ARC Review: Positively Beautiful by Wendy Mills

Title: Positively Beautiful

Author: Wendy Mills

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Publication Date: March 3, 2015

Source: On the Same Page ARC Tours

Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Add it to Goodreads
Amazon

In this heart-wrenching story of love and loss, a teen grapples with a medical question that could change everything.

Erin Bailey's life changes forever the day her mom is diagnosed with breast cancer. It's always been just Erin and Mom, so living without her is not an option. Life takes another turn when the cancer is linked to a rare genetic mutation, and Erin must choose whether or not to have her own DNA tested. Her only escape outlets are a new friend she met in an online support group and flying lessons, where looking to the horizon calms her deepest fears. But when a flash decision has Erin flying away to find her friend, she embarks on a journey to new love and a better understanding of the true meaning of beauty.

This thought-provoking story brings readers to the emotional brink and back again as they experience Erin's fear, her frustration, and ultimately . . . her freedom.

My Review

A few simple words can't explain what reading Positively Beautiful by Wendy Mills will do to readers. It's an emotional roller coaster of a read that will have readers laughing, smiling, swooning, and crying. You will be in tears by the end of the book. I promise you that. The book will literally transform the way readers think about life and death.

The novel starts out by introducing readers to sixteen (almost seventeen) year old Erin Bailey. She is your average American teenage girl. She does well in school and has a best friend. She's not the most popular girl in school, but I wouldn't say she's on the lowest rung of the social ladder. She's also got a nemesis like quite a few girls do in high school. Her best friend meets a boy, and soon they all begin to hang out with Michael, a boy who used to be quite popular until he decided to drop it all. Pretty status quo, right? Well... that's just the beginning of the book.

Mills introduces the main problem of the book - Erin's mom's cancer diagnosis - rather quickly, but after reading the whole novel, I like that she did that. With the inclusion of a very quick diagnosis, Mills creates a very realistic case of what it's like to battle cancer because cancer really can strike anywhere and at any time. 

If you read the synopsis, you know that Erin's mom discovers that the cancer is linked to a genetic mutation. Some of you may already be aware of this gene - the BRCA gene - because Angelina Jolie recently decided to have a mastectomy because of it. After Erin finds out that she could be at risk, she orders a kit to have her own DNA tested. I thought that Erin was brave for wanting to find out the truth, even though everyone, including her mom, is insisting that she wait until she's older to be tested. I admire Mills for bringing this into the story. It really shows that some people want to know just how they could die.

I also enjoyed that there were a few things going on in this book. It's not just about cancer (although the aforementioned cancer is the reason that Erin does a lot of what she does). There are some heartbreaking moments between Erin and her best friend. There are some times when you'll feel so bad for Erin that you want to jump into the book and give her the biggest of hugs. You'll see Erin go online to find support groups to help her cope with the genetic mutation that is destroying her family. Erin also tries to distract herself with flying lessons so she can feel closer to her late father. Erin is a mufti-faceted character that I think will connect with many of today's teens.

If you're only looking to read a few new books in 2015, this should be one of them. It's emotional and it's raw, but it will teach you about life and love when it seems like all hope is lost in the world.

It's Monday! What are You Reading? (11)

"It's Monday! What Are You Reading?" is a weekly meme brought to you by BookJourney. Each Monday, you get to share what you're currently reading and what you plan on reading this week with the rest of the book blogosphere. When you've finished your post, go to BookJourney, and add your post's link to the link up tool. Readers of YA and teachers can also share their link on the link up tool on Teach Mentor Texts.

Now I know in my last few "It's Monday" posts, I've planned on reading quite a few books, but I am having such a hard time getting through one that I told you about a while ago. It's depressing, actually. It never takes me this long to read a book. So... I'm still reading it, but I really hope to finish it today because I've got an ARC on it's way!

What I'm Reading This Week:

Title: Atlantia

Author: Ally Condie

Synopsis:
Can you hear Atlantia breathing?

For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamt of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all her plans for the future are thwarted when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected decision, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self—and the powerful siren voice she has long hidden—she has nothing left to lose.

Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother’s death, her own destiny, and the complex system constructed to govern the divide between land and sea. Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths.

Title: Positively Beautiful

Author: Wendy Mills

Synopsis:
16-year-old Erin is a smart if slightly dorky teenager, her life taken up with her best friend Trina, her major crush on smoky-eyed, unattainable Michael, and fending off Faith, the vision of perfection who’s somehow always had the knife in for Erin. Her dad, a pilot, died when she was very young, but Erin and her mom are just fine on their own.

Then everything changes forever one day after school when Erin’s mom announces she has breast cancer. And there’s even worse news to come. Horrified, Erin discovers that her grandmother’s death from cancer is almost certainly linked, the common denominator a rare gene mutation that makes cancer almost inevitable. And if two generations of women in the family had this mutation, what does that mean for Erin? The chances she’s inherited it are frighteningly high. Would it be better to know now and have major preemptive surgery or spend as much life as she has left in blissful ignorance?

As Erin grapples with her terrible dilemma, her life starts to spiral downwards, alleviated only by the flying lessons she starts taking with grumpy Stew and his little yellow plane, Tweetie Bird. Up in the sky, following in her dad’s footsteps, Erin finds freedom chasing the horizon. Down on the ground it’s a different story, and facing betrayal from Trina, humiliation from Faith, and a world of disappointment with Michael, Erin knows she must discover the truth about herself. Sure enough, she’s positive for the gene that’s slowly killing her mom.

Suddenly, Erin’s life has turned into a nightmare, and the only person she can truly talk to is a girl called Ashley who she meets online. But when, in a moment of madness, Erin flies away with Tweetie Pie to find her new friend, she finds herself on a journey that will take her through not only shock and despair - but ultimately to a new understanding of the true meaning of beauty, meaning, and love.

So that's what I'm reading this week. I'd like to thank On the Same Page ARC tours for the opportunity to read Positively Beautiful.

What are you reading this week? Feel free to let me know in the comments, and as always, feel free to leave a link to your "It's Monday" post so I can check them out.

Happy reading!

ARC Review: Damsel Distressed

Title: Damsel Distressed

Author: Kelsey Macke

Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary

Publication Date: October 14, 2014

Source: On the Same Page ARC Tours 

Format: ARC

Hot girls get the fairy tales. No one cares about the stepsisters' story. Those girls don't get a sweet little ending; they get a lifetime of longing

Imogen Keegen has never had a happily ever after–in fact, she doesn’t think they are possible. Ever since her mother’s death seven years ago, Imogen has pulled herself in and out of therapy, struggled with an “emotionally disturbed” special ed. label, and loathed her perma-plus-sized status.

When Imogen’s new stepsister, the evil and gorgeous Ella Cinder, moves in down the hall, Imogen begins losing grip on the pieces she’s been trying to hold together. The only things that gave her solace–the theatre, cheese fries, and her best friend, Grant–aren’t enough to save her from her pain this time.

While Imogen is enjoying her moment in the spotlight after the high school musical, the journal pages containing her darkest thoughts get put on display. Now, Imogen must resign herself to be crushed under the ever-increasing weight of her pain, or finally accept the starring role in her own life story.

And maybe even find herself a happily ever after.

Enhance the experience with the companion soundtrack, Imogen Unlocked, by the author's band, Wedding Day Rain.

My Review

Everywhere I look, it seems like most YA characters are very similar in regards to their physical appearances, but Damsel Distressed throws all of those common stereotypes out the window and introduces readers to a new kind of YA book. Why? Because finally, we don't have a skinny main character! We get a plus size girl with all sorts of problems, and I just love it! I truly hope to see more books like this in the future, especially if they are by Kelsey Macke.

First of all, I must applaud Kelsey Macke for the creation of this stunning book. Everything in this book is just perfect. It made me cry. It made me laugh. I pretty much experienced every human emotion possible while reading my book. In my opinion, I feel like the more emotions represented make it a better and more captivating read.

The main character, Imogen, is unlike any YA character that I've ever seen in a book before. First of all, she's overweight, and I mean that she's really overweight - not just a few pounds. As someone who struggled with my weight my whole life, I finally felt like this weight was being lifted off my shoulders because here is this wonderful character who I can relate to now. I'm twenty-five now, but much I still experience the nights where I want to binge eat like Imogen, and I felt like much of her struggles with obesity were realistic and true. Not only is Imogen overweight, but she's also got a lot going on emotionally and mentally. I loved her flaws. I love how she knows she has problems but she's afraid to fix them out of fear of ruining everything. I love how she learns to grow and becomes comfortable in her own skin.

I think fans of books like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Love Letters to the Dead, and It's Kind of a Funny Story will be drawn to Imogen and enjoy her story because she also deals with mental health problems.

Macke shows her incredible support of the arts in this book, and as a teacher, I must thank her. I am obviously an English teacher, but I was very involved in my high school's music program when I was a student. I was in concert band, jazz band, pit orchestra, and marching band. I still support that music program to this day, so happy tears were brought to my eyes when I saw just how much Macke cares about the arts. Maybe people will read this book and realize just how important the arts are to keep in schools.

So how exactly does Macke show her support for the arts? Imogen, our main character, is involved in her school's musical. She works in the sound booth. During much of the book, Imogen is at rehearsals. Another way that Macke shows her support of the fine arts is by including a special event dedicated to them in the plot of the book. Can you say awesome? Also, there are going to be pages full of original artwork throughout the book. And finally, Kelsey Macke and her husband are releasing an original album as a soundtrack to the book. Talk about dedication. Ms. Macke certainly knows how to tell a story while supporting the fine arts. Kudos to her.

I loved this book, and everything that it represents. Yes, it's a retelling of "Cinderella" with a point of view twist, but it's so much more than that. It's a book about grief, love, family, and friendship. Most importantly, it's a book about self-acceptance that I think all teenagers and young adults should read.

Quotes I Enjoyed:

"I am whole. I am more than just the pieces that I see. I am so much stronger than I seem."

"When are we gonna get a fat princess? How about a princess with bad acne and crappy posture and the mouth of a sailor? Probably never. Every. Single. One. Is the same. Totally hot. Totally predicable."

"Happiness isn't a choice. And people who say it is are just lucky enough to not really need to choose it."

"But pain can make you beautiful... if you try."

"Shooting stars are for suckers."