Peace ☮

I just finished reading the first third of Peace, Love, & Baby Ducks, and since it is so conveniently divided into thirds, I decided a blog entry would be a good idea. Since I've been failing about writing in the middle of books so far.


(Here's the link to my first post about it: Peace, Love, & Baby Ducks)


The novel focuses on two sisters, Carly (who is a sophomore in high school), and Anna (who is a freshman). The sisters live in the "best" part of Atlanta, and their family is very wealthy. Over the summer, Carly volunteered at a wilderness camp in Tennessee, while Anna stayed at home. During her time away, Carly has become a little rebellious, and doesn't want to continue living her life as if money and wealth and makeup and clothes are the only things that matter. She also discovers that Anna has transformed over the course of six weeks and is now absolutely gorgeous and has sprouted huge boobs.


Since the book is from Carly's viewpoint, a lot of the description of the school (Holy Redeemer), the town, and life in general is very "stick-it-to-the-man." However, Myracle also does a very good job of showing how protective Carly is as an older sister, and how simple things can make her jealous of her younger sister. The emotions are very evident, and you don't have to guess at how Carly is feeling about any given situation. 


Although the sisters are growing up and seem to be growing apart in some aspects, Myracle still paints a picture of two sisters who, although they fight and may not agree about everything, are still always there for each other and who still love each other very much. Whenever Anna is upset or scared at night, she asks to sleep with Carly, or asks Carly to sleep with her. The reassurance of just having her older sister there comforts her and allows her to sleep more soundly when she otherwise couldn't sleep at all. The girls also deal with real-world problems - parents who don't seem to understand anything they're going through or to care about their feelings, boys, failing classes, and other ordinary high school drama.


I am definitely very much enjoying this book, especially since I can definitely relate to some of the things going on (having a younger sister myself). Especially since the younger sister is into the name-brand clothes and the makeup and the tanning and etc, and the older sister isn't really. The author's writing style is also different from any of the other books I've read recently, and it's really refreshing to read a book that happens in the real world to relatable characters. There's no dystopian world, no fear of being consumed by "amor deliria nervosa," no pressing threat of death, and no people living underground. 


I'm pretty excited to read the next section, and actually to finish this book. But I guess I'll have to spend a little more time reading tonight since Paul is so far ahead in his book...




--Ashley