Suz @ Bookish Revelations
Written on May 31, 2011
It wasn't quite exactly the story I was expecting it to turn out to be, but it was also a very welcomed and nice surprise that was able to lend a little more substance to the novel. In many ways, I feel like there are two stories being told her, and a message that I feel many young adults and people in general need to be reminded of, as well. Here's what I mean, story 1 is Abby, story 2 is discovering Tess, and the end result is learning that you are beautiful just as you are while confronting your fears and working through them, without resigning yourself to living in someone else's shadow because you feel as if you'll never been good enough.
Sometimes I've often wondered, just how good is good enough?
The author did a very good job of painting such a painfully insecure but very relatable protagonist, Abby, who feels like she has constanstly had to live within her sister's shadow for most of her life. So, she decides that she has to do something that will cause Tess to wake up, so that she won't have to continue existing in that shadow, but her plan yeilds a much different outcome than she had expected.
Who says different can't be a good thing? Enter Eli, who comes along with his own set of issues and complications, too. He's able to show Abby that she's beautiful just as she is, without having to aspire to be like anyone else. She's the one that he notices the whole entire time that they spend visiting Tess, putting Abby's plan into motion. She's the one that he wants, while she tries to convince herself that he's for Tess. She's doing this for Tess. It's all for Tess.
Abby is afraid and feels invisible a good portion of the time, when compared to Tess. Yet, Tess's own life possesses secrets and entanglements that even Abby had no idea existed, until she started uncovering them, becoming best friend's with her sister's ex-best friend Claire, amongst other things. There are awful truths, hardships to face, challenges in life ahead of Abby, and a life that no one ever (least of all Tess) ever expected for herself. What Elizabeth Scott does with this novel, is make you feel something, whether you're frustrated with Abby for feeling sorry for herself, whether your saddened at the predicament that Tess winds up in, or your cheering the romance between Abby and Eli - this novel is going to be something that makes you feel.
Elizabeth Scott's unique writing style, coupled with a novel chalked full of wonderful center piece characters and secondary character's to support them, is very well worth the read for any contemporary young adult fiction fan or anyone in general. Her stories are genuinely relatable and her character's possess certain qualities, that make them very likable in many ways.
I was quite please with this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone else who not only enjoys contemporary young adult fiction, but also enjoys the likes of other fellow authors such asSarah Dessen, Ann Brashares, Deb Caletti, etc.