Reviewed by Emylee for TeensReadToo.com

Harper Waddle, Sophie Bush, Kate Foster, and Becca Winsberg, four best friends who bonded in middle school during a fateful trip to the bathroom, have reached a pivotal moment in their lives. The summer after their high school graduation leaves them ready to pursue their much anticipated futures; Becca, a spot on the coveted Middlebury College ski team; Harper, an acceptance into her dream school, NYU; Kate, a future at Harvard with her beloved boyfriend; and poor Sophie, stuck at home attending community college. Unfortunately, none of their plans really coincide with each other.

Harper, however, is living with a big secret. One so big that it causes her to ditch her college plans in pursuit of her "dream." This act of liberation starts a whirlwind of commotion during the last few days of the girls' summer, and by the start of the new school year, only Becca has stayed true to her original plans. Fueled with ambition, daring Sophie leaves their small town of Boulder in hope of hitting it big in Los Angeles, impeccable Kate forsakes Harvard for Europe, and Harper is determined to write the next "Great American Novel."

Now separated by state lines and oceans, and linked only by letters, lists, and the occasional telephone call, Harper, Sophie, Kate, and Becca are left to discover what growing up is all about, reminiscent of THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS trilogy.

BASS ACKWARDS AND BELLY UP is a humorous tale about the path to maturity, narrated from each girl's own particular journey, and illustrates the sometimes haphazard route one follows in pursuit of a dream. ( )

Written for Hip Scouts

Bound to be called ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' for the older set, ‘Bass Ackwards and Belly Up' is wonderful, humorous tale that tells the story of four best friends and their adventures after graduating from high school, as they each make their own decisions about what they want to do in life. As a soon-to-be high school graduate myself, I could completely relate to Harper, Sophie, Kate, and Becca, but you definitely don't need to be eighteen in order to enjoy this book. If you've ever pursued your dreams, or even if you've only dreamed of pursuing them, this book is not to be missed.

The novel by Craft demonstartes teh adolesecence of teenagers going off to college who have yet to encounter major aspects in their lives. It's filled with incessant excitment and lures the reader in with her storyline. Her novel is realistic in the sense that it does not demonstrate a utopia but the exact opposite. The girls come face to face with problems that normal or common people go through and act upon them just like a common person. Elizabeth Craft expresses the fear and excitment of teenage girls taking the next step in her novel.

What’s the ultimate sin a college-bound teenager can commit? How about ditching college to pursue their dreams? Look over your shoulder…yeah, that’s your parent twitching in horror.

In Bass Ackwards and Belly Up, four girls find themselves with some decisions to make right before going off to college. The dilemma begins with Harper, who isn’t going to college because she wasn’t accepted at her dream University (and hadn’t applied anywhere else). But that isn’t what she tells her three best friends or her family – too ashamed to admit she didn’t get in, she instead tells everyone that she’s going to stay home, move into the basement, and work on the next great American novel.

Her “decision” prompts some deep thought in her friends and two of them decide they need to follow their hearts as well. Sophie decides to move to Beverly Hills to try her hand at acting – she’s got the attitude and the looks and the burning desire to be a star. Then there’s Kate, the one you’d think would be least likely to change her plans and do something daring…which is exactly why she decides to travel Europe and find herself instead of going off to Harvard.

Only Becca finds herself sticking to the original plan and leaving home to attend college at Middlebury. But she’s been tasked with a huge life-altering goal as well: fall in love. Coming from a very dysfunctional family, letting herself go and letting someone in is harder than you’d think.

Each chapter focuses in on a different girl as she tries to fulfill her dream and overcome obstacles that at times seem very intense. Readers will turn the pages eagerly (I know I did) to find out what will happen next. Will Harper get together with Mr. Finelli (her former teacher and longtime crush)? Will she get past her writer’s block and self-imposed writer’s blindness to actually complete her novel? Will Sophie accept second-class treatment from a rising movie star (who, admittedly, is really, really hot) or will she stick up for herself? Will Becca fall for Stuart or languish in unrequited love for Jared (formerly Kate’s boyfriend)? Will Kate find the strength to find herself in Europe or will she give in to her parents and become the “perfect daughter” again?

I feel like I’m reducing this great book down to some silly clichés, but that’s what you get sometimes when trying to reduce a book down to a short review. The book itself is NOT riddled with trite situations or phrases, though it easily could have been. Instead, it is a true pleasure to read with an honest, real-life feel. I really enjoyed this one and I think you will too. Recommended for readers aged 12 and up. Some sexual situations are included, but nothing overly explicit and not at all gratuitous. ( )

Very much like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants this introduces us to a group of tightly-knit girlfriends who are about to go their separate ways. When one of them announces (shortly after their high school graduation) that she's changed her mind about college, the others react by reevaluating their own decisions. They spend the next year having very different experiences and adventures, and find their friendship tested, as they make their ways into adulthood. ( )