Shrimp

Shrimp written by Rachel Cohn is a sequel to her first book, Gingerbread. She writes about a unique girl named Cyd Charisse, and she makes it well know that she's not to be confused with the famous Cyd Charisse. Cyd is a senior in high school with a painful history. Her parents are divorced and spread across the country, she has self inflicted cuts under her sleeves, and an abortion from a year earlier. The story is written in first person which has an amazing affect on the story. The voice that Rachel Cohn weaves in between her words adds a great vibe to the book. By the first few pages you will feel like Cyd is a girl you have known for years that you could call up on the phone. The sense of humor could be compared to a Tim Burton movie because many of the topics that Cyd has to tackle are dark and difficult but she explains them in a very funny, sarcastic way. Throughout the story the view of Cyd changes drastically because not only are you turning pages but she is getting older and learning more lessons as the book progresses. There are many parts in the story that are hard to relate to because she is so different than me but I think that not only myself but others can benefit from these valuable lessons from the way that she handles them. The story is mainly composed of the roller coaster relationship she is in with her boyfriend nicknamed, Shrimp. When she is on the low points of her roller coaster she has to learn how to make new friends for the first time in her life. These new additions to her life include Aaron with the dreadlocks who is really good at spilling drinks in the Java Hut, and her lesbian friend who lives above her parent's Chinese restaurant, and of course Sugar Pie the old lady who lives in the senior home that she met while doing community service. The story is placed in her senior year of high school in San Fransisco and before she's off to wherever her life is going to take her next Cyd has to face some harsh truths. To learn all about her last year in San Fransisco including her 3 am IHOP visits Shrimp is for you!