Thursday, August 9, 2012

The Jelly Bean Crisis by Jolene Stockman ~ Tour Stop & GIVEAWAY

 I'm very happy to have a review & tour giveaway for you as my stop on 



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Source:  Received from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

From Goodreads:

A total meltdown. The whole school watching. Now Poppy’s an ex-straight-A with no Plan B.

When Poppy Johnson throws away a full scholarship to Columbia, she can only blame the jelly beans. The yucky green ones? Midnight cram sessions and Saturday’s spent studying. The delicious red? The family legacy: Columbia, and a future in finance. Except now it’s starting to look like Poppy’s jelly bean theory is wrong. School has been her life until, but maybe it’s time to start living now.

Poppy has thirty days to try a new life. No school, no studying. Just jumping into every possible world. Thirty days to find her passion, her path, and maybe even love. The Jelly Bean Crisis is officially on.
My thoughts:




4 stars - A self-discovery journey for Poppy as she figures out what will make her happy.

This is not my normal read but I enjoyed it.  It's a sweet story of self-discovery.  Poppy has pleased her parents and her teachers for so long that she's lost herself along the way.  Assuming that her hard work will turn into happiness at the moment of college graduation, she hasn't spent much time questioning her choices.  But in her junior year of high school, Poppy encounters a few splinters that give her pause.  Maybe the path she is on will not be the right one and maybe her happy ever after isn't a given.  This is Poppy's story of how she slammed on the brakes, giving her teachers and parents an emotional heart attack while she spends some time figuring out what will make she happy.

I felt like some of her experiences were in the extreme of what might actually happen - like her gap month (a month off school to explore options).  That probably isn't going to fly in any school I know of.  Yeah, it's the teacher in me talking.  But I do think that using the gap month, the author showed what could happen in a longer period of time if Poppy hadn't been driven down her path by her father.  I liked that she was able to explore things to figure it out.

I liked the characters but they may have been too perfect for my taste.  Okay, I'm used to major flaws that need to be addressed in a story.  Poppy is this perfect teen that just needs to figure out her direction.  Not sure I've really ever met any like her.  I did like Stratford Logan a lot.  He's sweet and the relationship between them is adorable.  Amber at the cookie factory is a riot!  Great characters.

I guess I figured out Poppy's direction before she did.  But it was fun watching her figure it out.  Like I said, I'm not sure I see parents/teachers/schools letting a junior take a month off in the middle of the school year to figure out a direction for their life.  Those kind of things generally happen over the summer or through smaller experiences over a period of years.  So I had a hard time with the premise.  Probably just the teacher in me.

Here's some fun quotes I enjoyed.

"And Monday was dragging the way that only the furthest day from the weekend can."


"The splinter: 'I can do or have anything I want.  Just because I want it."


"The idea of a life based purely on passion and not practicalities."


"I was in some parallel universe.  Where my Nana goes to college and Tyler takes showers."


"Mom served it in those thick, chocolate waffle cones.  I swear, you could eat mixed vegetables out of those things and be happy."


"I have a thing about chickens.  They're bony.  With beady eyes. They're flappy and kind of soulless.  They don't even have a proper body - no back, no butt."


"When I look back, Armpit Girl is placing her hands gently over the rooster's back and scooping him up.  He snuggles into her armpit, and she's petting and cooing at him like he's the injured one.  In that armpit? I hope he gets spiked.


"Because that's what I really want.  To make a difference.  The way some people want to be rich, or to win an Oscar.  I want to feel good, change the world, and I want it all to snap into place."


Yeah, I could go on and on.  This one is funny for sure.

Overall, I thought this book was a motivational story that could help a teen figure out how to find their direction in life.  It's a sweet story.  If you like contemporary YA, then this one is a great choice.




*** Giveaway deets ***

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4 comments:

  1. Lol! We are blog post twins today!! And we both rated the book the same too. A lot of it was quite unrealistic, but I still enjoyed it and thought it held a great message.

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  2. Glad you enjoyed this one. Cute story! Thanks for participating in the tour!

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  3. I enjoyed this too, Val. And I forgot to mention it in my review, but I had a hard time with the parents letting a 16yo have that much time away from school.

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  4. I agree with you about not being able to take a month off of school! The cover is cute and it sounsd like a great book with a lot going for it. I like the name Polly! Great review and quotes.
    ~Jess

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