Review: There's so much I want to say about this book!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 17, 2013
It's not often that I connect with an author on such a profound level, but while reading PRECIOUS THINGS it felt like Stephanie Parent was voicing opinions I've held inside my head for quite a while. The college experience isn't all fun and games. It's about scanning an overwhelming syllabus. It's about not being able to connect with a teacher who'd rather be anywhere than in the classroom. It's about pretending life is so great when really you're feeling miserable and alone and all you want to do is curl up on the couch ... but oh yeah, that's right ... you can't because the party's in your bedroom.And to top it off, Isabelle slaved away all through high school in order to attend her dream university but is forced to attend a community college (where 'Most people just go to their classes and go home.') when her dad uses her college fund to keep his business afloat. Yikes, that hurts. Her attitude is powerfully captured, "Heck, I don't even like myself right now; I can't expect anyone else to." She's determined to make the worst of things and who can blame her? She feels trapped in a no-win situation with not much hope for the future. She even admits, "I know I'm no heroine."But things start to turn around when she meets Evan, her teaching assistant in her electronic music class. She has no clue what she's doing and it bothers her to no end. All she knows is that she likes verbally sparring with him. They drive each other crazy, the closer they get. And Parent melds the heat of a late night kiss pressed against a wall with the everyday normalcy of calming down with a McDonald's milkshake after a stressful day. It's just the right blend of fantasy and reality that I love.There's so much I want to say about this book that I don't know where to stop, but I have to mention the brilliant use of urging Isabelle out of her creative shell. She's wanted to secure a doctorate in English since she was small, not because she knew exactly what it entailed, but she wanted to be the best reader she could possibly be. When her English teacher at the community college challenges her to put herself out there and write her own work instead of simply critiquing the literary compositions of others, she terrified. She realizes she doesn't solely want to exist in that pretentious world of Ph.D. scholars. Slowly, painfully, she starts to come into her own as Evan's passion for music begins to inspire her. The beauty of this transformation is really what true love is all about - encouraging someone to become the best version of themselves.I also commend Parent for introducing a family element into her New Adult novel. When people go to college, their extended families just don't fall off the radar. Isabelle has to deal with her dad's failing coffee shop/bakery that he insists on calling 'TeaTime' despite the fact that no one takes tea in their blue collar town. Her younger brother, Corey, is fifteen and starting to get involved with a destructive group of friends. And she's still reeling from the abandonment of their mother when they were practically too little to remember her. Plus she's not alone in her struggles. Evan feels just as trapped in their small town environment by having to take care of his mother after the untimely death of his father. Life is multi-dimensional and complex. It's not just about hooking-up and taking tests.What I'm going to take with me from this novel is the message not to look too far ahead in the future. Life can change in an instant and all of your well-meaning plans can be wiped away. You have to live the life that's in front of you at the present moment, and make the best of things. Because that's when life surprises you with its 'precious things.' It's about finding new dreams when old ones are shattered and finding that they're a better fit for you than you could ever have imagined. 'Experiment, make mistakes' because 'by making something imperfect, you're actually improving it. You're making it real.' Let others see everything, the good and the bad. Waiting for your life to begin is definitely overrated.