Author: Lauren Myracle
Publisher: Amulet Books, 209 pages
Copyright: 2004
Summary:
Plot: None whatsoever
Major Characters: Angela, Maddie, and Zoe
Major Subjects: High School Drama
School Library Journal Review:
Gr 8-10-Three high school sophomores, lifelong best friends, are now facing a variety of emotional upsets in their personal and social lives. Angela is boy crazy and emotive, but able to lend support to her friends when they need it. Zoe is the quietest and most self-effacing, considered by some to be a goody two-shoes but in fact headed full speed into a very dangerous relationship. Madigan is the hothead, less certain of how to grow up than she allows anyone, including herself, to see. The entire narrative is composed of the instant messages sent among these three, from September into November, as they each get involved with dating, sort out how to have friendships with others, cope with disasters that range from wardrobe issues to getting drunk, and offer one another advice and defiance. Each character's voice is fully realized and wonderfully realistic in spite of the very limiting scope of the IM device. Page layout mimics a computer screen and each girl IMs in a different font and in her own unique verbal style. (The title is IM jargon for "talk to you later"). Myracle not only sustains all this but also offers readers some meaty-and genuine-issues. Both revealing and innovative, this novel will inspire teens to pass it to their friends and will suggest to nascent writers that experimenting with nonnarrative communication can be a great way to tell a story.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Review:
Let me just say this first, Lauren Myracle is laugh-out-loud funny in person. She's adorable and a sweetheart, but I don't like her books. First of all, I don't see the teen appeal in TTYL. Why would teens want to read through an entire book of instant messaging messages between three friends in high school (who also act like they are 12, not 16)? Will teens really want to read "IM" dialogue because that's how most of them communicate with their friends outside of school? I'm not sure. It was very difficult for me to get through this book.
I thought this book was pointless, drawn out, and completely and utterly useless. The main characters were nothing special; one was boy crazy, one was religion obsessed, and the other was just crabby. The ending was unresolved and unresolvable because frankly, the character's lives are so pointless that there's no reason to resolve their problems.
No plot, lousy character development, and bad attitudes all around. I don't recommend this one.
Reading Level: Beginner
Notes about Audience: For readers ages 13 and up.
Other books by Lauren Myracle:
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