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Alles, Was Ich Will (2012)

by Vikki Wakefield(Favorite Author)

3.84 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

3833350989 (ISBN13: 9783833350986)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

bloomsbury taschenbuch

review 1: The first ninety percent or so was really good but the end let me down. I have a soft spot for realistic themes in YA and Aussie books seem to the best place to go to find that. It's so refreshing to read something grounded and rooted in reality and where the MC's biggest problem is something more than getting a date to the prom. Mim comes from a family of drug dealers. She gets sent to pick up a package and her longtime crush steals it. Cue drama.What happens next is understated and sad and funny. Mim's difficulty with her family and friends is beautifully drawn. I really enjoyed her falling out with her best friend because it really rang true and I equally liked seeing her make her own little tribe of female friends and the dumb boy crush not being the be all and end all... more. In fact, he's quite the douchebag. I'm not sure his character was 'dealt with' in the best way, if we as readers expect comeuppance for those who misbehave but it was certainly realistic.I really liked how well the author showed the atmosphere in this hot, run down part of town. I liked how all these people were going about their not-so-perfect lives and the tone of the book never looked down on them. Mim certainly did but that was her major point of growth -- she learned that people matter, regardless of the kind of people they are. Who are we to say that her family of drug dealers are any less of a family?However, the conclusion was far too cutesy for my liking. It annihilated the impact of the opening of the book and cheapened the whole thing, imo. It went from real and gritty to Disney territory. I was glad Mim got her happy ending and grew as a character but I didn't like the way the other stuff was explained away. I still enjoyed the book and I'm definitely a Vikki Wakefield fan but this wasn't as good as I'd hoped it would be.
review 2: Wakefield’s debut establishes her as a skilled writer with a new take on the teen experience. All I Ever Wanted is filled to the brim with the seedier aspects of this small community of misfits and criminals but there is a pervasive sense of hope throughout. Mim sorely wants to escape her family and her general lot in life but finds herself in the middle of a situation that goes against everything she’s been trying to achieve.Wakefield’s beautiful phrasing and sparky narrative is at odds with her setting which makes Mim’s journey all the more powerful and affecting. less

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