Are We There Yet? by David Levithan
Title: Are We There Yet? by David Levithan
Rating: 6/5 (Yes, it was THAT good. I've never given a book this rating.)
Pages: 215
Genre: YA Lit
Summary (off Goodreads): Sixteen-year-old Elijah is completely mellow and his 23-year-old brother Danny is completely not, so it’s no wonder they can barely tolerate one another. So what better way to repair their broken relationship than to trick them into taking a trip to Italy together? Soon, though, their parents’ perfect solution has become Danny and Elijah’s nightmare as they’re forced to spend countless hours together. But then Elijah meets Julia, and soon the brothers aren’t together nearly as much. And then Julia meets Danny and soon all three of them are in a mixed-up, turned-around, never-what-you-expect world of brothers, Italy, and love.
Seriously, David Levithan could come to me and ask me to be his slave for life, and I would say yes. I have never met a book of his that I didn't like. (Ok, so I wasn't THRILLED with The Realm of Possibility, but his writing was still absolutely fantastic. The format just killed it for me.)
First and foremost this man just puts sentences together like a dream. I have never once seen an author who does it quite in the way he does. And you read a sentence and then you're just like, "Oh. My. GOD, did I just read that?" It's magic. It's poetry. It's an experience that I just don't have with other authors. John Green makes me laugh. Jane Austen makes me sigh with romance. Levithan makes my jaw hang in wonder and awe.
The other thing he does, which this book captures AMAZINGLY, is relationships between people. Danny and Elijah are two brothers who have once had a great relationship but.. just don't anymore. With an age difference of nine years, they've drifted. A rift has separated them.
This relationship hit home with me a little more than usual. The whole book did. There is a twelve year age gap between my younger sister and I. I can definitely relate to Danny pulling away from his brother, going through his high school years, just as his brother was in elementary school. It's a time in your life you don't want to be associated with the younger sibling. Just when you're starting out on that trek to be an adult, there you have a kid wanting to tag along and idolize you. Only, as a moody annoyed teenager, you don't see it like that. You think everyone is siding with the kid and against you.
Then, the younger brother becomes the moody annoyed teenager and you become the adult and suddenly he annoys you just as much. I can see it all happening in my mind. What's worse is Elijah was always a sweet, polite kid. Everyone loved him, something that annoyed Danny even more.
The thing about these two brothers I loved the most, was how much alike they are without even realizing it. Elijah has most of his habits because deep down, he knows it drives his brother crazy. Danny does most of the things he does for much of the same reason. They share similar interests but refuse to tell each other because they can't believe they'd share similar interests (other than a love for museums and that's because it's one their parents intilled into them both.) So here they are, stuck on this trip to Italy together, so alike that they're really very different.
I kind of hated Julia. But... then again, maybe I was supposed to hate her. I hate how she treated the brothers. I hate how she treated Elijah. And I hate how she didn't really bring them closer; that she almost tore them apart. Maybe Elijah wouldn't have grown closer to his brother... or maybe they would have spent more time together. I don't really know but I didn't like her.
I LOVED when Danny met up with Ari. I love that he rekindled his relationship with a real FRIEND while in Italy. And Ari gave me probably my favorite line in the entire book. "Relationships with brothers are different than relationship with sisters." It's such a crazy true statement. So simple but yet it never occurred to me until Levithan put it right there in front of my face. My relationship with my sisters is night and day from what it is with my brother. And I'm sure my brother (if he had a brother), would say the same. My sisters, while I love them, share complicated relationships with me. They take work and effort. It's not that way with my brother. It's about as uncomplicated as you can get with him. He calls once in a blue moon, we chit-chat for awhile and make sure everything is great in our worlds. However, despite our nonchalance, I never doubt for a second that my brother will fiercly protect me if he has to. He would be there every second of every day if that's what I needed. He'd done it before. My brother has been supportive when I needed it and brutally honest even when I didn't want it. I know that he will be there for me in a heartbeat. Ari said almost the same exact thing to Danny and it was as if every feeling I'd ever had for my brother had been put into words.
Honestly, I think this book has pushed Boy Meets Boy out of the #1 David Levithan spot. Which is saying a lot because I ADORE BMB. I mean, so much freakin' love. But this book just flowed so well and I just fell in love with Danny and Elijah (and you think you're going to hate Danny and adore Elijah, but I think I love Danny a little more than Elijah.) Pick up this book. I mean... PLEASE, really pick up this book... I would give it a six if I could. I've NEVER SAID THAT BEFORE!!!
You can read this book and all others on my Goodreads Account (username Natalia173)
Currently Reading: Chasing Amanda by Melissa Foster and Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Rating: 6/5 (Yes, it was THAT good. I've never given a book this rating.)
Pages: 215
Genre: YA Lit
Summary (off Goodreads): Sixteen-year-old Elijah is completely mellow and his 23-year-old brother Danny is completely not, so it’s no wonder they can barely tolerate one another. So what better way to repair their broken relationship than to trick them into taking a trip to Italy together? Soon, though, their parents’ perfect solution has become Danny and Elijah’s nightmare as they’re forced to spend countless hours together. But then Elijah meets Julia, and soon the brothers aren’t together nearly as much. And then Julia meets Danny and soon all three of them are in a mixed-up, turned-around, never-what-you-expect world of brothers, Italy, and love.
Seriously, David Levithan could come to me and ask me to be his slave for life, and I would say yes. I have never met a book of his that I didn't like. (Ok, so I wasn't THRILLED with The Realm of Possibility, but his writing was still absolutely fantastic. The format just killed it for me.)
First and foremost this man just puts sentences together like a dream. I have never once seen an author who does it quite in the way he does. And you read a sentence and then you're just like, "Oh. My. GOD, did I just read that?" It's magic. It's poetry. It's an experience that I just don't have with other authors. John Green makes me laugh. Jane Austen makes me sigh with romance. Levithan makes my jaw hang in wonder and awe.
The other thing he does, which this book captures AMAZINGLY, is relationships between people. Danny and Elijah are two brothers who have once had a great relationship but.. just don't anymore. With an age difference of nine years, they've drifted. A rift has separated them.
This relationship hit home with me a little more than usual. The whole book did. There is a twelve year age gap between my younger sister and I. I can definitely relate to Danny pulling away from his brother, going through his high school years, just as his brother was in elementary school. It's a time in your life you don't want to be associated with the younger sibling. Just when you're starting out on that trek to be an adult, there you have a kid wanting to tag along and idolize you. Only, as a moody annoyed teenager, you don't see it like that. You think everyone is siding with the kid and against you.
Then, the younger brother becomes the moody annoyed teenager and you become the adult and suddenly he annoys you just as much. I can see it all happening in my mind. What's worse is Elijah was always a sweet, polite kid. Everyone loved him, something that annoyed Danny even more.
The thing about these two brothers I loved the most, was how much alike they are without even realizing it. Elijah has most of his habits because deep down, he knows it drives his brother crazy. Danny does most of the things he does for much of the same reason. They share similar interests but refuse to tell each other because they can't believe they'd share similar interests (other than a love for museums and that's because it's one their parents intilled into them both.) So here they are, stuck on this trip to Italy together, so alike that they're really very different.
I kind of hated Julia. But... then again, maybe I was supposed to hate her. I hate how she treated the brothers. I hate how she treated Elijah. And I hate how she didn't really bring them closer; that she almost tore them apart. Maybe Elijah wouldn't have grown closer to his brother... or maybe they would have spent more time together. I don't really know but I didn't like her.
I LOVED when Danny met up with Ari. I love that he rekindled his relationship with a real FRIEND while in Italy. And Ari gave me probably my favorite line in the entire book. "Relationships with brothers are different than relationship with sisters." It's such a crazy true statement. So simple but yet it never occurred to me until Levithan put it right there in front of my face. My relationship with my sisters is night and day from what it is with my brother. And I'm sure my brother (if he had a brother), would say the same. My sisters, while I love them, share complicated relationships with me. They take work and effort. It's not that way with my brother. It's about as uncomplicated as you can get with him. He calls once in a blue moon, we chit-chat for awhile and make sure everything is great in our worlds. However, despite our nonchalance, I never doubt for a second that my brother will fiercly protect me if he has to. He would be there every second of every day if that's what I needed. He'd done it before. My brother has been supportive when I needed it and brutally honest even when I didn't want it. I know that he will be there for me in a heartbeat. Ari said almost the same exact thing to Danny and it was as if every feeling I'd ever had for my brother had been put into words.
Honestly, I think this book has pushed Boy Meets Boy out of the #1 David Levithan spot. Which is saying a lot because I ADORE BMB. I mean, so much freakin' love. But this book just flowed so well and I just fell in love with Danny and Elijah (and you think you're going to hate Danny and adore Elijah, but I think I love Danny a little more than Elijah.) Pick up this book. I mean... PLEASE, really pick up this book... I would give it a six if I could. I've NEVER SAID THAT BEFORE!!!
You can read this book and all others on my Goodreads Account (username Natalia173)
Currently Reading: Chasing Amanda by Melissa Foster and Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan