Dear Diary by Lesley Arfin Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Dear Diary
Book Review: Better than nothing I suppose..
Summary: 3 Stars
I recently had a trip from Tokyo to Seoul, and was wanting something short and interesting to read for the trip. I've been into Vice magazine for a while, and took the fact that they published it as a recommendation. I picked up the hardcover version of this book for about $5.00 in a used bookstore and can say its not that bad of a read. The beginning parts are a bit boring - Honestly who cares about the social life of a junior high school girl in 1991? I thought it was a good idea for her to call the people today about the incidents that happened almost 20 years ago, but they almost always came off leaving me for more. A typical interview went like this:
Arfin - Do you remember why you were so mean to me in 6th grade?
old classmate - I think it was because some other girl told me to be mean to you, but I don't remember for sure. Its OK though, because later on I got a taste of my own medicine because people were mean to me.
Arfin - OK! Thanks, bye!
This exact conversation happens a few times in the book.
The last 1/3 of this book was quite interesting. The author describes her descent into drug addiction and her stays at two addiction clinics. I wish she would have expanded more on this, as the stories and people talked about here were really interesting. It was a bit of a letdown to know that after more than 3 months of staying in these places, we get little more than 10 pages to read about them.
Overall a so-so read. Leslie is no doubt a good writer, her descriptions of people and events made me smile a few times, but I just don't think this subject matter was worth writing about. While reading it, you'll feel like the first half is stretched really thin in order to make a certain page count. There really isn't much going on, but there's a lot written about it. Unless you can pick this book up on the cheap, or have a particular interest in the lives of adolescent school girls, I say skip. Wait for her next book which will no doubt be a bestseller.
Book Review: Both good and bad
Summary: 4 Stars
I enjoyed reading this book and it does have its very honest, brave and hilarious moments. But I didn't feel like I could identify with a lot of the book and I agree with another reviewer-- nothing about this book particularly strikes me as, "These were my mistakes; don't make them too." I found the style of writing to be refreshingly conversational, but sometimes a little self-centered or self-righteous. Still, I enjoyed reading this book and will probably read it again in a few years.Book Review: Eh.....
Summary: 3 Stars
I had high expectations when I bought this book and they weren't met. I was expecting a book that ended in an epiphany or was written a little better, I guess. It's an honest book, however, and I did like how Arfin went back to the people she wrote about during her junior high and high school years to get questions answered which is why I have it more than 1 star. What I didn't like is that it all seemed so superficial. It was like Arfin was trying too hard throughout the book to be obscene--not through the original journal entries, but through the follow up conversations.
I think you might like it if you're in junior high or high school. You might be able to relate to a lot of the journal entries than I could being out of high school and away from the drama for so many years. Towards the end, once Arfin starts spiraling down on her heroin addiction, it becomes more real than reading about her first dry humping experience or first kiss.
Book Review: Good, but disappointed
Summary: 3 Stars
The concept of this book - seek out the adult versions of the people that you wrote about in your adolescent diary, some of which hurt you, and confront them about the incidence(s) - sounds terribly hilarious. Unfortunately, it wasn't as funny as I had hoped. Nevertheless, it was a solid read for several other reasons, the first of which is that Arfin is a great writer.Book Review: Great for a teenager who is thinking about doing drugs
Summary: 4 Stars
This book will surely keep any curious teen away from actually doing drugs if they read this book.