BOOK REVIEW: Lying Out Loud by Kody Keplinger
How could Kody Keplinger fill out the story she started in The DUFF?! Uh... she could give their family a happily ever after where Wesley's parents get their act together and Amy finally feels safe, secure and gets the best BFF a girl could ask for. Except that BFF Sonny isn't all she's making herself out to be. Truly confused over just how to be herself, Sonny affects Amy in ways that take her back to a bad place before her parents and brother became the solid fixtures in her life. However, that doesn't keep readers from bonding with Sonny and Amy and surprisingly becoming quite protective of both of them.
So Bianca and Wesley remain my favorites, but seriously Amy Rush has picked a choice friend here in Sonny. She's a mess and a lying liar who lies... ALL THE TIME! She means well though and I do believe a lot of us live by that motto. Yet we forget how egotistical it makes us to do so. Not only are we breaking the trust of our friends by lying to them, we are disrespecting them by taking away their choice to know and make decisions based upon the truth of the matter and not from the information we chose to feed to them. Lying definitely reduces the agency of everyone involved in the situation.
Sonny screws up big time in this regard, because her crush becomes her boyfriend under false pretenses and while she's never been so real in someone's presence, she cannot keep up living the fake life she leads in an effort to remain truly herself while chatting with Ryder. While I'll forgive her the first few attempts to come clean, she eventually crosses the line when she tries and recruits and does successfully pull Amy into the con. Doing so though, only hurts Amy's feelings more, and despite how loyal of a friend she is, Amy pushes back and demands from Sonny the same kind of patience and understanding Amy has shown Sonny all these years.
QUOTE ME: Lying Out Loud is an interesting study in how friendships can evolve into something less than healthy and the best laid plans, the best of intentions can still land you in a world of hurt if you aren't being honest with those you love. As Sonny realizes life isn't avoidable and that family and love and acceptance can truly be hard to believe in, being yourself and allowing yourself to be vulnerable can be the most honest and rewarding experience of all in the right company of friends makes this story shine.
Aesthetically speaking now, I am so pleased that this cover ties into the movie-tie-in cover of The DUFF. These really should be read as companion novels because Bianca and Wesley show up so often and add a lot of character to the struggle between Sonny and Amy. Also, knowing now that Kody imagined Sabrina Carpenter from Girl Meets World as Sonny just makes my heart swell. That show you all... if you aren't watching the little Disney spin-off show of Boy Meets World, ahhh... you're missing out on some of the sweetest moments on television.
Lastly, the soundtrack of the book was powered by Tegan & Sara. :)
- TITLE: Lying Out Loud
- AUTHOR(S): Kody Keplinger
- SERIES: Companion novel to The DUFF
- PUB INFO: Scholastic Press/April 28, 2015
- ACQUIRED HOW? Edelweiss e-ARC
- BOOK RATING: Lemon Tart
So Bianca and Wesley remain my favorites, but seriously Amy Rush has picked a choice friend here in Sonny. She's a mess and a lying liar who lies... ALL THE TIME! She means well though and I do believe a lot of us live by that motto. Yet we forget how egotistical it makes us to do so. Not only are we breaking the trust of our friends by lying to them, we are disrespecting them by taking away their choice to know and make decisions based upon the truth of the matter and not from the information we chose to feed to them. Lying definitely reduces the agency of everyone involved in the situation.
Sonny screws up big time in this regard, because her crush becomes her boyfriend under false pretenses and while she's never been so real in someone's presence, she cannot keep up living the fake life she leads in an effort to remain truly herself while chatting with Ryder. While I'll forgive her the first few attempts to come clean, she eventually crosses the line when she tries and recruits and does successfully pull Amy into the con. Doing so though, only hurts Amy's feelings more, and despite how loyal of a friend she is, Amy pushes back and demands from Sonny the same kind of patience and understanding Amy has shown Sonny all these years.
QUOTE ME: Lying Out Loud is an interesting study in how friendships can evolve into something less than healthy and the best laid plans, the best of intentions can still land you in a world of hurt if you aren't being honest with those you love. As Sonny realizes life isn't avoidable and that family and love and acceptance can truly be hard to believe in, being yourself and allowing yourself to be vulnerable can be the most honest and rewarding experience of all in the right company of friends makes this story shine.
Aesthetically speaking now, I am so pleased that this cover ties into the movie-tie-in cover of The DUFF. These really should be read as companion novels because Bianca and Wesley show up so often and add a lot of character to the struggle between Sonny and Amy. Also, knowing now that Kody imagined Sabrina Carpenter from Girl Meets World as Sonny just makes my heart swell. That show you all... if you aren't watching the little Disney spin-off show of Boy Meets World, ahhh... you're missing out on some of the sweetest moments on television.
Lastly, the soundtrack of the book was powered by Tegan & Sara. :)
Comments
Post a Comment