Cheap Going Away Party (Book) (Laura Pedersen) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Going Away Party

Wonderful Read, Laugh-Out-Loud Funny
This is definitely a riotous "Lost In Translation," though I see from the date that this book came first. And there's no Tokyo, just the good old American midwest. But it's a wonderful tale about two peple meeting in (very) unusual circumstances and searching for meaning in their lives. All the Catholic girl guilt resonated deeply -- dating on Saturday night and then going to church on Sunday morning. And also the boys in the family always being allowed more freedom. I had no idea how Pedersen was going to wind this one up but she managed to do so nicely, complete with suprises and laughter. Every mother will want her daughter to read this book in order to demonstrate that we're not as bad as you think!

---

Funny but with a nice message
This book reads very fast and has lots of good laughs but it also takes a serious look at trying to balance your religion with your personal life. The main character has been raised Catholic and her mother converted from Protestantism when she married. It asks the big questions about how to know when you meet the right person and if there is such a thing. The main character is sarcastic but it's apparent that's only because she's scared and has to make some big life-changing decisions. It also looks at how we think kids have it easier today but in many ways it's tougher for them. There's a great sex scene near the end.

---

Original, thoughtful, engaging
Dove into this after enjoying Pedersen's wonderfully heartbreaking but humorous novel "Last Call." Now we move from Brooklyn, NY, to the Midwest. Anyone who has ever been a teenager or attempted to raise one will love "Going Away Party," which sums up so many of the conflicts inherent in coming of age today. Technology and the high cost of education have changed the landscape and not always for the better. It also contains a romance with an age difference that serves to show how our perspective on life changes as we mature. What I especially enjoyed was that drugs, abuse, and violence were not needed to make the passage to adulthood dramatic and fraught. It's angst filled enough without those and Pedersen also uses deft humor to keep things moving toward a surprising and touching ending.