#13 Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer

[Chris]

This thread is to discuss our Monthly Read Call It What You Want . Please use Spoiler tags and indicate where you are in the book, so members can read and post at there own pace throughout the month . Enjoy!

[Deanna]

I have heard this book is very good. I am going to request it from my library, so hopefully I will get it this month!

[Karen]

Hi! I just finished this today. It's the type of book that you might want to binge in a day or two. I certainly did!

[Karen]

I couldn't write more yesterday but I can now. Here are my thoughts on the whole story:

(view spoiler)[I was intrigued by the story because of the slow burn romance and the fact that every single issue that was brought up was treated as a gray subject. It wasn't just an easy answer of yes and no. That was very realistic and I appreciated it.

I read in some of the reviews that the book is very PC and I didn't really feel that. I didn't think the author was heavy handed in pushing a social agenda. I read some reviews that said she tried to cover too much and I can kind of agree with that. The ending felt a little rushed.

I liked the romance but the appeal was definitely due to Rob and not Meaghan. I never felt like Meaghan was sufficiently flesh out (?) or maybe I just didn't like her. I wouldn't like her in real life. Just take the way she handled her relationship with her best friend. Her friend was the only one who stood by her when she was being ostracized by everyone else. I thought she should have given her a little slack, regardless of how her friend's boyfriend behaved. She's a big girl, she can speak up if she doesn't like what the boyfriend said. In contrast, I liked the way Rob dealt with his relationship with his (former) best friend a lot better. It's not like he turned the other cheek either but after his friend approached him the first time (that night he came over and slept on the floor lol) he gave in after like 2 hours of silence haha I thought it was hilarious.

I like the way she writes. When she wrote Rob, I could definitely hear the male voice. Not all authors can pull that off.

I really liked other side characters like Sam and Owen. I even liked Craig haha :)

Rob's home situation really was hard to read about. It felt suffocating just to read about. The big reveal was crazy. Rob's bf's dad is a real piece of work (not to say anything worse).

I do wonder if irl the mothers would be implicated for the crimes of their husbands. Isn't there something about how you have the right to not testify against your own husband? Not sure.

Overall a great read for the weekend. I finished it in 48 hours.

I gave it three stars but it was close to four. It was the ending that sizzled out for me a bit.
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[Erin]

I have 40 pages left!! Sooo good!! Very very heavy topics

[Karen]

Erin wrote: "I have 40 pages left!! Sooo good!! Very very heavy topics"

Great!! Please let me know what you thought when you're done :) I'm especially curious to know your thoughts about the ending!

I agree that she covers a crazy range of heavy topics :o

[Nichole]

*******SPOILERS*******

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I'm on page 158 currently. I have a 'problem' where I want to just finish want to finish a book once I've started it. So far I've managed to limit myself to 5 chapters a day, and I've got to say I'm loving the anticipation on starting the next chapter after the one I've finished.

So far, I kind of sympathise with Samantha's situation, especially due to the pressure of maintaining her scholarship and her pregnancy, and her and Maegan's father is a bit too 'over-protecting' in my opinion.

I particularly like Rob's character (not just because he enjoys reading) because he tried changing the past situations (of him stealing) and try to helping his friends and sticking up for himself and others when his former friend starts picking on him at lunch.

My favourite section in the book so far, has to be the dinner at Taco Taco (Sam, Maegan and Rob) i found that very sweet-just the three of them, which was spoilt by Drew (not really a fan of nis character at the moment)

But overall so far, I'm really enjoying this book. Brigid Kemmerer, has to be one of my favourite authors to date now. I love her writing style and the characters she creates.

[Karen]

Thanks for sharing! I'm glad you're enjoying it. I love how you limit yourself with five chapters a day or otherwise you will just finish in one day!! haha :) Good idea! I need to do this too sometimes, especially those books I read so fast I don't even remember what I read the next day.

Rob was my favorite too. Everything he did, even when he was making mistakes (view spoiler)[like stealing (hide spoiler)] I still found him endearing because his heart was in the right place and he also called himself out for being a hypocrite.

Oh yeah! That scene in Taco Taco was kind of devastating. The three of them were sharing such a good, warm feeling and then Maeghan's friends walked in and it was like a bucket of cold water was thrown on the whole thing. I felt so bad for Rob, I truly did. I went from feeling on Cloud 9 to depressed along with him.

This was my first Brigid Kemmerer. What else by her do you recommend?

[Tracy]

I am almost done and love it. So far I really appreciate how this book and a few others I’ve read this summer (The Rest of the Story and Saint Anything) show teenage boys being respectful and responsible when situations are “heating up.” It is so important for girls, and boys, to see good models of this behavior. It seems especially important in this book where one of the characters is pregnant most likely because of lack of control, though we never get a detailed account of that.I teach middle school and I am wondering others’ opinions about sharing this book with 7th and 8th graders.

There’s so much else to discuss in this book! I received this book as a subscription to a book club and may not have read it otherwise. I am so happy I did and so happy to read an author whose books I haven’t read. Are her other books just as good?

[Karen]

Tracy wrote: "I am almost done and love it. So far I really appreciate how this book and a few others I’ve read this summer (The Rest of the Story and Saint Anything) show teenage boys being respectful and respo..."

I don't think I read anything like this when I was in 7th to 8th grade but that was mostly because I wasn't available to me. It wasn't until high school where I encountered my first "mature" Young Adult books like Sarah Dessen and Meg Cabot. However, I think a 7th to 8th grader interested in reading *could* handle this. This book in particular would give them a lot of food for thought since it brings up many difficult topics and presents arguments from both sides. I think fiction has matured a lot in general since I was a kid. Not too long ago I read Posted which I can say much more confidently is a middle school level book because the protagonists themselves are middle schoolers and it still covered topics like racism, sexual orientation, bullying, divorce, etc. My first instinct would be that Call It What You Want is too advanced for a 13 year old but in reality it's not, fiction has matured. I think your students would benefit from reading it.

[Nichole]

Karen wrote: "Thanks for sharing! I'm glad you're enjoying it. I love how you limit yourself with five chapters a day or otherwise you will just finish in one day!! haha :) Good idea! I need to do this too somet..."

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5 chapters a day is very hard to maintain, but honestly though I love the anticipation on reading afterwards. Honestly, I'm still reading the book, but I really feel like Samantha wants Maegan and Rob to get together, i feel like she trying to bring them closer. Oh my and Maegan keeps shying away- that really annoys me as they are so cute together :)

I totally recommend 'a curse so dark and lonely'. That book is more based around teenage mystery, has romance in it and I say fantasy. I have to say though, that book has to be my favourite by Kemmerer- I was hooked in right from the beginning.

[Nichole]

Kemmerer is such an inspirational author, all of her books are so well crafted and personally I've found it easy to sympathise and relate to the characters' situations. I can't wait to read more of her books and more of her future books!!!!

[Deanna]

Nichole wrote: "*******SPOILERS*******

********SPOILERS**********

I'm on page 158 currently. I have a 'problem' where I want to just finish want to finish a book once I've started it. So far I've managed to limi..."

You can hide your spoilers by typing spoiler in between < > and then type your text followed by < > with /spoiler in between.

[Deanna]

I just got this one from the library will be back to comment.

[Nichole]

Deanna (A Novel Glimpse) wrote: "Nichole wrote: "*******SPOILERS*******

********SPOILERS**********

I'm on page 158 currently. I have a 'problem' where I want to just finish want to finish a book once I've started it. So far I've..."


Thank you for letting me know. I'm new to goodreads, so I'm currently getting use to it :)

[Deanna]

Nichole wrote: "Deanna (A Novel Glimpse) wrote: "Nichole wrote: "*******SPOILERS*******

********SPOILERS**********

I'm on page 158 currently. I have a 'problem' where I want to just finish want to finish a book ..."

Welcome! GR is a lot of fun!

[Nichole]

Deanna (A Novel Glimpse) wrote: "Nichole wrote: "Deanna (A Novel Glimpse) wrote: "Nichole wrote: "*******SPOILERS*******

********SPOILERS**********

I'm on page 158 currently. I have a 'problem' where I want to just finish want t..."



Thank you very much!!! Can't wait to explore more :)

[Chris]

Nichole wrote: "Deanna (A Novel Glimpse) wrote: "Nichole wrote: "Deanna (A Novel Glimpse) wrote: "Nichole wrote: "*******SPOILERS*******

********SPOILERS**********

I'm on page 158 currently. I have a 'problem' w..."

Yes, welcome Nichole!! Goodreads is a lot of fun. Glad to see you joining in on our group!

[Nichole]

Chris wrote: "Nichole wrote: "Deanna (A Novel Glimpse) wrote: "Nichole wrote: "Deanna (A Novel Glimpse) wrote: "Nichole wrote: "*******SPOILERS*******

********SPOILERS**********

I'm on page 158 currently. I ha..."

Awe thank you for making me feel so welcomed :)

[Nichole]

Guys, I've finished 'Call it what you want' and I have to say I really enjoyed reading it. However, I did find the ending to be a little rushed, like so many events happened towards the end, and although that didn't interfere with the overall dynamic of the book, more time COULD be spent on developing the scenes further.

this is just my personal opinion, and doesn't change my overall opinion of the book. It was an amazing book, which I highly recommend reading :)

[Becky]

Hi everyone! I’ve nearly finished reading. I just have a few chapters left. And I agree with you Nichole, the book is starting to feel a little bit rushed, however I do still like it lots. I’m finding the theme of good people doing bad things really interesting.

(view spoiler)[ I think Megan might be my favourite character. Did anybody else nearly let out a big cheer when she called out David for his terrible behaviour in the lecture hall? It was so brave of Megan to stand up for her sister like that! (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Rebecca wrote: "Hi everyone! I’ve nearly finished reading. I just have a few chapters left. And I agree with you Nichole, the book is starting to feel a little bit rushed, however I do still like it lots. I’m find..."

I admired Meaghan for that scene too :) I loved the sisterly bond in this book and for Meaghan, who is naturally quiet, doing that took a lot of guts and I really rooted for her then.

Overall though I must say my favorite was Rob :D

[Nichole]

Honestly, I couldn't agree more. I really admire Meaghan for looking out and stepping forward for her sister in the lecture hall, honestly David deserved that.

Rob honestly, bless the guy, even though his deeds were wrong the fact that he puts others before himself is really considerate and how tried to put everything back to normal (view spoiler)[ like you Karen, I do agree Rob is my favourite Character too :) (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

I just got this from the library! Hoping to start it tomorrow. I can't wait to chime in and read everyone's thoughts!

[Karen]

Chapter 15 (view spoiler)[

I'm loving this so far! I really enjoy how even though Maegan and Rob are having it rough that they have found friends in each other. It makes my heart happy (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Karen wrote: "Chapter 15

I'm loving this so far!"

Oh yes, when they finally become friendly it's so great! That first meeting in the coffee shop ahhh esp for Rob who has been so alone.

[Karen]

I'm finished! 4 Stars! Here are my thoughts (view spoiler)[

I really liked it. Usually in YA books authors typically write about a character who has always morally done the right thing. In this book however there are lots of "gray" areas (as they say in the book). Somethings are right, somethings are wrong, somethings can be justified as being right (like when Owen justified Rob's stealing because he was helping people) in some people's eyes but not others.

I also really liked the relationship between Rob and Maegan, but my favorite relationship in this book was between Rob and Owen. I really liked those two's friendship. (hide spoiler)]

This was my first Brigid Kemmerer book and I can't wait to read more of her work!

[Karen]

Oh! I agree that the most interesting relationship was arguably Owen/Rob and not Rob/Meagan. Their scenes in the lunchroom never failed to entertain.

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[Becky]

If you liked More Than We Can Tell Karen I think you’ll really enjoy Letters to the Lost and More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer!

I liked that the book highlighted the fact that not everything’s black and white too. It really makes it stand out from lots of other young adult novels I’ve read.

[Karen]

Oh, thanks for the recommendation :) Those both sound great and I loove stories that feature letters. There is something just so romantic about them <3

[Marley]

Hi friends! I know this thread is from August but I was hoping that you all could help me out -

I love Brigid Kemmerer and her books are my favorite (Call It What You Want, More Than We Can Tell, Letters to the Lost), they are just all so good!

I am hoping that those of you who loved this book could suggest some others that I might like? I loved this read so much! Does anyone have any ideas for me?! Thanks!

[Karen]

Marley wrote: "Hi friends! I know this thread is from August but I was hoping that you all could help me out -

I love Brigid Kemmerer and her books are my favorite (Call It What You Want, More Than We Can Tell,..."

Marley - Check out - I think you'd like it! It has similar vibes to Call it What you Want

[Chris]

Karen wrote: "Marley wrote: "Hi friends! I know this thread is from August but I was hoping that you all could help me out -

I love Brigid Kemmerer and her books are my favorite (Call It What You Want, More Th..."

Excellent suggestion!! is a great book!