Your Life, But Better!
The reviews are in....
Featured in the February/March 2010 issue of Girls' Life magazine.
" 'Choose your own adventure' meets fashion-magazine personality quiz in this lively, light story aimed at young teens. Gently skewed toward positive outcomes for the confident, there are still many satisfying story arcs for the meek. Jealousy, on the other hand, is discouraged outright. Girls who are eagerly anticipating their teen years will enjoy this breezy, reader-driven tale, however it turns out for them."
--Kirkus Reviews
"I remember reading Choose Your Own Adventure books as a kid--books that invited the reader to be a character in the story and, at certain points, make a decision on what to do from several choices. You had to turn to certain pages in the book depending on what you chose, and from there, anything could happen. 'Your Life, But...' adapts a similar approach, but with a twist. When approached with the 'what do you do' choice, the reader now takes a quiz that is supposed to tell you what you would do in that situation, based on your personality. And who doesn't love to take those personality quizzes in the magazines? These kind of books are always fun, and I'm sure preteens are going to enjoy reading them. I enjoyed the fun burst of nostalgia they brought back to me."
--Amy Phelps, News and Sentinel
"This ‘choose your own adventure’ type book perfectly targets tween-age
girls who spend much of their awake (and possibly sleeping) time imagining
“what if” situations starring themselves and their friends, enemies,
would-be-boyfriends and favorite movie celebrities. The questions in the quiz are, for the most part, situations that
girls can imagine themselves in. In addition to being fun, the quizzes can lead you down a path to “the
humiliation of your life” or the best day at the mall. The narrator sweetly
encourages good behavior (“You are one smart cookie”) or questions ‘bad’
behavior (“Why such a hater?”) with an overall message about the importance of
friendship and being genuine and true to yourself.
This is a lighthearted insight for tween girls that might just teach
them a thing or two about themselves and making the right decision in difficult
tween-ager situations. Highly recommended."
--Curled Up with a Good Kid's Book
"Fun and interactive . . . By taking quizzes to see what kind of decisions you would make (think Cosmo-girl mixed with a trendy, personalized and so this century 'Choose Your Own Adventure' book starring you) you have the opportunity to choose your destiny and determine your runway-chic (or just average Jane) lifestyle. Either way, be prepared to see what the future has in store."
--Manhattan Public Library, Book Buddies
"Are you looking for a quick, entertaining read? If you like entertaining stories accompanied by inventive quizzes, then this is the book for you, because you control the story! Of course, you can read every engaging possibility if you so choose, or you can try to find out what the personality quizzes say about you. The possibilities are plentiful. I recommend this involving read for ages 9 to 12."
--Robin T., Mrs. Nelson's Toy and Book Shop
"Your Life, but Better by Crystal Velasquez is a clever little book. What's unique about this book is that the reader makes the story. At the end of each chapter, there is a quiz. Readers take it, tally up their points, and, depending on what their results are, they either proceed to one chapter or another. In this fashion, multiple stories and events unfold in different ways that make this book great to read over and over."
--TKono (age 18), Flamingnet Student Book Reviewer
"In this incredibly clever book . . . you are the main character. This is a very unique novel, and I loved it. I thought the idea was extremely clever, and it was executed very well. By the time I'd finished my first quiz, I was hooked. The author was able to blend good writing, an interesting story, and a unique idea into a book that many readers will love."
--Mrs. Magoo Reads
In my opinion, I thought this book was good. It must have been difficult making all the different chapters and paths for everyones own personality! I was able to relate to the story being a 13 year old girl; any of that could have happened to me because it's all very realistic. The only thing that I did not like as much was that there were so many differnt choices for people that the story itself was not that long, Besides that I liked it a lot. One thing that I thought was cool and unique was the quizes at the end of each chapter. I have never seen anything like that and it made the reading fun. Sometimes when you think of the books you chose your own path to you may think of little kid books, but this was different, I agree that this book is suitable for kids around my age. While I was reading this book, I never got bored, it was interesting to read all the way through finding out what would happen in the end. The cover and back of book really brought me into it, just reading the back got me intrested. I also think the front could pull anyone in having two different styles matching the audiences' personality. Along with that, the book helped me personally, i did not realize that I would actually do some of the things that happened in the book. It helped me realize what type of person I am and can be when I am in a certain mood. Well I enjoyed reading this book and I hope my opinion helps you!!! (Megan, 13 years old)
'Your life, but better' is a wonderful book that will change the way you think about happy endings. Maybe it will end up good or maybe it will end up bad. But you get to decide the path. Will it end up as a fairy tale after all? Or will it end up that you didn't get the thing that you always wanted, but still got the person that you always loved. With every chapter you discover more about yourself by taking a quiz that really makes you think about what kind of choices best suit your personality. By the end of the book I really felt like the path was "my life, but better." (Hannah, 12 years old)
I liked how at the end of each chapter there was a quiz with really great questions that led me to a new part in my life. I also liked how the main topic was something I could relate to because having someone come up to me and asking me to be a supermodel and trying to get invited to a party is something that could happen to me in real life. I enjoyed having the book be about my life and I liked how it was easy to follow along with the book, even though you take quizzes at the end and skip some pages. If I would rate this book (1-10, 1 being the worst, and 10 being the best) I would definitely give this book a 10 because it was fun to read and everything that happened in the book was something I could relate to because it could happen in real life. Great book!!! (Valerie, 13 years old)
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Your Life, but... 
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