Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

Title: Confessions of an Angry Girl
Author: Louise Rozett
Release Date: August 28, 2012
Published By: HarlequinTEEN
Source: NetGalley

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 My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time.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.)

THOUGHTS:

I sort of went into this book blind - I liked the cover, and the blurb intrigued me enough to request a review copy from NetGalley, and that was that. Upon reading, I was definitely surprised to find out that this book's MC was fourteen and had just started high school. I  won't lie - I was tempted to stop reading for one reason and one reason only: I didn't think that a fourteen-year-old MC would be a relatable enough character. Fourteen seemed too young an age for readers into their late teens and twenties to relate to. 

Gosh, I love it when authors prove me wrong and diminish my misgiving into nothingness. 

Rose is a character like no other - she isn't your normal fourteen-year-old. She's snarky and angry all the time, and you can't really hate her for it. Her dad just died, and she felt like she wasn't given the opportunity to properly deal with it. She and her mother seldom talk, and she feels like her brother left her to fend for herself. To top things off, Rose is confused as to where and how she fits in with her peers now that she's in high school. Her best friends are a wee bit too concerned in climbing the rungs of the social ladder and pretty soon, Rose is left behind with nowhere to go. 

I don't know about you guys, but one of the things I learned throughout the last few years is that we never really leave high school behind. Those challenges when it comes to fitting in that we all encountered while in high school? You'll encounter those during college, when you get a job, and in other facets of life. Case and point - you can't expect to keep all the friends you made during one point in life when you move on to the next chapter - this is one of those realizations that you first experience during your first few months in high school. You start to lose contact with some of the friends you had during elementary and middle school; you start to realize that you and one of your closest friend's interests are spiraling away from each other; and you start to make new friends on your own and leave those with whom you grew apart. While nowhere near similar to mine, Rose's journey had me feeling wistful at times past, and sure enough, Rozett had me relating to her fourteen-year-old MC. 

As I previously said, it's rather impossible to hate Rose. She's angry, but hey, she has enough reason to be. Sure, she makes horrible decisions one after another, and she gets herself in the worst situations in the world, but her experiences are nothing but realistic. Aside from being flawed, Rose as a character is just real. I related to her left and right throughout the book, whether be it about her filial situation or how she felt about the changes she was encountering with her friends and life in general. Rose is a remarkable character, and I can say with no qualms so whatsoever that anyone will be able to relate to her. 

The character of Jamie left me mystified. I had no idea what on earth he was thinking at any point of the book, and everything he did surprised me. Hey, I won't lie though - I LOVED his character. What little I knew of Jamie I loved. I loved all of his interactions with Rose. I loved it when I got glimpses into his life and who he truly is. I can't wait to read more about him!

Overall, Confessions of an Angry Girl is a satisfying read and a brilliant beginning to a series. Readers will enjoy journeying with Rose as she slowly starts discovering who she is and where she belongs. I must confess though - I had no idea that this wasn't a stand-alone book, and I ended up mentally screaming in anguish upon its last few pages! 

Rating: 4 Stars