Bass Ackwards and Belly Up (Bass Ackwards and Belly Up #1)

Reader reviewed by Katie

Harper didn't get into her dream college, NYU. Or any collge for that matter. So when she deceives her friends into thinking she's putting off college in favor of her Dream - writing the next Great American Novel - they are inspired to follow their own Dreams. Sophie moves to Los Angeles to pursue a career as an actress. Kate plans to backpack around Europe. Becca decides she can go to college and follow her Dream at the same time. Meanwhile, Harper is living in her parents basement. The girls get themselves into numerous sticky situations. They each have their own romantic ventures as well. They discover that the road to finding themselves isn't everything they thought it would be.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I wasn't quite sure if I was going to like this book because I had a hard time getting into it at first. By the end, though, I was hooked. It was slow to start but it got a lot better as it went on. I found myself sitting there with a huge grin on my face at some points and laughing out loud at others. It takes place over a span of three months, which when you think about sounds like a long time but really didn't seem like it. Each chapter was written from a different character's point of view.

Bass Ackwards and Belly Up and the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series are alike in some ways. For example, they both have that group of girls discovering themselves thing going on. If you're a fan of the Traveling Pants then you'll definitely like this book. I recommend this book if you're looking for a light, funny read.

Reader reviewed by Bria

This book was horrible. I could not even finish the book before I fell asleep. It had so much potential, but failed miserable. This is like the cheap, cheap version of the gossip girls. There was nothing for you to hold onto. Yes the novel was hopeful in some ways, but truly it was a waste of time for everyone involved.

Reader reviewed by Alexandra

Best friends Harper, Sophie, Becca, and Kate have done everything together since elementary school. Now they've graduated, and are about to go off to college. True, they're all going to different schools, in different cities, but they're still all having the same experiences, just in different locations. Then, the night before Becca is supposed to leave for Middlebury, Harper drops a bomb. Instead of heading off to Manhattan, she's going to be staying at home in her parents basement and writing the next Great American Novel. In other words, following her Dream. Sophie and Kate quickly hop on board the "Dream Train," as they call it, going to L.A. and Europe, respectively. For Becca, joining the Middlebury ski team is her dream, but her friends tell her she should work on expanding her horizons by falling in love. As the girls' powerful stories alternate throughout the novel, you will be rooting for all of them to accomplish their dreams. True, there are obstacles: a bitter ski coach, skeezy guys, and writer's block, to name a few. But this Dream Train is full speed ahead, and it doesn't stop for anything or anyone.

Reader reviewed by Stephanie

Often described as Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants for older readers, Bass Ackwards and Belly Up is a sweet debut novel that tracks an unexpected season in four friends' lives. Sophie, Kate, Becca, and Harper are all supposed to go to college... but at the last minute Harper tells them that she's staying home to go for her dream: writing the next Great American Novel. In actuality she's been rejected from the only school she applied to, but she conveniently doesn't tell her friends that. Harper's announcement starts a rebellion shocking in the girls' comfortable suburban neighborhood: Kate and Sophie decide to not go to college either. Sophie's going to LA to pursue her dream of being an actor, and Kate's decided to travel around Europe in search of something she's passionate about, something different from her life of plans. Becca's the only one of the four still going to college in Middlebury, so her friends give her an assignment in addition to being a skiing star: she has to fall in love.

In LA, Sophie has an up-and-down something going on with Sam, pool boy of the family she's staying with. She also gets together with a famous actor. Kate travels around Europe trying to accomplish the list of 100 things her friends have given her to do. Harper procrastinates on writing her novel and feels an attraction between her and Mr. Finelli, her hot and young former AP English teacher. And Becca deals with an unfair Middlebury coach and her disgust for football star Stuart Pendergrass... who happens to like her. A lot.

How will their romantic relationships turn out? Will their dreams come true? Bass Ackwards and Belly Up starts out slow, but it's well worth the first 50 pages of non-action. A sequel is in the process of publication.

Reader reviewed by Sarah

This book reminded my a lot of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in that it rotates around the views of four best friends going their separate ways. But the thing that was different about this book from the Sisterhood books was that Kate, Harper, Becca, and Sophie aren't just friends who never fight and get along all the time like daisies. They have real friends problems and fight and nag. This is what made them seem more realistic to me. Even though it wouldn't be likely that anyone would ditch Harvard to follow their "dream" like Kate, but you never know. Overall I really enjoyed this book, it was really captivating.

Reader reviewed by linda

Kate, Harper, Becca, and Sophie were all prepared to go to their pre-planned and parent approved colleges when Harper dropped a bombshell announcement. She was going to follow her dream of writing a great novel and she wasn't going to college that year. This sets off a chain reaction and causes Kate, Becca, and Sophie to realize their dreams. Kate goes off to Europe for a trip to discover herself, Sophie moves to L.A. to become an actress, and Becca is the only one going to college because her dreams happen to be exactly what she was planning on doing in the first place. All their plans get messed up by some of the guys they meet but they have chances at true love. In the end they realize that their dreams are a lot more important and can change their lives forever.

Reader reviewed by Jocelyn

In this book, four friends are about to go to college, when one of them, Harper, makes a shocking announcement. She's not going to NYU. She says it's so she can follow her dream to be a writer, to write the next Great American Novel, when, in reality, it's because she didn't get accepted to the only school she applied to.

If Harper's committing the "ultimate suburban sin" isn't shocking enough, Sophie and Kate send the worlds of their middle-class families way out of orbit. Sophie is going to be an actress in LA, following her dreams, and completely college-bound Kate is going to Europe! The only one to stick to her original plan is Becca, and that's not going to be easy.

In this amazing book, four friends learn a lot about each other, themselves, and their dreams, having some fun and some humiliation along the way! This book is funny, sad, and, most of all, real. There really are people who skip out on college, and, yeah, their parents definitely do NOT approve. I know my parents wouldn't! But for Sophie, Harper, and Kate, maybe that's what it takes to find their dreams, themselves, and each other. Read this book!!

Reader reviewed by Ria

Four best friends, Harper, Kate, Sophie and Becca are all looking forward to starting college. At least, 3 of them are. Harper has decided to follow her "dream" and stay behind to write the next famous American novel. As she convinces her 3 angry friends to see things from her point of view, they begin to realize that maybe they aren't ready for college yet either. Sophie decides to put her college career on hold to travel to Los Angeles in hopes of pursuing a career in acting. Harverd bound Kate, the one person who always does what's right, decides to take the year off and travel to Europe, which leaves Becca alone. Becca is the one person going to college, Middlebury, to ski for the best coach and find love.

As the months go by, the four girls learn a lot about their families, life and love. They lose people who were important to them, but they also find new people who truely care.

When I first saw the title and cover of the book, I honestly didn't know what to expect. But I started the book and really got into the story. Being a college student, I could relate to what some of the girls were going through. It was great to read a story from the view of college students, as not many books out there feature main characters around that age. This book reminds me a lot of The Traveling Pants books by Ann Brashares. Yet it's a refreshing twist on not doing what everyone expects you to do and finding out your true personality. I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend this.