You, Maybe: The Profound Asymmetry Of Love In High School (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
This book was a bit of a dissapointment, story wise. I was hoping for a whole lot more with the plot and the characters. I have a problem with a quite a lot of things in this book. First, the Carson character I knew was trouble before I even read the first page. His character was really into himself and bi-polar at times. His character is very hypocritical and even though it is portrayed as subtle, it was really quite obvious. His character was snobbish and thought that if anybody ever didn't do what he wanted that they didn't "Love" or care about him. He just needed Josie as a distraction from his past girlfriend and he knew how to use her weaknesses against her. He completly called out all of her issues with self-image and used her "causual relationship" ways as an excuse to twist her mind and make her want to be even closer to him. I must say I was hoping that Josie would pull through in the end when the relationship inevitably died out, you know, be tough and not let him hurt her as much as he did with everyone else who was ever in her position. The events of the story were forshadowed in the first chapter and it was obvious how the ending would turn out. I just wanted to rant about my obvious hatred for the Carson character. I liked the Josie character although I did hope for more strength on her part. She was all about "Not being a half of a couple" in the beggining and with her realtionship with her best friend, Michael, and then she completly went under for Carson. I don't blame her, I mean, that happens to everyone, but I wish she had been more precausious from the start. Her personality was very funny though, I enjoyed her witty comentary and banter but that faded out once she became obsessed. This book is a good lesson for a lot of girls AND guys out there. Don't just jump head first into a reltaionship without knowledge of what might happen and to know your boundaries. It was an okay book and story but with a great message. So, if you don't want to read it for the lack of romance at least read it to learn about the great life lesson.
Josie is a 15 year old girl who doesn’t idolize the hottest senior on campus, Carson Gold. While every other girl her age is smitten with him, her friends included, she doesn’t see the appeal and is embarrassed when other girls throw fits after being dumped by him. She believes that in high school, people should hook up and move on. Of course, as young adult novels go, Carson and Josie start hooking up, it’s great for a while, and then things end.Carson Gold knew all the right things to say to get Josie infatuated with him. Not being fifteen, I think I could definitely see where that was going to lead, but I think at Josie’s age, I think I would have been just as naïve as she was. It sort of breaks my heart how she treated Michael, not even realizing that he loved her, but I can’t blame her for it. However, the points he makes to her about her hypocrisy (becoming part of a couple when she insisted that people should be wholly themselves) are valid!I think all teenagers eventually have a Carson Gold in their life, a guy who makes you fall for him and disengages when things get too serious. Someone who promises love and doesn’t deliver. I thought the novel described that relationship very truthfully. It was honest in its representation of a teenage girl who changes herself for a guy and then finds out he doesn’t love her. Even though Josie ends up turning into the girl she hates, I think by the end she is better for having the relationship with Carson…lessons learned and all. All in all, a decent read, especially for young girls.
What do You think about You, Maybe: The Profound Asymmetry Of Love In High School (2007)?
1.5 STARSTHE ENDING, REALLY?? I HAD HOPED IF ALL ELSE FAILED THAT THE MAIN CHARACTER WOULD HAVE DIGNITY IN THE END, WHEN SHE DISCOVERED 'CARSON' & HIS TRUE SELF....BUT THE WAY SHE ACTED MADE ME CRINGE..DO GIRLS REALLY DO THAT?? C'MON HAVE SELF-PRIDE..PLEASE..IN THE BEGINNING SHE WAS ALL ABOUT NOT BEING A HALF-COUPLE AND SELF WORTH BUT I FEEL AS THOUGH THE ENDING RUINED HER CHARACTER FOR ME... I UNDERSTAND SHE FELL FOR THE WRONG GUY EVEN IF HE SCREAMED DANGER AND ''DO NOT'' TRUST ME ALL OVER BUT STILL THE WAY SHE BEGGED IN THE END, WAS SO W-R-O-N-G TO ME IT MADE ME THROW THE BOOK..I WANTED A NICE ROMANCE, AND I GOT THIS INSTEAD...THIS WASN'T A BAD READ JUST LEFT YOU WANTING TO KICK THE MAIN CHARACTER AS WELL AS THE BAD BOY AND BASICALLY EVERYONE EXCEPT THE BEST FRIEND...
—Cinthia
Such a horrible book. I feel like the book started out with some potential and I felt that the author could do a lot with the characters but the book peaked at the start. The rest was a trainwreck. Josie seemed to have a lot of personality that I hoped (to no avail) would continue throughout the book. Instead she fell apart completely for a boy, turned out to sound like an ungrateful immature undignified and desperate girl with no other personality than a whiny mess. The ending was the worst part. The book felt like a long retelling of someone's stupidity. It lacked any lesson, anything to think about after reading, anything other than just: teenagers fall in love and make mistakes which has already been written 1Mx over. When I read books like this I read them to see different perspectives on first love. This book lacked any. Not only did the romance between Josie and Carson completely dissatisfy, but all we readers learned about Josie's relationship with her parents is that they're pretty damn good people and she kind of isn't. Without any other plot in this book, really, I can say that it wholly disappointed . At least I can say I had my fill of cringing for the next year so I can look back at my middle school pictures disgust-free.
—Amanda
"You, Maybe: The Profound Asymmetry of Love in High School" is a fascinating book about a girl named Josie, who is a sophomore in high school. Josie is the type of girl who never falls in love easily. She prefers to just flirt with guys, especially with her best friend Michael. One day, when she finds out that Carson Gold, a senior at her school, likes her, she can't believe it and neither can anybody else. When Carson asks Josie to be his girlfriend, she actually starts falling for him, or so she thinks. Throughout the story, Josie learns that Michael has been in love with her for a long time. She wants to be with Carson, but she also wants to stay friends with Michael. She soon realizes that she cannot have it both ways and she decides to choose Carson over Michael because she is so blinded by love. The story becomes depressing at the end for Josie because Carson soon realizes that he is still in love with his ex-girlfriend Emelina and she is still in love with him too. Josie becomes very angry and upset with Carson and her reaction to all of it is somewhat violent. This was a very well-written book, but I do wish it would've explained more about what happened to her friendship with Michael afterwards. I recommend this book to anybody who wants to read about teenage romance.
—Heather
