BOOK REVIEW:
Title: A Little Friendly Advice
Author: Siobhan Vivian
Review by: Cindy Yeung
Oh, the woes of teenage drama, especially ones that involve your family and childhood friends.
Except that, having a glimpse of somebody else’s problem,s if only for a little while, can provide you with pragmatic insight on relationships other than your own. A Little Friendly Advice does just that. Not only does the title correlate to the characters of the novel, but the revelations they share also goes for the reader as well.
In her debut novel, Siobhan Vivian (that’s pronounced Shove-on) develops a dramatic narrative among four friends, Ruby, Beth, Maria and Katheirne. Although reminiscent to 2005’s film, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, everything occurs in a a little more than a week, between the sixteenth birthdays of protagonist, Ruby and her best friend, Beth.
Although each of the girl’s have their own problems, their troubles usually washes away after a routine hang out. The story is mostly told in Ruby’s point of view and through terse conversations between the girls. Because of their busy and different lifestyles, it’s quite impressive how Vivian depicts each of them with their own eccentricities and quirky personalities.The novel has its own quiet power, as characters progress to fall in and out of love with eachother in a short period of time. A Little Friendly Advice was definitely not just some coming-of-age tale; it stuck and stung a little more than a short novel would.
The first chapter begins on Ruby’s birthday. In the modestly petite kitchen, her ecstatic mother (who is almost like another friend) give her daughter an old Polaroid camera that’s very “vintage.” Ruby proceeds to snap pictures of everything and everyone in the process of the novel, as if to piece together fragments of her life like a jigsaw puzzle. The night is ruined when her long-lost father reappears after ten years.The remainder of the thirty seven chapters becomes a non-stop rollercoaster, in which Ruby’s emotions are torn and muddled. Each scene is followed by an alternating flashback, from her father leaving them, to moving from their old house and Ruby’s introspection on how she became such a recluse after her family portrait was shattered.
The most memorable flashback occurred during Ruby’s visit at Beth’s house towards the end of the novle. She is in the living room, observing the photogenic family’s photographs and of how out of place she is in some of them (camping and skiing trips); then it proceeds to a chapter of her igloo outing with Beth. As hard as her best friend tried to mend Ruby’s life, it was no use without the closure from the truth that she needed when her father came back to town. The pervading feeling of a single-parent teenager can crawl up on a reader very quickly, especially when it is the protagonist’s agony.
At times, the other characters lacked nuance but could be due to the short amount of time given in the book. There’s tom-boy and timid Ruby, who tries to sort her life out while she begins a blossoming relationship with artistic and sentimental guy named Charlie. He’s the type who doesn’t hang with the other guys, the macho jock types. There’s flirtatious Maria, who is all about hooking up and being the cheerful one in the clan. Then, loner Katherine, who is considered almost the outcast of the group. Not much detail on her character except that she packs a lot of anger for her father who left her family. Although she and Ruby are almost going through the same dilemma, they hardly connect. Ah, then there is Beth, the anal-retentive best friend that makes you feel like hell would freeze over if you don’t follow her advice. The fact that she constantly tries to convince Ruby to stop trying to reconnect with her father and the hiding of the father’s letter to Ruby, created a very blatant foreshadowing that there would be heavy conflicts between the two of them.. Even after the resolution, I don’t think any friendship would be shaped the same again. Despite her cheerful exterior, Ruby’s mother holds a secret that eventually becomes a breaking point for them all. Supposing that she has kept such a burdensome wall between her and Ruby, it comes with no surprise that Beth was always the one who assumed the “do what I say or else” motherly role.
But even if she crossed the line between giving simple advice and being too bossy, Beth has her own attributes when it comes to helping a friend in need. In one the chapters, right before another flashback, Ruby recalls Beth say that “Journals are sometimes like photo albums. People don’t put in the ugly pictures. They just keep the ones where they look pretty and happy.” Honestly brutal, but the truth nonethless. At first, her character seemed like an everlasting thorn prick to the side of your organs, that continues to slip deeper, but after the amazing truth spills out of the secret that both Beth and Ruby’s mom kept for the past decade, you kind of appreciate the fact that a best friend is there to mend your heart.
Finally, the confrontation with Beth provided enough closure as the climax died down but at the same time left open-ended issues about the recovery of their friendship. Same goes for the relationship between Ruby and Charlie. Bonds do come and go but it is really what you make of if in the present that matters. The novel ends on a brighter note, when arguments and tears have subsided, so readers can rest assure that they won’t be closing the book to a heartache.
Though intended for readers of 13 and up, Vivian’s novel can be quite suitable for a college student like me. Afterall, who hasn’t dealt with the high school drama? It is as if Vivian pats you on the back as tells you, “It’s ok, we’ve all been there.”
