REVIEW for The Life of Glass

Thank you to HarperCollins Teen for sending me this great, great read!!

TITLE: The Life of Glass

AUTHOR: Jillian Cantor

GENRE: YA

RATING: 5 Stars




I have said this many times over the course of my reviews, but YA are incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful selection of top quality authors writing books aimed at them. When I was younger, we certainly did not have the wide selection and the quality that is found in today's YA books. I particularly enjoy the fact that both publisheres and authors do not shy away from writing books on difficult subjects - while doing it in a honest and compassionate manner - I certainly could have used a book such as The Life Of Glass when I was 14! This book touches on a subject matter that is extremely close to my heart.

Reading this book brought back alot of memories for me and I could feel Melissa's pain and at times, her complete feeling of disconnect from the world (a necessary move in order NOT to feel all the pain inside). Melissa is smart and has been dealt a huge blow -at a very young age - and is trying to cope and "deal" in the only way she feels she can - by reading her dad's journals. However, as with all things in life - there is a reason behind her dad's death - and Melissa will slowly, but surely learn her life lessons (those that life is teaching her and those that her dad wants her to know).

This book could easily have been just an average book, which eventually ends up in "sugar land" with everybody living happily ever after without a care in the world - but thankfully, the author's wonderful quality of writing and obvious love for her characters AND her storyline made this book, instead, a true gem.

I loved reading this book - it is a mature, sensitive look at grief and at how we go on after we have been ripped apart. But more importantly, it inspires us to "forge ahead" and to believe!

I LOVED, LOVED this one (sniff! sniff!).