Joanna (Springsong Books)

Rating:
Summary: A very good book! Definately a 10.
Review: Joanna is feeling out of place at her new school until Matt befriends her. She thinks things are going great until her whole world falls apart. Her father turns to alcoholism, Matt's friend committs suicide, Matt loses his world, and she also turns to bad decisions. Find out what happened to Joanna and her friends in this wonderful book!

Rating:
Summary: Definitely worth reading!
Review: This book is amazingly good. The story just grips you and won't let you go until you've finished it. This book was so real! I can't say enough about it. I really loved this book.

Rating:
Summary: Give her some time to soar.
Review: This story has some good moments; however, it's either way too long or way too short. Either there shouldn't have been so many parties and drinking and the like (that's basically all there is to the main plot; that and a funeral) and the book should have been shorter, or the story should have continued further after Joanna's complete recovery. Certainly her struggles are far from over, and Matt is the biggest question mark. Will he live? Is there any chance for a partial recovery at least? What will happen between Matt and Joanna now? They can't possibly go back to the way they were--at least I would hope they can't, since all they had before was wine and TV. So what's next? How in the world will Joanna relate to a boyfriend in a wheelchair? I don't mind books that leave some things to your imagination, but this is just too much. Upon further reflection, you realize the ending of this book is more like the ending of a chapter. Maybe what's needed is a sequel; I'm not sure (but how about "Heidi"?). To sum up, there's a very articulate way to express my criticism of "Joanna," provided by the dedication page of the book itself. It reads (in part), "Broken wings can soar again." A nice thought, to say the least. So what this book needs is fewer pages on breaking Joanna's wings--or, even better, more pages on letting her learn how to really fly.