kills herself in the basement laundry room.
Lainey is angry and confused - about lots of things. How to feel about her mother and her siblings. Whether she really loves her longtime boyfriend or if he's just comfortable and convenient. Should she still enroll in business courses at the community college this fall? And why do her high school acquaintances (they were hardly friends) keep trying to desperately to stay in touch when all Lainey wants is to be left alone.
Lainey and Vallery are definitely the more well developed characters in this book. I was kind of frustrated that no one, not even his teachers, seemed to question if Collin's behavior was due to grief or abandonment issues. Collin can't speak much for himself, but *someone* should have been questioning his behavior.
I loved Lainey's romantic turmoil in this book. I get really tired of YA books that imply/state the couple will be in true love forever. Sure, people probably feel that way in high school (I didn't date to speak of back then, so I can't speak from experience), but generally it doesn't work out that way. Lainey's personal crisis turns into a romantic crisis when she starts having sexy dreams about a mysterious guy who bought her a Slurpee - maybe that's not true love either, but definitely a sign to her that she needs some time to think about her relationship with long-time boyfriend Riley.
Lainey's family is unconventional - she hardly knows her older sister, Vallery, as she spent most of her life living with her dad. Her younger brother, Collin, is adopted and has behavioral issues ranging from being on the autism spectrum to ADHD. The three are thrust together to make a new family after their mother kills herself in the basement laundry room.
Lainey is angry and confused - about lots of things. How to feel about her mother and her siblings. Whether she really loves her longtime boyfriend or if he's just comfortable and convenient. Should she still enroll in business courses at the community college this fall? And why do her high school acquaintances (they were hardly friends) keep trying to desperately to stay in touch when all Lainey wants is to be left alone.
Lainey and Vallery are definitely the more well developed characters in this book. I was kind of frustrated that no one, not even his teachers, seemed to question if Collin's behavior was due to grief or abandonment issues. Collin can't speak much for himself, but *someone* should have been questioning his behavior.
I loved Lainey's romantic turmoil in this book. I get really tired of YA books that imply/state the couple will be in true love forever. Sure, people probably feel that way in high school (I didn't date to speak of back then, so I can't speak from experience), but generally it doesn't work out that way. Lainey's personal crisis turns into a romantic crisis when she starts having sexy dreams about a mysterious guy who bought her a Slurpee - maybe that's not true love either, but definitely a sign to her that she needs some time to think about her relationship with long-time boyfriend Riley.
April 13, 2010
My Thoughts: YES! YES! YES! Its been a little while that I read a book that I absolutely loved. I had seen a few buddies reading this a few months ago, and knew I had to give it a chance from their words on goodreads. I'm so happy I did. It was a great book. We meet Lainey who is 18 but has her whole life ahead of her. She gets thrown into a world of responsibility. Her mother takes her own life which leaves her 5 year old brother and a sister she never knew. We also meet her perfect boyfriend. I really liked Lainey's boyfriend. I loved their relationship and he just seemed so together, I wish I could have dated him at 18. She also meets another guy, who she is drawn too. She is so confused between the two. I also really liked him as well. Thats usually what happens, you get stuck between two great guys!!! They are complete opposites! Honestly I'm happy who she chooses in the end. Lainey has to deal with everything, money, family, boys, best friends, drama, confusion, hurt. I could totally relate to Lainey. She did hold it together most of the time. I would have probably broke down if I had been through everything at her age. I really liked this book. I love the idea of snowballs. I loved the characters. I loved the way she treated her brother. She was just a special girl. Please read this book! Its wonderful!
Overall: Loved It! Its wonderful. Cover: Its awesome! I love the way the authors name is across the cups. Its one of the more creative covers I've seen in a while!
Overall: Loved It! Its wonderful. Cover: Its awesome! I love the way the authors name is across the cups. Its one of the more creative covers I've seen in a while!
November 28, 2010
Lainey Pike is more adult than most soon to be eighteen year olds. She works and takes care of her adopted brother. Lainey can tell you all you want to know about her family just by letting you know how they died.This story touched me emotionally in parts it was painful to readso that i had to take time away and read it in slow pieces. But i am glad i did finish reading it. Her mother kills herself which leaves Lainey with a five year old brother and an older siter she never knew. We also meet her perfect boyfriend . Lainey meets another boy and she is drawn to him too. The boys are complete opposites. Lainey has had to deal with everything from money,family, boys, drama and hurt. I could totally relate to Lainey. I really enjoyed this book
May 17, 2010
Teen Fiction
Lainey has just graduated from high school. Her mother commits suicide leaving her with her five-year-old adopted brother. Her older sister, whom she hasn't seen for years, is moving back to help put the family back together again.
A simple, sweet and charming story.
Lainey has just graduated from high school. Her mother commits suicide leaving her with her five-year-old adopted brother. Her older sister, whom she hasn't seen for years, is moving back to help put the family back together again.
A simple, sweet and charming story.
May 18, 2023
let me just start off by saying i have not cried over any book as much as i have this one
many, many years ago when i was 10, i went with my dad to a book signing of one of his many writer friends. i was obviously too young to read the snowball effect then but i did read it a few years later.
a couple months ago i went through some books my dad has in his room, specifically looking for this novel. it has taken me a bit to get to it but i am so glad that i reread it. The Snowball Effect talks a lot about grief and how it makes you feel and act. as well as some life lessons along the way for the main character Lainey.
many, many years ago when i was 10, i went with my dad to a book signing of one of his many writer friends. i was obviously too young to read the snowball effect then but i did read it a few years later.
a couple months ago i went through some books my dad has in his room, specifically looking for this novel. it has taken me a bit to get to it but i am so glad that i reread it. The Snowball Effect talks a lot about grief and how it makes you feel and act. as well as some life lessons along the way for the main character Lainey.
December 8, 2019
The opening of this was just okay, but the more I read, the more I loved it. This was such a great book for me to read when I read it. i really love complicated imperfect main characters and this was one of my favorites .
August 1, 2009
Title: The Snowball Effect
Author: Holly Nicole Hoxter
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date Published: March 23, 2010
Genre: Young Adult
Main Themes: Death, Family, Love, Emotional Problems
Pages: 356
Plot (from back cover of ARC):
"Lainey Pike can tell you everything you need to now about the people in her lfamily just by letting you know how they died. Her reckless stepfather drove his motorcycle off the highway and caused the biggest traffic jam in years. Her long-suffering grandmother lived through cancer and a heart attack before finally succumbing to a stroke. And Lainey's mother - well, Lainey's mother hanged herself in the basement just days after Lainey's high school graduation.
Now Lainey's five-year-old brother is an orphan, and her estranged older sister is moving back home to be his guardian. Meanwhile, Lainey's boyfriend is thinking about having a family of their own, and her best friends are always asking the wrong sorts of questions and giving advice Lainey doesn't want to hear. As she tries to pull away from everything familiar, Lainey meets an intriguing new guy who, through a series of Slurpees, burgers, and snowballs, helps her make peace with a parent she never understood."
The Snowball Effect was seriously amazing! I don't even know where to start...
When I first started reading I wasn't sure if I was going to love it... it wasn't until I was up to about page 100 that I really started to fall in love with The Snowball Effect.
I really understood and related to the main character, Lainey. She was just such a realistic and believeable character that even though many aspects of her life differed from mine, I could totally put myself in her shoes.
I loved the fact that Lainey was flawed. Sometimes she was a great sister, sometimes she was absolutely horrid. She loves her boyfriend, yet she can't stop thinking about an intriguing stranger.
Don't get me wrong, there were times when I wanted to jump right into the book and shake Lainey because she was being so ridiculous, but then I would stop and think - holy crap - I am Lainey. Holly Nicole Hoxter has gone and created a character that, in my opinion, every girl, and possibly even some guys, can relate to in some way or another. I give her major props for that... it takes some serious talent.
One of the most amazing things about The Snowball Effect was that, despite its seriousness, I was laughing aloud at parts. It has such a perfect combination emotions! There were definitely some really funny quotes in it that I'm sure my sisters and I will refer to and use later!
And The Snowball Effect... you may be wondering what that means exactly. Well, sorry, but I can't tell you. That would be a spoiler after all... but trust me, you want to know...! (And now you must read the book - or you will go crazy!)
The Snowball Effect is full of quirky characters and fun, but it has a depth that I really appreciated. I learned some lessons from Lainey that I won't soon forget!
Ratings (Out of 10):
Plot: 10
Characters: 10
Writing style: 10
Romance: 10
Originality: 10
Total: 50/50 (A!)
If this book is not on your most anticipated novels of 2010, you better add it now! If it already is, you will not be disappointed. I really, really enjoyed this book and cannot wait for Holly Nicole Hoxter's next book! It really is painful to think about how long I'm going to have to wait for that one... Write like the wind Holly! :)
Author: Holly Nicole Hoxter
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date Published: March 23, 2010
Genre: Young Adult
Main Themes: Death, Family, Love, Emotional Problems
Pages: 356
Plot (from back cover of ARC):
"Lainey Pike can tell you everything you need to now about the people in her lfamily just by letting you know how they died. Her reckless stepfather drove his motorcycle off the highway and caused the biggest traffic jam in years. Her long-suffering grandmother lived through cancer and a heart attack before finally succumbing to a stroke. And Lainey's mother - well, Lainey's mother hanged herself in the basement just days after Lainey's high school graduation.
Now Lainey's five-year-old brother is an orphan, and her estranged older sister is moving back home to be his guardian. Meanwhile, Lainey's boyfriend is thinking about having a family of their own, and her best friends are always asking the wrong sorts of questions and giving advice Lainey doesn't want to hear. As she tries to pull away from everything familiar, Lainey meets an intriguing new guy who, through a series of Slurpees, burgers, and snowballs, helps her make peace with a parent she never understood."
The Snowball Effect was seriously amazing! I don't even know where to start...
When I first started reading I wasn't sure if I was going to love it... it wasn't until I was up to about page 100 that I really started to fall in love with The Snowball Effect.
I really understood and related to the main character, Lainey. She was just such a realistic and believeable character that even though many aspects of her life differed from mine, I could totally put myself in her shoes.
I loved the fact that Lainey was flawed. Sometimes she was a great sister, sometimes she was absolutely horrid. She loves her boyfriend, yet she can't stop thinking about an intriguing stranger.
Don't get me wrong, there were times when I wanted to jump right into the book and shake Lainey because she was being so ridiculous, but then I would stop and think - holy crap - I am Lainey. Holly Nicole Hoxter has gone and created a character that, in my opinion, every girl, and possibly even some guys, can relate to in some way or another. I give her major props for that... it takes some serious talent.
One of the most amazing things about The Snowball Effect was that, despite its seriousness, I was laughing aloud at parts. It has such a perfect combination emotions! There were definitely some really funny quotes in it that I'm sure my sisters and I will refer to and use later!
And The Snowball Effect... you may be wondering what that means exactly. Well, sorry, but I can't tell you. That would be a spoiler after all... but trust me, you want to know...! (And now you must read the book - or you will go crazy!)
The Snowball Effect is full of quirky characters and fun, but it has a depth that I really appreciated. I learned some lessons from Lainey that I won't soon forget!
Ratings (Out of 10):
Plot: 10
Characters: 10
Writing style: 10
Romance: 10
Originality: 10
Total: 50/50 (A!)
If this book is not on your most anticipated novels of 2010, you better add it now! If it already is, you will not be disappointed. I really, really enjoyed this book and cannot wait for Holly Nicole Hoxter's next book! It really is painful to think about how long I'm going to have to wait for that one... Write like the wind Holly! :)
November 13, 2012
Reviewed by Samantha Clanton aka "Harlequin Twilight" for TeensReadToo.com
Have you ever read a story where it felt like you were actually part of the characters lives? THE SNOWBALL EFFECT is one of those kinds of stories, and Lainey Pike is one of those kinds of characters.
Eighteen-year-old Lainey is your somewhat typical jaded teenage girl, except she has bigger issues to deal with. Her stepfather died in a motorcycle crash, her grandmother died shortly after that, and her mother fully lost it and hanged herself in their basement...two days after her high school graduation.
Sounds like a lot to deal with, right? Well, there's more. Her mother left behind another child, Lainey's brother, Collin, who is five years old and has severe behavioral problems, and now there's someone else to add to their dysfunctional family: Vallery, Lainey's long-gone older sister. Vallery hasn't been in Lainey's life since she was a very young child, and she never even knew Collin existed. And now, Vallery is back and in charge of Collin, but not willingly and definitely not patiently.
To add to everything else in Lainey's already chaotic life, there's Riley, her adorably sweet boyfriend, who wants them to move in together and start a life of their own. But now that Vallery is back and they're sharing the responsibility for Collin and everything else, Lainey has way more to deal with than she ever has.
Lainey has to get to know Vallery all over again, and get Collin to not only behave, but behave for Vallery and come to trust her. Then there's the task of trying to find a way to forgive her mother for being mentally absent and leaving her. But how easy can it be to make peace with a dead woman?
There was so much about THE SNOWBALL EFFECT that I absolutely adored and it's hard to know where to start! Lainey is one of those characters that is so easy to relate to. She's frustrated with her siblings and her job, she has her friends and relationships to deal with, and it's all complicated.
Holly Nicole Hoxter has an enjoyable hit on her hands. The story did tend to jump around a bit, but it made up for that with its realistic look at a teenager's way of coping, while trying to move on and improve their life, plus dealing with whatever else gets thrown their way. Then there's Riley, whom I absolutely adored! He's kind and sweet and totally loves Lainey, no matter how she treats him. Talk about a fantastic boyfriend! There's also the relationship that Lainey, Collin, and Vallery forge with one another, and I found it to be realistic and beautiful.
But there's more to THE SNOWBALL EFFECT than the story itself. Hoxter's writing flows so beautifully, and she has a talent that few writers have: the ability to take an incredibly sad situation, such as the loss of a loved one, and make it so hilarious, yet moving. This is an author that I not only look forward to reading more from, but I also know will go far.
Watch out for Holly Nicole Hoxter; she's a talented author and an awesome storyteller. THE SNOWBALL EFFECT actually reminded me somewhat of a Sarah Dessen novel, and that is always a good thing! I definitely recommend this to all teens, and adults, who enjoy a good, realistic, entertaining story.
Have you ever read a story where it felt like you were actually part of the characters lives? THE SNOWBALL EFFECT is one of those kinds of stories, and Lainey Pike is one of those kinds of characters.
Eighteen-year-old Lainey is your somewhat typical jaded teenage girl, except she has bigger issues to deal with. Her stepfather died in a motorcycle crash, her grandmother died shortly after that, and her mother fully lost it and hanged herself in their basement...two days after her high school graduation.
Sounds like a lot to deal with, right? Well, there's more. Her mother left behind another child, Lainey's brother, Collin, who is five years old and has severe behavioral problems, and now there's someone else to add to their dysfunctional family: Vallery, Lainey's long-gone older sister. Vallery hasn't been in Lainey's life since she was a very young child, and she never even knew Collin existed. And now, Vallery is back and in charge of Collin, but not willingly and definitely not patiently.
To add to everything else in Lainey's already chaotic life, there's Riley, her adorably sweet boyfriend, who wants them to move in together and start a life of their own. But now that Vallery is back and they're sharing the responsibility for Collin and everything else, Lainey has way more to deal with than she ever has.
Lainey has to get to know Vallery all over again, and get Collin to not only behave, but behave for Vallery and come to trust her. Then there's the task of trying to find a way to forgive her mother for being mentally absent and leaving her. But how easy can it be to make peace with a dead woman?
There was so much about THE SNOWBALL EFFECT that I absolutely adored and it's hard to know where to start! Lainey is one of those characters that is so easy to relate to. She's frustrated with her siblings and her job, she has her friends and relationships to deal with, and it's all complicated.
Holly Nicole Hoxter has an enjoyable hit on her hands. The story did tend to jump around a bit, but it made up for that with its realistic look at a teenager's way of coping, while trying to move on and improve their life, plus dealing with whatever else gets thrown their way. Then there's Riley, whom I absolutely adored! He's kind and sweet and totally loves Lainey, no matter how she treats him. Talk about a fantastic boyfriend! There's also the relationship that Lainey, Collin, and Vallery forge with one another, and I found it to be realistic and beautiful.
But there's more to THE SNOWBALL EFFECT than the story itself. Hoxter's writing flows so beautifully, and she has a talent that few writers have: the ability to take an incredibly sad situation, such as the loss of a loved one, and make it so hilarious, yet moving. This is an author that I not only look forward to reading more from, but I also know will go far.
Watch out for Holly Nicole Hoxter; she's a talented author and an awesome storyteller. THE SNOWBALL EFFECT actually reminded me somewhat of a Sarah Dessen novel, and that is always a good thing! I definitely recommend this to all teens, and adults, who enjoy a good, realistic, entertaining story.
March 5, 2010
Have you ever read a story where it felt like you were actually part of the characters lives? The Snowball Effect is one of those kinds of stories, and Lainey Pike is one of those kinds of characters.
Eighteen year old Lainey is your somewhat typical jaded teenage girl, except she has bigger issues to deal with. Her stepfather died in a motorcycle crash, her grandmother died shortly after that, and her mother fully lost it and hanged herself in their basement…two days after her high school graduation.
Sounds like a lot to deal with, right? Well, there’s more…Her mother left behind another child, Lainey’s brother, Collin, is five years old and has sever behavioral problems, and now there’s someone else to add to their dysfunctional family, Vallery, Lainey’s long gone older sister. Vallery hasn’t been in Lainey’s life since she was a very young child, and Vallery never even knew Collin existed, until now. And now, Vallery is back and in charge of Collin, but not willingly and definitely not patiently.
To add to everything else in Lainey’s already chaotic life, there’s Riley, her adorably sweet boyfriend, who wants them to move in together and start a life of their own. But now that Vallery is back and they’re sharing the responsibility of Collin and for everything else, Lainey has way more to deal with than she ever has.
Now, Lainey has to get to know Vallery all over again, and get Collin to not only behave, but behave for Vallery and come to trust her. Then there’s the task of trying to find a way to forgive her mother for being mentally absent and leaving her. But how easy can it be to make peace with a dead woman?
There was so much about The Snowball Effect that I absolutely adored and it’s hard to know where to start! Lainey is one of those characters that is so easy to relate to. She’s frustrated with her siblings and her job, she has her friends and relationships to deal with, and it’s all complicated.
Holly Nicole Hoxter has an adorable hit on her hands. The story did tend to jump around a bit, but it made up for that with it’s realistic look at a teenager’s way of coping, while trying to move on and improve their life, plus dealing with whatever else life throws their way. Then there’s Riley, whom I absolutely adored! He’s kind and sweet and totally loves Lainey, no matter how she treats him. Talk about a fantastic boyfriend! There’s also the relationship that Lainey, Collin, and Vallery forge with one another, and I found it to be realistic and beautiful.
But there’s more to The Snowball Effect than the story itself. Hoxter’s writing flows so beautifully, and she has a talent that few writers have. There are few writers that have the ability to take an incredibly sad situation, such as the loss of a loved one, and make it so hilarious, yet moving. This is an author that I not only look forward to reading more from, but I also know will go far.
Watch out for Holly Nicole Hoxter, she’s a talented author and an awesome storyteller. The Snowball Effect actually reminded me somewhat of a Sarah Dessen novel, and that is always a good thing! I definitely recommended this to all teens, and adults, that enjoy a good, realistic, entertaining story.
Eighteen year old Lainey is your somewhat typical jaded teenage girl, except she has bigger issues to deal with. Her stepfather died in a motorcycle crash, her grandmother died shortly after that, and her mother fully lost it and hanged herself in their basement…two days after her high school graduation.
Sounds like a lot to deal with, right? Well, there’s more…Her mother left behind another child, Lainey’s brother, Collin, is five years old and has sever behavioral problems, and now there’s someone else to add to their dysfunctional family, Vallery, Lainey’s long gone older sister. Vallery hasn’t been in Lainey’s life since she was a very young child, and Vallery never even knew Collin existed, until now. And now, Vallery is back and in charge of Collin, but not willingly and definitely not patiently.
To add to everything else in Lainey’s already chaotic life, there’s Riley, her adorably sweet boyfriend, who wants them to move in together and start a life of their own. But now that Vallery is back and they’re sharing the responsibility of Collin and for everything else, Lainey has way more to deal with than she ever has.
Now, Lainey has to get to know Vallery all over again, and get Collin to not only behave, but behave for Vallery and come to trust her. Then there’s the task of trying to find a way to forgive her mother for being mentally absent and leaving her. But how easy can it be to make peace with a dead woman?
There was so much about The Snowball Effect that I absolutely adored and it’s hard to know where to start! Lainey is one of those characters that is so easy to relate to. She’s frustrated with her siblings and her job, she has her friends and relationships to deal with, and it’s all complicated.
Holly Nicole Hoxter has an adorable hit on her hands. The story did tend to jump around a bit, but it made up for that with it’s realistic look at a teenager’s way of coping, while trying to move on and improve their life, plus dealing with whatever else life throws their way. Then there’s Riley, whom I absolutely adored! He’s kind and sweet and totally loves Lainey, no matter how she treats him. Talk about a fantastic boyfriend! There’s also the relationship that Lainey, Collin, and Vallery forge with one another, and I found it to be realistic and beautiful.
But there’s more to The Snowball Effect than the story itself. Hoxter’s writing flows so beautifully, and she has a talent that few writers have. There are few writers that have the ability to take an incredibly sad situation, such as the loss of a loved one, and make it so hilarious, yet moving. This is an author that I not only look forward to reading more from, but I also know will go far.
Watch out for Holly Nicole Hoxter, she’s a talented author and an awesome storyteller. The Snowball Effect actually reminded me somewhat of a Sarah Dessen novel, and that is always a good thing! I definitely recommended this to all teens, and adults, that enjoy a good, realistic, entertaining story.
June 13, 2012
I won this copy forever ago, and thus needed to reread it before writing this review. It took me a little while longer to read it this time. Almost always, I pay more attention to detail and how things fit together the second time, whereas the first time I'm racing along because I must know what happens next.
What I really admire about Holly Nicole Hoxter is the way she makes Lainey Pike's grief so true while still making Lainey an appealing character. Lainey's goals in life are quite different than mine, which sometimes puts me off. She's just graduated high school, but she already knows she's marrying her boyfriend Riley as well as attending community college with him. But things in life always happen unexpectedly, and her stepfather, grandmother, and mother died in short order. Now she's parenting her troubled brother Collin with her estranged sister Vallery.
It's lucky for Lainey in this difficult time that she has Riley, who understands her moods and doesn't mind keeping an eye on Collin. Unfortunately, Lainey wants to hurt. Though she sometimes seems callous to the deaths, she's still processing them, especially her mother's suicide. Riley is too good at comforting her. Being around him makes her feel better, and she can't have that. What she can have is the new guy in town, Eric. He's a nice guy - if not Riley - and interested. He doesn't know what's going on, which gives Lainey a comfortable space.
But I find the family sections as compelling as the romance. Vallery and Lainey want to do well by Collin, but at the same time neither of them are close to being responsible parents, especially to a boy who had behavior problems even before he lost both of his adoptive parents in short order. It's interesting to see them try to act as siblings and parents at the same time - they accept their new responsibility, but it's a grudging acceptance. While much YA seems to happen in a shiny world where money is endless, Vallery and Lainey are quite aware that their jobs are not enough to support a family of three, which is an extra burden on top of all the messy emotions.
Things progress wonderfully, as the small things finally allow Lainey to grieve for each of the people she lost. The things that cause her transformation are logical yet illogical, which is very true. You never know what will finally push you over the edge - or if it will push you over in a good or a bad way.
In some ways, THE SNOWBALL EFFECT is a difficult book. There are no action scenes. A romance is central, but it isn't a sweet and giddy or angsty and forbidden. It's part and parcel of a small, meditative world, where a teen girl is simply trying to moving on when she's become an adult too quickly. THE SNOWBALL EFFECT will definitely attract readers who are interested in character driven novels. Lainey's voice is appealing even as she tries to push away from everything she's known. (In a sideways manner, she reminds me of Parker from Courtney Summer's CRACKED UP TO BE, except I like her far more.)
What I really admire about Holly Nicole Hoxter is the way she makes Lainey Pike's grief so true while still making Lainey an appealing character. Lainey's goals in life are quite different than mine, which sometimes puts me off. She's just graduated high school, but she already knows she's marrying her boyfriend Riley as well as attending community college with him. But things in life always happen unexpectedly, and her stepfather, grandmother, and mother died in short order. Now she's parenting her troubled brother Collin with her estranged sister Vallery.
It's lucky for Lainey in this difficult time that she has Riley, who understands her moods and doesn't mind keeping an eye on Collin. Unfortunately, Lainey wants to hurt. Though she sometimes seems callous to the deaths, she's still processing them, especially her mother's suicide. Riley is too good at comforting her. Being around him makes her feel better, and she can't have that. What she can have is the new guy in town, Eric. He's a nice guy - if not Riley - and interested. He doesn't know what's going on, which gives Lainey a comfortable space.
But I find the family sections as compelling as the romance. Vallery and Lainey want to do well by Collin, but at the same time neither of them are close to being responsible parents, especially to a boy who had behavior problems even before he lost both of his adoptive parents in short order. It's interesting to see them try to act as siblings and parents at the same time - they accept their new responsibility, but it's a grudging acceptance. While much YA seems to happen in a shiny world where money is endless, Vallery and Lainey are quite aware that their jobs are not enough to support a family of three, which is an extra burden on top of all the messy emotions.
Things progress wonderfully, as the small things finally allow Lainey to grieve for each of the people she lost. The things that cause her transformation are logical yet illogical, which is very true. You never know what will finally push you over the edge - or if it will push you over in a good or a bad way.
In some ways, THE SNOWBALL EFFECT is a difficult book. There are no action scenes. A romance is central, but it isn't a sweet and giddy or angsty and forbidden. It's part and parcel of a small, meditative world, where a teen girl is simply trying to moving on when she's become an adult too quickly. THE SNOWBALL EFFECT will definitely attract readers who are interested in character driven novels. Lainey's voice is appealing even as she tries to push away from everything she's known. (In a sideways manner, she reminds me of Parker from Courtney Summer's CRACKED UP TO BE, except I like her far more.)
July 28, 2014
Originally reviewed on my blog, Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing.
The Snowball Effect by Holly Nicole Hoxter had a lot of potential. There was a lot to the story that I liked. I actually really loved reading about where the title came from, kind of the idea that you can't dwell on the past, can't try to go back to what it was, because your perception of the past is always changing and because you are always changing, you aren't going to be effected in the same way again.
But overall, this book was one big disappointment after another. Lainey has an awesome boyfriend who loves her and wants to start talking about marriage and starting a family, but she isn't ready for that. Which is fine. But instead of really talking to him about it, explaining how she feels, she pretty much ignores him, sorta maybe hooks up with a new guy and never actually breaks things off with old boyfriend. Not cool. If you are unhappy in a relationship, work it out or break it off. Don't start a new one without finishing off the old.
But what made me madder than anything else was the way that Lainey and her estranged older sister, Valerie treat her younger brother, five year old Colin who has an unspecified mental illness. Lainey's mom committed suicide after her husband's death leaving Lainey and Valerie to care for Colin, a boy she had taken in as a foster child and decided to adopt. I get that the sisters are pretty young (Lainey is 18, Valerie a few years older), especially to now be responsible for a 5 year old with mental health problems BUT that does not excuse the way they treated him, or the way the mom treated him. They are very harsh, often yelling and screaming at him for things he can't really control. And it's just did NOT sit well with me. I have a hard time enjoying a book when I am so angry about the treatment of a character. I know it wasn't the focal point of the story- Lainey's growth as a person is, but it was handled so abominably that I just couldn't really enjoy the book.
I never really connected with this one. It felt gimmicky and forced. There were things added that felt like drama-increasers, things that didn't really have a point or purpose other than to (blatantly) push the plot a certain direction, or give Lainey something else to dwell on. And, pretty much every character was super annoying, whether I liked them or not. I wouldn't want to ever meet any of these guys in real life. It was an overall fine book, just one that didn't really work for me.
The Snowball Effect by Holly Nicole Hoxter had a lot of potential. There was a lot to the story that I liked. I actually really loved reading about where the title came from, kind of the idea that you can't dwell on the past, can't try to go back to what it was, because your perception of the past is always changing and because you are always changing, you aren't going to be effected in the same way again.
But overall, this book was one big disappointment after another. Lainey has an awesome boyfriend who loves her and wants to start talking about marriage and starting a family, but she isn't ready for that. Which is fine. But instead of really talking to him about it, explaining how she feels, she pretty much ignores him, sorta maybe hooks up with a new guy and never actually breaks things off with old boyfriend. Not cool. If you are unhappy in a relationship, work it out or break it off. Don't start a new one without finishing off the old.
But what made me madder than anything else was the way that Lainey and her estranged older sister, Valerie treat her younger brother, five year old Colin who has an unspecified mental illness. Lainey's mom committed suicide after her husband's death leaving Lainey and Valerie to care for Colin, a boy she had taken in as a foster child and decided to adopt. I get that the sisters are pretty young (Lainey is 18, Valerie a few years older), especially to now be responsible for a 5 year old with mental health problems BUT that does not excuse the way they treated him, or the way the mom treated him. They are very harsh, often yelling and screaming at him for things he can't really control. And it's just did NOT sit well with me. I have a hard time enjoying a book when I am so angry about the treatment of a character. I know it wasn't the focal point of the story- Lainey's growth as a person is, but it was handled so abominably that I just couldn't really enjoy the book.
I never really connected with this one. It felt gimmicky and forced. There were things added that felt like drama-increasers, things that didn't really have a point or purpose other than to (blatantly) push the plot a certain direction, or give Lainey something else to dwell on. And, pretty much every character was super annoying, whether I liked them or not. I wouldn't want to ever meet any of these guys in real life. It was an overall fine book, just one that didn't really work for me.
March 15, 2011
The Snowball Effect by Holly Nicole Hoxter, was an interesting novel. I was gifted this book way back during my birthday and it took me a month to get to it, and a month of slow reading to finish it. It’s not that long a novel, just the last couple of months got extraordinarily busy for me.
The novel follows the life of Lainey St James, a 17 year girl who recently lost her Mother, who had committed suicide, yeah I know charming premises but hang in there. Up to now, and the mostly through the first part of the book her life is, as she views it, totally perfect. She never felt close to her Mother and feels nothing over her dying. Then slowly everything starts to fall apart.
Now the way that Holly does this is very interesting, at the beginning I really disliked Lainey, a 17 year old coming off as 40, and seemed to be channeling Juno. Everything she had was all so together, even the boyfriend Riley was too perfect. Then her Sister comes along to become the Guardian of Collin the adopted ADD baby, then bit by bit Lainey loses control of her life, as she finds out she is more like her mother than she realized. The tipping point is when she meets the Slurpie Guy Eric, and starts to learn there is much more to life.
The story is charming, with lots of humor injected into it. This is a story about ordinary people getting on by and living while life stuff happens to them, about taking small chances and the changes it can make to you as a person. It deals nicely with all the stages of grieving, and wraps up with Lainey going through a life changing journey.
On the way she breaks up with Riley, dates Eric, has an alcohol fueled melt down, gets into an ice cream fight, goes on a surprise vacation to Florida, comes back again, finally grieves for her mother, learns some life lessons, becomes a little wiser and puts her life back together again.
While this isn’t really a book I would pick up, I am after all more of a Discworld irrelevant fantasy type person, it does make an engaging read and a fine dialog novel. I can actually seeing this being an indie movie just be the way it plays out – although Juno Lainey at the beginning would get to me a little bit. This is a gentle, fun, loving story about life and the people that are in it with you. Go pick it for your wife, girl, your daughter, or maybe even for yourself, it is good read.
The novel follows the life of Lainey St James, a 17 year girl who recently lost her Mother, who had committed suicide, yeah I know charming premises but hang in there. Up to now, and the mostly through the first part of the book her life is, as she views it, totally perfect. She never felt close to her Mother and feels nothing over her dying. Then slowly everything starts to fall apart.
Now the way that Holly does this is very interesting, at the beginning I really disliked Lainey, a 17 year old coming off as 40, and seemed to be channeling Juno. Everything she had was all so together, even the boyfriend Riley was too perfect. Then her Sister comes along to become the Guardian of Collin the adopted ADD baby, then bit by bit Lainey loses control of her life, as she finds out she is more like her mother than she realized. The tipping point is when she meets the Slurpie Guy Eric, and starts to learn there is much more to life.
The story is charming, with lots of humor injected into it. This is a story about ordinary people getting on by and living while life stuff happens to them, about taking small chances and the changes it can make to you as a person. It deals nicely with all the stages of grieving, and wraps up with Lainey going through a life changing journey.
On the way she breaks up with Riley, dates Eric, has an alcohol fueled melt down, gets into an ice cream fight, goes on a surprise vacation to Florida, comes back again, finally grieves for her mother, learns some life lessons, becomes a little wiser and puts her life back together again.
While this isn’t really a book I would pick up, I am after all more of a Discworld irrelevant fantasy type person, it does make an engaging read and a fine dialog novel. I can actually seeing this being an indie movie just be the way it plays out – although Juno Lainey at the beginning would get to me a little bit. This is a gentle, fun, loving story about life and the people that are in it with you. Go pick it for your wife, girl, your daughter, or maybe even for yourself, it is good read.
April 30, 2010
The Snowball Effect by Holly Nicole Hoxter 2 of 5 stars.
Lainey Pike can tell you everything you need to know about the people in her family just by letting you know how they died. Her reckless stepfather drove his motorcycle off the highway and caused the biggest traffic jam in years. Her long-suffering grandmother lived through cancer and a heart attack before finally succumbing to a stroke. And Lainey's mother--well, Lainey's mother hanged herself in the basement just days after Lainey's high school graduation.
Now Lainey's fine-year-old brother is an orphan and her estranged older sister is moving back home to be his gaurdian. Meanwhile, Lainey's boyfriend is thinking about having a family of their own, and her best friends are always asking the wrong sorts of questions and giving advice Lainey doesn't want to hear. As she tries to pull away from everything familiar, Lainey meets an intriguing new guy who, through a series of Slurpees, burgers, and snowballs, helps her to make peace with a parent she never understood. (Book blurb)
Despite the fact that this is twenty thousand miles away from the books I generally love, I thought this would be a good read. By the time I made it to the middle I was hating it, then in the end... it surprised me.
Hoxter's prose isn't lyric or spectacular, but she does have a very consistent voice for Lainey that makes you really want to like her. Unfortunately, I was a bit annoyed with her throughout the book. Her attitude and irritaiton with her family was a bit tiring, and her treatment of the boyfriend who would quite obviously jump off a cliff for her was far from understandable. The characters were well pieced together, though, even if Lainey was severely lacking something throughout the majority of the book.
As far as whether I would suggest this book to someone... probably not. I'm sure there are going to be people who enjoy it immensely but I just don't think you would be missing out on anything by not reading it. But that's my opinion.
Review by Arya @ A Sea of Pages (http://seaofpages.blogspot.com) <
Lainey Pike can tell you everything you need to know about the people in her family just by letting you know how they died. Her reckless stepfather drove his motorcycle off the highway and caused the biggest traffic jam in years. Her long-suffering grandmother lived through cancer and a heart attack before finally succumbing to a stroke. And Lainey's mother--well, Lainey's mother hanged herself in the basement just days after Lainey's high school graduation.
Now Lainey's fine-year-old brother is an orphan and her estranged older sister is moving back home to be his gaurdian. Meanwhile, Lainey's boyfriend is thinking about having a family of their own, and her best friends are always asking the wrong sorts of questions and giving advice Lainey doesn't want to hear. As she tries to pull away from everything familiar, Lainey meets an intriguing new guy who, through a series of Slurpees, burgers, and snowballs, helps her to make peace with a parent she never understood. (Book blurb)
Despite the fact that this is twenty thousand miles away from the books I generally love, I thought this would be a good read. By the time I made it to the middle I was hating it, then in the end... it surprised me.
Hoxter's prose isn't lyric or spectacular, but she does have a very consistent voice for Lainey that makes you really want to like her. Unfortunately, I was a bit annoyed with her throughout the book. Her attitude and irritaiton with her family was a bit tiring, and her treatment of the boyfriend who would quite obviously jump off a cliff for her was far from understandable. The characters were well pieced together, though, even if Lainey was severely lacking something throughout the majority of the book.
As far as whether I would suggest this book to someone... probably not. I'm sure there are going to be people who enjoy it immensely but I just don't think you would be missing out on anything by not reading it. But that's my opinion.
Review by Arya @ A Sea of Pages (http://seaofpages.blogspot.com) <
April 3, 2010
From just reading the above summary, The Snowball Effect probably sounds like quite a depressing book about death, suicide and other such depressing parts of life. While it does touch on the deaths of Lainey's immediate family members, it's more about surviving what life throws at you, and appreciating what, and who, you have left.
Hoxter's writing is engaging and easy to become engrossed in, though it's her characters that are the true stars of the story. After Lainey's mum dies, older sister Vallery comes to live with Lainey and her younger brother Collin, who suffers from behavioural problems. Lainey's long-term boyfriend, Riley, is also in the mix, and he's the kind of guy I think anyone would be lucky to have. They end up forming a really tight family unit, and learning to trust and depend on each other. Hoxter writes each character with such care and precision that you're left feeling as if they could be your own family, friends and neighbours, rather than fictional people born from someone's imagination.
I don't have many problems with The Snowball Effect, besides the way Lainey treats Riley. As soon as new boy Eric comes into the picture, she seems to forget about the years she's spent with Riley, as well as everything he's done for her and her family, and treats him horribly. I know everyone makes mistakes, and the grieving process can affect people in different ways, but I just didn't understand why Lainey would be so rash with her strong, loving relationship. It didn't seem to fit with her overall personality - why build a life with someone to forget them because of a chance meeting with a stranger? It didn't make sense to me, but it does serve its purpose, as you'll find out later in the book.
I enjoyed The Snowball Effect; it's a good, solid debut to add to the list of 2010 releases. I'm not a fan of the cover at all, but that's besides the point. Don't let it put you off, though, because the content is so much better than what you might originally think, and Lainey is a character you'll definitely learn to love.
Hoxter's writing is engaging and easy to become engrossed in, though it's her characters that are the true stars of the story. After Lainey's mum dies, older sister Vallery comes to live with Lainey and her younger brother Collin, who suffers from behavioural problems. Lainey's long-term boyfriend, Riley, is also in the mix, and he's the kind of guy I think anyone would be lucky to have. They end up forming a really tight family unit, and learning to trust and depend on each other. Hoxter writes each character with such care and precision that you're left feeling as if they could be your own family, friends and neighbours, rather than fictional people born from someone's imagination.
I don't have many problems with The Snowball Effect, besides the way Lainey treats Riley. As soon as new boy Eric comes into the picture, she seems to forget about the years she's spent with Riley, as well as everything he's done for her and her family, and treats him horribly. I know everyone makes mistakes, and the grieving process can affect people in different ways, but I just didn't understand why Lainey would be so rash with her strong, loving relationship. It didn't seem to fit with her overall personality - why build a life with someone to forget them because of a chance meeting with a stranger? It didn't make sense to me, but it does serve its purpose, as you'll find out later in the book.
I enjoyed The Snowball Effect; it's a good, solid debut to add to the list of 2010 releases. I'm not a fan of the cover at all, but that's besides the point. Don't let it put you off, though, because the content is so much better than what you might originally think, and Lainey is a character you'll definitely learn to love.
November 2, 2009
I seriously just LOVED The Snowball Effect so much that I feel that there's not a good enough word out there to express just how much I enjoyed it.
I'm not exactly sure why I specifically liked it so much. Since, there was a few flaws to it such as how the story kind of jumped around a lot. Though, by the end all the flaws came together with the perfections and formed a fabulously told story.
One of my favorite parts of The Snowball Effect was how unique yet real it was. I mean who hasn't lost a loved one, let alone three in one year. Yeah, I doubt a lot of you haven't, so that's just one tiny thing among others that teens can relate to with Lainey. Since, The Snowball Effect is basically her story of coming to terms with the lives of her lost ones all while moving on, forming a better life for herself in the process even when she screws it up at times. Plus, I adored Riley simply because he was so sweet and loving towards Lainey even when she was acting like a bitch to him. Oh, and I loved how Vallery, Lainey, and Collin had formed their own little dysfunctional family by the end.
Further more, Holly's writing moved extremely well and she certainly has the talent to form a fantastic story because of her ability of making a sad story hysterically funny at times but moving at others. It just shows what great of author she is and gives you a taste at what’s to come over the upcoming years.
Overall, The Snowball Effect is one of those books that will leave you with a goofy smile on your face at the end, leaving me to highly suggest it to all of you teens (and adults!) out there.
Oh, and because I know there's some Sarah Dessen lovers out there who read this blog, The Snowball Effect actually reminded me of something Sarah would write several times. :)
Grade: A+!
I'm not exactly sure why I specifically liked it so much. Since, there was a few flaws to it such as how the story kind of jumped around a lot. Though, by the end all the flaws came together with the perfections and formed a fabulously told story.
One of my favorite parts of The Snowball Effect was how unique yet real it was. I mean who hasn't lost a loved one, let alone three in one year. Yeah, I doubt a lot of you haven't, so that's just one tiny thing among others that teens can relate to with Lainey. Since, The Snowball Effect is basically her story of coming to terms with the lives of her lost ones all while moving on, forming a better life for herself in the process even when she screws it up at times. Plus, I adored Riley simply because he was so sweet and loving towards Lainey even when she was acting like a bitch to him. Oh, and I loved how Vallery, Lainey, and Collin had formed their own little dysfunctional family by the end.
Further more, Holly's writing moved extremely well and she certainly has the talent to form a fantastic story because of her ability of making a sad story hysterically funny at times but moving at others. It just shows what great of author she is and gives you a taste at what’s to come over the upcoming years.
Overall, The Snowball Effect is one of those books that will leave you with a goofy smile on your face at the end, leaving me to highly suggest it to all of you teens (and adults!) out there.
Oh, and because I know there's some Sarah Dessen lovers out there who read this blog, The Snowball Effect actually reminded me of something Sarah would write several times. :)
Grade: A+!
March 17, 2010
THE SNOWBALL EFFECT is an endearing debut novel that explores the different types of enduring—and finite—relationships that are necessary in life. Its wonderful characters are hindered by a plot that seems to move around in circles with no satisfying closure, but on the whole it is an enjoyable read with a unique moral.
Lainey is a relatable, though not always likable, protagonist. Her no-nonsense narration flows smoothly and never feels forced in the shadow of all the tragedy and hardships that have befallen her. THE SNOWBALL EFFECT is a character-driven novel with a memorable cast of characters—even if not all of them have been thoroughly developed in the text. Besides Lainey, her boyfriend Riley is the strongest character, albeit a static one. His consistency and domestic intelligence is an assuring light in the alley of Vallery’s pouty tantrums and Colin’s inexplicable development problems.
I would have liked THE SNOWBALL EFFECT to have more of a distinguishable plot arc. Lainey works through her stages of grief in the changing ways she deals with her interpersonal relationships, but her life is mostly stagnant, and the “revelation” event near the end of the novel is never fully satisfying as a resolution-forming climax.
THE SNOWBALL EFFECT is refreshingly different from your typical “coming to terms with grief” YA novel. If you have a pragmatic outlook on life, like your contemporary YA readable, and don’t mind dealing with a circling plot for those characteristics, then you’ll really enjoy your book. THE SNOWBALL EFFECT should be a book that finds its ways into the hands of girls with so-called unprivileged backgrounds, for socioeconomic status is strong in this novel and fills a sorely underrepresented bracket in YA lit.
Lainey is a relatable, though not always likable, protagonist. Her no-nonsense narration flows smoothly and never feels forced in the shadow of all the tragedy and hardships that have befallen her. THE SNOWBALL EFFECT is a character-driven novel with a memorable cast of characters—even if not all of them have been thoroughly developed in the text. Besides Lainey, her boyfriend Riley is the strongest character, albeit a static one. His consistency and domestic intelligence is an assuring light in the alley of Vallery’s pouty tantrums and Colin’s inexplicable development problems.
I would have liked THE SNOWBALL EFFECT to have more of a distinguishable plot arc. Lainey works through her stages of grief in the changing ways she deals with her interpersonal relationships, but her life is mostly stagnant, and the “revelation” event near the end of the novel is never fully satisfying as a resolution-forming climax.
THE SNOWBALL EFFECT is refreshingly different from your typical “coming to terms with grief” YA novel. If you have a pragmatic outlook on life, like your contemporary YA readable, and don’t mind dealing with a circling plot for those characteristics, then you’ll really enjoy your book. THE SNOWBALL EFFECT should be a book that finds its ways into the hands of girls with so-called unprivileged backgrounds, for socioeconomic status is strong in this novel and fills a sorely underrepresented bracket in YA lit.
May 12, 2015
~3.5/5
I was warned when I started this that it was heavy on the grief. And honestly, I didn’t quite feel that.
Grief, and dealing with it, was definitely a main focus in the book. But it wasn’t really that Lainey was depressed, or even that she felt numb. I mean, I think she felt a little numb, but she mostly seemed to focus that into anger. And, honestly, I wasn’t convinced that she didn’t act like that on a normal basis, although maybe it was worse with grief.
Lainey was very bitchy. She bitches about everything, she bitches to her boyfriend, she doesn’t want to have to take care of her little brother. She just doesn’t want to do anything, at this point. Her life is messed up now that her mother killed herself, and now she doesn’t want to do anything.
I enjoyed this book, don’t get me wrong. The humor was dark, but pretty good. I found the story, and even the characters, pretty interesting. But at the end of the book, I wasn’t really satisfied.
I thought that by the end of the book, Lainey would have picked herself up from what had happened, of the way she’d been acting, and finally make a choice about what she wanted to do. But it felt like, instead, she just went back with Riley because she thought that she should. It didn’t really feel like she felt any differently about anything. And while I do think that Riley is the way she should have chosen, I’m not convinced that she felt that way.
The book left me feeling like she was in pretty much the same position as at the beginning of the book, and like she never really chose that because she wanted it or felt that it was right. She just did it.
I enjoyed this book, but it’s left me a little unsatisfied.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
I was warned when I started this that it was heavy on the grief. And honestly, I didn’t quite feel that.
Grief, and dealing with it, was definitely a main focus in the book. But it wasn’t really that Lainey was depressed, or even that she felt numb. I mean, I think she felt a little numb, but she mostly seemed to focus that into anger. And, honestly, I wasn’t convinced that she didn’t act like that on a normal basis, although maybe it was worse with grief.
Lainey was very bitchy. She bitches about everything, she bitches to her boyfriend, she doesn’t want to have to take care of her little brother. She just doesn’t want to do anything, at this point. Her life is messed up now that her mother killed herself, and now she doesn’t want to do anything.
I enjoyed this book, don’t get me wrong. The humor was dark, but pretty good. I found the story, and even the characters, pretty interesting. But at the end of the book, I wasn’t really satisfied.
I thought that by the end of the book, Lainey would have picked herself up from what had happened, of the way she’d been acting, and finally make a choice about what she wanted to do. But it felt like, instead, she just went back with Riley because she thought that she should. It didn’t really feel like she felt any differently about anything. And while I do think that Riley is the way she should have chosen, I’m not convinced that she felt that way.
The book left me feeling like she was in pretty much the same position as at the beginning of the book, and like she never really chose that because she wanted it or felt that it was right. She just did it.
I enjoyed this book, but it’s left me a little unsatisfied.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
April 12, 2010
18 year old Lainey Pike is reeling from three recent deaths in her family including her mother’s suicide. Unsure about what to do with her future, Lainey pushes away her long-term boyfriend and high school friends, immersing herself in the care of her troubled 5 year old brother with her estranged older sister and hanging out with "slurpee guy".
I think Lainey’s voice is done extraordinarily well. As someone who experienced a similar spate of deaths in the family when I was 19, I can vouch for the authenticity of Lainey’s prickliness. The bitchy way she dealt with her boyfriend, poor, understanding Riley, was a lot like they way I treated my college roommate freshman year (poor, understanding Lua – thank you for putting up with me!). I really loved Lainey’s realization that certain people come into your life for a particular reason, and not all relationships need to endure for you to grow and to get something out of them. The novel also ended on a perfect note, which definitely warmed up my feelings towards it.
What I wasn’t so crazy about was the lack of a strong narrative arc. Instead we get a series of episodes, which realistic as they were, started to get boring after a while. Also, Lainey went off on far too many tangents for my taste – most where she related past events in far more detail than I really thought necessary (such as listing what she had done for each of her 18 birthdays!!).
It’s definitely not flashy, but if you like deep explorations of character and don’t mind an absence of urgent, driving plot, then you’ll probably find THE SNOWBALL EFFECT to be as ultimately rewarding as I did.
I think Lainey’s voice is done extraordinarily well. As someone who experienced a similar spate of deaths in the family when I was 19, I can vouch for the authenticity of Lainey’s prickliness. The bitchy way she dealt with her boyfriend, poor, understanding Riley, was a lot like they way I treated my college roommate freshman year (poor, understanding Lua – thank you for putting up with me!). I really loved Lainey’s realization that certain people come into your life for a particular reason, and not all relationships need to endure for you to grow and to get something out of them. The novel also ended on a perfect note, which definitely warmed up my feelings towards it.
What I wasn’t so crazy about was the lack of a strong narrative arc. Instead we get a series of episodes, which realistic as they were, started to get boring after a while. Also, Lainey went off on far too many tangents for my taste – most where she related past events in far more detail than I really thought necessary (such as listing what she had done for each of her 18 birthdays!!).
It’s definitely not flashy, but if you like deep explorations of character and don’t mind an absence of urgent, driving plot, then you’ll probably find THE SNOWBALL EFFECT to be as ultimately rewarding as I did.
August 18, 2011
4.5 stars
How I loved this book! It was a really great story and a quick read. The story was so believable, despite all the crazy things that happened to poor Lainey. Despite the serious tone of parts of the book, it had a light feel to it and parts were filled with humor.
The Snowball Effect was fairly predictable, but that was part of its charm. I loved the basis of the plot. As tragic as it is, it provides for a wonderfully written story and how one girl copes with it. The first few pages, I was a little confused as to what was going on. Though once I got 2 or 3 chapters in, I was hooked and there was no putting it down.
The Snow Effect featured a cast of beautifully written characters. Every character had their own unique personality, and it was really refreshing. As a reader, you can really sympathize with Lainey. She had a really pleasant voice, though at parts I wanted to yell at her, and tell her what she should be doing. Hoxter did a wonderful job writing Lainey. Riley had to be my favorite character of the book. Riley was the guy every girl wishes she had. He was just perfect. Kara and Christine were my other 2 favorites. Kara was perfectly understanding, and Christina just cracked me up.
I loved Lainey, Collin, and Valery's dysfunctional family and how they made it work. It was lovely reading about them as they worked through all the problems, and watch them grow closer and closer to each other.
The ending didn't leave me completely satisfied. The ending felt a bit abrupt, and just going a bit more into story would have done the story more justice.
Overall, The Snowball Effect just really clicked with me, and I absolutely loved it.
How I loved this book! It was a really great story and a quick read. The story was so believable, despite all the crazy things that happened to poor Lainey. Despite the serious tone of parts of the book, it had a light feel to it and parts were filled with humor.
The Snowball Effect was fairly predictable, but that was part of its charm. I loved the basis of the plot. As tragic as it is, it provides for a wonderfully written story and how one girl copes with it. The first few pages, I was a little confused as to what was going on. Though once I got 2 or 3 chapters in, I was hooked and there was no putting it down.
The Snow Effect featured a cast of beautifully written characters. Every character had their own unique personality, and it was really refreshing. As a reader, you can really sympathize with Lainey. She had a really pleasant voice, though at parts I wanted to yell at her, and tell her what she should be doing. Hoxter did a wonderful job writing Lainey. Riley had to be my favorite character of the book. Riley was the guy every girl wishes she had. He was just perfect. Kara and Christine were my other 2 favorites. Kara was perfectly understanding, and Christina just cracked me up.
I loved Lainey, Collin, and Valery's dysfunctional family and how they made it work. It was lovely reading about them as they worked through all the problems, and watch them grow closer and closer to each other.
The ending didn't leave me completely satisfied. The ending felt a bit abrupt, and just going a bit more into story would have done the story more justice.
Overall, The Snowball Effect just really clicked with me, and I absolutely loved it.
November 16, 2009
(I was lucky enough to win an ARC of this from Holly.)
This book reminded me of a darker version of a Sarah Dessen novel, and some parts of it were so painful to read that I had to take time away and read the novel in slow bites...but I am so glad I did.
Lainey Pike's family is truly broken. Her dad's out of the picture, her stepdad died recently, and her mother, who always suffered from depression, has just committed suicide in the family's basement, just after Lainey's high school graduation. Now Lainey and her estranged older half-sister are suddenly left to look after their five-year-old adopted brother, who has major emotional and behavioral issues. Lainey's never had a protected childhood, and now she's expected to take on a parent's responsibility for a brother who has never felt truly part of her family anyway...and all while grieving (and raging) over her mother's voluntary death. Lainey has a supportive boyfriend, but she feels suffocated even by him and by the way the rest of her life has been forced onto her.
Lainey and the other characters feel utterly real, and her anger and fear and frustration are palpable and completely understandable. She makes a lot of really questionable decisions as she flails around, trying to find her way, but every single one of them felt true to her character, even when they led her into even worse situations. This was often a hard book for me to read, but it was absolutely emotionally truthful, and it had a hard-won hope to it in the end.
This book reminded me of a darker version of a Sarah Dessen novel, and some parts of it were so painful to read that I had to take time away and read the novel in slow bites...but I am so glad I did.
Lainey Pike's family is truly broken. Her dad's out of the picture, her stepdad died recently, and her mother, who always suffered from depression, has just committed suicide in the family's basement, just after Lainey's high school graduation. Now Lainey and her estranged older half-sister are suddenly left to look after their five-year-old adopted brother, who has major emotional and behavioral issues. Lainey's never had a protected childhood, and now she's expected to take on a parent's responsibility for a brother who has never felt truly part of her family anyway...and all while grieving (and raging) over her mother's voluntary death. Lainey has a supportive boyfriend, but she feels suffocated even by him and by the way the rest of her life has been forced onto her.
Lainey and the other characters feel utterly real, and her anger and fear and frustration are palpable and completely understandable. She makes a lot of really questionable decisions as she flails around, trying to find her way, but every single one of them felt true to her character, even when they led her into even worse situations. This was often a hard book for me to read, but it was absolutely emotionally truthful, and it had a hard-won hope to it in the end.
August 9, 2010
Read the complete review here.
Hoxter presented a different angle with which to view life. All the flavours of life are mixed together to come up with this perfect recipe. Sad and tragic, Lainey had the attention her sister desired and lost the love and caring that her little brother had. Her imperfection and her troubled state led her to pour all her anger on Riley, the perfect boyfriend. I guess, when you are perfect, your own imperfection is your own perfection. The inability to do nothing wrong would be extremely annoying to the people around, as well as intimidating such as to cause envy. Although I do not believe that there is such a thing as a perfect boyfriend, I would like to know more about Riley, to find out why he has become the person who keeps Lainey standing. I found Eric, the unexpected stranger who stepped in Lainey’s life, fascinating. His philosophy and reasoning piqued my interest. Of all the characters, I liked him the most.
The Snowball Effect is heartbreakingly beautiful with the generous amount of loss, struggle, anger and confusion. Readers will enjoy the bittersweet taste in this story of grief.
Hoxter presented a different angle with which to view life. All the flavours of life are mixed together to come up with this perfect recipe. Sad and tragic, Lainey had the attention her sister desired and lost the love and caring that her little brother had. Her imperfection and her troubled state led her to pour all her anger on Riley, the perfect boyfriend. I guess, when you are perfect, your own imperfection is your own perfection. The inability to do nothing wrong would be extremely annoying to the people around, as well as intimidating such as to cause envy. Although I do not believe that there is such a thing as a perfect boyfriend, I would like to know more about Riley, to find out why he has become the person who keeps Lainey standing. I found Eric, the unexpected stranger who stepped in Lainey’s life, fascinating. His philosophy and reasoning piqued my interest. Of all the characters, I liked him the most.
The Snowball Effect is heartbreakingly beautiful with the generous amount of loss, struggle, anger and confusion. Readers will enjoy the bittersweet taste in this story of grief.
October 7, 2010
Well, about 2 pages into the Snowball Effect, I felt pretty depressed. It seemed as if the author was going to kill off everybody in the first chapter.
The main character, Lainey, had a pretty crappy thing going for her - and she wasn't afraid to let the world know it. That got pretty annoying. Her little brother and older sister were characters that I found super-annoying and thought of them as having little to no substance - just kind of thrown into the story to help it along. Ugh.
The character, Riley, well, he was just too good to be true. Literally. I'm not quite sure if there is an 18-year-old boy out there like Riley. Not to mention the fact that Lainey has pretty much taken Riley for granted and been pretty terrible to him. That doesn't deter Riley's love - oh no! Although he is, as the author would have you believe, the most perfect, attractive, smart specimen out there, he chooses to pine over Lainey until she comes around and starts being nice again. Not to mention, when this happens, he'll reward her with a scrapbook (that he, of course, made) in memory of all her dead family members.
So, I guess I found this to be pretty unrealistic, woe-is-me, and cheesy.
The main character, Lainey, had a pretty crappy thing going for her - and she wasn't afraid to let the world know it. That got pretty annoying. Her little brother and older sister were characters that I found super-annoying and thought of them as having little to no substance - just kind of thrown into the story to help it along. Ugh.
The character, Riley, well, he was just too good to be true. Literally. I'm not quite sure if there is an 18-year-old boy out there like Riley. Not to mention the fact that Lainey has pretty much taken Riley for granted and been pretty terrible to him. That doesn't deter Riley's love - oh no! Although he is, as the author would have you believe, the most perfect, attractive, smart specimen out there, he chooses to pine over Lainey until she comes around and starts being nice again. Not to mention, when this happens, he'll reward her with a scrapbook (that he, of course, made) in memory of all her dead family members.
So, I guess I found this to be pretty unrealistic, woe-is-me, and cheesy.
May 9, 2011
Well, about 2 pages into the Snowball Effect, I felt pretty depressed. It seemed as if the author was going to kill off everybody in the first chapter.
The main character, Lainey, had a pretty crappy thing going for her - and she wasn't afraid to let the world know it. That got pretty annoying. Her little brother and older sister were characters that I found super-annoying and thought of them as having little to no substance - just kind of thrown into the story to help it along. Ugh.
The character, Riley, well, he was just too good to be true. Literally. I'm not quite sure if there is an 18-year-old boy out there like Riley. Not to mention the fact that Lainey has pretty much taken Riley for granted and been pretty terrible to him. That doesn't deter Riley's love - oh no! Although he is, as the author would have you believe, the most perfect, attractive, smart specimen out there, he chooses to pine over Lainey until she comes around and starts being nice again. Not to mention, when this happens, he'll reward her with a scrapbook (that he, of course, made) in memory of all her dead family members.
So, I guess I found this to be pretty unrealistic, woe-is-me, and cheesy.
The main character, Lainey, had a pretty crappy thing going for her - and she wasn't afraid to let the world know it. That got pretty annoying. Her little brother and older sister were characters that I found super-annoying and thought of them as having little to no substance - just kind of thrown into the story to help it along. Ugh.
The character, Riley, well, he was just too good to be true. Literally. I'm not quite sure if there is an 18-year-old boy out there like Riley. Not to mention the fact that Lainey has pretty much taken Riley for granted and been pretty terrible to him. That doesn't deter Riley's love - oh no! Although he is, as the author would have you believe, the most perfect, attractive, smart specimen out there, he chooses to pine over Lainey until she comes around and starts being nice again. Not to mention, when this happens, he'll reward her with a scrapbook (that he, of course, made) in memory of all her dead family members.
So, I guess I found this to be pretty unrealistic, woe-is-me, and cheesy.
January 15, 2013
After I was done reading and thought about what I had gained from reading this book, I couldn't pin-point anything. A few days on, still, nothing. Maybe it's about how we should treasure the time we have with our loved ones because we never know what will happen next. Though for that, I felt Lainey was a little too flippant. She seemed detached when referring to the suicide of her mother. Perhaps the author meant to portray her stage of denial. It bothered me though that from the start to finish, she barely showed any emotional response towards the deaths in her family. Yes, she did say she felt sad about her grandmother's passing but even that somehow didn't seem especially heartfelt. The book felt unnecessarily long-drawn. Also, for all the worry about who had custody over her little adopted brother, Collin, I thought the custody of Lainey wasn't dealt with adequately despite being introduced as an issue. Her elder half-sister became Collin's guardian but not technically Lainey's. As the elder sister, I thought Vallery's role as the a guardian and adult in the household seemed forced to get the plot going, particularly because she and Lainey were estranged before their mother's death. Overall, the novel didn't particularly flow well for me.
January 13, 2011
Have you ever read a book that made you so sad you just want to put the book away for a couple of days and read it later. This book does that to me. It’s all about loss, grieving and coping.
Lainey is a character that I started to like, even care for and then she treats her boyfriend like crap and that totally pissed me off. I understood her sadness, her angriness and her abandonment issues, but the way she treated Riley was a bit harsh. I liked the supporting character, the sister. She was not responsible, serious or trustworthy, but I could definitely see a change in her behavior towards the end.
The plot is just sad and depressing. It takes you from one sad place to another, like there is no sunshine after the rain has gone. For me the story is too long and dragged a bit at the end. I started to warm up to the main character, but wasn’t quite there yet, when it ended.
This quote from Ashleigh Brilliant fits with Lainey's life, "My life has a superb cast but I can't figure out the plot".
If you like to read contemporary YA novels, you should try "The Snowball Effect".
It did not work for me, but it may work for you.
Lainey is a character that I started to like, even care for and then she treats her boyfriend like crap and that totally pissed me off. I understood her sadness, her angriness and her abandonment issues, but the way she treated Riley was a bit harsh. I liked the supporting character, the sister. She was not responsible, serious or trustworthy, but I could definitely see a change in her behavior towards the end.
The plot is just sad and depressing. It takes you from one sad place to another, like there is no sunshine after the rain has gone. For me the story is too long and dragged a bit at the end. I started to warm up to the main character, but wasn’t quite there yet, when it ended.
This quote from Ashleigh Brilliant fits with Lainey's life, "My life has a superb cast but I can't figure out the plot".
If you like to read contemporary YA novels, you should try "The Snowball Effect".
It did not work for me, but it may work for you.
April 21, 2011
If I could give it 3 1/2 stars I would. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about this book at first. It starts on a horribly depressing note and and then is accompanied by the slightly aggravating personality of Lainey, the protagonist. Don't get me wrong, she's been through a lot of shit in a very short period of time, so some of her actions are understandable but after awhile she was just being a "bitch."
Other than that, the story was actually enjoyable, with a few moments of boring narration. All the characters were very real to me--Valery was hilarious, I couldn't help but laugh out loud at some of the things she said or did. Riley is the most amazing boyfriend in the world. Collin, though a handful, was super cute, and Kara was just a great friend.
I loved the ultimate message in the end about not knowing something till you try and giving people the benefit of the doubt. In the end, it was great to see Lainey break through her anger and grief. The whole book was a build up to that moment and it made for a great ending.
Other than that, the story was actually enjoyable, with a few moments of boring narration. All the characters were very real to me--Valery was hilarious, I couldn't help but laugh out loud at some of the things she said or did. Riley is the most amazing boyfriend in the world. Collin, though a handful, was super cute, and Kara was just a great friend.
I loved the ultimate message in the end about not knowing something till you try and giving people the benefit of the doubt. In the end, it was great to see Lainey break through her anger and grief. The whole book was a build up to that moment and it made for a great ending.
May 30, 2010
Lainey Pike is more adult than most YA protagonists I've met. On the cusp of eighteen, she works instead of going to school. She takes care of her behavior-issue-plagued adopted brother and doesn't expect a thing from her father. She helps friends (who are expecting a baby) dumpster-dive to find furniture for their new apartment. Her forever-boyfriend sleeps over and no one cares. When she finds out her mother hanged herself in the basement, the first thing she says is, "Well, this isn't exactly a surprise." This book made me realize how little YA fiction I've seen with a working class heroine. I spent all day yesterday reading it, and it wasn't a quick read, because it was all about difficult stuff... but I was glad the author didn't gloss over that difficult stuff. Despite being largely about grief, it's not a depressing read. The Snowball Effect is one of the most realistic teen novels I've ever encountered.
October 27, 2012
meh
This book was ok. For, some reason i was compelled to write a review for it, so here it goes. The snowball Effect is about a girl whose mother just committed suicide and left her with a little brother and a sister that she hasn't talked to in years. An just like any novel worth reading, a love story. Maybe its just because i have a thing against love triangles, but the only thing that this love triangle did was frustrate me. I didn't like the main character either (and we all know that you have to like the main character to thoroughly enjoy a book) She was just so mean to everyone and she expected them to put up with it all of the time. Although i had to cut her a lot of slack because she is going through so much, there were times were she genuinely pissed me off. I'm not saying that the story was all bad. I liked her sister and kinda Riley. It was also very well written. But, it was not the book for me.
This book was ok. For, some reason i was compelled to write a review for it, so here it goes. The snowball Effect is about a girl whose mother just committed suicide and left her with a little brother and a sister that she hasn't talked to in years. An just like any novel worth reading, a love story. Maybe its just because i have a thing against love triangles, but the only thing that this love triangle did was frustrate me. I didn't like the main character either (and we all know that you have to like the main character to thoroughly enjoy a book) She was just so mean to everyone and she expected them to put up with it all of the time. Although i had to cut her a lot of slack because she is going through so much, there were times were she genuinely pissed me off. I'm not saying that the story was all bad. I liked her sister and kinda Riley. It was also very well written. But, it was not the book for me.
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