Review: Positively Beautiful

I received this book for free from FTC: Exchange for honest opinion, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Positively Beautiful by Wendy Mills
Series: Stand Alone
Published by Bloomsbury USA Childrens on March 3rd 2015
Genres: Emotions & Feelings, Family, Young Adult-Contemporary
Pages: 368
Source: FTC: Exchange for honest opinion, Publisher
Goodreads

16-year-old Erin is a smart if slightly dorky teenager, her life taken up with her best friend Trina, her major crush on smoky-eyed, unattainable Michael, and fending off Faith, the vision of perfection who’s somehow always had the knife in for Erin. Her dad, a pilot, died when she was very young, but Erin and her mom are just fine on their own.

Then everything changes forever one day after school when Erin’s mom announces she has breast cancer. And there’s even worse news to come. Horrified, Erin discovers that her grandmother’s death from cancer is almost certainly linked, the common denominator a rare gene mutation that makes cancer almost inevitable. And if two generations of women in the family had this mutation, what does that mean for Erin? The chances she’s inherited it are frighteningly high. Would it be better to know now and have major preemptive surgery or spend as much life as she has left in blissful ignorance?

As Erin grapples with her terrible dilemma, her life starts to spiral downwards, alleviated only by the flying lessons she starts taking with grumpy Stew and his little yellow plane, Tweetie Bird. Up in the sky, following in her dad’s footsteps, Erin finds freedom chasing the horizon. Down on the ground it’s a different story, and facing betrayal from Trina, humiliation from Faith, and a world of disappointment with Michael, Erin knows she must discover the truth about herself. Sure enough, she’s positive for the gene that’s slowly killing her mom.

Suddenly, Erin’s life has turned into a nightmare, and the only person she can truly talk to is a girl called Ashley who she meets online. But when, in a moment of madness, Erin flies away with Tweetie Pie to find her new friend, she finds herself on a journey that will take her through not only shock and despair - but ultimately to a new understanding of the true meaning of beauty, meaning, and love. (less)

This story. So much feels. So much heart that is put into it, that once I was in the story there was no way I was getting out.

Plot: This is about a young girl who is in the midst of a trial. After loosing one parent, Erin much come to terms about losing the other. AHHH! I can’t even begin to say how much I love this book. I read this book at the doctors office and I had to step out due to the amount of tears coming out of my eyes! Each chapter flows well and is filled with such emotion and heart that you simply can not put it down.

Relationships: One thing I adore through out the story is relationships. Erin doesn’t go through this alone and finds great relationships along the way to pick her up. What she is going through is hard. She has a lot of tough decisions to make at such a young age. So many options just stolen from her. At times, I felt angry and wanted to be her friend. She is so quite and holds it all well.

Ending: Grab your tissue box folks. The ending is a tear jerker that just stabs you in the heart. Erin does find some peace but how it all manages to come together is just so….heartbreaking yet beautiful. Erin grows into this person that you know you will have faith in. Despite what she has learned about herself, she has faith to love and live.

I really can’t compare this book to anything else because well I can’t. I don’t think I ever read such book that carried itself with such emotions and turmoil. It’s nothing that you ever expect so definitely pick up this book. You won’t regret it.

Happy Reading!