Publishing Date: June 7th, 2011
Page Count: 368
Source: Bought from Amazon
Format: E-Book
Description from Goodreads.com:
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 a 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:
Ten Things We did was such a cute story! I really loved this coming of age story. It was really about a girl learning how to be on her own, and how to overcome obstacles along the why. It was not an easy feat at all since in order to be on her own April and her housemate Vi had to lie to both of their parents. Really they didn't get into too much trouble. I honestly think they did a really good job. If they weren't lying to their parents they might have gotten into more trouble, but since they kind of had to be on their best behavior in order to not get caught they only got into mild trouble. I was kind of expecting a lot of crazy stuff to go on and maybe even stuff I didn't approve of, but it ended up being a really nice story and I wouldn't have changed anything they did.
I ended up reading this (when I did), because I was camping with my family. My little sister finished her book and wanted to read something else so I gave her my iPad to find something on my Kindle app to read. She picked this and loved it so much that I had to read it so we could gossip about it. I ended up finishing it in day. There really isn't a slow part to the story, it keeps going at a very nice pace through out the entire book. Even the beginning of the book starts off with things to make you keep turning the pages. I really enjoyed April's character and couldn't find anything that I didn't like about her, well thats a little bit of a lie, I didn't like that she kept her boyfriend around when all he did was bring her down and was obviously hiding something from her. Other than that little tidbit I really liked her and understood all the emotions she was feeling and everything she did. There wasn't a time when I questioned her except when she first lies to her dad, because I could never lie to my parents in such a HUGE way lol.
This was a really nice story and I have two more by Sarah that I cannot wait to get to, because I am sure they are just as great as Ten Things We Did was.
Overall:
I really liked Ten Things We Did. It was a very nice contemporary that focuses on a girl who hasn't truly come to terms with her parents divorce and is trying to learn the responsibilities of being on her own. The pace of the story was really nice, there was never a dull moment through out the whole book. Even the beginning hooks you in and keeps your reading. I loved April's character and think she was a great main character. I recommend this book to all those who love a nice YA contemporary every now and then. I own two other books by Sarah and I cannot wait to get to those as well =]
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 4/5
