“My heart stopped. It just stopped beating. And for the first time in my life, I had that feeling. ” -Juli
I got to read this book after my good friend Chase lent me a copy. The copy was not his, but perhaps he knew that I'm quite of a bookworm and probably he figured that it was a must read, that was why he insisted that I borrow it. I accepted the book anyway and started reading it. Here's the plot overview from Goodreads.com
Flipped is a romance told in two voices. The first time Juli Baker saw Bryce Loski, she flipped. The first time Bryce saw Juli, he ran. That’s pretty much the pattern for these two neighbors until the eighth grade, when, just as Juli is realizing Bryce isn’t as wonderful as she thought, Bryce is starting to see that Juli is pretty amazing. How these two teens manage to see beyond the surface of things and come together makes for a comic and poignant romance.
I honestly have forgotten about having read this book at all, had I not seen it in GoodReads.com yesterday. But when I saw it again, I remembered the two-perspective love story as I added it to my "read" list. Flipped, the he-said she-said novel written by Wendelin Van Draanen, tells the progressing love story of Juli and Bryce. The word cute is the best way, in my opinion, to describe the novel, and yes, I meant that in a positive way. I mean, with the way the story were told by second graders surely, you cannot think of any other way to describe it. Okay, so there may be other words to describe it, like creative or perhaps absorbing.
Flipped, is a well-crafted light read, it's also very engaging if you ask me. The story literally "flips" from one point of view to another, each chapter tells the point of view of the main characters on certain events and I find it really great as I am up for a lot of character background. I love getting to know the characters I read about. This book is also pretty hilarious, with Juli chasing Bryce, and Bryce running away from her; the story of how they met and how they eventually become friends. The story takes a turn from being hilarious to serious as the characters mature; the struggles of fitting in, coping up with family matters and figuring out emotions are most of the things found in the latter part. Towards the end, the story will give its reader a surprising little flip to funny and significant moment in the lives of the characters.
I also loved the setting of the story, I guess I'm just a sucker for anything old or vintage, but the Juli and Bryce's story is kind of like taken from grandma and grandpa's love story. Well, from what I noticed, most granny love stories always started in one-sided affection turned fury and then eventually, mutual love. Flipped got all those. It's worth reading more than twice.
I personally find this book not only engaging and interesting, but it also makes you feel every emotion of both characters from their point of views, respectively. Also, this way of telling the story gives it clarity, it gives the readers a chance to better understand the story. This book is well suited for (although not restrained alone to) pre-teens. People my age would definitely get nostalgic about their first crush or first love, and most likely, their first kiss. Every turn of the page is another pace in the lives of Bryce and Juli to look forward to. With that, I give this book four cookies.
