Riding in Cars with Boys: Confessions of a Bad Girl Who Makes Good
Written by Beverly Donofrio
Narrated by Christina Moore
3.5/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
Best-selling author Beverly Donofrio is building a growing following of fans with her honest, moving accounts of experiences from her own colorful life. Riding in Cars with Boys--the basis of the hit movie starring Drew Barrymore--is her funny and touching account of growing up too fast in the 1960s.
Once her strict family told her she couldn't go to college, Beverly lost interest in everything except smoking, drinking, and rebelling against authority. She was a "bad" girl, and her behavior soon got her into trouble--as in the pregnant kind of trouble. From becoming a teen-aged wife and mother through finally going to college and getting her life back in order, Donofrio faced one challenge after another in her ambivalent efforts to "grow up" as she raised her son.
By turns laugh-out-loud hilarious and poignantly insightful, Riding in Cars with Boys is perfectly served by a bright, smart narration from Christina Moore.
Beverly Donofrio
Beverly Donofrio is a noted memoirist best known for her bestseller Riding in Cars with Boys, which was adapted into a film of the same name, staring Drew Barrymore. Donofrio also collaborated with mob wife Rosalie Bonanno on Mafia Marriage, which was adapted into the CBS miniseries Love, Honor and Obey.
More audiobooks from Beverly Donofrio
Riding in Cars with Boys: Confessions of a Bad Girl Who Makes Good Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Looking for Mary: (Or, the Blessed Mother and Me) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Riding in Cars with Boys
125 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I felt sorry for the kid, born to a teenage Mom who either ignored him or treated him as a peer. She was a mess
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5If you enjoyed the movie made of this book with Drew Barrymore, you will really love the book. More details of course and some differences on how things turn out. Highly recommended.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good book. Very easy read--took about two days to get through and that's on top of reading five other things. Donofrio's style is witty and honest. Though the book is short, she give the reader everything they need to get a sense of her situation. I give the book credit for not digressing into any number of moral-teaching scenarios where we get to see Donofrio's relationships with whatever guy she might happen to be dating at the time. The book is about her coming of age and her relationship with her son and it sticks to that perfectly. Donofrio writes with brutal and, at times, nonchalant honesty. To the naive reader this may come off as indifference, but to the seasoned reader, Donofrio's "voice" captures just how out of touch she was with what it took to be a mother until later in the story when she begins to reconcile her distaste for her parents. A moving book that doesn't tug at the heart strings as it lays Donofrio's struggles out for all to bear witness. At the end of the day, it touches upon anyone's desire to be one thing life despite the curves that come our way and force us to become something else entirely.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book is way better than the movie, and I liked the movie. I found Donofrio's voice authentic and interesting. I love reading stories about mothers who are not traditional, who articulate the dark side of having children. And who by association make me look half-way competent as a parent. An enjoyable read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Written by a fellow Wallingford-ite who's sister graduated a year ahead of me in high school. Interesting to read of her teenage years, remember the town and where she lived and her life as it progressed. Much better than the movie that followed.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I think this is a situation where I liked the movie more than the book. The movie version of Beverly Donofrio's character had more redeeming qualities and actually showed growth. I won't say anything else about movie vs. book, because this is about the book.
I think after finishing this book, I really kind of dislike Bev. She made terrible decisions and instead of blaming herself for the decisions she made, she constantly treated her son as if her were the sole reason for her failures and mistakes. I often wanted to yell at her and shout, "It's not his fault!"
At one point towards the end of the book, I think I got really upset because she said something along the lines of--and this isn't a direct quote--"Because I had a kid so young I always had to keep one foot on the ground." I almost stopped reading the book right then and there. Trying drugs like cocaine, marijuana, and acid while you practice "free love" and sleep with various men with no strings attached is your idea of keeping one foot on the ground? That really disgusted me. I always thought the term referred to people with big aspirations and dreams. I thought these people had to keep one foot on the ground so they wouldn't float too high and have their head stuck in the clouds. Bev, you were obviously high as kite throughout much of your child's life.
I am also extremely upset with Bev's tone in the book. While she does admit to making some very unwise decisions, and she confesses to the very terrifying possibility that she was unsure about whether or not she loved her child, I think she does it just to give her character some redeeming qualities. When Bev does actually admit to a mistake, she does this thing where she tries to justify the mistake--which is really annoying. If you made a mistake, say you made a mistake and leave it at that. Don't admit to something, try to explain why you did what you did, and then try to change your tune with, "...if I hadn't done that, this might not have happened. So in the end I guess I did the right thing." Lines like this were extremely annoying and frustrating to read.
I don't want to complain too much about the character of Beverly Donofrio. I'm trying to understand what she must have gone through, having a child at 17, being divorced at 19, arrested at 21, and trying to raise a child on her own. I'm trying to forgive her for all the mistakes she made while raising her child. Let's face it, at the end of the day it isn't up to the readers to judge her misdeeds and determine her worth. If Jason could forgive her for all the bad things he had to witness and for his lack of childhood, I guess I can too.
The main reason I gave this book 2 stars is because I think it takes an immense amount of courage to openly acknowledge that you might have made some mistakes while raising a child and with your own life in general. I also think you have to be pretty brave to commit all your thoughts, bad actions, worries, and fears to paper knowing that your child, parents, and readers will judge you for it. Kudos to you Bev for having the strength to write all this down. I don't agree with you or some of your actions, but like I said...what ever took place in your life is really just between you and Jason, but thanks for sharing your story. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This only gets 3-stars because the back story from the movie was embedded in my head. If I had never seen the movie, this book would've come across completely flat. This is a rare instance where I would say that the movie is way, way better than the book; including all of the story plots that were changed for the movie.
Not to mention, that Penguin books did a terrible job converting this book to an eBook edition. Spacing was mid-word "im matterialy", "Si mone", etc and every single time the word "corner" was in the book it was written as "comer". Every time.
This would be a book I'd say isn't really worth reading if you've seen the movie (or even if you haven't). It only makes half-sense unless you have all the life and characters pumped in from the movie..