Flat-Out Celeste (Flat-Out Love #2) by Jessica Park - Restarting November 25th 2015

[Marla]

Sorry, I've been reading some, but I have 3 other books in progress and I'm not loving this one. I liked Julie a lot more than Celeste.

Chpt 5 - In Which We are Introduced to a Boy: (view spoiler)[ And I'm sad that Julie and Matt aren't together anymore. Celeste is just so quirky and strange that I'm not enjoying her at all. It sounds like if you are a brilliant girl then you have to be a social mess. Not a great message for teenage girls. (hide spoiler)]

[Marla]

My kindle book has Chapter #'s does yours? In July, they were complaining that there weren't Chapter numbers.

[Marla]

Rachmi wrote: "Chapter Don't Flinch [spoilers removed]"

I cannot believe that Celeste (view spoiler)[is trying all these new things, but I find it amusing that she approaches everything like an experiment. Materials, hypothesis, attempt then conclusion. I think the catsuit was funny. (hide spoiler)]

[Marla]

Chapter Blur:

Justin: (view spoiler)[ I love it that Celeste walks in dressed in a catsuit and red hair and Justin is there. Mei, I agree that he was very smooth getting her number and I like texting much better than email. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter #itsnotadate: (view spoiler)[ Parents are so cute and excited that Celeste has a boy coming around. And the mom cutting off her dad about it not being about a college recruiting event was precious.

I LOVE eating, so sounds like a wonderful date, except I'd be full, so maybe a whole day, not an evening.

I liked the brief glimpse of Julie. Please let's get Julie and Matt back together! (hide spoiler)]

[Marla]

Sorry, I'm so slow, I'm just busy at work and busy with life and no time to read!

[Mei]

Thoughts I forgot to post, but I am already finished with the book a few days ago :)

Shifting Gears / 81%: (view spoiler)[I'm actually afraid that Matt might get angry at the sight of Julie. I hope lunch won't be ruined. (hide spoiler)]

Shifting Gears / 83%: (view spoiler)[Gosh that was awful. It's been two years but the pain of their break up is still fresh. And now Celeste feels like it's her fault all along. (hide spoiler)]

Dreams and Truth / 85%: (view spoiler)[Damn, what a sad chapter I felt like I'm going to cry. I can't even say those words to someone I love. It's painfully difficult. (hide spoiler)]

[Mei]

Marla wrote: "Sorry, I've been reading some, but I have 3 other books in progress and I'm not loving this one. I liked Julie a lot more than Celeste.

Chpt 5 - In Which We are Introduced to a Boy: [spoilers rem..."

I guess I know what you meant. It's a stereotype that wasn't used effectively. But if you remember it fresh from Flat-Out Love, I'd think you'd expect that she was really like that ever since as a kid, and I believe it's not just her intelligence that affects her social skills, but also ever since Finn died, it made an effect on her. A huge effect, really, that made her isolate from others and depend on Matt entirely. I see his independence on Matt not just because he's her only sibling left but because Matt took good care of her that it made her rely on him more, and he didn't fail her so far. It's kind of like trust issues, too and being so used to him.

[Mei]

Marla wrote: "My kindle book has Chapter #'s does yours? In July, they were complaining that there weren't Chapter numbers."

Mine doesn't, just chapter names, so I used it as my reference point for spoilers. :)

[Mei]

Marla wrote: "Chapter Blur:

Justin: [spoilers removed]

Chapter #itsnotadate: Parents are so cute and excited that Celeste has a boy coming around. And the mom cutting off her dad about it not being about a co..."

I certainly agree with you - the place even sounds better if I actually personally go to it! I love exploring and tasting food of all varieties, and it seemed like they both enjoyed it so I'm really giddy for them!

About the number, Celeste didn't even think it'll be used in a bad way and we know she's still innocent in these stuff, so Justin had luck with that!

[Marla]

Chpt 12 Clarity: (view spoiler)[ I'm glad that Celeste is making friends. I have a daughter filling out college applications so I can relate. Luckily, she has an older sister to help her. High school counselors have not been very helpful, even with the best of intentions. (hide spoiler)]

[Marla]

Tessa wrote: ""What made me cringe in chapter with the college application was when Celeste gives speech. It's just weird, though it also inspiring. I think it describes Celeste's personalities well."

Yup, tha..."

Yup, Celeste's little speech did make me cringe too, but I was glad that she found a way to be herself and interact with her peers.

[Marla]

Chpt 14 Aftershocks: (view spoiler)[ Oh, that was so sad. Poor Celeste, here she opened up a little to someone and got hurt. But Justin handled it all so well and even Matt likes him.

I did love the whole Chlorophistmas holiday, especially the Chlorophistmas tree. But I never said I wasn't a nerd. :D (hide spoiler)]

[Marla]

Chpt 16 Joy: So sweet! (view spoiler)[ That was a great date. I don't know how you top things like that. But I love Christmas lights, so I was enchanted.

I was a little surprised that they kissed on their first real date, it's a little soon. But it was such a magnificent setting that I can forgive the author.

Wow, Justin was adopted by gay fathers. That was a twist I did not see coming. I love how Celeste never blinks an eye. (hide spoiler)]

It's finally picking up...just turn up the romance and I'm happy. :D

[Marla]

Chpt 23 Shifting Gears: I'm not thrilled (view spoiler)[ with Celeste sleeping with Justin, drinking and now going 90 mph on California freeways. When a nerdy girl gets a boyfriend and pushes her comfort zone, she doesn't have to break laws.

The scene with Julie and Matt was so sad. That's awful that Matt picked Celeste over Julie. And now Celeste will blame herself.

And Flat Finn is out of the bag. I'm glad that Justin followed her. I like him. And I especially him wanting to take their relationship slowly.

I'm going to be really annoyed if Celeste goes to Barton to be with Justin instead of an Ivy League school.
(hide spoiler)]

[Marla]

Chpt 24 Dreams & Truth: Oh no (view spoiler)[ Celeste is enacting a preemptive break up. How sad. Poor Justin. (hide spoiler)]

[Marla]

Finished: (view spoiler)[ Thank goodness, Julie & Matt! I LOVE the elevator scene! So cute.

Then Celeste meeting Justin was sweet. I'm glad that Michelle helped Celeste.

I'm still annoyed that Celeste is going to Barton. Celeste could've gone to Stanford or Cal Tech and I would've been okay, but Barton? Sounds like she sold out for a guy. Weak. It would've been better if Matt were going to be in California for possible support.
(hide spoiler)]

I was a little disappointed by this sequel. Justin was great for Celeste, but I didn't like some of the messages in this book. (view spoiler)[ Celeste tried to be someone else for people to like her, but in the end she made friends by being herself (so that was good). Having a boyfriend gave her confidence, but women don't need a man to be complete or feel confident. Matt sacrificed his life and love for Celeste and his family, but if it's meant to be, it will work out in the end (another good). Celeste gives up on being close to people because she only causes grief, like Matt and Julie, but she hurts Justin before she can hurt him more. Celeste fixes Julie and Matt, then seeks out Justin again. But why does Celeste have to pick less than an Ivy League or top 20 school? Academics is her life. She might find more kindred spirits in a highly competitive academic school like Cal Tech or Stanford and still be in California. (hide spoiler)]

[Abi]

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Reading from the 25th of November 2015.

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[Christina]

43% Been stuck here for a while (view spoiler)[At this point, I'm a little annoyed with the way Celeste talks. It sounds overly formal and so stiff. Even Justin talks weird!! I wonder if she will decide to go to his school instead of one of the Ivy's. (hide spoiler)]

[Berit☀️✨]

Hoping to start this tomorrow, probably more likely on Thursday :-)

[Christina]

That's ok! I will continue reading when you start :)

[Christina]

51%
(view spoiler)[Justin is quite the romantic guy... It's fitting that it's christmas in the book because Christmas is nearly upon us!
Interesting how his parents are a gay couple and adopted him. (hide spoiler)]

[Berit☀️✨]

I should get to this tonight, but it is Thanksgiving holiday today so I have to go to stuff myself with food, LOL!

[Christina]

Take your time Berit, I will be here to discuss :)

[Berit☀️✨]

Good morning! I started this last night didn't get too far, BTW there isn't a college in San Diego with a name, LOL!

[Berit☀️✨]

OK I just have to say the way she talks is getting on my nerves! 40%
(view spoiler)[ I guess I was hoping she would have improve socially from the last book, where is her friend Rachel? A bit weird certain people want to hang out with her, honestly I'm more interested in Matt and Julie, LOL!
That Dallas character are they going to come back to her? It was a bit funny her at that yoga place, I'm not sure about this book quite yet (hide spoiler)]

[Berit☀️✨]

It's interesting because early in this book that was a reference to her having Aspers, When she types ASP into her phone, but then there is no other reference, not in this book or previous book, I find that interesting

[Marla]

I read this last month in the previous buddy read. May I comment too, since I'm lurking?

[Berit☀️✨]

Absolutely! :-)
I'm starting to like this better and I definitely like Justin
At 60%(view spoiler)[ I really love how everyone got into college with her help, that was actually very smart of those kids! I'm going to predict she is going to go to the nonexistent school in San Diego, the funny thing is I went to college at a private school in San Diego (hide spoiler)]

[Christina]

Berit wrote: "Absolutely! :-)
I'm starting to like this better and I definitely like Justin
At 60%[spoilers removed]"
Yes it was very heartwarming! I still can't get used to the way she talks!!

68% (view spoiler)[can't believe matt had no recollection of buying first class tickets because he was so drunk! (hide spoiler)]

[Christina]

80%
(view spoiler)[Personally I think Justin talks TOO much. I mean he seems to have very long speeches that can span up to a whole page. I guess Justin and Celeste are both oddballs and suit each other... (hide spoiler)]

[Christina]

95%
(view spoiler)[matt's proposal was quite unexpected! I'm glad they're together now. Its a good thing the angst didn't last long! (hide spoiler)]

[Berit☀️✨]

Good morning! Finish this last night when I am more awake I'll look at your spoilers in my browser :-)

[Christina]

Morning Berit. It is technically morning here too lol (3am) :p
Have just finished :) (view spoiler)[ the ending sentence was a little too cheesy for me. The power of celeste.. Ok.. Happy ending though!
(hide spoiler)]

[Berit☀️✨]

Christina in response to your spoilers, and some of my ending thoughts
(view spoiler)[ Absolutely Justin talked entirely too much, he would drive me crazy, I thought the proposal was adorable the way he did it, although quite unexpected and I'm just thinking maybe they should've spent more time together after being broken up so long, but whatever
The thing is I think we are dealing with at least three of these people having some kind of something going on in their brain, and love is not going to fix that, some therapy might fix that!
And did you notice a couple times when she got really upset with Justin her speech terms somewhat normal, but otherwise I'm just thinking you can fix that if you wanted to some people said it made her quirky and adorable, but honestly if that was one of your friends could you handle it??? (hide spoiler)]

[Marla]

Celeste's speech patterns were odd and would be annoying to be around, but Justin definitely talked too much. They were cute together though.

(view spoiler)[I'm still annoyed that Celeste is going to Barton. Celeste could've gone to Stanford or Cal Tech and I would've been okay, but Barton? Sounds like she sold out for a guy. Weak. It would've been better if Matt were going to be in California for possible support.
(hide spoiler)]

I was a little disappointed by this sequel. Justin was great for Celeste, but I didn't like some of the messages in this book. (view spoiler)[ Celeste tried to be someone else for people to like her, but in the end she made friends by being herself (so that was good). Having a boyfriend gave her confidence, but women don't need a man to be complete or feel confident. Matt sacrificed his life and love for Celeste and his family, but if it's meant to be, it will work out in the end (another good). Celeste gives up on being close to people because she only causes grief, like Matt and Julie, but she hurts Justin before she can hurt him more. Celeste fixes Julie and Matt, then seeks out Justin again. But why does Celeste have to pick less than an Ivy League or top 20 school? Academics is her life. She might find more kindred spirits in a highly competitive academic school like Cal Tech or Stanford and still be in California. It would be more stressful, but it's not like she is going to be a social butterfly. And she'll get more respect for her intelligence in a elite academic environment. (hide spoiler)]

[Berit☀️✨]

Completely agree with your above statement, although both of those schools are actually pretty far from San Diego, especially Stanford, although there is a perfectly good public university UC San Diego it is in the top 10 of public universities in the country, my son goes there so I will brag! LOL!
Also this fictional school, is it a good school? Or just a private university that takes kids with decent grades and parents they can pay the tuition??? Not sure
And my motherly opinion(view spoiler)[ you need to fix yourself, not let a boy give you a reason to be happy, because the only person you always have in your life is yourself! Love does not conquer all and these kids are 18 and 20 they have a long ways to go! (hide spoiler)]

[Christina]

True
(view spoiler)[i dont know how far these universities are from home but it was just too exaggerated that she got offers from the Ivy Leagues and just gave that all up for Barton. She didn't really think about her career? Because that's a very important decision in life! (hide spoiler)]

[Marla]

True...(view spoiler)[but any school in California is going to be closer than the East Coast to Justin. I thought Matt told Celeste that Justin's school would be less stress and smaller and more intimate. That sounds less competitive to me. And if not Stanford or Cal Tech, then USC or UCLA. I HATE the following a boy to college idea. (hide spoiler)]