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Handcuffs (2008)

by Bethany Griffin(Favorite Author)

3.48 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0385735502 (ISBN13: 9780385735506)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Delacorte Books for Young Readers

review 1: This was an excellent book. All the better for being, a rare thing in teenage fiction, subtle. I'm not a huge sexual chemistry fan (or a romance fan), but I felt it here. That being said, I was amazingly glad that the love interest ended the way it did. That was realistic and mature, because it just was never going to happen. The intricate relationships Parker had with her parents and especially older sister Paige were AMAZINGLY written: the family was definitely my favourite thing in the entire book. It felt sad and real. I just adored little brother Prescott and the relationship Parker had with him was heart-melting without being unrealistic. I loved Kyle and Marian too, even though I know Parker cast Marian in the role of a bitch all the time. I would have liked to see ... moremore of them and the way Griffin created realistic three-dimensional characters from apparent stereotypes is just perfect. One thing that bugged me? Their love for Radiohead. I don't personally like Radiohead, but I can get past that. The problem I had with it is that it didn't feel like a very Parker thing to appreciate, and I could tell that Griffin herself was a Radiohead fan. It was just an unnecessary self-insertion, but it wasn't continued or anything so I could forgive it. Also, Parker and her love interest annoyed me at times, and not just in a "they're teenagers" way, but no biggie. Still, a great book that deals with romance in such a mature way. I want to have a few stern words with whoever compared Bethany Griffin to Sarah Dessen on the front cover. Griffin is no Dessen - Dessen could never be this realistic, honest, careful and subtle and deep.
review 2: Began this on Saturday and finished it the same day. Nicely woven story showing the struggles of Parker Prescott who wants nothing more than to fade into the background - to be invisible while following her gorgeous and popular sister up through the grades, but life is never that simple. Faced with cyber-bullying on a popular blog by another student and struggling with the issue of her ex-boyfriend who she still loves but is unsure of whether she can trust him, Parker must decide which direction her life will take but that is only after she finds out who she really is as a person, and her only source of advice is her best friend Raye who is also struggling with problems of her own. It was an enjoyable read, and had a few unexpected twists and turns. less

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