June 28, 2013

Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway


Welcome to my stop on the Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend blog tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours.  Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!


Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend (Confessions #2)
Author: Louise Rozett
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release Date: June 18, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Buy Links: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Description:

Rose Zarelli has big plans for sophomore year—everything is going to be different. This year, she’s going to be the talented singer with the killer voice, the fabulous girl with the fashionista best friend, the brainiac who refuses to let Jamie Forta jerk her around...

...but if she’s not careful, she’s also going to be the sister who misses the signals, the daughter who can only think about her own pain, the “good girl” who finds herself in mid-scandal again (because no good deed goes unpunished) and possibly worst of all...the almost-girlfriend.

When all else fails, stop looking for love and go find yourself.
 

Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend is a fresh young adult contemporary novel that continues to follow leading lady Rose Zarelli as she attempts to navigate her way through high school. Rose has begun her sophomore year of school and she's determined that things will be better than last year. She has great plans for herself - to join the school musical, become the sassy version of herself that doesn't get walked all over, and to finally figure out where she and Jamie Forta stand. Only it seems that life might have other plans in store for Rose and if she's not careful she'll end up being the type of girl who misses out on a lot of other people's problems because she's too focused on her own.

This was a fantastic second installment in a highly entertaining and realistic YA contemporary series. Rose is a great main character - she's witty, smart, devoted to her friends, and yet she's also flawed in ways that many of us are. Her strengths and weaknesses are what makes her so realistic and easy to identify with - I found myself connecting with her right away. The high school setting is one so commonly used that it almost feels overdone, but the author writes about the ins and outs of school along with the dramatic events and feelings that the characters experience in such a powerful way that it felt like I was back in high school right alongside Rose. The book deals with deep and important issues such as homophobia, bullying, fear, guilt, drugs, peer pressure and so many other common teen problems that need to be dealt with more often. These topics were honestly dealt with in the book, so it felt realistic and not glazed over like some YA contemporary books do. Reading this novel brought back several memories of when I was in high school - it reminded me of the pain, humiliation, fear, and anxiety that the bullying and peer pressure brought, but it also reminded me of the good times - good friends, laughing at stupid things, crushes on boys and the small things that seemed bigger than life back then. The writing of the novel was superb and it was only the author's immense talent and vivid details that allowed me to travel to high school once again alongside Rose. Overall, this is one of the best YA contemporary books I've read - one that pits serious teen problems alongside witty dialogue and romance - in a way that was a real breath of fresh air in the genre. Highly recommended for fans of the genre and those looking for a great YA novel in general.
 

 Check out the first book in the series:


Confessions of an Angry Girl (Confessions #1)


Author: Louise Rozett
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release Date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
 
Buy Links: Amazon / Barnes and Noble  

Description:
  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.)
Louise Rozett is an author, a playwright, and a recovering performer. She made her YA debut with Confessions of an Angry Girl, published by Harlequin Teen. The next book in the series, Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend, is due out June 2013. She lives with her 120-pound Bernese Mountain dog Lester (named after Lester Freamon from THE WIRE, of course) in one of the world's greatest literary meccas, Brooklyn...and also in sunny Los Angeles. (Being bi-coastal is fun!) Visit www.Louiserozett.com for more info. 

One lucky winner will get a signed copy of ANGRY GIRL, a signed copy of ALMOST-GIRLFRIEND, and a $25 iTunes gift card! (US only)


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