Surrealistic experience. I disliked it way too much. This was weird, in a bad bad way. Gawd! No more!

The boy is pathetic. So is she - I totally DID NOT want to be in her head!
So I skimmed and skipped -a lot!- and was done in under 2 hours.
This book makes me wary of any other books by the author.

FINAL VERDICT: RELIGIOUS AVOIDANCE ADVISABLE ( )

I loved this book. ( )

One of the drawbacks of reading so many books is that I have extremely high standards since I've read some truly excellent pieces of literature...and also some major duds. I say all of this because I read We Were Liars by E. Lockhart 2 years ago and so I know she has the capability to write amazing young adult fiction. I chose Fly on the Wall specifically because the review that I heard on BookTube led me to believe that it was a retelling of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis and because I had enjoyed Lockhart's previous book. What I didn't expect was for it to be chock full of really explicit sexual content. Why on earth did she have to describe penises in such revealing detail? And why did she keep referring to them as gherkins?! (And if I ever hear someone call them that or refer to breasts as biscuits I'm going to slap them across the face.) The main character and the person who we view the story from is named Gretchen Yee and she is the prototypical teenage girl filled with angst. She attends a high school that focuses on the arts and her specialty is drawing comic book style characters (hence the cover imagery). Her obsession with a boy in her school leads her to make a foolhardy wish to be a fly on the wall of the boys locker room so that she can find out how he really thinks about her. (And this is where she begins to ogle the boys as they undress for gym class.) I guess the story is supposed to be a character study or a revelation that what we think we know about people can be turned on its head if we see them at their most vulnerable. However, for me it was a letdown and vaguely nauseating. This was a 0/10 for me and I'll have to give serious thought to reading anything else from this author in the future.

PS There were also a lot of plot holes in the storyline and the ending truly fell flat. ( )

Pretty funny.
I never read the inside jacket, so when I got to part two it was an unexpected surprise.
Good stuff.

I like the colour of the cover too.

( )

This book does exactly what it states in the back paragraph, and in the title. It's about a girl, and her seeing everything. While there is quite a fantastical aspect to this story that is never ever explained, the fact that this is a novella means that the author presents the subject matter, keeps it tight and then reveals the aftermath. Very little of the actual story makes sense, as in probability, but at the same time, it touches nicely on what it's like to be a teenager, and something I could relate to despite the fact that I haven't been one for over ten years.

The main character Gretchen's thoughts are what drives the entire story forward. It's completely from her perspective, with interwoven direct thoughts slid in there. Sometimes the thoughts aren't placed in the perfect spots, as in they detract from what is happening around her, but I tried to forgive this by putting forward the idea that these thoughts are undoubtedly all thought within a few seconds so not enough for the ones she's interacting with to think that there's anything -up-.

The only slight break from it all being from her view is later on when words and actions are being done in front of her without anyone realising she is there. This is where I had a slight problem, as the argument between her best friend and someone else didn't exactly ring true. From what little interaction I had read between her best friend, Katya, and Gretchen, I couldn't exactly see how Katya came to this conclusion, since the actual times they had spent together was minimal. It's explained later why this had to occur, and is part of a plot device, but I would have liked a few more scenes to make this clearer.

This book won't really tax the reader, and is simply a quick story to read. While there is nudity, it is carefully toned down so that while the reader can understand the new understanding Gretchen has of the relationship between boys and girls, and what -she- wants, it is talked about. It's a nice way to introduce the reader to the entire concept of sex, and expectations of sex without going into much detail that it would offend anyone at this stage of their life.

I would definitely recommend this to readers of a younger age than Lockhart's usual readership, so probably about twelve and thirteen. There are mentions of the body parts on both sides, but this is all spoken of using slang making it slightly less frightening for younger teenagers. I wouldn't state that her other books are quite as -gentle- over the subject, so I'd wait a few years before introducing the other books Lockhart has written to anyone of this age.

It's a very good book, and one I would encourage young teeangers all the way up, way past my age, to read. It's a good conversation starter, just to get the reader thinking of what they are going through.

It mentions bullying, friendships, sexual orientation (with a good but believable resolution), self-perception vs. actual perception of your peers, stages of relationships, divorce, dealing with adult situations while a teenager, etc (as I've probably forgotten a few). ( )