Review of "Beautiful" by Amy Reed

^Me with my New Copy of "Beautiful" by Amy Reed^ 

Rating - *****

 Summary -

"When Cassie moves from the tiny town where she had always lived to a suburb of Seattle, she is determined to leave her boring, good-girl existence behind. This is Cassie's chance to stop being invisible and become the kind of girl who's worth noticing.

Stepping into her new identity turns out to be easier than Cassie could have ever imagines... one moment, one choice, changes everything.

Cassie's new existence both thrills and terrifies her. Swept into a world of illicit parties and social land mines, she sheds her virginity, embraces the numbness she feels from the drugs, and floats through it all, knowing that she is now called Beautiful. She ignores the dangers of her fast-paced life... but she can't sidestep the secrets and the cruelty.

Cassie is trapped in a swift downward spiral tinged with violence and abuse, and no one - not even the one person she thought she could trust - can help her now." - The book Jacket

Praise for "Beautiful" -

"Beautiful is stark, disquieting, and quiet simply riveting."

-Ellen Hopkins, bestselling author of Crank

"A latter-day Go Ask Alice, Beautiful is raw, gritty, and powerful, and intense ice-pick jap to the heart. I was tarrified for Cassie and captivated at the same time by Amy Reed's luminos Prose. A stunning debut and a must-read."

-R. A. Nelson, author of Teach Me

"This books is very Real. It is the hard to read truth of a teenager's cutthroat world. I had to read it twice and both times was captivated for every moment"

-Myself

Review - 

I must admit what caught my attention for Beautiful was Ellen Hopkin's (My favorite author's) review, and praise, and she has not let me down! =D

Beautiful took me to a place that I know to well, and managed to terrify me as well, not an easy feat. It made me think very much about my own life as Cassie is 13 and I was only a year older in my own dark descent. 

It reminded me very much of my own group of friends, my own mistakes. 

It talked about drug use, and sex without love, peer pressure, and served as a reminder as to how fast the tables can be turned on you, if you make one wrong move.

Reading this book you may say "This sounds more like gang-life, ryde or die. But upon closer examination it makes you realize that many teen cliques are just that. You're either with us, or we will destroy you.

From Cassie's fluctuating hard-soft relationship with her alcoholic mother, her bordering on resentment for her workaholic father, and the abuse she takes from the girl she calls her best friend, its a wonder that at the end she manages to try and get out of that life at all. Cassie experiences many drugs and experiences. Dropping acid multiple times, flirting with teenage boys, having sex for the popularity but hating every moment of it, and doing coke at a party with strangers. 

Beautiful takes us on the ups and downs of teenage drug using cliques. Thats not to say that every drug using clique in the world is like the one we are allowed to peek in on, but there are many that are like this or very similar. 

It chilled me to the bone, and captivated me both times I read it.

The only thing that I didnt completely agree with were some of the scenes in which our "Heroine" is on drugs. Having been there on those drugs, I dont think I would describe it those ways, and dont think it felt that way, but I took it with a grain of salt as everyones experiences are bound to be different. 

All in all I rate "Beautiful" 5 Stars!!!

Amazing job Amy Reed, I cant wait to 'Reed' your next book (bad pun I know lol), and hope that there is already one in the works!

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