Taylor Pierre
Honestly Ben
by Bill Konigsberg
We’ve all experienced pressure in our life. Whether it be from our parents, teachers, friends, loved ones, really anyone, we’ve all at one point have felt pressure.
Pressure explains the life of Ben Carver. Ben is a simple guy. He’s a guy who comes from a farm in New Hampshire. He has a lot going for him. He’s in an expensive all-boys school in Natick, “ When you attend a fancy boarding school, it’s best not to be a know-it-all on your winter break.” (1), He’s won the Peter Pappas Award, “ Congratulations, Ben. You’re this year’s recipient of the award.”(11), he’s the captain of the baseball team, life seems good. Until someone from his past comes back in his life and makes things complicated for Ben. Towards the middle of the book, Ben is trying to figure things out, one of those things being his sexuality. Is he straight, gay or bi? If he is gay, how will people react? Will his family disown him? “How many times do I have to tell you not to embarrass me? And yet you do.I’m embarrassed to be your father.” (284) These are the questions that Ben is asking himself. He wants to be himself but certain people are making it hard for him. Ben’s life is turning upside down because now everyone expects him to be the way they want him to be, he feels like he should be himself, but he feels like he is stuck with being the straight, smart jock. But does he want that? By the end of the book, Ben is starting to be able to answer those questions. Will he answer them the right way?
The beginning of this book was a little boring and kinda confusing. Nothing was suspenseful or exciting. Once, you get towards the middle of the book, things start to pick up and get very interesting. A lot of events in this book may be relatable for the average teenager but there are some topics that people may have a harder time relating to. At the end of the book, you will see a lot of changes in the characters, and I like that because you can see them from a new perspective. This book has a good message about not caring about what people think of you as long as you’re not hurting anyone and it makes you happy.
I would give this book a ⅘. If you like realistic fiction then this book would be great for you. This book also contains topics about sexuality. If you are sensitive to those topics then this book may not be for you.
Good review, I would focus on inter-grading your quotes to make the sentences flow a little better. For example you said "He’s in an expensive all-boys school in Natick, “ When you attend a fancy boarding school, it’s best not to be a know-it-all on your winter break.” (1), " and maybe you could have changed it to "He’s in an expensive all-boys school in Natick WHERE he attends “a fancy boarding school" and knows "it’s best not to be a know-it-all on your winter break.” (1). Also try to explain the quote after, why is it not best to be a know it all?
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