Love & Leftovers

Whilst I enjoyed the actual writing in "Love and Leftovers", I found it difficult to connect with the main character. The story was told through the poems fifteen-year-old Marcie wrote in her notebook dealing with her loneliness since moving, her gay father, her mother's depression since the divorce and her longing for love and affection.

Unfortunately, I didn't think Marcie was a good protagonist and she frustrated me with the bad choices she made, the main one being that she cheated on her boyfriend. She was also selfish, annoying and she lied constantly. Most of the story focused on her self=pity and guilt, and wondering why her friends (known as the leftovers) no longer liked her. Duh! By the halfway mark, I didn't like her show more either.

Linus, on the other hand, was a sweetheart, and far too good for Macie. I loved the swoon-worthy songs he wrote her and his interactions with his little niece were touching and extremely cute. Basically, he was the perfect boyfriend - kind, forgiving and adorable. It was just a shame his girlfriend was nowhere near as nice.

"Love and Leftovers" was a quick read and I like most of the characters except for Marcie who spoilt the story. show less

Review first published on fefferbooks.com.

If you’re from Boise, Idaho, you need to read this book.

If you’re not from Boise, I still think you might need to read it.

Love and Leftovers is not quite like anything I’ve ever read before: a novel written in verse. No, no! Don’t go away! I promise it’s not as weird/boring/intimidating as it sounds. More on that in a minute.

Not at all a book of poetry, instead, Love and Leftovers is a coming-of-age story about Marcie: a Boise girl who’s ripped from her home when Mom decides it’s time to go on “vacation” in New Hampshire…and stay there. Marcie’s mom is falling apart, her parent’s marriage is clearly ending, and she misses her friends. She’s about to start a new school show more year without having met anyone, really, and her home life is kind of a wreck. The fun is in watching Marcie come into her own in New Hampshire, and find her way with her family and friends.

I’d not yet come across anything like Love and Leftovers, style-wise. The majority of the book is written in free verse, which means the poems don’t really rhyme or stick to a particular meter. This helps things along immensely–the idea of reading a book in rigid poetry form was really off-putting for me. Instead, L&L flows along without a lot of self-consciousness about itself. The story is told from Marcie’s point of view, and each page or two is a separate poem from her journal about what’s going on in her life. It’s really clever actually. But I found that the writing style didn’t really draw attention to itself, once I got going–I just found myself reading a story, like any other book. The brilliance of it, though, is that the verse style cuts right to the heart of each plot point and emotion. There’s just simply no room to say anything that’s not pivotal when you’re only writing 80 words per page. (Trust me, as a writer, that’s much more difficult than it sounds.)

There were a couple of things in this book that weren’t dead-on for me: I would have liked more J.D., frankly, and I wasn’t really sure what I thought of Linus and the way things wrapped with him. I understood Marcie’s choices, but I’m not so 100% behind Linus’ explanations for some of his behavior. There’s a good deal of sexuality in this book, too. Lots of frank discussion about the consequences, as well, and the mixed-up emotions that can be involved in it, but it’s not pulling very many punches. It’s not explicit, but the details it does share are extremely realistic. In some ways, it was cringe-worthy because the writing took me back so completely to some of my own experiences.

Speaking of which OMGOSH A BOOK SET IN BOISE! Author Sarah Tregay lives in the Boise area, and it’s so strange/awesome/mind-blowingly weird to see places I go all the time set in a novel. I know east-coasters have this experience constantly, and no big deal, but seriously–nothing is set in Boise, so it’s kind of amazing. The setting, alone, made this a really fun read for me.

All in all, the book was well-done, but I had a couple of reservations. I would definitely read another book by Sarah Tregay, though, and I’m so excited to have a real, live YA author here by me!

3.5 stars. Some language, some teen sexuality. I enjoyed it! show less

Although I am an avowed Apocalypsies fan, I have to confess that I was skeptical about this one, because I'm really not a poetry fan for the most part. It just never has moved me so much as prose, although I will admit that the best prose does seem to have a lyrical quality to it, so I suppose one could make the argument that all writing is poetry in some sense.

Anyway, this book totally worked for me, and I will definitely be keeping my free copy in my collection. A big part of the reason that I don't like poetry most of the time is that it seems so pompous and self-congratulatory. That totally is not the feeling I got from Love & Leftovers. It's more like Marcie just thinks in poetry; it's who she is.

In fact, I think the poetry is what show more made the book really work. I didn't much like Marcie, because she did some things that are completely unforgivable in my opinion. She's not a great person by any means. However, because of the format, which totally seems like a window into her character, I could help being drawn in and caring about her, despite wanting to give her a serious shake most of the time.

Love & Leftovers is a beautiful book and, because poems are short, can be read in just a few hours. If you like Sarah Dessen, I think you'll like Love & Leftovers. show less

Oh, wow. Talk about a sleeper! Love and Leftovers took me by complete surprise. Being that it was written in verse, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I guess I thought the verses would be little separate stories that didn't necessarily tell a linear story, but it so does. Love and Leftovers was a complete, beautiful, full story told in these small, heartbreaking segments that completely drew me in.

The entire story is told from Marcie's point of view. The book is actually her poetry journal. A journal that chronicles Marcie's struggles with the split of her parents, her cross-country move that separates her from her boyfriend and friends, making friends in her new home, a new relationship, and all the way back around in a show more complete circle. It documents her confusion with her parents, her mother's debilitating depression, her need to be wanted by a boy... just on and on.

Love and Leftovers would be a fabulous read for teens, especially reluctant readers. The tiny segments keep the pages turning, trying to learn what Marcie will address next. Teen sexuality, the confusion and the importance of timing, is a big theme to the story. This book is the perfect book for teens, but really, I think it's perfect for anyone. I read this book in under two hours; I literally could not put it down. All around, I couldn't recommend Love and Leftovers more highly.

Favorite Quote:
(Choosing one quote was nearly impossible.)

"I let my dream eyes
connect the dots between the freckles
that spill over his shoulders
as if he stood in pink lemonade rain."

* I received an ARC from Harper Teen, in exchange for an honest review. * show less

Marcie is forced to leave everything she knows behind when her parents split. She has to say goodbye to her boyfriend, Linus, her friends (affectionately known as The Leftovers), and even her father and his new, younger boyfriend. She has a hard time fitting in at her new school in New Hampshire, and with her mom wallowing in depression as a result of the divorce, Marcie finds herself trying to find friends at school and be a normal teenager while playing the parent at home and watching over her mother. Her boyfriend keeps talking about how much he misses her, which causes Marcie to be more upset. She feels alone and left out, and all she wants is someone to pay her some attention and hold her. When a boy at her school starts showing show more some interest in her, she finds herself spending more and more time with him, and soon things start to escalate physically. But what about the love she has for Linus? Is what they have real, or will their love crumble like her parents’ did?

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Love and Leftovers. The story is told from Marcie’s point of view, and consists of her entries in her poetry journal. I do not particularly care for poetry, so I had some reservations when I started reading, but those reservations quickly vanished and I really got drawn into the story. This book is beautifully written and I really enjoyed reading it. Maybe I should try giving poetry another shot?

I really felt for Marcie. After trying to start afresh at a new school, she finds herself unable to fit in, and she feels isolated from everyone. She starts having doubts that many girls have. Is there something wrong with her? Is she socially awkward? She also starts thinking about her relationship with Linus. He never made a move on her, but doesn’t every 16-17 year boy want to get intimate with their girlfriend? Could Linus possibly be gay like her dad, which could explain why he never tried anything? Or is she just unattractive? Her emotions came across really well through her journal, and I felt like I understood Marcie. All the pain, sadness and happiness she feels, and even the doubts she has about herself, really make her character easy to connect to. Through her journal, the reader gets to see how Marcie matures and learns from the mistakes she makes, and I really liked her growing process.

Overall, this was a really well written, cute story, and I really enjoyed reading it. I had a big smile on my face at certain times and there were other times where I laughed out loud. I would definitely check it out if you haven’t already! This was an excellent debut by Tregay and I am excited to see what she comes out with next! show less

Love and Leftovers caught my eye with its cute cover and title, and discovering it’s a verse novel just clinched the deal. I’ve only read a handful of verse novels so far but have really fallen for the format. Usually the stories are quick but fulfilling reads, and impactful with the expressive, sparse prose. The style works well for this book because the main character Marcie writes short poetic entries in her journal, which becomes the format for the book.

Marcie and her mother beat a hasty retreat out of Idaho one summer and head to New Hampshire when her parent’s marriage dissolves. Marcie leaves behind her rocker boyfriend Linus and group of friends they have dubbed the Leftovers. Summer turns to fall and soon Marcie is show more starting a new school year in her new adopted home. She’s out of the Leftover group at her new school when popular football player JD starts to pay her some attention. Marcie has mixed feelings about her new life and her father and friends she left behind and tries her best to hold it together.

I like the idea of the Leftovers, the group of friends who don’t fit into one particular group. I always liked the Leftover, or Floater group in school and think that’s a fun group to be in. Marcie, though, makes it sound kind of negative and would rather join the popular group in her new school. Things get questionable when Marcie is less than honest with her loving boyfriend back home about her new life in New Hampshire.

Marcie is flawed and realistic, and I could relate to her even though I didn’t always agree with her way of handling things. I liked how she grew as a person throughout the book, and the way the relationships with her friends and family evolved. There are some great emotional and heartwarming scenes with the adults and friends in Marcie’s life.

Love and Leftovers is an enjoyable book, perfect for contemporary fans or for fans of verse novels. The characters, witty writing, and story are entertaining and make it a quick read. I would love to read more from Sarah Tregay. show less

Love & Leftovers is a delightfully poetic, written-in-verse novel that follows a girl's path through understanding her parents and ultimately understanding herself. It is not a very deep story through it does touch some strong subjects like homosexuality and depression.

I love the fusion of poetry and plot that verse novels provide. There's just so much weight and careful selection in each word, and such an elegant rhythm to the story, that they end up being almost a different category of books for me. I loved Marcie's voice and her journey through these tough times she's been forced into. The book is more like her poetry journal which made it even more special.

The characters were not fully developed, but it felt right in the short space show more that verse ends up providing. I really enjoyed the bits and pieces of her dad's new relationship, and her relationship with Danny. The ending left my heart full, and my head filled with gorgeous words. So, this one is a short sweet read that contemporary fans will enjoy. I can't wait to read more from Sarah Tregay. show less