Vain (Seven Deadly, #1)

by Fisher Amelie

[Kim Deister]

Amazing. Hands down, one of the most powerful books I have read. I went into it not really knowing what to expect. It is written from the first-person POV, in Sophie's voice, and it follows her journey from spoiled, rich girl to a young woman with value... to herself and to others.

This book pulls no punches, softens no blows, glosses over no situations. It is in your face with sex, with drugs, with manipulation. In the beginning, Sophie is unapologetic for who she is. Rich, manipulative, and a tease. She uses drugs and doesn't apologize for it. She uses her friends and feels justified doing so. She uses sex as a weapon, as a tool, and she doesn't care. She rules her world and everyone in it and assumes that is how it always will be. She is not at all likable.

And her behavior catches up to her, landing her in trouble that her money and her family's name can't get her out of. Instead, she is sentenced to six months in Masego, working at an orphanage that her family's attorney supports in Uganda. From the moment Sophie sets foot in Africa, she is in complete and utter culture shock. Her journey, both with the children and other people at Masego and within herself, is truly amazing.

She is such a self-absorbed jerk at the beginning of the book that I couldn't imagine feeling for her character. But that changes as we know more of her story and her family. Pembroke, her family's attorney was one of my favorite characters in the entire book, the one person from her past that I think truly loved her for who and what she was, and who understood why she had come to be the way she was. And I loved that she grew to recognize that and to appreciate it.

There is action in this book, a lot of it, but the true action is within Sophie. There is romance, too, and that becomes a beautiful part of her transformative journey. There is joy and there is heart break. Everything about this book tugged at my soul and at my heart. There is so much to be said about this beautiful book, but I want everyone to read it and experience for themselves!

Things to love about Vain...

--Pembroke. As I said above, he was the one person that looked beneath the surface, who understood Sophie before she changed. And he accepted her even while he tried to help her.
--Sophie. Her changes didn't come overnight and that is what made it so touching and real.

My recommendation: This was a truly provocative read and one I think that everyone should read. I think there are some powerful messages in it, messages about love, about acceptance, about looking beyond the surface, about priorities and value.