Lisa Burstein
Entangled, 2012
Isn't that cover amazing? Love the dress, and the juxtaposition of the obvious party/prom scene with rough cement-block walls. What's even more amazing is that the cover so aptly captures the essence of Pretty Amy.
Amy is a girl struggling to find herself, without knowing she's even fighting. Or rather, she knows she's fighting, she just doesn't know why or against what. High school started out rough, as her relationship with best friend (and neighbor) Joe gets strange, but when she finds Lila and Cassie, Amy starts to feel like she belongs somewhere. The three make it to their senior prom without major incident, and then their luck runs out: after being stood-up, the girls steal a huge bag of pot from Lila's date Brian's house, and things go downhill fast. High and reckless, they attempt to sneak into prom, then are arrested driving around town. That moment is both the end and the beginning.
As Amy begins the long process of trying to stay out of jail, she finds herself in battle after battle - with her parents (especially her mother), with her new therapist, with her coworker-slash-supervisor, with Joe, and most of all, with herself. Amy struggles to find the answers, the perfect solution to happiness - and oblivion. She's on a fast-track to self-destruction, even as she claims to be wanting better for her life. Once she hits the inevitable brick wall, she starts to see clearer - realizing she was the one making the choices all along, realizing she is the one who needs to come to terms with her actions and reactions. The fight's not over, but it suddenly gets a whole lot easier.
Pretty Amy is tough and gritty. There are some serious situations that arise, and Amy's reactions are not always what they could be - let alone should be. She's flawed, deeply, but she's human. She's real. I bet there are a lot of Amys out there in the world right now, fighting the same battles, trying to find the same answers. Though I wanted to shake her into waking up and looking at her world, I also found myself rooting for her - the journey is important, and Amy just made hers a little longer, learned a little more. As a reader, I took that journey too.
eBook provided by publicist for review.
Well teenagers don't always make the right decisions that for sure! I know I didn't! And you definitely have to go through some things yourself to learn but I love that moment when everything becomes clear and starts to make sense!
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting story! I just read the list of book that Lisa read to help inspire her to write "Pretty Amy". I think I've only heard of one of those books ( shows my limited reading).