le book review number eighty-seven~ fat angie

Title: Fat Angie
Author: e.e. Charlton-Trujillo
Standalone
Hardcover
Pages: 264
Year Published: 2013
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Personal Star Rating: 3.5 stars

Description:
Angie is the only one in her family - maybe the only one in the world - who believes her captured war-hero sister is still alive. Angie needs to believe it. It's better than thinking about last year, when she tried to kill herself in front of a packed gym. Better than trying to steer clear of Stacy Ann Sloan and her posse of ultra-mean girls. Better than dealing with her corporate lawyer mother, who wants to know only one thing: When is Angie going to lose exactly twenty-nine pounds?
Then a new girl, KC, arrives in Dryfalls, Ohio. She's beautiful, hip, and smart, and everyone wants to know her. From the minute they meet, KC sees the real Angie, not the fat girl hiding from her pain under a mountain of junk food. She sees Angie for who she really is: someone who just might shake things up - on the basketball court and in KC's life. Outrageous and touching, this darkly comic, anti-romantic romance brings us unforgettable characters on the edge.

Cover Comments:
Very bright blue it stands out. I think it was vibrant that's why i picked it up.

Title Thoughts:
Very unique title and deprecating. I think because of it's negative connotation I decided to see what exactly was being said.

Review:
I found this book to be alright. However, I don't feel like I completely know Angie after reading it. She seemed confused about her feelings and I think all teenagers can relate to that. I found the pop culture references might make the book a bit outdated in some ways within a few years. I liked that it was told in a perspective unlike any that I've read before and in some instances within the book I could understand Angie and KC and their friendship was a very integral part of the plot and she became a very important part of Angie's life. I think Angie always wanted to do better for KC and make her proud and this was very motivating for Angie to achieve her goals. I probably wouldn't read this book again but for what it was worth, it was overall pretty good.

le book review number eighty-six~ but i love him

Title: But i Love Him
Author: Amanda Grace
Standalone
Paperback
Pages: 245
Publisher: Flux
Year First Published: 2011
Personal Star Rating: 4/5 stars 

Description:
Sometimes at night, I wake up and stare at the heart for house. I think of how I collected each piece from the beach, how I glued it all together into one big sculpture. I wonder if Connor realizes what it means, that he'll always have a piece of me no matter what happens. Each piece of glass is another piece of myself that I gave to him.
It's too bad I didn't keep any pieces for myself.

Cover Comments:
I really like the cover. It is really reflective of the novel itself. The colours are very interesting, the jagged title font showcases the topic of the book. I was especially drawn to the interesting heart.

Title Thoughts:
Accurate to the book. It makes a lot of sense to have it as the title and was part of the reason I picked it up.

Review:
I found this book was really amazing. It was well written, well described, showed character growth and had such an interesting appeal in being told chronologically backwards with flashforwards to the present situation mixed in. A topic of relationship abuse, this book wasn't typical and I felt it showed the reality with characters that felt real. It showed how it changed Ann drastically over the course of the book without being "her life is ruined because of Connor and she should have known from the start to stay away from him because we don't know the start until the end". It seemed that the situation was very sad and even though at times I would be frustrated with Ann for being with Connor, I understood her reasoning and felt very sorry for her. The book showed how someone could easily get involved with that abusive life without realizing it. It showed the progression of the relationship and the abuse. Overall I was really impressed and would give it another read if I ever found the time.

le book review number eighty-five~ go ask alice

Title:Go Ask Alice
Author: Anonymous
Standalone
Year First Published: 1971
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 185
Personal Star Rating: 4/5 stars

Description:
The harrowing true story of a teenager's descent into the seductive world of drugs. A diary so honest you may think you know Alice - or someone like her. Read her diary. Enter her world. You'll never be able to forget Alice.

Title Thoughts:
The title of the book is taken from "White Rabbit". It's a very memorable title. It is also very unique and it was a big reason for me reading this book.

Cover Comments:
The cover is very shadowy. I love the font used and the layout. It's haunting and ghostly. A good reflection of the book itself.

Review:
This was a very different book from what I've ever read. I definitely found myself captivated by her story and her struggles. I find diary type books very insightful and very true to what a person is like. Journals are a place where people can write about who they really are, what they've really done, and what they really want to do without fearing judgement from others. The protagonist, Alice, was very interesting. There was one key drawback about this book - it was very dated. It didn't embrace modern society or reflect very accurately some of what the youth of today is exposed to. I found it annoying when the author repeated word's multiple times as this made it unbelievably laughable because it seems so time period of the seventies that after that decade, it seems irrelevant. Overall, it gave me something to think about and it actually made me think. It was worth 4 stars the first read, probably wouldn't read it again anytime soon and it would lose it's first time unique factor.