I have to admit, I am shocked. Normally with Melody Carlson's books and think "PTL, that is not a series, now I won't have to feel obligated to read more!" or "Oh, it's a series...I should probably read them all...". You may ask "why? why does she read them if she doesn't like them?" I will tell you why...she wrote Finding Alice...and I know one day I will love another one of her books as much as I love that one. But this book was really good! I love aster, her struggles felt so real. It was easy to relate to, because all teenagers one way or another feel the way she does. But her life is so extreme, it also makes you appreciate what you have. I wish it was longer! It seriously could have been a series...Call the sequel Just Another Year...have it be about her in college....SHE COULD DO IT! Her younger sister, Lily, has mild brain damage from complications at birth, and I liked the way Melody Carlson wrote about the struggles of families in those situations. Good book...Very Good book! Just another GirlBy: Melody CarlsonPublished 2009FictionThe main character Aster is a middle child that has to do everything for her younger sister Lily. Lily is 15 and was born with a brain problem so she is retarded as her older sister Rose would say. Rose is 19 and doesn’t want anything to do with her falling apart family. Aster is turning seventeen soon and she wants to date guys and hang out with her friends. Every day she has to take care of her sister and she’s tired of doing it. Her mom always works and their Dad left them because he couldn’t handle Lily. Their dad remarried and has the son he always wanted. Aster wants their Dad to watch Lily because she is so stressed out from watching Lily. Theirs Dads new wife is afraid Lily will hurt Nelson so when she saw Lily and Nelson playing together. She pushed Lily down the stairs! Lily broke her arm. Aster was dating the popular boy in school Owen. On their second date they went to a party and Aster left because there was drinking and she doesn’t drink. The next day someone told her that Owen was cheating on her with another girl. Her church friend George finds her crying in the street and takes her out for a float. Aster realizes what a nice guy he is and her and Lily start hanging out with them. He is really patient with Lily. They all hang out and celebrate Asters birthday.The theme of this book it to be you and to put the people you love first. Hang out with your family and people who care about you. A good example is when Aster was on her first date with Owen; Lily called and said she was having a problem so Aster left in the middle of her date to help her sister. Another example is when Aster was on her third date with Owen and her Dad called and said Lily was in the hospital, so Aster left before the movie even started to go make sure her sister was okay. Every day of the summer when she doesn’t hang out with her friends, she just stays home and cleans and controls Lily. Asters Dad married Jana, and they had Nelson who is almost 3 years old. Her Dad used to be a workaholic and now he’s the stay at home parent until Nelson turns 5 and can go to school. Asters older sister Rose always tries to look pretty with her perfect blonde hair and her blue eyes full of makeup. Aster is more of a natural girl who doesn’t care what she looks like and she doesn’t wear any makeup. People that would like this book are the people who have a mental or disabled family member or friend. To see how they manage dealing with the troubles and the tantrums. I don’t like this book as much as I’ve liked other books from the author. I think the book is slow and kind of boring in some spots. My favorite quote from the book is: “I pretend to study the pink T-shirt, seeing Minnie’s face is partially rubbed off, which makes the rodent look slightly disgruntled- sort of how I’m feeling at the moment.” It is on page 7. That shows the authors sense of humor that continues throughout the story. The book relates to me because my cousin has Autism and he is hard to deal with and I feel stressed out after babysitting because I babysit 4 young boys and one of them has *special needs*. I can relate to how Aster is feeling after dealing with Lily. I did not enjoy the book that much because it was kind of boring. The beginning of the book started off slow and was kind of boring. They gave to many facts about the characters. Honestly I don’t think I needed to know the girls bra-size and what they do in the morning to get dressed. The book was a little personal.
What do You think about Just Another Girl (2009)?
it a good book it silly how her mum useing her to look after her sister but I can understand why.
—martha6550
I wanted more character development but it was still a nice, short read.
—Elsie
I really love this book, it's like my life but different.
—BrookeK
