My Review: This book made me laugh, cry, gasp, and basically all other emotions within a period of an hour. (The time it took me to read the book.) This book was intended for adults, but I think it would be suited for a mature teenage audience too.
The book is written between two points of view- Bernadette Branch, a witty and outrageous, yet dysfunctional woman, mother to Bee, and wife to Elgin. The other is Bee (Proper Name: Balakrishna) perfect teen turned wild child.
To me, my favorite character was Bernadette because not only did she some snappy style but was so quirky and smart, yet dumb. Really Bernadette? MANJULA IS THE RUSSIAN MAFIA!!! Bernadette had a severe case of Anthropophobia, not even allowing her to do the simplest of tasks, like buying groceries.
In some ways, I could compare myself to Bernadette, because we all want to escape our problems, but eventually would like to return to life as we knew it.
And, so severe was her fright of becoming sea sick was that she ordered a very intense drug from the U.S. government that is often used for astronauts. When I first read that, I was like,"Really Bernadette? You are going crazyyyyy!"
It's a realistic fiction novel that begins when Bee achieves perfect "S's" a.k.a."A's". Bee's parents told her that she could get anything if she achieved perfect grades. So, since she was currently studying Antarctica, she requests a cruise to there. Long story short, including gnats, blackberries, and a 50-foot sign, Bernadette runs away from home and Elgin has an affair with Soon-Lin, his assistant. When Bee, whom was always close to her mother, finds out about this, she turns into a a parents nightmare.
If I had to reveal my least favorite part of the book, it would be Elgin. In my opinion, he doesn't add that much to the story. Or possibly Manjula, because she only proves Bernadette is going insane.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a read that's refreshing and funny, and maybe to people who like suspense/ mystery.
Stars:
5 out of 5