Some of you out there may not know, but it’s difficult to be a teenage girl. So many emotions run through you all at once that sometimes you just have to stand there and wonder what the heck is even going on. How can you even comprehend so many fragments of thought flying by all at once?

The found poem aspect of The Diary of a Lovesick Teenager helps to show these thought processes. A lot of times, you can’t even think complete thoughts. Getting out what you can is an accomplishment. The fact that found poems tend to consist of single words and short phrases really helps this altered book.

The original book is When It Happens, by Susane Colesanti, one of my favorite authors. The book is originally about high school relationships, so the theme of my altered book isn’t a far stretch from this inspiration. This Diary is all about showing what a teenage girl really thinks in all aspects of life.

Editorial Board Review

Allison’s altered book uses different mediums to achieve her message of the powerful and sometimes conflicting emotions of a young girl.  Through the use of drawings, pictures, and cutouts she takes us on a journey inside the emotional rollercoaster of excitement, anticipation, envy, self-esteem, and opportunity not taken.

This splendidly illustrated study is an informative and provocative view inside a teenage girl’s life.  The page entitled “Weird” is intensely revealing.  The Diary of a Lovesick Teenager is beautifully structured, friendly and enlightening.

The story talks about these girls who envy each other and who would like to be one another. The theme of my altered book is to show the naivety of these girls. The first page represents a Barbie painted in red w/ gray lines streaking through the some lines. This is a definition of these girls and how I am catching them reading through the lines. The next page is a representation of the girls being a like and how they rarely differ. The Milk duds page is just creativity within itself. It has no symbolic meaning at all. It’s just the spice page.

Editorial Board Review

Katlyn’s book is an entertaining, convincing and sobering look that deals with the pressures of peers and society experienced by school aged young women.  Her use of found poems and images strikes to the heart of the matter and depicts their struggles.

The techniques employed in illustrating Katyln’s theme stir emotions and express complex psychology that moves the audience.  The Milk Duds page is especially whimsical and enjoyable.