book info: on sale: now copy from: public library pages: 348 review written: 21.12.17 originally published: 2009 edition read: Penguin NAL 2009 title: Rooftops of Tehran author: Mahbod Seraji In a middle-class neighborhood of Iran's sprawling capital city, 17-year-old Pasha Shahed spends the summer of 1973 on his rooftop with his best friend Ahmed, joking around one minute and asking burning questions about life the next. He also hides a secret love for his beautiful neighbor Zari, who has been betrothed since birth to another man. But the bliss of Pasha and Zari's stolen time together is shattered when Pasha unwittingly acts as a beacon for the Shah's secret police. The violent consequences awaken him to the reality of living under a powerful despot, and lead Zari to make a shocking choice... my thoughts: This book was first published in 2009 and I remember adding it to my list around that time but never actually reading it since I preferred checking out library books to ...
The Symptoms of My Insanity by Mindy Raf
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
Publisher: Dial Books
Publication Date: April 18, 2013
A laugh-out-loud, bittersweet debut full of wit, wisdom, heart, and a hilarious, unforgettable heroine.
When you’re a hypochondriac, there are a million different things that could be wrong with you, but for Izzy, focusing on what could be wrong might be keeping her from dealing with what’s really wrong.
I almost raised my hand, but what would I say? “Mr. Bayer, may I please be excused? I’m not totally positive, but I think I might have cancer.” No way. Then everyone at school would know, and they would treat me differently, and I would be known as “Izzy, that poor girl who diagnosed herself with breast cancer during biology.”
But Izzy’s sense of humor can only get her so far when suddenly her best friend appears to have undergone a personality transplant, her mother’s health takes a turn for the worse, and her beautiful maybe-boyfriend is going all hot and cold. Izzy thinks she’s preparing for the worst-case scenario, but when the worst-case scenario actually hits, it’s a different story altogether—and there’s no tidy list of symptoms to help her through the insanity.
I liked Izzy, she was fun in a quirky way - but I wasn't really looking for character development in The Symptoms of My Insanity - what I was really looking for was romance. I've really been in the mood for a romantic read lately, and while this had a cute romance, it wasn't really what I was looking for at the time.
I shipped Marcus and Izzy, rather than the other guy that she tried to be with - Marcus was just so much funnier and nicer! The other guy (who's name I can't even remember) was actually a total jerk, and throughout the book I got the feeling he was using Izzy. But Marcus... he was freaking adorable. He was sweet and awkward and made the perfect love interest for weird (yet fun) Izzy.
And I have to say, straight up - I liked the solidarity of the girls in Izzy's high school - they cleared the name of the girl in the scandal no problem. I wish girls acted like that in real life, but in reality we rarely see such... compassion from teenage girls. Maybe one day that will change.
All in all, The Symptoms of My Insanity really wasn't a bad read - it just wasn't exactly what I was expecting at the time.
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