Review: Of All the Stupid Things by Alexandra Diaz

Feb 14, 2010 by shanyn

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Author: Alexandra Diaz

Publisher: Egmont

Publication Date: December 22, 2009

It really was a stupid thing that Brent Staple did – doing it (so the rumour goes) with Chris Sanchez, one of the guy cheerleaders. Who’d have thought that Brent, the school’s hottest jock, could be gay? But the doubt about Brent doesn’t just hurt Tara – it’s the beginning of the end for an inseparable trio of friends. Tara’s training for the marathon, but also running from her father and her fear of ever being abandoned again. Beautiful Whitney Blaire’s got everything and nothing, because her parents have never had time for her. And Pinkie has a compulsive need to mother everyone to make up for the mom she never stops missing. The girls couldn’t be more different, but doesn’t that just prove the strength of their friendship?

Then new-girl Riley arrives in school, wafting her long black hair and a scent of lilacs. Suddenly, Tara starts to feel things she’s never felt before for a girl – and to reassess her feelings about Brent and what he may/may not have done. Is Tara gay – or does she just love Riley? And can the map of her deepest friendships ever be redrawn in a post-Riley world?

If you took a moment to read the plot summary, you’ll notice that the title of the book (Of All the Stupid Things) is referring to a boy individual in the book possibly making a decision to have a relationship with another boy. I did not appreciate this title reference from the get-go, but decided to continue reading.

All of the chapters are from different character’s points of view, and I found it hard to decide which character I even liked. They each have their quirks (as they normally do), but I didn’t get much of a backstory from any of them enough to root for them throughout the story.

That aside, I did appreciate how the story ends up turning out. There is more tolerance from the characters than I originally anticipated, so it is a good story to teach acceptance (even if one of the most resistant characters only came around a tiny bit by the end).

Overall, it was a fine story. Not one of my favorites… but I can’t love them all!

Book Cover: 7/10
Book Title: 0/10
Plot: 7/10
Characters: 6/10
Ending: 7/10

Overall: 27/50