Andi's ABCs

Honestly I was super excited when I read about this book. Not only did I enjoy Vivian's Not That Kind of Girl I loved the concept. The pressure on girls to be beautiful this day and age is extremely high so I was curious was Vivian's take was on it. And I must say there were things I really loved about it and there were things I didn't love. As a whole the story was good, but there were just some things I wanted more from.

I'm gonna start with what I didn't like:

Bridget
Bridget's whole story really bothered me. It wasn't the story itself because that was honest and real. It was more of the fact that I didn't feel any follow through. I didn't really fell like I got to get into her psyche enough to understand why she would go that drastic. I never saw her really interact with her friends, other then one scene really, so I just didn't understand how a piece of clothing could make her go that way. It just didn't add up so it felt disjointed and fake. If only there was a little more focus on her at the end. I just felt like something that serious was brushed aside as and afterthought and it bothered me.

Jennifer
I hated her! There was nothing about her that I liked. I didn't feel sorry for her or pity her or want her to stand up for herself. She annoyed me from the get go with her whole fake act and how she easily became friends with the same people that tortured her was super aggravating. I have no idea what her motivations were and why she wanted to be in Margo's orbit so badly. She just bothered me. And since we are there...

Margo
Talk about self absorbed! I didn't find anything pretty about her. I hated her reaction to everything. She wanted to be homecoming queen and didn't want people to know she wanted it. She was fake and phony and just plain unlikable. The only time I thought she was herself was when she was with Matthew and that too was a let down with no follow-up.

Lauren's mother
OMG that woman was warped! She seemed to me she was obsessed with her daughter. She didn't want her to have friends, didn't want her to go any where, didn't want her to do anything. She wanted the two of them to live in a bubble together and it was creepy. Coming from a single parent family, I get that she was all her mother had, but her mother took it too far and it really got on my nerves. That and Lauren calling her mommy. That bugged me for some reason.

With that said, it wasn't all bad for me. There were some things and people I really loved:

Danielle
There was something about Danielle that I really liked. She was young and you could tell but she was brave and strong. Her boyfriend treated her like crap and she reacted at first like any girl would and then she realized she was better then that, better then him, better then a dumb list designated to make you feel bad and insecure. She stood up for herself but not letting a list control her and that I found likable.

Sarah and Milo
Yeah, I know the book is supposed to be about the girl's reaction to the list, but I must admit that I liked the addition of Milo's reaction to it and his reaction to Sarah. He wasn't like the other guys. He didn't use the list against the girls as the means to be a jerk. He thought it was juvenile and worthless but stood by Sarah anyway she wanted him to. He was her rock whether she knew it or not. And Sarah I liked because she tried to make a statement about the ridiculousness of the whole thing. Was she a little miss guided about it? Sure. But she wasn't going to stand by idly and let the school control how she behaved. I also like that as strong as she was in front of people she she just as insecure as the next girl when it came to guys and other girls. Her irrational thoughts about Annie and Milo were so spot on. By far these two were the best part of the book and I wish there was more of them.

But besides the characters what I really liked was the very last, final sentence. That right there summed up what the whole list was and how almost everything in high school is when it comes to perceptions.  Just because someone says it doesn't make it true or real.

All in all I enjoyed this one even with the stuff I wasn't a fan of. It had a strong message to young women and that is all that is really important. That and it made me very happy about the high school experience I had. :-)