Over this past summer I was browsing through Barnes & Noble’s Top New Releases for Teens when I came across a book, I knew I had to read. This spectacular book is Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple. Well, you may need some background information; I love to read books that do not have a normal format, for example, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Although this books is nothing like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, it has a similar format, they are both like a personal journal or letters, and W’DYG, B also has FBI reports, complaint mail, e-mails and all other ways of communicating we do here in the 21st century. This book is a must-read because the way Maria Semple writes shows she has a hip and new style of writing (much better than reading a book from the 1920’s when they did not even have computers!) and what teen doesn’t like something new, it shows the insights of a typical (although dysfunctional) family that have issues that need resolving and lastly, it’s just an overall superb book! You should definetley read W’DYG, B but be careful when buying it, I ordered it from Barnes & Noble and when I had 3 pages left they were in the incorrect order, instead of being page 324 & 325 they we 224 & 225 again. I immediately called Barnes & Noble and was so eager to know the ending I asked the representative to read it to me, although she was shocked I would ask a question like that, she read it to me and I thanked her very sincerely because I knew it would soon become my favorite book.


Maria Semple shows her writing experience and creativity in basically every sentence of W’DYG, B. Bernadette is a strange Seattle mom of one, Bee, a fourteen-year-old girl and remarkable student. Bernadette has had a bizarre successful past, although I will let you read all of those surprises for yourself. Elgie, Bernadette’s husband, works for Microsoft and is generating a robot that will be a huge jump in technology. Which is interesting because as I was reading I noticed Semple’s knowledge of other subjects incorporated into her chapters. She used computer lingo in W’DYG, B that will interest us teenagers because we all love our Microsoft and Apple products, right? Overall, Semple’s here and now ways of wording sentences keeps a reader excited about what will happen next, you will not dread page after page, but you will be eager to finish it as soon as you can.


W’DYG, B gives you the feeling and the insight into a family that has a busy father, a teenage daughter and a mother who has a negative outlook on her city and the people who surround her. Bernadette is a strange character; she does not really like the other mothers at Bee’s school, therefore she is quite anti-social, she outsources her daily tasks such as getting groceries and items needed for an upcoming trip to Antarctica Bee was promised. Although Bernadette outsources basically everything she teaches you helpful housekeeping tips like putting an old shirt in a pot under a leak to avoid the drip, drip, drip noise! Semple comes up with crazy ideas throughout this book that seem so real. Maria Semple compels readers to look into their own life and the people they are surrounded by and even learn to appreciate their family members and the fact that they do not just disappear one day… (SPOILER ALERT!)


Overall, Semple’s style of writing is great for teens to read because she keeps you interested with every word. Although this is only her second book (her first one is called This One Is Mine) she writes like she’s been writing forever. I also read This One Is Mine after W’DYG, B because I loved Maria Semple’s writing style but I would advise most teens to wait a couple years before you read it, maybe your parents would like it, but it is quite mature in language and details for us teens. Where’d You Go, Bernadette is a must-read book, it is entertaining and witty and you are guaranteed to never want to put it down until you finish it.