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The Art of Lainey Paula Stokes Books

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The Art of Lainey Paula Stokes Books

The Art of Lainey was one of those books that I was a back and forth on for awhile. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be my kind of book. From the reviews I was getting the feeling that the book was generally liked, which is what tipped the scales in my decision to read it. Although, I ended up being not nearly as enthusiastic as others.

Don’t get my wrong, the story was cute, but I had a few hangups that really kept me from living this book. The biggest thing that really kept me from loving this book is the fact that in the beginning I didn’t really like Lainey. She was rude and self absorbed. As the book went on my dislike changed to tolerance. She changed and became a better person, but I couldn’t get the sour taste of her initial personality out of my mouth.

Something else that really got to me was that the book was fairly predictable. For me predictability doesn’t mean instant dislike. If the story is still cute I can live with it being predictable. I spent a long time in the middle of the book trying to figure out if I’ve read or seen this general story before in a book or a movie. Honestly the only thing that made the story not totally predictable is Micah.

Speaking of Micah, he’s what I loved most about this book. Micah was sweet, funny, and completely his own person. What I also like about this book is that Mica never changed who he was. In books like this the person who isn’t as socially accepted usually changes somehow to be accepted. Micah just does his thing no matter what people think about him.

In the end I found the book cute, but I was left with some hangups that I stopped me from completely loving the book. It was a fast read that really was saved by Micah. Ultimately I found the book to be just ok.


Tags : Amazon.com: The Art of Lainey (9780062238429): Paula Stokes: Books,Paula Stokes,The Art of Lainey,HarperTeen,0062238426,Girls & Women,Romance - General,Social Themes - Dating & Sex,Dating (Social customs),Dating (Social customs);Fiction.,Interpersonal relations,Interpersonal relations;Fiction.,JUVENILE FICTION Girls & Women,JUVENILE FICTION Girls & Women.,JUVENILE FICTION Love & Romance,JUVENILE FICTION Social Issues Dating & Sex,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12),Family & home stories (Children's Teenage),Fiction,Love & Romance,Social Themes - Dating & Relationships,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,Young Adult Fiction Girls & Women,Young Adult Fiction Romance General,Young Adult Fiction Social Themes Dating & Sex,Young Adult FictionRomance - General,Young Adult FictionSocial Themes - Dating & Sex,bisacsh

The Art of Lainey Paula Stokes Books Reviews

Oh, THE ART OF LAINEY. I just stood outside in front of my mailbox hugging this book for a long time after I got it. The cover is incredibly familiar to me but just to be able to really see it and hold it was awesome. But getting to the actual words part of it, there is no other way to describe this book that an amazingly pleasantly surprising read.

Right from the start, you can list of Lainey's traits. She's dramatic and acts like a total girl even though there is a lot of toughness underneath her makeup and pretty dresses. One thing I didn't like about her at times was her sensitivity or lack of sensitivity about certain things. However, one thing that I loved about Stokes's characters is how real they are. They're blunt and kind and annoying and make me smile. They're just people, in the best way possible. Oh yes, and they're hilarious.

In a way, Lainey almost reminds me of Cricket in Summer on the Short Bus by Bethany Crandell, which I also loved. Bethany is nothing short of the best and I was talking to her recently about what makes blunt characters appealing. I was wondering because I noticed how one MC I read about I hated, while I loved Cricket--even though they could both be profiled as extremely rude, crass and downright mean at times, especially in the beginning of SHORT BUS. Bethany said something about no matter who your characters are, you have to know them as a writer and portray them--the good and the bad. I think Stokes does an amazing job of this.

I smile a goodbye to Micah's mom over my shoulder as he practically drags me out of the apartment. I stare at his mohawk as we head down the steps and out of his building. Individual tufts of his hair lean to the left in the warm breeze. I can't help wondering what his hair feels like. Is it soft? Is it prickly? I could touch it if I wanted to. I mean, he was going to touch my hair before I pulled away. I think about it for a moment, but then decide against it. I wouldn't want to give him the wrong idea.
The characters really drove this story, which impressed me, but that isn't all there is to the plot. Stokes drives a great story that was unpredictable and well paced. The romance is also extremely well done, each step of the plot thought out and not rushed at all.

It's really the little things that really impressed me with this book, and a combination of the big things, but there were so many things I was impressed by. One of those things was the themes. I loved the nature snippets, the soccer and baseball bits, the friendship dynamics between Leo and Lainey and Bianca and Lainey, the Art of War excerpts, all of that was great. It really enforced what Stokes said and made her word believable in the story. There were also some great quotes that I loved. I've learned everything I know about soccer from my best girl-friend and soccer animes, so it was nice to see that knowledge come in handy. Even before Micah and Lainey started to see each other in a different way, their friendship was both heartwarming as they turned to each other and their banter was a lot of fun. I would love to be friends with Lainey, Micah and Bee. Plus, I would love to go Mizz Creant's House of Torture (and Pancakes) sometime.

Overall, I loved this story. There's a lot of room if Stokes ever wanted to expand on this story, but for right now I'm pretty happy with the ending. My only regret is that I didn't get to see more of Bianca and a few other characters. I'm definitely looking forward to Stokes's next book, Liars, Inc., now that I've gotten a taste of what her writing can be like. And I'm even more psyched to be a part of #TeamLainey. LAINEY is a win read if I ever saw one, and a book that could make me change my mind about contemporary romance. There were so many things I loved here, and I would recommend it for any contemporary fan--or even for those of you who don't usually love it. 4.5 stars.
The first thing you should know about this book is that the main character, Lainey, is kind of annoying. Sometimes infuriatingly annoying. It is obvious from the very first chapter of this book that Jason is a total jerk ... a complete tool. After dating for two and a half years he waltzes into Lainey's family's business and dumps her. He's decided to play the field, and he has no desire to let Lainey down easily. He is cold and unfeeling and ... a jerk. That makes the entire premise of this story hard to stomach. Lainey wants him back. Never mind that he is horrible, that he treated her horribly, that he doesn't seem to have a kind bone in his body. Never mind that Lainey seems to have no personality of her own when she is with him. She wants him back, and she has decided that the way to do this is to use strategies from The Art of War to do it. Listening to her wax on (and on and on and on) about how perfect her life was with Jason, how wonderful Jason is, how amazing life would be when they get back together (even though these things are CLEARLY not true at all) was grating. I think the only person on the planet who thought Lainey should be with Jason was Lainey. With this reality I know that many readers might have a hard time with this story. It is hard to read a first person narration from a character so clearly clueless. But this story ended up getting four stars from me.

Why?

Two reasons ... Bianca and Micah. They were wonderful. I'll start with Micah. Micah gets drawn into this melodrama of a life Lainey has created for herself when she decides that she needs to have a fake boyfriend to create jealousy in Jason. Micah has recently been dumped by his girlfriend, and he would like to get back with her. They can kill two birds with one stone by pretending to date each other. Micah is edgy and totally the opposite of Jason. He has a mohawk, brow piercings, tattoos. He has some bad habits, listens to edgy music ... and he's nice. Really, really nice. Like I say ... totally opposite from Jason. He does a wonderful job playing the fake boyfriend, until things get complicated when Lainey and Micah begin to find their fake feelings turning a lot less fake. Paula Stokes does an excellent job showing how Lainey slowly begins to unwind from the created person she was when dating Jason and becoming a more authentic Lainey when she is around Micah. Although I couldn't stand the Lainey obsessed with Jason, I LOVED the Lainey who showed up around Micah. Micah wasn't perfect, but he was real, and he loved Lainey for who she really was. Great character.

Bianca may be one of the best written best friends in YA literature. She was loyal and good and she stood with Lainey when it counted. Always. You could see that she sometimes didn't agree with Lainey's choices, but she gave her the chance to figure things out on her own. She wasn't mean or selfish or judgmental. She is the perfect example of how a best friend should be. Although she began the book supporting Lainey in her quest to get Jason back, it became obvious that she had turned to Team Micah. She tried to gently guide Lainey to seeing the obvious without using strategy or anger to get her thoughts out. I really loved her.

This is a story of a high school girl who has devoted her entire life, her entire personality, to a relationship with a boy. She is Jason's girlfriend. That's it. She has no life outside of that label. So when he leaves she has nothing. She is nothing ... or at least she thinks she is. Walk into any high school in the country and you will see countless young women who do the exact same thing. Totally not healthy. Seeing this on paper can be a bit difficult to read. But through this story with the help of supportive friends Lainey realizes that she is more. She is her own self with her own thoughts and feelings and dreams. She doesn't need to be with Micah to be something, but because of him she is able to see that she is amazing on her own. I loved that message of this story, and I really loved the Lainey who ended this story. Four stars!
The Art of Lainey was one of those books that I was a back and forth on for awhile. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be my kind of book. From the reviews I was getting the feeling that the book was generally liked, which is what tipped the scales in my decision to read it. Although, I ended up being not nearly as enthusiastic as others.

Don’t get my wrong, the story was cute, but I had a few hangups that really kept me from living this book. The biggest thing that really kept me from loving this book is the fact that in the beginning I didn’t really like Lainey. She was rude and self absorbed. As the book went on my dislike changed to tolerance. She changed and became a better person, but I couldn’t get the sour taste of her initial personality out of my mouth.

Something else that really got to me was that the book was fairly predictable. For me predictability doesn’t mean instant dislike. If the story is still cute I can live with it being predictable. I spent a long time in the middle of the book trying to figure out if I’ve read or seen this general story before in a book or a movie. Honestly the only thing that made the story not totally predictable is Micah.

Speaking of Micah, he’s what I loved most about this book. Micah was sweet, funny, and completely his own person. What I also like about this book is that Mica never changed who he was. In books like this the person who isn’t as socially accepted usually changes somehow to be accepted. Micah just does his thing no matter what people think about him.

In the end I found the book cute, but I was left with some hangups that I stopped me from completely loving the book. It was a fast read that really was saved by Micah. Ultimately I found the book to be just ok.