Dear Nobody Review

Goodreads

TITLE: Dear Nobody: The True Diary of Mary Rose

EDITED BY: Gillian McCain & Legs McNeil

PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Fire

PUBLICATION DATE: 4/1/2014

PAGES: 336

MY RATING:

SUMMARY (from Goodreads): Go Ask Alice was a hoax. But Dear Nobody is a true teen diary so raw and so edgy its authenticity rings off every page.

"I am a freak."

The words and drawings of Mary Rose present a gritty, powerful, no-holds-barred true experience of a teen girl so desperate to be loved, so eager to fit in that she'll go to extremes that could cost her her life.

This is not a story about addiction. Or sexual promiscuity. Or cystic fibrosis. It's the story of a young woman with a powerful will to live, who more than anything wants to be heard...and loved.

This compelling, emotional account ensures her voice will not be forgotten.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: This was a heartbreaking story. I feel so bad about everything this girl had to go through. All she wanted was acceptance and she compromised herself in an attempt to get it. This story is not for everyone. It's extremely emotional and I had a hard time getting through it. 

CHARACTERS: This is a hard category to write about for this book. I feel like I understand Mary Rose because we were reading directly from her diary. There aren't really any characters in this book that I like. I feel like with everything that's happening to Mary Rose that she should have a support system in her family at the least, but there's no one there for her and it breaks my heart.

COVER: The cover is fine. It's hard for me to judge the cover of this book with the intensity of feelings that I have about the book itself.

**I received an E-ARC of this book from Netgalley for my honest review.

Dear Nobody: The True Diary of Mary Rose

I was invited to be a part of the street team for a captivating diary turned novel called Dear Nobody: The True Diary of Mary Rose. You will be seeing posts from me all month long about this book.

Today, I want to showcase the book and give a summary, as well as share the book trailer with you guys!

The following summary was taken from Goodreads.com:

Go Ask Alice was a hoax. But Dear Nobody is a true teen diary so raw and so edgy its authenticity rings off every page.

"I am a freak."

The words and drawings of Mary Rose present a gritty, powerful, no-holds-barred true experience of a teen girl so desperate to be loved, so eager to fit in that she'll go to extremes that could cost her her life.

This is not a story about addiction. Or sexual promiscuity. Or cystic fibrosis. It's the story of a young woman with a powerful will to live, who more than anything wants to be heard...and loved.

This compelling, emotional account ensures her voice will not be forgotten.

Make sure to check back next week when I'll be posting more about this book!

Embrace Review (ARC)

 

TITLE: Embrace (ARC)AUTHOR: Jessica ShirvingtonPUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Fire PUBLICATION DATE: 3/6/2012PAGES: 369MY RATING: 

SUMMARY (From Goodreads): It starts with a whisper: “It’s time for you to know who you are…”

Violet Eden dreads her seventeenth birthday. After all, it’s hard to get too excited about the day that marks the anniversary of your mother’s death. As if that wasn’t enough, disturbing dreams haunt her sleep and leave her with very real injuries. There’s a dark tattoo weaving its way up her arms that wasn’t there before.

Violet is determined to get some answers, but nothing could have prepared her for the truth. The guy she thought she could fall in love with has been keeping his identity a secret: he’s only half-human—oh, and same goes for her.

A centuries-old battle between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity has chosen its new warrior. It’s a fight Violet doesn’t want, but she lives her life by two rules: don’t run and don’t quit. When angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden… 

 

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand I really liked the concept and the story line, but on the other hand, it was a little too complex for me. Shirvington does a great job explaining everything as there is a huge amount of backstory and history in the book, but for me personally I had a hard time following. I found my brain wandering when I would read the long descriptions and I wouldn't be able to focus on the explanations. So if you like detailed explanations and the history behind things, especially angels, then I would definitely recommend this book for you.

On page 69 of the book, there is discussion of a map being drawn. I don't know if it's in the final copy of the book as I only have the ARC, but I think that would be a neat thing to be able to see.

On a final note, the book says that this is for ages 12+ but I disagree with that. I feel that it should be rated 14+. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like there is a huge amount of very strong sexual tension that should be read about by a slightly older reader.

 

CHARACTERS: Lincoln. I fell in love with Lincoln. There's just something about him; he's kind, sweet, caring, everything perfect! Phoenix is kind of the bad boy of the book. Since the moment we are introduced to him, I just didn't really connect with him. I felt like Violet (the main character) was with him just because she didn't want to be alone and she thought she was supposed to be with him. 

 

COVER: Love it! Purple is my favorite so that right there makes me love the cover. I really like the way the wings look and the feathers scattered around. And the back of the girl's dress is really cute! 

 

*I received this from Amazon Vine for a review.