Laurie Boyle Crompton

I can’t quite decide what I think about Blaze (the character, not the entire book). She is incredibly naïve and doesn’t listen to anybody, even if those people only want what’s good for her. She doesn’t know how to say no to Mark and she lets him cross her lines over and over again. I just don’t get it! But then again – she is a teen trying to find her boundaries and she has been an outsider forever and suddenly a very hot guy gives her a lot of attention – she is probably show more bound to be confused. I just get a little tired of her jumping through hoops for him and suspecting nothing.


I HATE Blazes friends. Well, I hate Amanda and dislike Terri. Amanda is absolutely awful! She doesn’t care for anyone but herself and she is so mean toward Blaze (Seriously, who takes a picture of a friend in sexy lingerie and send it to that persons crush? That should end a friendship!) I don’t really care for Blazes mom either. She is so immature and she shouldn’t be blaming Blaze for her husband leaving her. I’m very glad she isn’t a bigger part of the story!


I adore Josh and his friends, the soccer cretins. They are so much fun and typical young teenage boys. They are partly the reason for the last star. The other part of the reason is the humor. This book is so much fun! The comic book references fit perfectly and Blaze, Josh and the soccer cretins are hilarious.


Blaze grows a lot through the book, but it takes a long time. It isn’t till the end that she learns something. The book is about trusting yourself and knowing your identity but it is also about bullying both online and in person. It was a great read and I’m sure I will enjoy more books from Laurie Boyle Crompton in the future!
I read an ARC and therefor didn’t have the pleasure of seeing the drawings which will be in the finished copy. I did see some of them on other blogs and they were great! show less

I received an Advance Reading Copy from LibraryThing of this free verse memoir by Laurie Boyle Crampton. I haven't read a memoir free verse before but I think that is a great way to emphasize what is important in your story and let the unimportant details drop out.

I immediately identified with her situation. I had a close relationship with my father; he and my mother separated when Both Lauries and I were the same age. This book brings out the emotions when one parent goes away. When it is show more from divorce or separation, there is a tremendous amount of pain and thinking that maybe you caused the separation. She felt abandoned by her father and resentful of her mother let Laurie take on the role of mother to her younger siblings. She wanted her father but she had no choice but to care and feed her younger siblings. When I read her book, I can feel an enormous hole in her. She tried to fill it with food and she got harassed by her peers and the ultimate shock of her father telling her that she was fat. That part of her life was like mine. I did not go through binging and purging but I shared a great deal of self-hatred for not being slim. But my father always maintained a relationship with me and I can feel the terror of her father not even asking for joint custody. I was a thousand times more fortunate than she. I suspect the reason that she did not include her road to recovery in this book is that when you have an eating disorder, it is cruel because you still have to eat to live and although you may find a balance by learning to love yourself, there is always the possibility of a fall with self-hate.

I appreciate all that she put into this book and I know that it helped me to understand myself more. show less

I enjoyed reading this fun satire about reality TV and high school power struggles

The book is very well written and addresses serious issues like bulimia, as well as making fun of high school drama between friends, enemies and power struggles. It also highlights how reality TV can lead people to absurd behavior and showing extreme examples.

The book is fun to read, and ends with a good message, when the protagonists gain some real insights from their experiences.

I enjoyed reading this fun satire about reality TV and high school power struggles

The book is very well written and addresses serious issues like bulimia, as well as making fun of high school drama between friends, enemies and power struggles. It also highlights how reality TV can lead people to absurd behavior and showing extreme examples.

The book is fun to read, and ends with a good message, when the protagonists gain some real insights from their experiences.