Author: Jolene Stockman
Published August 1st 2012 by CreateSpace
Genre: YA realistic contemporary
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥
Buy the book: Amazon | B&N
Goodreads summary:
A total meltdown. The whole school watching. Now Poppy’s an ex-straight-A with no Plan B.Racquel's thoughts:
When Poppy Johnson throws away a full scholarship to Columbia, she can only blame the jelly beans. The yucky green ones? Midnight cram sessions and Saturday’s spent studying. The delicious red? The family legacy: Columbia, and a future in finance. Except now it’s starting to look like Poppy’s jelly bean theory is wrong. School has been her life until, but maybe it’s time to start living now.
Poppy has thirty days to try a new life. No school, no studying. Just jumping into every possible world. Thirty days to find her passion, her path, and maybe even love. The Jelly Bean Crisis is officially on.
This book was definitely not what I was expecting and that is a great thing! From the beginning, my ideas about The Jelly Bean Crisis were vague since I didn't really fully understand the summary but the cute cover and interesting summary (albeit confusing) made me want to read the book nevertheless and I'm very happy that I did.
The Jelly Bean Crisis follows Poppy who is awarded a full scholarship to Columbia and that's when the crisis embarks. Does Poppy really want to go to college? Does she really want to study even more to only land a corporate job because it's her family legacy? What does Poppy really want? What makes Poppy happy anyway? The Jelly Bean Crisis takes us on a ride with Poppy as she figures out the answers to these questions and as she learns more about herself and what she wants from life.
As a senior, I understand Poppy and her crisis. I'm in the position that she's in and that really made the book all the better for me. It was nice seeing someone struggle with what I'm struggling with. Do I want to go to college? What do I want to do at college? Every highschool student has to ask themselves this questions to some (like Poppy and I) the answer is not quite clear and definite.
Jolene Stockman really WOW'ed me throughout the book as she put Poppy in difficult situations, that well, annoyed me because Poppy was very naive. However, what matters is what Poppy gained from those experiences. With each job that Poppy tries, I really got to see her mature and open her eyes better at how the world works. Poppy's idea of success were pretty utopian. World peace by the snap of one's finger and such. But Poppy really got a nice dose of harsh reality throughout the book but she never failed to lose her optimism and that was the most important thing, I believe.
The Jelly Bean Crisis was very well-written and it kept surprising by how well-written, insightful and inspiring it is. If it wasn't for the unnceesarry romance (GASP! Romance? Unnecessary? Coming from ME? Well it's true. I would have enjoyed the book better if the romance was left out OR if it was developed more. I really do wish that it was explored more, that would have been more satisfying than a few scenes with a guy to equal a "romance") and the cheerleader-hating (yes, I highlighted a few cases on my Kindle about the downgrading and stereotyping of cheerleaders and as always, I won't let it pass no matter how great the story is because It. Is. Not. Acceptable.) I would have giving this book 5 hearts.
Rating: 3 hearts~ a great insightful book that I think highschool students would benefit from! We are not alone, us lost kids ;D
First:
Cheers and woo-hooing filled the hall.
Favorite:
"Are you on drugs?" Mom is trying to be cool."Vivian!" Dad is not.
Teaser:
It was sweet the way he stood up for the fish. Sweet and random.
Now for the fun stuff! This is one heck of a giveaway and trust me, ENTER ENTER ENTER because this book is WORTH IT!! Good luck :D
a Rafflecopter giveaway
As always, thanks for stopping by and don't forget to check out the rest of the tour stops HERE!
Sounds fun and the cover is very Mary Poppins-ish
ReplyDeleteI adore the cover! Eventhough i don't like jelly beans much. It must be because i tasted that horrible flavoured jelly bean when i was a child. But The Jelly Bean Crisis sounds interesting and i'm glad that you enjoyed it eventhough of the unnecessary romance
ReplyDeleteGreat review and thanks for the giveaway! :)