In this blog, I will be talking about a book that I read recently called Accidental by Alex Richards. The main character of the book, Johanna, is a 16 year old girl who lives with her grandparents in a small town in New Mexico. She has lived with her grandparents ever since she was a baby, when her mom died in a car accident and her dad abandoned her. Growing up, Johanna’s grandparents wouldn’t talk about the past. Even as she became more curious about her life before her grandparents, they still refused to tell her anything. So when Johanna’s father sends her an email after thirteen years of no contact, she doesn’t know what to think. And she becomes even more confused when the email says that he wants to meet with Johanna to talk. With the input of her two best friends, she decides to do it, but she does it secretly, fearful of what her grandparents will say. When she does, Johanna learns all sorts of things about her mother and her past. She also discovers the real reason her father wanted to see her, to give her news that turns her world upside down. Suddenly, her entire life is a lie, and she doesn’t know who to trust, including some of the people who have supported her throughout her entire life.
One of the reasons I liked this book was because of the author’s writing style. I think that the writing fits the character. What I mean by this, is that everything the author wrote sounded like something a 16 year old girl would actually say. It made the book better because the characters sounded believable.
I also liked the fact that while I was reading, I didn’t know what was going to happen next. It made me want to keep reading, because I didn’t want to be left on a cliffhanger. I think that unpredictability is a good quality in books because it wouldn’t be very interesting if you knew everything that was going to happen from the first page.
Accidental touches on important, real world issues such as gun violence and cyberbullying. I am glad they included these parts because it showed how a teenager would deal with these problems. I also learned a little bit more about gun violence and safety while reading which was nice.
- Lena
Good review, I like how your summary gives insight into the book with an initial hook, but doesn't go to deep as to spoil it. It's also nice that you talk about the writing style, unpredictability, and real world issues in the book.
ReplyDeleteHi Lena,
ReplyDeleteI have never read this book, but it seems very interesting. The whole premise of one conversation changing who you feel you can trust and your entire view of your life up until that point definitely leaves me wanting to read the book. Great book review!
-Sasha
This seems like a cool book! I usually get annoyed at books that always leave off on cliffhangers, but based on the summary of the beginning of the book you gave, I think I would actually want to keep going. Great job!
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