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Exiled to Iowa. Send Help. And Couture.
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May BotM - Exiled to Iowa. Send Help. And Couture. *spoilers*
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Kaje
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rated it 4 stars
May 05, 2012 10:41PM
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This thread is for discussion of the May Book of the Month Exiled to Iowa. Send Help. And Couture by Chris O'Guinn. This thread may contain spoilers.
Finally got hold of this for a reread - review to come.
So here's my review - 4 stars and I thought about 5; I really enjoyed this book, and its somewhat mouthy narrator, Collin, who, when forcibly relocated from LA, brings couture and drama to a small-town Iowa highschool. His voice was a nice combination of young, hopeful and snarky, with a little bit of flaming mixed in. He runs into a believable series of stumbling blocks along the way. The characters were great, not everything was black and white, and the resolution was sweet and not perfect. There were some very funny moments, some painful ones, and quite a few quotable lines. The romance part of it was lovely and not too cloying. The missing star is because it didn't grab me emotionally quite as hard as the very best YA stories do, but it was fun, engaging, and definitely worth reading.
I really enjoyed this too. OK so the theme isn't unique- moving to a new town and the school play, but it was an interesting and enjoyable take on it with some believable relationships and great characters. Minor issue- the guy on the cover. He doesn't fit my image of Collin at all. The hair for a start...
Rob wrote: "Minor issue- the guy on the cover. He doesn't fit my image of Collin at all. The hair for a start... ..."I had the same thought - not at all my impression. Is this a self-pub; I don't remember. Because otherwise the author doesn't control the cover. The attitude is wrong too - too emo for Collin.
From the author....You guys made my night!
I have to say, I can't really defend the boy on the cover. I searched and searched for a Collin. The boy in this picture was my top choice:
http://i.istockimg.com/file_thumbview...
But I couldn't see a boy obsessed with clothing wearing a tee shirt. Pics are a constant struggle. The royalty free images are a grab bag and in the end, I often just have to close my eyes and accept a near-hit.
Anyway, I stumbled across this thread and it made me smile. Thanks guys!
D. wrote: "From the author....You guys made my night!
I have to say, I can't really defend the boy on the cover. I searched and searched for a Collin. The boy in this picture was my top choice:
http://i.is..."
Wow, Hi , welcome - loved the book, especially Collin's voice. It's on my "recommend to teens" list and this was actually a re-read for me, and just as much fun as the first time through.
I like the guy you linked - he does look more like Collin; but it is so hard to get all the elements together.
I sympathize about covers - I have a series of books, and the cover artist didn't realize there would be more than one when she did the first cover. So she picked a guy who has about two decent pictures and about twenty grimacing/weird ones on the stock site. We just did the third cover and it was a challenge. I also had a guy we described as "beautiful" and late-twenties and blond - then tried to search for a match... um, not really.
I'm glad you found the thread here - your book was a great fit for this group BotM. Come by and chat any time.
Thanks for the recommendation on this one! I didn't read it in May, but it stayed in my head, so I picked it up today. What a sweet book! Definitely a keeper.
Cris wrote: "Thanks for the recommendation on this one! I didn't read it in May, but it stayed in my head, so I picked it up today. What a sweet book! Definitely a keeper."Glad you liked it too :) I was happy to have a reason to pick it up a second time.
Hi, Kaje! (and friends!)You understand my pain, then. :) The hilarious and annoying ting for me is that when I am looking for dark-haired guys, all I can find are blonds. Then I want a blond, and there's only dark-haired guys.
I really stressed over that pic. I liked the little fey boy--he had a great expression and look. I tried to think of some way to fake the couture thing, but there's only so much photoshop and my amazing cover artist can do.
At some point, when I am rich and famous (ha!) I am probably going to hire my own models and get just the picture I want. But for now, I am a slave to iStock.
D. wrote: "Hi, Kaje! (and friends!)You understand my pain, then. :) The hilarious and annoying ting for me is that when I am looking for dark-haired guys, all I can find are blonds. Then I want a blond, and..."
I needed a redhead and over 30 - that was impossible (I think the artist ended up with a brunet and streaked his hair redder manually.) And then the color in the final cover was off from the draft version and he ended up a brunet anyway :(
