Review: Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have) by Sarah Mlynowski

Released: June 7th, 2011
Published by: HarperTeen
Series: Stand Alone
Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Source: Bought
Edition: Kindle
Page Amount: 368
Age Group: Young Adult

Summary

2 girls + 3 guys + 1 house - parents = 10 things April and her friends did that they (definitely, maybe, probably) shouldn't have.
If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe "opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1: "Lied to Our Parents"). But she and her housemate Vi are totally responsible and able to take care of themselves. How they ended up "Skipping School" (#3), "Throwing a Crazy Party" (#8), "Buying a Hot Tub" (#4), and, um, "Harboring a Fugitive" (#7) at all is kind of a mystery to them.
In this hilarious and bittersweet tale, Sarah Mlynowski mines the heart and mind of a girl on her own for the first time. To get through the year, April will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart . . . one thing-she-shouldn't-have-done at a time.

Review

I bought this on my Kindle for 99 cents awhile back. To be honest, I kind of forgot about it until I was going through my Kindle recently and found it again. I decided it would be the perfect summer read. I had read really good reviews going into this book, so I thought it would be a good one to pick up.

First of all, the title. I mean, who can’t love that title? I think it’s adorable and perfect for the novel.

Even though this book is totally unrealistic, and something like this would be very unlikely to happen in real life, I could totally imagine myself in April’s shoes. All of the characters in this novel are very realistic. I fell in love with Hudson very fast, and detested Noah almost immediately. Vi and Marissa are people that I would want to be best friends with. April is very much the person I wish I was - independent, wild, strong, carefree, and outgoing.

I love the different settings involved in this book - Westport, Paris, and Cleveland. But really… April, why in the world wouldn’t you move to Paris? I mean… it’s Paris!

I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars was the ending. I felt as though it was extremely rushed, as though Sarah Mlynowski wanted to hurry up and finish the novel. I didn’t have enough closure with this book as I would have liked.

I very much enjoyed this book. It was the perfect summer read and exactly what I was in the mood to read. I definitely suggest you pick up Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have)

Cover Comments

I love this cover! I think it’s absolutely adorable, and perfect for this novel (which is absolutely adorable as well). I think it fit’s the story and title perfectly. I think it’s the perfect cover for a fun chick lit book like this one.

The Braun Family Tree (Gen. 1, Chap. 3) Blooming Love and Uh-Oh?

About two hours after Zelda left, I called her and invited her back over. She agreed, to my luck! I couldn't wait to see if those butterflies were still going to be there, or if it was just something a teenage boy would do, like a girl for an hour and then go run off with another girl.

As soon as Zelda arrived, I knew that this wasn't something that was going to go away. I have never, ever, felt this grenade of emotions, even with Greyson's mother.

I didn't even notice that I never told her about Greyson until I answered the door with him in my arms and Zelda said something.

''Um, Landon, are you babysitting or something? Did you just call me over to see if I could help you with something?''

I looked at Greyson in my arms. Then I realized that I never told Zelda about my son. I was worried that she would just run away, I was afraid that she was going to judge me based on only the fact that I had a son.

I told her the whole story of Greyson and his mother and my parents and living with my grandmother and how I ended up here. I spilled everything, it just felt so natural. I didn't even notice how over powering I was being, and now more than ever I was afraid that she would run away and be with some guy that didn't have any strings attached.

She didn't. I couldn't believe it myself. She did not run away from me, but in fact, she forced herself towards me and my life. I've been attracted to girls since Greyson's mother and I broke up, but they all ran away as soon as they found out about him.

We spend hours talking, flirting, and getting to know each other. I even made her dinner. Yes, Landon Timothy Braun made Zelda Mae dinner. It was autumn salad, but I was still pretty impressed with myself.

By the end of the night, even though I still knew almost nothing about Zelda, I knew that I was going to fall in love with this woman. By the end of the night, we were ''going steady'', if you want to put it that way. It sounds old fashioned, but being ''boyfriend and girlfriend'' sounded too teenager-ish. Let's say we are partners. It felt like something that we should do.

But we also did something that we probably shouldn't have.

The Braun Family Tree (Gen. 1, Chap. 2): New Job and New Friends

Before I left the house to apply for my new job, I talked to the babysitter about Greyson's needs, although he isn't all that needy.

"If he gets hungry, I have toddler food in the fridge, so if he does start to get fussy and seems to be hungry, don't be afraid to feed him. If you don't feed him right away, he will get uncontrollably fussy, even after you feed him." I explained. Greyson has been doing that since day one, which was the only thing that kept me from saying he is a calm baby/toddler.

"Sounds good, Mr. Braun. Anything else?" she asked. I like that she was asking questions, it gave me a good feeling that she was going to take care of my son well.

"Well, Greyson also doesn't do well with new places. See, we just moved from the city, where he was lived his entire little life. I've never actually taken him out side the city, so this is all brand new to him. If he acts a bit funny, other than the god-awful fussing, that is the reason. It's normal, and there is nothing that you can do about it, that I have figured out anyways."

"Don't worry, that seems to be normal to kids that just move here. For some reason, it seems to be a big transition moving here from anywhere, even Twinbrooke. I've babysat many kids that act a bit funny."

"That's good to know my child isn't the only one..."


And with that, I was off to go get my part-time job. I was nervous that I wasn't going to get it because of my age, it seemed a little inappropriate for an adult like me to be getting a part-time job, but for right now that is all I can get, until at least Greyson is a child and is in school.

The bookstore seemed to be a perfect job for me. To be honest, I have only mowed (very small, since no one in the city had very big) lawns for money, and back in the city when I was living with my parents and my grandmother, it was good enough money to support Greyson's needs and some of my wants.

To my surprise, I got the job! I was super excited about this, since I only had about $600 dollars in my bank account. The position I got was Cash Register Specialist, which only made $30 dollars an hour, but it will (hopefully) support the two of us for now. My hours are from 4-7, which are good because it is well after all the teenagers come home from school so I can have a babysitter take care of Greyson. I work 5 days a week, and I have my weekends off. I really liked that schedule, so that if I wanted to go out on Saturday or Sunday I can.

When I came home, I dismissed the babysitter. It costed me $75 dollars for the half hour that I was out to get the job, but the babysitter (whom I actually forgot to ask her for her name) seemed to have done a good job.

But, to my surprise, two girls from my neighbourhood had come over to welcome me to the neighbourhood! Their names were Monika Morris and Zelda Mae. They were both around my age. As soon as I stepped out of the cab, I felt butterflies in the pit of my stomach. I was definitely attracted to Zelda, the beautiful blonde one. Although she was dressed like someone I wouldn't want my son around, I knew I had to get to know her.

I chatted with both women for awhile, but I tried to get to know Zelda as much as I could in the short time she said she could be there.

"Hello," she said, as I walked up to the front door to my house, "I'm Zelda Mae, and this is my friend, Monika Morris. Welcome to the neighbourhood!"

"Hello," I said back to her, "I'm Landon Braun. It's nice to meet you."

I shook Zelda's hand. Monika seemed as though she didn't want anything to do with it. As soon as our hands touched, and I felt that butterfly sensation in my stomach, I knew she was a romantic interest of mine.

About Landon Timothy Braun

Hey everyone! I thought it was a good idea if I shared a little bit more about Landon before I went ahead with the legacy, just so that everyone knows who they are reading about! I will start doing this for every heir, right before I start their story! I might have mentioned some of their traits during their parents' generation, but that doesn't matter. Anyways, here is Landon:

Landon Timothy Braun

Traits:

Vegetarian

Virtuoso

Hopeless Romantic

Ambitious

Friendly

Favourites:

Music: Pop

Food: Peanut Butter Sandwich

Colour: Grey

Sign: Gemini

I hope everyone will continue reading this legacy, I will be posting another chapter soon and maybe the start of a different legacy (;

-

Sierra

The Braun Family Tree; Chapter One (Introductions)

Hello! My name is Landon Timothy Braun, and I am a young adult Sim (barely!). This is me holding my son, Greyson Michael Braun. I am currently single, but I am looking forward to settling down with someone I love soon.

Greyson and I moved into a half-way home in Sunset Valley just a couple weeks ago. I just had enough money to pay for this house, furnishings and all. I still had to make a few adjustments, considering our needs.

The reason why I moved out of my parent's house so soon are very complicated. I was saving up to move out as soon as possible anyways, because I was just a teenager with a baby and I didn't want my parents to have to worry about both my son and I. After all, he was my son. I planned that as soon as I turned 18 I would move into a small apartment in Bridgeveiw, where I lived at the time. Well, a couple days short of my eighteenth birthday, my parents' where brutally murdered while walking home from a party they were at. It tore me a part. I stayed with my grandmother for awhile, but I knew I couldn't stay there for long. I waited until I graduated high school before I told her I was moving to Sunset Valley. The reasons for this were because it was much cheaper to move into a small house in Sunset Valley than it was to move into a even smaller apartment in Bridgeview. She was sad to see me go, but she knew it was the right thing to do.

Almost as soon as we were both settled in, I called the babysitter. It was time for me to get a part-time job. I knew that I would never be able to get a regular job unless I got a roommate or got married because I would have no one to watch Greyson. I was going to apply to get a job at the bookstore, which would give me exposure to new people that I probably wouldn't have met before.

I knew that moving into this new place was going to be hard on us, but I think its all going to be worth it in the end.

NEW SIMS 3 PRETTACY! (The Braun Family Tree)

I have decided to start my very first Sim legacy.


Well, my first two Sim legacies. This prettacy is one of two that I am going to write.


I have changed up the basic rules of a Prettacy, because I don't want to be the exact same as some other Prettacies. For the heir, I am always going to have someone who is "pretty" (I think I am going to have polls for who is going to be the heir at the end of each generation) and I am going to try to make their spouse a Sim who isn't necessarily attractive, and try to make pretty babies, to make the next heir!


Get the idea? I simply named this Prettacy "The Braun Family Tree" for now, once I get writing I would love it if you guys would come up with better titles, or I might just stick with this one, its just simple.


I know you guys must be getting excited to get a sneak peek on who the heir is going to be. Well, you're in luck! I have the very first picture of generation one's heir! The first pretty heir is....

This handsome guy! His name is Landon Braun, and he is holding his son, Greyson Braun. I can't wait to start writing their story! I hope you will follow along. (:

-

Sierra

PS. I'm not sure how many generations I am going to continue this on for, but I think at least ten. Maybe more if this go's good!