The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

Rating: 5.0

I'll confess. I bought this book because of it's amusing title. But I'd read and enjoyed a couple of Mackler's other books so I pretty much knew what to expect. I was not disappointed.

The heroine of this story, 15 year old Virginia Shreves, is overweight and has major self confidence issues. She doesn't fit in with the rest of her family, who are slim and popular over-achievers. Everything changes for Virginia when she learns that her older brother, who she worships, is suspended from Columbia University for doing something pretty horrible. Virginia's earth shatters but she learns a great deal about her family and herself.

This book really comes from the heart. Virginia is a character a girl could really sympathize with. Publisher's Weekly says, ""The heroine’s transformation into someone who finds her own style and speaks her own mind is believable — and worthy of applause." When I read this it was just what I was in the mood for. A nice quick read with a happy ending.

Guyaholic by Carolyn Mackler

Rating: 4.0

What it's about:
Sometimes it takes getting hit with a hockey puck to help you see what’s good for you! Carolyn Mackler is back — and V is off on a solo road trip — in this funny, poignant follow-up to VEGAN VIRGIN VALENTINE.

V Valentine is the queen of meaningless hookups. Ever since her mom dumped her with her grandparents, she has bounced from guy to guy. But in the spring of senior year, a fateful hockey puck lands her in the lap of Sam Almond. Right from the start, things with Sam are different. V is terrified to admit it, but this might be meaningful after all. On the afternoon of graduation, V receives some shocking news. Later, at a party, she makes an irreversible mistake and risks losing Sam forever. When her mom invites her to Texas, V embarks on a cross-country road trip with the hopes of putting two thousand miles between herself, Sam, and the wreckage of that night. With her trademark blend of humor and compassion, Carolyn Mackler takes readers on an unforgettable ride of missed exits, misadventures, and the kind of epiphanies that come only when you’re on a route you’ve never taken before.

My thoughts:
Guyaholic is the sequel to Vegan Virgin Valentine by Carolyn Mackler. This time the spotlight is on V, and she's on a mission. V has been living with her grandparents since her mom took off on her to follow some guy. Because V's mom is always letting her down she has some commitment issues and is afraid to fall in love and have somebody love her back. Sam is the closest she's come to true love and she messes everything up with him, sending him running away to California for a change of scenery. V's mom was supposed to come to V's high school graduation, skips out on it and invites V to drive down to Texas to visit her. V decides she's up for a road trip and heads out on the highway where misshapes, adventures and epiphanies ensue. On her way down to Texas she figures out what she's truly looking for. Can she forgive her mother and make amends in Texas? Or will she realize what she lost in Sam and head in the direction of California? This is a decent follow up to Vegan Virgin Valentine with a really good ending. I found myself rooting for V and hoping she would make the right decision in the end. I was not disappointed.

Vegan Virgin Valentine by Carolyn Mackler

Rating: 4.5

What it's about:

Mara Valentine is in control. She's a straight-A senior, a vegan, and her parents' pride and joy. She's neck-and-neck with her womanizing ex-boyfriend for number-one class ranking and plans to kick his salutatorian butt on her way out the door to Yale. Mara has her remaining months in Brockport all planned out.

The plan does not involve having V, her slutty, pot-smoking, sixteen-year-old niece -- yes, niece -- come to live with her family. Nor does it involve lusting after her boss at the local café or dreaming about grilled cheese sandwiches every night. Before Mara knows it, things are spinning wildly out of control....

Vegan Virgin Valentine is the gripping story of an overachiever who learns to get over it and get a life. -taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:

Myself being a vegan....I ran across this book, Vegan Virgin Valentine, every time I did a vegan book search. So one day I said what the heck and bought the book. I am not disappointed! It's about Mara Valentine who is an overachieving straight A high school senior who is a vegan. She dreams about cheese every night. She has already been accepted to Yale and is taking college courses on top of her high school work. Her main goal is to be valedictorian at her graduation. Then things start to fall apart. Enter V Valentine, Mara's 16 year old niece. V moves in with the Valentines while her own mother is out wandering the globe looking for.....something. V is the polar opposite of Mara. She's a slut, a stoner and she gets bad grades. And to top it all off...she doesn't do any extracurricular activities. So it pretty much goes without saying that Mara and V are at each others throats from the get go. Partway through the book they start to rub off on each other. Mara falls in love with her 22 year old boss who owns the coffee shop she works at, drops some of her college courses she was planning on taking in the summer and she realizes that there is more to life than being valedictorian. V gets the starring role in the school musical, quits smoking cigarettes and gives some serious thought to college. Vegan Virgin Valentine is about being comfortable in your own skin and doing what feels right for you and only you. Mara learns to let go and loosen up, realizing on the way that being successful is relative. This is teen lit and it did get a little sappy in parts, a little too sweet but I really enjoyed reading this novel from Carolyn Mackler. Now I'll have to go pick up the sequel.