I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, this not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review in any way.
Rose Zarelli has big plans for sophomore year - everything is going to be different. This year, she's going to be the talented singer with the killer voice, the fabulous girl with the fashionista best friend, the brainiac who refuses to let Jamie Forta jerk her around...
...but if she's not careful, she's also going to be the sister who misses the signals, the daughter who can only think about her own pain, the "good girl" who finds herself in mid-scandal again (because no good deed foes unpunished) and possibly worst of all...the almost-girlfriend.
When all else fails, stop looking for love and go find yourself.
Book two in the Confessions series really allows for Rose to grow and develop as a character. Through both books she's matured before my very eyes, sure she's still a teenager that's figuring out where she fits in in the world, but it works because she really seems like a fifteen going on sixteen year old girl. Hell, I should know, my sister turned sixteen a couple months ago! So, yes, Confessions of an Almost-Girlfirend is realistic, it's believable, and that's something I look for in Contemporary YA.
In the first book Rose is struggling to find who she is and what she wants to do through high school and beyond, the book ends with an epiphany of sorts, and a better relationship between her and her mother. Rose sticks with her new found dream of singing in some way, auditioning for the school musical, but the friendlier mother-daughter relationship doesn't seem to stick. In fact it takes a 180, so much so that mother-daughter counselling is now a thing.
The counsellor is called Caron and she's Rose's mum's friend. In the sessions they talk about all sorts of things, including the website Rose created for her father. I'd never have thought of creating a website for a deceased loved one, but I can totally see why Rose did. This blog is mine and I love it, I'd hate for anyone to tamper with it, and if someone did, and that someone happened to be a parent I'd feel extremely betrayed. I don't want to say too much, but Rose's mum needs to give the girl a bit of space and stop acting like a therapist. I love that as things happened Rose would detail what other people would say and tell her to do, including Caron. I found Rose's narrative extremely funny and I just loved her!
Rose is stubborn and can be rude, hurting others, she has a lot to deal with, and most of the time her actions are understandable. And you know what, I actually like the sarcastic and sassy Rose 2.0, especially when she tells Jamie Forta what's what (go Rose!!!). Jamie's an older guy, and one of the main reasons she suffered through hell as a Freshman, and that seemed to be okay because she was going to prom with him, until Regina happened. I left the last book thinking something would work out between them through the summer, but no. Jamie basically abandons Rose and she doesn't hear a peep, so in my opinion she has a right to be angry. I'm all for the mysterious good-looking guy, but maybe Jamie is a bit too mysterious, he needs to be upfront and tell Rose what's going on in his life. The girl can't wait forever.
As more was revealed about the other character's lives I started to understand their motives, the reasoning behind Regina's mega-bitch status became much more apparent, and I didn't hate her all that much anymore, either. In fact through my understanding I felt rather sorry for her, and I guess that's what Louise Rozett was going for.
I feel like this review is just me spewing a whole load of positive, but I really don't have anything negative to say. I really really like Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend, it's definitely one of the better Contemporary YA books that I've read in a while. It's so refreshing to read something that's just SO good, there's no 'well I liked this, but couldn't stand that', or 'I guess she was alright, but he was just dreadfully annoying'. I read it in an afternoon with a sleeping puppy on my knee, and I enjoyed every moment of it.
'Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend' by Louise Rozett
5 Stars
Labels: 2015, 2015 Contemporary Challenge, 5 Stars, Book, Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend, Confessions of an Angry Girl, Louise Rozett, Published 2013, Review, YA, Young Adult
