It's My Life

by Stacie Ramey

[Sam@WLABB]

Jenna was thrown for a loop, when she learned that her cerebral palsy was due to medical malfeasance. She began to withdraw from the real world, and settled into her imaginary one, where she was Jennifer, and she did not have CP. But, when her childhood crush returned to town, Jenna was reminded of who she used to be, and needed to decide who she wanted to be.

While I was reading this book, I thought the main conflict was going to be Jenna seeking medical emancipation from her parents, but that was not the case. For me, this was a story of a young women, who sort of lost herself after uncovering a family secret, and then made a bunch of choices, which push her further and further away from who she was. The once bold and daring young woman began to close herself off from the world, but when Julian, her childhood crush, re-entered her life, she began to remember who she was.

I make it sound like this was so smooth journey, but in reality, Jenna encountered a lot of bumps along the way, many of which, she created herself. She became bitter about her parents keeping this secret from her, and she lashed out in various ways, many of which were her attempt at taking back some control of her life. I won't say I agreed with the choices she made, but it was an important journey for her to take. She needed to make those mistakes, see the error of her ways, and come to terms with her past in order to be able to move forward.

I know, it is starting to sound like Jenna was super angsty, but there were a lot of really fun and lovely moments in this book as well. Jenna was truly blessed with an amazing family. The bond and camaraderie she shared with her brother and sister made me so jealous. The love flowed freely between them, and they looked out for Jenna and cared for her without treating her like she was a porcelain doll. Her parents were also amazing. Her father was the one, who listened and understood Jenna, while her mother gave unending care and support to her. This was all acknowledged by Jenna, so she never seemed like an ingrate.

I felt the drama with her parents was the sort to thing all kids experience with their parents. She was a teen trying to exercise her autonomy. Is that so unusual? I think not, and I guess that is why I was ok with the pushback she was giving her parents. Did I think her way of dealing with it was a bit extreme? Yes, but when the voice of reason spoke, she did listen.

I found this an interesting and enjoyable story of one young woman's quest for autonomy, which featured a sweet romance, a fantastic family, and a rock solid friendship.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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