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Book Review

Publisher's Note:

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom. Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle--and people in general--has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic. To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence--creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.…

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Where’d You Go, Bernadette

by Maria Semple

Reviewer: Lydia
Genre: Fiction
Recommended Age: 18+

Overall Book Review:

I will admit that I am a harsh critic when it comes to books and how much praise I give them. This book deserves every good word I can write about it. From the beginning, it had me hooked. The voices of the characters are clear and resounding, and the personalities of the daughter, mother, and father that this book focuses on are spot-on.

Bee Branch is the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Branch and she has a bit of a hold on them. She usually gets her way, but is mature about things for the most part. It would be easy to place some of the blame for the incidents that happen in this book on Bee, as she is the one who makes the request to go on a trip out of the country, and in turn forces her mother to make rash decisions that might have permanent effects on her family.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would even recommend it to my sisters who are in their early teens. This is a wonderful, quick read- perfect for a weekend!


Content Analysis:

Language/Profanity:  5 Religious exclamations; 26 Mild obscenities; 2 Religious profanities; 2 Anatomical terms; 9 F-word derivatives.

Violence/Gore:  A woman is accused of driving over a woman’s foot with her car; a woman verbally threatens to get revenge.

Sex/Nudity:  Rape is mentioned on the news; a husband cheats on his wife and the mistress gets pregnant; there is a scene of implied sex, but no details are given.

Mature Subject Matter:

Child abandonment.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

A teen is said to deal prescription drugs; adults smoke; adults drink alcohol; a man is described as being drunk.

Overall Book Rating
Profanity/Language
Rating:
10
10
Violence/Gore
Rating:
2
10
Sex/Nudity
Rating:
3
10

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About the Reviewer

Lydia
Books and reading have always been an important part of my life. When I was very young, my grandma was the library director at our local public library. Years later, after she had retired, I became a librarian at the same library and worked there for several years before taking a part-time job at a local coffee shop, which gives me more time to do what I love, to read and to review books! A few of my favorite authors are Aimee Bender, Diane Chamberlain, and Curtis Sittenfeld however, I will read almost any book I come across! In my spare time you can find me reading (of course), volunteering at a wildlife animal rehab, or hanging out with my three house rabbits.

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