REVIEW for Beautiful

Thank you to author Amy Reed an Simon Pulse for sending me this book.

TITLE: Beautiful

AUTHOR: Amy Reed

GENRE: YA

RATING: 3 Stars

I am not sure what to really write about this book. Beautiful is not at all what I expected and while I thought it was okay, I also had some reservations about it. I know that other reviewers seem to have thoroughly enjoyed this book, but as I was reading the story, I found a few thoughts kept coming back up to me. For one thing, this was a scary story.

Yes, I know that YA are different today than in my day (which was NOT that far ago) but as an adult, I felt a tad anxious about reading this story. Is it that easy for a teen to change? perhaps?! This was a frightening thought. The second and more obvious thing for me is that I did not connect with Cassie at all. I am not sure if its because she was not fleshed out enough for me or if its because she is such a follower, I found myself completely disconnected from her. Yes, I understand that she is lonely, sad and maybe even depressed. Yes, I understand that she is looking for "something", but this character does not seem to have been written with one single "yes, but what if" thought in her mind. Its as though she was written to be only a follower - without a brain.

The author does a fine job of showing us the peer pressure and the hell that YA can live in today, however, there seems to be "the other side" of this picture missing. I am not saying that people like Cassie do not exist and that their problems are not real, I just could not feel or care anything for her.

I am rating this as 3 stars because the author does a good job with the writing.