Rating: 
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: Daisy, 15, spends every spare minute working on her purple '57 Beetle, hoping to get it up and running before her 16th birthay. With her wild red hair, spirited nature, and red hightop sneakers, Daisy's a teen version of Pippi Longstocking. Someone once said the test of a great book is whether you'd recognize the characters if you sat next to them on a train. If you read this book, you'll recognize Daisy Pandolfi the next time you see her -- in auto-shop class or at a stock-car race!
Rating:
Summary: Very good book!
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It had everything from Volkswagons to love and it really showed that girls CAN be mechanics and that cars aren't just for guys. The author did a really great job describing how a fifteen year old acts and what it feels like to be in one's first real romance. Daisy Pandolfi, the main character had strong will and tons of determination. She knew what she wanted, which was a 57' purple Volkswagon that had been her dads and was being neglected in the icehouse in their meadow. After Daisy begged her dad to let her have the Volksie, he finally gave in and she recieved the barely fixable old car. Daisy fixed it up all by herself without help from her family, all of whom are excellent mechanics. This book was really enjoyable and I reccomend it to everyone!
Rating: 
Summary: This Author knows Volksies!
Review: I really enjoyed this book. The author obviously knows her way around Volkswagens. I'm so glad she made Daisy use the bible of Volkswagens - John Muir's "Idiot's Guide". This was a cute love story, and an awesome story about a gal and her Beetle, but how many 15-yr-olds enjoy this? My critical eye says this book is too romancy for boys, and too technical for a lot of girls (Not all, however. There are those of us females who are mechanically-minded). As a 20-something VW enthusiast, however, I thought the book was fabulous.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect book for any age
Review: I was 15 when I read this book and I enjoyed it so much! It's really fun to read.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect book for any age
Review: I was 15 when I read this book and I enjoyed it so much! It's really fun to read.
Rating:
Summary: This Author knows Volksies!
Review: I'm a middle school librarian, and my favorite part of the job is talking to English classes about new library books. Far and away, the most satisfying part of my job is when a student tells me that they loved a book I told them about. One of the difficulties with this job is that most of the main characters of the books I discuss are male. This is finally beginning to change--there are more and more books with female protagonists coming out each day--but still, as far as the classics go, there are tons of guys, and not enough girls. So I go along with renowned young adult book expert Michael Cart in his assessment of this work: what a refreshing, touching, and thoroughly enjoyable book, and what a welcome addition to the world of young adult fictional characters. In Daisy Pandolfi, the author fashions a heroine that more female students should read about. Daisy wants to bring a vintage Volkswagen "back from the dead," and she wants no help from the rest of her family, all of whom are passionate about auto mechanics (inluding her aunt, by the way). The theme of car repairs as life lesson has been done before, but somehow, Karen Romano Young makes it seem fresh and new. Daisy's independence is at turns touchingly admirable, yet, as all perents know, it can also be infuriatingly stubborn. We understand that she doesn't want her father to do anything for her, because then she'll never learn how it's done. Nonetheless, we're right with her as she grows independant enough to see that asking for help is not an admission of weakness. Such is life. In the course of the book, we see Daisy grow from dependant to independant to interdependant, leading to a conclusion with another character--a love interest named Billy--that is noble, touching, and completely satisfying. To Daisy Pandolfi--and to Karen Romano young--I say: you go, girl!
Rating:
Summary: A great book with a FEMALE HEROINE for a change!
Review: I'm a middle school librarian, and my favorite part of the job is talking to English classes about new library books. Far and away, the most satisfying part of my job is when a student tells me that they loved a book I told them about. One of the difficulties with this job is that most of the main characters of the books I discuss are male. This is finally beginning to change--there are more and more books with female protagonists coming out each day--but still, as far as the classics go, there are tons of guys, and not enough girls. So I go along with renowned young adult book expert Michael Cart in his assessment of this work: what a refreshing, touching, and thoroughly enjoyable book, and what a welcome addition to the world of young adult fictional characters. In Daisy Pandolfi, the author fashions a heroine that more female students should read about. Daisy wants to bring a vintage Volkswagen "back from the dead," and she wants no help from the rest of her family, all of whom are passionate about auto mechanics (inluding her aunt, by the way). The theme of car repairs as life lesson has been done before, but somehow, Karen Romano Young makes it seem fresh and new. Daisy's independence is at turns touchingly admirable, yet, as all perents know, it can also be infuriatingly stubborn. We understand that she doesn't want her father to do anything for her, because then she'll never learn how it's done. Nonetheless, we're right with her as she grows independant enough to see that asking for help is not an admission of weakness. Such is life. In the course of the book, we see Daisy grow from dependant to independant to interdependant, leading to a conclusion with another character--a love interest named Billy--that is noble, touching, and completely satisfying. To Daisy Pandolfi--and to Karen Romano young--I say: you go, girl!
Rating:
Summary: incredibly difficult and sweet
Review: i/m 16 years old and i just read this book. i really loved it even though the end left me kind of hanging. i really hope a sequel will come out soon. anyway i recommend it for anyone.
Rating:
Summary: The Bug Called Love
Review: In simple, straightforward language, Karen Romano Young unfolds how a seemingly awkward yet strong and determined heroine comes to terms with her dreams, her family, and herself. Daisy Pandolfi is a believable heroine who makes no excuses for wanting what she wants. She doggedly restores their old VW Bug and discovers heartbreak, disappointment, and love in the process. Her strength was an inspiration to me -- and I'm 23! I wish I was like that when I was 15. The book is a love story, true, but not in the mushy line of commercial teen flicks. The romance aspect develops slowly, surely, imperfectly. But at the heart of it all was how Daisy tackled her independence. In a quiet exchange that moved me to tears, Daisy tells her father not to tell her what to do, just to tell her when she's doing it wrong. In the end, it IS a love story -- of a girl for her dreams, of a girl for her family. I sincerely enjoyed the different characters that Karen Romano Young painted in this book, and I look forward to reading her other works.
Rating:
Summary: BRILLIANT!!!
Review: Sensitive, thoughtful, believable, fun, touching. The author remembers in exquisite detail what it's like to be fifteen years old and searching for your "own place" in the world. I loved Daisy's strong will and determination--and the fact that she knew what a piston was! Wonderful character, wonderful story!
| 
