Flipped

Once in awhile we read something that changes our perspective on life. We put our book down and we are changed.

I just had that experience, and no, it was not with the Hunger Games series (though it really got me thinking), this book is a cute little book called Flipped.

I opened it up and it was love at first sentence. I loved the way the author described things and the way he brought the characters to life. It seemed refreshing....or maybe it was because I had been reading about children killing other children...any-who, it was adorable.

Here is the basic plot:

Little Julie Baker is in LOVE with Bryce Loski. He does NOT love her, I mean in 2nd grade don't all girls have cooties? Bryce does everything he can to avoid her. Well years later things 'Flip' and Bryce finds himself falling for her....and Julie, well she doesn't think he is too great. This is how someone explained this to me and I thought, oh that's cute. Then I read it and there is SO much more to it. 

First sentence of Bryce's Chapter: All I've ever wanted was for Julie Baker to leave me alone.

First two sentences of Julie's Chapter: The first day I met Bryce Loski, I flipped. Honestly, one look at him and I became a lunatic.

*The author writes this story from Bryce and Julie's point of view. 

I loved this book because the message was so... wonderful. I was reminded of what is truly important in life, it also made me think of my actions. I put the book down thinking, "Do I look at things in proper lighting? Do I look at the whole picture?"

(Those are lines from the book. This is not about photography people).

One of my favorite parts is when Julie is talking to her dad while he is painting a picture. She is remembering when she told her dad about why she loves Bryce and she talks about the older she gets the more philosophical her dad would get. Here is the paragraph:

Mostly the things he talked about floated around me, but once in awhile something would happen and I would understand exactly what he had meant. "A painting is more than the sum of its parts," he would tell me, and then go on to explain how the cow by itself is just a cow, and the meadow by itself is just grass and flowers, and the sun peaking through the trees is just a beam of light, but put them all together and you've got magic.

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

One of my new FAVORITE books. The messages in this book will stick with me for always.

***Side note: Hunger Games Series is a FABULOUS series!!  I do like it ;)