Friday, April 26, 2013

Love and Other Perishable Items By Laura Buzo


          
            In "Love and Other Perishable Items" by Laura Buzo, Amelia is a 15-year-old trapped in a 30 year-old-body. Which is why she can't be bothered with any of the teenage boys that go to her school because they simply can't keep up with her intelligence and wit. For Laura this is a curse because she has fallen head over heels for Chris who is a cute, funny and charismatic check out boy who works with her at her after school job at the grocery store. Only problem with this is that he is completely unobtainable to her because he is 21-years-old. If it wasn't for the age gap these two would be perfect together, they both share the same interests and intellect but their age gap is a barrier to their relationship.

            There are so many things I loved about this book. Both characters Amelia and Chris and so likable and listening to their banter was humorous and charming. One thing that I really loved that Buzo did in this book was that she wrote the book coming from both perspectives of Chris and Amelia. Buzo in an interview with "Book Addicts Guide" said  "I started writing Amelia’s sections first and then moved on to Chris, and so on. It was really refreshing to be able to switch perspectives every now and again." This makes the book so much more interesting because we get into both of their heads instead of guessing how Chris feels about Amelia and vice versa. The book switches back and forth between Laura's first-person narrative to Chris' journal entries. The most interesting part about this was how Amelia starts the book describing Chris as a cool and confident young man who has everything figured out, but once the story switches to Chris' journal entries we see that he is kind of a mess too after we see him share his tormented life of heartbreak and struggling to find the "perfect woman"

            As the story goes on the reader really starts to wonder whether or not these two can actually be together. After all, Amelia  seems to be a lot more mature than Chris after reading his self-pitying and self-destructive journal entries. Although the story is at times heartbreaking after watching two people who are seemingly perfect for each other but can't be together, Buzo keeps the story light and funny. Buzo also does a great job not making the relationship between Chris and Amelia inappropriate or creepy, which would be hard to do considering their age gap. The just book illustrates two people who have a great mental connection and help one another get through their unbearable supermarket shifts.

4 comments:

Laura Coyotl said...

This book sounds interesting; it seems like a book any young adult would want to read. Especially since you mentioned that this book is written with a male and female perspective. I like books like these because it gives the readers a better view of what both character are thinking and feeling and not from just from the point of view of one character. It is also nice that this book is not creepy in the sense that a 21 year old is trying to take advantage of a 15 year old girl. Good job, I think a good review of the book. I would like to recommend that you add a couple of more links to add additional information if you want. I wonder if Chris and Amelia will end up together? hmmm.. I guess I will have to read it and find out.

JessicaGeelen said...

The first thing that came to mind when reading your overview is that I wonder if this is going to be a really relatable book to most teenage girls.
I think most teenage girls feel they're a lot more mature than their male counterparts. We hear so much about older guys dating younger girls and I think this book would facilitate an interesting discussion on that whole idea.

Jessica Pagliara said...

I think this would be a great book for teenage girls. I think we've all been in that place where if there was only one thing that was different, we would be perfect with a guy. It seems like most girls would be able to relate to this story and realize they are not alone!

Tess said...

I would have loved this book when I was in high school. I loved love stories that had some corky twists to them, and I know a lot of my friends did to. I like how both perspectives are told in this story too. It makes this book seem more open to male and female readers; although, we have read that men typically like sports novels or books with a lot of action - a male perspective in a romantic novel might change their mind!