My Stupid Girl

By: Aurora Smith

Narrated by: David Dietz

All 17-year-old David really wants is to fly under life's radar. In a typical cold winter day in Montana he does something extraordinary: he rescues smart, funny, gorgeous good-girl Lucy Peterson from drowning in a freezing lake. As their friendship grows, David realizes that risking his life was the easy part. His friendship with a girl who is different from him in every imaginable way forces David to challenge himself and those around him. He must face the abuse of his past and the uncertainty of his future as he struggles to keep Lucy by his side.

©2012 Jessica Cheatwood (P)2014 Jessica Cheatwood

Critic reviews

"Narrator David Dietz enhances this exceptional first-person story…Dietz flawlessly captures sweet and sarcastic David, his spirited grandmother, and Lucy, the girl with the raucous laugh…Dietz portrays characters superbly and keeps the narrative threads clear. His delivery gives the twists of the story the significance they warrant.Young people of both genders will enjoy this. S.G.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2014]" " ( AudioFile)

A Nice Surprise

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I will highly recommend this book to a friend. This book will be a pleasure for a wide range of ages because its so relatable.

What did you like best about this story?

I really enjoyed this book. Although the main characters are raised in different worlds it’s not the typical good girl bad boy story. The story encompasses love, heartache, abuse; it’s a story that addresses many topics. I rarely knew what was going to happen next. In addition, I rarely read a story from a male’s point of view and a good portion of the story is from David’s point of view. David and Lucy’s journey into adulthood is a wonderful story.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narrator did an excellent job actually sounding like a teenager, with almost every character. The only problem I have is generally the same problem I have with male narrators, its very difficult to sound like a young teenage girl. It comes across incredibly annoying and unrealistic but it’s not terrible enough to take from the story and I still say he did a really good job. The narrator did a great job pacing the story and turned on the serious and comedic tones at the right time.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I didn’t have an extreme emotions to this book but its still an excellent read.

Very truthful deep and fun

I wasn’t expecting to love this book, but I did! It is a sweet coming of age story about forgiveness. I loved watching these characters make mistakes and learn from them.

The fact that all of the characters were flawed made this story feel real and true, like it could be happening somewhere in the world. It has a mixture of drama and comicality, which made this a fast paced and easy to read story, even if it dealt with some difficult issues like domestic violence, teen pregnancy, adoption and loss.

It did seem like too much drama for one lifetime, and maybe some of the subplots or main events weren’t necessary, the story had enough material as it was. That definitely is my biggest complaint with this book. It also confused me a bit that the time frames were changing all the time. Like from one chapter to the other several months would’ve passed, but sometimes three or more chapters would take place within the course of days. Finally, I felt that David’s reactions to one particular event, which I cannot comment about without spoilers, were weird. If that happened to me I would’ve been way angrier or frustrated, confused even. Not so happy or willing. I did feel that as time passed he sort of felt the consequences of that decision, like it hit him later, which made up for his hastiness a bit.

Other than that I felt this story was simply beautiful. I tend to avoid Christian fiction at all costs because, even if I’m a Christian myself, I found them to be, more often than not, too preachy and the characters just don’t appeal to me. They are weird. Like being a religious person means you don’t get to be normal. Thankfully this book was an exception, which is one of the main reasons I loved it. The Christian kids were very real and normal, and the book wasn’t preachy at all. It portrayed God as a loving father who accepts us no matter what.

Lucy was very religious but so real. She did normal stuff, felt jealousy and envy at times, made horrible mistakes! Cared about important and silly stuff, like a Normal teenager! I actually felt very close to her, because I used to be just like her! And worried about the same stuff.

But what I loved the most was the message about forgiveness. It is portrayed just as it is: a hard decision we have to make over and over again, but in the end will help lift a huge weight off our shoulders. I also loved that they featured it as the most important Christian value.

I loved David’s journey because we could see him change, but also understood the moments that triggered those changes or growth. It was very organic and progressive.

The narration was good. I enjoyed David Dietz narration a bit more than I did in Halfskin. He wasn’t too loud this time, and I thought I would have trouble hearing the same voice for a different character but I didn’t. I liked how he did David and Grandma, and he had great pacing for his narration. I did feel though, that the female voices were too similar to each other.

Overall, it was a great read, with powerful messages and good narration; and even if it was charged with heavy stuff, it was still a light read. It has great character development and it is impossible not to care for this adorable gang, and David’s grandma. What a women she was.

Such a feel good book!

What did you love best about My Stupid Girl?

The narrator was great. I really enjoyed the whole book, I love a happily ever after kinda book!

What other book might you compare My Stupid Girl to and why?

Sarah Dessen books. You really like the main characters, you relate to them. And they have some feel good kisses, without being to much.

Which scene was your favorite?

I had lots of favorite scenes! I loved the scenes with all of the friends together group hang outs. Birthdays, hospital, and so on.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

That David learned to forgive. When it came to Lucy, his father, his birth father, and himself.

Any additional comments?

Such a great read for any age!

unexpected Y/A

If you could sum up My Stupid Girl in three words, what would they be?

an unexpected pleasure

Which character – as performed by David Dietz – was your favorite?

grandma and of course David

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I bet they would ruin it if they made it into a film !!!

Any additional comments?

I'd never heard of this author before, so I didn't really have any expectations for this one, especially as it’s written for Y/A.
But I really loved it , David is not your usual hero, Goth type with piercings and wears make up, but he turns out to be such a likeable character.
Following David’s escapades you’ll end up both smiling , crying and laughing .
David Dietz’s narration was really spot on with this book …. All together a great listening experience.

Not what I expected, but really great

I really liked this book, and I was not prepared to like it so much, especially when I realized it was a YA book, which I usually have a hard time relating to. With this book, I found myself really caring about the characters, which were all very well-developed. I found I could even relate to Lucy when I was much younger. This book touches on lots of subjects like adoption, premarital/teenage sex, purity, and how appearances can be deceiving. I listened to the Audible audio version narrated by David Dietz, and while I found his female voices a little screetchy at times, I still enjoyed the narration. He did a great job giving a unique voice to each character. Overall, this was a really great book, and though this is the first I have read by Aurora Smith, I will be definitely be checking out more that she has written.

Genuinely sweet story about a boy and a girl

Would you listen to My Stupid Girl again? Why?

Sure! I have kids the age of these characters, and the author wrote them with such realism, it was like having my own personal how to book!

What other book might you compare My Stupid Girl to and why?

It's a little bit like The Fault in Our Stars, but without illness.

What about David Dietz’s performance did you like?

David had a great, consistent performance, His voice is perfect for voicing young people.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book was really sweet. I realized late in that it was a Christian book, but the overtures weren't too great until the very end.

Any additional comments?

Great book, great insight into teens. Parents of teens should read, and the teens should find the book entertaining too,

Wonderful book for Young Adults and New Adults!

This book was very good and David Dietz did a fine job of narrating it. His voice was perfect David Johnson who is 17 when the book opens and is 20 years old at the end. Obviously this book covers quite a stretch of time.

David is your typical high school senior, well not so typical. He wears make up and has piercings all over his face and likes to dress in black like his friends who are also goth.

One cold winter day he and his friends are out at the lake when a church van pulls into the parking lot loaded with other high school kids from a local church. One of those kids is Lucy, the most popular girl in school. David has been crushing on her for quite some time, but as far as he knows she doesn't even know his name.

Lucy, wearing a black snowsuit and new ice skates heads out on the frozen lake in Montana but ventures out too far where the ice is thinner. The ice breaks and she falls through it into the freezing water. When her boyfriend who tries to rescue her gets scared and backs away from her leaving her to drown in the freezing water David steps in and rescues Lucy nearly falling into the water himself.

Now both David and Lucy are cold, wet and freezing and almost hypothermic. After David pulls Lucy from the lake both of them are quickly rushed to a waiting car that is running and has the heat blasting. They are both stripped out of the wet clothes and covered in blankets and then are rushed to the nearest hospital. On the way there, Lucy lays her head over on David and runs her fingers through his hair. This will be important later in the book.

At the hospital they are eventually separated into different rooms to spend the night, but Lucy leaves her room and comes to Davids and climbs into bed with him. Upon his release from the hospital the next day the police inform him that he will be taken to live with his grandmother who lives an hour away from Cladispell where his friends and high school are. You see David's father has been physically abusing him for years, and this is not the first time he has been taken from his widower father who is an abusive alchoholic.

Thus begins David and Lucy's up and down on again off again relationship that will take them through the next three years. You will just have to listen to the book to find out what happens during that time and how it all ends up. I was very satisfied with the ending. And everything from the beginning to end makes for a wonderful listen. I highly recommend this book for Young Adults and New Adults. It is a novel of growth and hope and ultimately about young love that works out for the best.

I received a copy of the audio book from the narrator in exchange for an honest, fair review.

Love this book

Ok ok I wrote this book. About 6 years ago. David do a great job.

She Saved My Life One Day

My Stupid Girl is a delighful story about a group of friends growing up together in the wonderful world of teenage angst and drama. It was very enjoyable and I think everyone can relate to this in some way or another. The story is told in first person by David, who is the protagonist. It begins with him hanging out with his crazy fun friends who all refer to themselves as ‘freaks’ and he meets the love of his life, Lucy when he saves her from falling through the ice while skating on the lake.
They were two teenagers from different worlds who by happenstance save EACH OTHERS lives and fall in love through growing pains and angst, love and hate, and ups and downs. From boy to man and girl to woman. Through love and a higher power and a loving grandma, they manage to make it. And in the end, when David is asked how they met, he says that Lucy saved his life one day.
The narrator did a very nice job with this story. I was impressed at how he actually sounded like a teenager. Job well done. I hope to hear more from David Dietz in the future.
I received the audiobook free of charge in exchange for an unbiased review.

Excellent Narration in This Young Romance

For those of you who love a romance you will love this one all the way through. Lots of emotionally based decisions in this one!!!!

For those of you who check the emotions and make decisions based on facts and not emotion...... you will enjoy this about three quarters of the way through. Then, you will be going, "There is no way that would happen......."

The story grabs your attention and makes you want to keep reading. But for me, the story becomes unbelievable before it ends.

[{SPOILER ALERT{{You might want to stop reading now if you don't want details of the story]][[[Spoiler begins now]]]......Self-conscious boy changes miraculously because he "finds" himself after spoiled/never-think-before-you-act girl removes his make-up and reveals his scar (which he always keeps covered) but then leaves the house for the first time ever with no make-up so everyone can see the scar--and his real face. This happens after a huge misunderstanding and a whole year passes without them speaking to each other. He finally sees her, she is obviously pregnant but he is not mad at her (she choice to have sex--she was not raped) but he is angry at the boy who took her virginity; he wants the child for his own because adoption is not an option he can endure. (The adoption is the one point I can understand based on his experience.) As usual stupid girl does not pay any consequences for her actions. She cries and someone else picks up the pieces and fixes things. This will be happily ever after as long as self conscious boy can keep being a cheerleader of stupid girl no matter how self-centered and unaware of others feelings she continues to be. All will be well, if he can forgive all wrongs (because she is so stunning and beautiful-this is a repeating theme) so she can swiftly advance to her next disaster.
{{{END SPOILER}}}

Again, excellent narration. I would definitely listen to another book narrated by David Dietz! Pleasing to your ears whether it be male or female character. Nice pace to the reading and great annunciation.

Giving this one 4 stars in spite of the ending as it was well-written, the characters were interesting and the narration was excellent.