Louise Rozett

Talk about riling my emotions. This author sure knows how to work me up! I wasn't even a quarter way through the book and man, even I was pissed!

The plot of the book is what really catches the reader. Rose has been through hell and back. So how come no one has no compassion for her huh? Everyone just's wants to jump on her case and make it seems like she is "out of control." UGH! You don't know how much I wanted to step into the book and slap these characters silly! Seriously, I don't think show more I ever had my blood pressure get so high. Oh, wait a minute. Yes, now that I recall, Ms. Rachel Vincent does the same thing to me. Same publisher too. The irony is astounding. *scratches chin*

Anywhoo back to Ms. Rozett. Honey, you are a genius. Her characters are raw yet you can feel them developing right in front of you. I enjoyed being in their shoes and feeling every single depth of emotions that they give off. I like that Rose has so much on her mind to say. Sometimes, and this is totally true, I found myself saying exactly what she is thinking out loud before I even read it HA! Freaky huh?

There is a love interest that I found enduring yet ending so suddenly. I know that these two can be so much more but people just don't know how to mind their own damn business! And that's what gets you about this love. They are totally meant to be. Except for the snobby people who I like to slap! *ugh* Given the chance, these two can grow and learn from each other. Already, they are fight for the love that has not even begin yet. That's why folks, I am already needing the second book.

Confessions Of An Angry Girl is all that you wanted to say and more. Sarcastic thoughts, followed by murderous glares, you just know what she is thinking. I found myself quickly caught up in a beautifully written book who's emotions are hidden off to the world. This bittersweet tale of young girl just trying to make her way, will blow your mind. show less

I have not been shy when it comes to announcing exactly how much I loved Confessions of An Angry Girl. I find Rose refreshingly real, with an indomitable spirit, quick wit, and sharp tongue, who I can easily relate to on pretty much every single level. Her journey in the first book made me laugh, cringe and cry in equal measures, and I knew that she would quickly become one of my favorite fictional narrators. I therefore dove into Confessions of An Almost-Girlfriend with eager joy, hoping show more and praying that it would be as good as the first. And not only is it as good, it's actually even better; I came away from this book with more feelings than I knew what to do with, much like Rose herself.

What I love most about Rose is the way she is trying her best to cope with her life. She's still grieving over her father's death, but now has an incommunicado Jamie on her hands, who she can't stop thinking about. Add to that her brother's own personal issues, and finding herself once again caught up in some sort of school scandal, and it's pretty clear that Rose isn't going to get the peaceful sophomore year she was hoping for. This book was very much about Rose's personal journey: she's searching for who she wants to be and reconciling that with who she actually is. I loved the steps she took to actually find some happiness and to find herself; her introspection at times brought tears to my eyes with the depth of emotions she's feeling pretty much constantly. I can't imagine having all of what she's dealing with going through my head at one time.

Along with Rose, though, is an amazing supporting cast of characters, each with their own set of issues and their own unique personalities. I loved the addition of Holly, who is just a really nice person. I liked the growth and change in Tracy and Rose's friendship, and the reintroduction of a newly-revamped Angelo. And then, of course, there's Jamie, who still makes me swoon even when I kind of want to smack him. I was so happy to finally get some background on him, because it allowed not only Rose but the reader as well to feel like they finally knew him. Or, at least, knew him better than before. The way Ms. Rozett wrote the relationship between Rose and Jamie was so well done, with the awkward conversations and the way he really seemed to get her, and her him. There were so many scenes between the two that I wanted to highlight and keep in order to re-read them over and over - Christmas Eve, outside Tracy's house, the restaurant - and even when their interactions didn't go the way I was wanting them to, I still loved them because of the end result: a stronger, more sure of herself Rose. And since Rose is the main draw of these books, ultimately it's her I'm rooting for more than anything else.

There are also so many issues tackled in each of these books: peer pressure, bullying, abuse, tolerance, etc., and they're all handled in such an understated and strong way. While Rose keeps telling herself she's not going to get involved in other people's problems, it becomes quite apparent that she just can't let things be when she knows she should act. I especially liked the whole dynamic with Conrad - another very strongly crafted character - and the way he really forced her to rethink and re-evaluate her choices, decisions, and preconceived notions.

All I can really say is that, if you haven't read these books yet, you are seriously missing out. There is so much to love about these books: a realistic portrayal of high school, a strong main character who's doing her best to find herself, a swoon-worthy love interest, and the way issues are handled in a sensitive way that really make you think. Just do yourself a favor, and check them out as soon as you can!

An e-galley was provided by the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

I really connected with this book — way more than I thought I would. I thought it would just be a fun, entertaining contemporary read.. and it was, but it was also much more than that. This book hit me on a personal level because I could completely connect with Rose’s high school experiences, and that’s what this book is about.

Rose is a freshman at high school and so far.. she’s not crazy about it. She and her best friend since like, forever, began high school together but they’re show more slowly growing apart. Lucy joins the cheerleading squad and turns into a party girl, whereas Rose is more down to earth and not caught up in the social scene. This is like, the definition of what happened to me just before high school. I had a best friend who I did everything with and we were practically inseparable. But then she started drinking, smoking, and turning into a teenage party girl, whereas I stayed behind and didn’t change all that much. That’s why I loved this book so much — because I was able to relate to Rose on a really personal level and it made me completely rethink my early high school years.

We follow Rose through the school year, watching her crush on a guy, her friendships change and get torn apart, and we see her try to deal with the grief from her father’s recent death. This book has a lot of emotion and deals with topics that I’m sure most of us can relate to: drama, drinking, sex, bullying, loss, and friendship. Rose had a really unique and down to earth character that I absolutely loved. She didn’t try to sound cool or composed — she was just her sarcastic, witty, “I don’t really care what you think” self, and I LOVED it! That’s what made the story so real, refreshing, and relatable. I laughed, I cried, and I screamed in disappointment when the book came to an end. I didn’t even realize that this book would be a series until I got to the last page and saw:

CONFESSIONS OF AN ALMOST GIRLFRIEND Coming in 2013 from Harlequin TEEN.

I did not want this book to end! I wasn’t ready to leave Rose’s world and I wanted to find out what happened next. show less

I wasn't really sure what to expect from Confessions of An Angry Girl. I loved the idea of a girl who is clearly a wordsmith, as I adore learning new words and finding ways to incorporate them into sentences, and was also very interested in just how angry Rose really was. Turns out, she's nearly apoplectic (see what I did there?), in more ways than one, and actually has some very good reasons for being so. Aside from her anger, Rose is also heartbreaking and hilarious in equal measures, show more making for a reading experience that was fun and heart-wrenching all at the same time.

Everyone knows that high school is a difficult transition for some teens, and Rose Zarelli is no exception. She doesn't conform to the same rules of popularity as others, and isn't interested in doing so, either, which makes her a definite outcast. Combine that with her anger and sadness over her dad's death, and the fact that she and her best friend seem to be growing apart, and you get a read that's definitely full of ups and downs. I actually found myself tearing up a couple of times, in fact, which was not something I'd been expecting and always makes the shock of those emotions more poignant. The parts that particularly got me were her thoughts about her dad, and the way she tried to navigate the way her anger would come and go so hot and furious that it left her - and the reader - reeling. Her reactions and feelings are so realistic and well done that I simply have to applaud the author for writing Rose with such a careful and well-thought-out manner. I really came to love every bit of her.

This book also has an unconventional romance, in that Rose falls for Jamie, who not only is an upperclassman with a girlfriend, but also a guy that her circle of friends really looks down on. I'm not even sure you can call this a romance, since Rose spends the entire book not actually being "with" Jamie at all, despite some very well-written and rather steamy kisses shared between them. One of the places I teared up, actually, is during an interaction she has with Jamie in which he tells her one of his secrets, but then pulls away from her, saying he shouldn't have kissed her. There's a definite back and forth that's a bit maddening to read about, but is completely understandable and therefore not as eye-roll inducing as it could be. I can't help but root for the two of them to get things figured out.

No book set in a high school would be complete without mean girl drama, but in Confessions of An Angry Girl, it's ratcheted up a bit because Rose experiences some very real bullying and harassment. While the educator in me wanted to shake her and make her tell an adult exactly what was happening, the part of me that was a teenager myself fully grasped why she wouldn't want to, particularly after some events earlier in the book. It didn't make it any easier to read about, but I liked how the culmination of the mean girl story line lead to some reconciliations on Rose's part which helped the book remain more hopeful than angsty.

All in all I found this book to be absolutely wonderful, even when it was dealing with subject matter that is decidedly not lighthearted. There is an underlying humor throughout, and Rose herself has much to do with that. I loved the romance, the teen issues, and the way Rose's anger at her father's death was handled. There are some very serious topics tackled within this book's 266 pages, and it's all done incredibly well. I can definitely say that this is one book I wholeheartedly recommend to everyone. show less