Book Review: Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

SUMMARY: 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 My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time.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.)


OPINION: 4 STARS

Intense yet charming, Confessions of an Angry Girl is a sharp and painful tale that pulls in several elements in a completely smooth way. This is one of those books that got to me so much, I don’t totally know how to properly review it. It is so raw, so real, and so honest. This book had a high impact feel to it, yet also had plenty of sweeter moments, as well some humor to even things out.

Rose is a great character, a girl who is confused, angry, and definitely a mess. Despite this, she isn't a door mat, nor does she come out fighting without cause. She takes a lot, but has a breaking point as well and this balance is perfectly captured. Rose is also flawed, a little self centered in some respects and holding a little too tight onto some things, yet there is something so realistic about her, so understandable, that these flaws go far to build her, without pitching her in a bad light. She has an amazing character arc, going through some tremendous strides in several different areas, yet many of them don’t come easy or obviously to her.

Admittedly, Rose's best friend got on my nerves more than once. To some extent, I understood not only her debate over whether or not to sleep with her boyfriend but also her desire to branch out, I also felt like Rose really should've just cut ties with her after a certain point. Still, there was an interesting push and pull between these two, big faults and small forgives that really added a great element. Then there's Jamie, the boy who causes a whole new set of problems for Rose. Though he left me wanting a little more from him, and gave me a few questions that didn't go totally answered, I still loved his character, and especially his interactions with Rose. Rounding out the cast is Rose's brother, away now at college but still a big part of her life, flaws and all, and her best friend's boyfriend who is a big part of the reason so many problems are cropping up with Rose and Tracy.

While I loved Rose, what got me the most about this book is just how well it showcases how young fourteen years old actually is, and I don't mean that in a bad way. Things are so different when you’re a freshman, starting high school, and even if in some ways, it’s not a big deal, in other respects, fourteen versus eighteen, or even sixteen, is different. This book captures that in such a stunning way, with the fear of sex that Rose holds, the certain ways she is totally naïve, and the ways that she makes some things into bigger deals than they might otherwise be. Even with that, though, nothing in this book came off as just “she’s young” or even using her age or naivety as a cop out. Everything that Rose thinks, feels, and decides is so fully who she is, yet also a tale of where she’s at in life right now.

This book has several layers, and pulls in many different elements and concepts. Picked apart, taken out of context, it almost might seem like there’s too much going on, yet everything is woven together so strongly, it just makes for a gripping, painful, but beautiful tale. The writing has an openness to it that lays all the emotions on the line, yet also has a strong voice that brings Rose to life. She is an intelligent girl, the kind that has a big vocabulary naturally, and can be intimidating at times, yet nowhere does the writing or the words used feel forced or out of character.

Confessions of an Angry Girl got to me in ways that I can't really describe, partly because I don’t want to spoil, but also because it’s one that just worked for me. It had a momentum to it that’s hard to accurately explain, but that kept me completely gripped. And while somewhere in the back of my mind, there were a few things that left me wondering, or that didn’t pull through quite as strongly as I’d have liked, and I admit Tracy drove me crazy and almost to the point of not liking her, Rose herself, and the power in this book, totally washed that stuff out for me and left me reeling.

Details:

Source: Netgalley

Reading Level: Young Adult  

Paperback: 272 pages 

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: August 28, 2012