by Louise Rozett
Publication: August 28, 2012 (Hardback)
Pages: 304
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depository
Rose Zarelli, self-proclaimed word geek and angry girl, has some CONFESSIONS to make… #1: I’m livid all the time. Why? My dad died. My mom barely talks. My brother abandoned us. I think I’m allowed to be irate, don’t you?
#2: I make people furious regularly. Want an example? I kissed Jamie Forta, a badass guy who “might” be dating a cheerleader. She is now enraged and out for blood. Mine.
#3: High school might as well be Mars. My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time. (Mars is red and “seeing red” means being angry-get it?)
Here are some other vocab words that describe my life: Inadequate. Insufferable. Intolerable.
(Don’t know what they mean? Look them up yourself.) (Sorry. That was rude.)
Rose has a very real voice for a freshman girl in high school. While there are those like her best friend Tracy who think about sex and popularity, there are the quiet ones like Rose who don’t see the point in sex, especially with a guy like Tracy’s jerk of a boyfriend. Rose sees the reality of high school life, which is what makes her a bit of an outsider. Still, she’s naive in her own way. Although she knows that Jamie has a bit of a bad reputation and has a bitchy girlfriend who will make Rose’s life miserable if she continues to get involved with Jamie, she goes for him. Which makes her a bit of a hypocrite–okay, an actual hypocrite–for pointing out to Tracy that her boyfriend is cheating her her.
Rose’s life is complicated, as is that of so many characters in this book. Even the homecoming queen, a sweet girl with a future, has a somewhat broken relationship in that her boyfriend isn’t very nice and went to work immediately after his graduation. While the angry in Rose doesn’t come out in full force often, it is a constant presence in her life. She is tired of her mother not being fully there, and she constantly misses her dad and the security his presence brought. Her brother seems to be finally moving on in life, which she doesn’t want to see, and her best friend is worrying about bizarre things like sex when it seems obvious to Rose that sex isn’t an option at their age. She doesn’t have an anchor in her life, which is probably why she is so quick to latch onto Jamie, who she’s been crushing on for a while now and who is starting to notice her and say nice things to her.
I have no idea where Rose and Jamie’s relationship will be going, but I don’t really approve of any relationship between them. Jamie knows that his girlfriend is a bitch and that a friend asked him to take care of his little sister, but he still makes a move on said little sister–and without breaking up with his girlfriend. He isn’t even sure what he expects from Rose. I do not approve of this. It’s not respectful for the girl or himself, and sad as it is for Rose, he deserves what happens to him at the end of the book. As naive as Robby can be, he does respect and understand Rose more… despite what she finds in the glove compartment of his father’s car when he takes her to homecoming in it. He does know how to keep his distance, and he’s there when he needs her. (Note: I’m saying this after I read the book. When I did read the book, I saw him through Rose’s eyes and with her emotions and didn’t like him very much.)
Come back Wednesday for an author interview with Louise Rozett and a giveaway of Confessions of an Angry Girl!
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher. No payment was received in return for a review. The receipt of the book had no influence on the opinions expressed in my review.
Author: Crystal
A story girl at heart, Crystal is a bibliophile who can easily spend the day immersed in a good read. She writes under the name Kristy Wang. You can follow her writing adventures on X and Instagram @_kristywang.
Fall Into Books says
See I kind of like Jamie. I think he's just complicated and there's a lot going on there. I don't even think he was really with WITH Regina. We'll see in future books, I suppose. I just think there's a lot going on that we're not aware of yet. Either way, good review! 😀
Eileen says
Nice review! 🙂 I actually loved it and thought she was a really relatable character and had a compelling voice for a 14-year-old, since I'm around that age as well 🙂 But I do get your points about their relationship and how Rose was slightly a hypocrite 🙂
Fall Into Books says
Wow not sure that I'll like Rose. This is on my review TBR list, so I'll be reading it soon, but I'm not sure how I'll feel about it.
alicia marie says
Thanks for the great review! I've been wanting to read this book, and your review just made me want to read it even more : )
Gaby says
Ok I have to say this sound like a REALLy good book. I like this way you described how you felt about it 🙂 Awesome review.
Steph says
Great review! I was on the fence about whether I wanted to read this one or not. Your review has swayed me and I've decided to read it. It sounds really good!!
Christina K. says
What I like about this is that all the characters' feelings are raw and real, even though we might not like them. But really that's what draws us in to a character. I like that there are questionable decisions, because that's how school is like.
Great review:)
Eli Yanti says
nice review Kris 🙂
Lili says
I can't say that I support girls who get involved with guys who do have girlfriends. It's not that respectful. But I still think I'm going to check this out. I've avoided all reviews I've seen of this book just because the title seemed odd to me, but I think I'm definitely going to give it a chance now! Thanks for sharing!
Crystal says
The title *is* a bit odd, but I tend to have good luck with Harlequin Teen titles. And with all the paranormal reads out there right now, I can't pass up the opportunity to check out a title in another genre, especially a contemporary one. And this read was worth it! 🙂
Casey Sean Harmon says
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Bookworm1858 says
I think this is the book I'll be reading next and I'm not super thrilled to read that Rose gets involved with a boy who already has a girlfriend-I tend to really struggle with stories like that. However I am interested in the writing style which may pull me through the difficult spots.
Crystal says
I also tend to struggle with books like that, but I love this book because it shows the flaws in humans. I started out with certain opinions about different characters, and they ended up being changed. None of the characters are perfect, and that makes them all the more relatable.