The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely Lost It by Lisa Shanahan

Stev's Review on The Sweet Terrible Glorious Year I Truly Completely Lost It, by Lisa Shanahan

In my family, when anyone rides the wave of their emotions, we say they're chucking a birkett. When the emotion drives out all common sense, we say they're chucking a big one. The telltale signs are: flaming cheeks, shortness of breath, bulging eyes, and a prolonged illogical outburst.Gemma Stone is convinced that it's always unseemly to chuck a birkett and that it's actually insane to chuck one in front of a complete stranger. But that was before she fell for a boy who barely knows she exists, before she auditioned for the school play, before she met the family of freaks her sister Debbie is marrying into, before the unpredictable Raven De Head took an interest in her, and before she realized that at the right time and for the right reason, a birkett could be a beautiful thing. Summary from Amazon.com


Every time my friend goes to the library, she gets at least one random book. I was over at her house one day and saw this at the top of the pile. I read the cover, and immediately decided I needed to read it. Now, after about three months, I finally did. I was not disappointeed! The Sweet Terrible Glorious Year I Truly Completely Lost It (or as i like to call it: STGYITCLI) is a magnificient story interspersed with snippets of Shakespeare. I was a little confused at first because I did not realize that it takes place in Australia! But that just shows how dumb I am.

Lisa Shanahan had a stroke of genious when she wrote this. I like how everyone thinks of Raven as a really bad kid, but Gemma is the only person who knows him as a smart, kind person. he only has the 'bad kid' reputation because his dad and older brother have gotten into a lot of trouble. After everything , I think STGYITCLI is a marvelous book! I do wish it hadn't ended at such a good spot...