Review: Confessions of an Angry Girl (Confessions #1) by Louise Rozett

Publication date: 28th August, 2012
Publisher: HarlequinTEEN
Links: Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 4.5/ 5 stars

[from goodreads]

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 My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time.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

Confessions of an Angry Girl made my week! Rose Zarelli, you are my hero. You have ten times the spunk I wish I had in high school.

Rose doesn't have it easy. She's had the worst summer of her life: her dad was killed while working as a contractor in Iraq and now she is starting off her freshman year at Union High being subject to silence from her mother and sympathetic looks from everyone else. To top it all, her best friend Tracy is busy climbing the social ladder and lately, Rose can't help but wonder how they were ever friends in the first place.

With attention from a guy Rose has been crushing on since forever and his girlfriend out for her blood, Rose's freshman year is a mix of highs and lows. The highs make her heart race while the lows make her want to explode into multiple rage attacks. Confessions of an Angry Girl was an amazing book because it was so raw, so real and made me feel fourteen again; with the angst, tangled emotions and all of those firsts.

It was easy to relate to Rose. She was a smart and nice kid who was going through a rough time. She's a confused mess as the people she cares for abandon her without warning and she finds herself all alone... but for Jamie Forta.

I was so intrigued by Jamie who is much older than Rose and seemed too cool for the usual high school drama. I will be interested to see more of him in the next book but I must say Robert, The Other Guy in the  Possibly-Future-Love-Triangle was so endearing. He was so SWEET and um, based on how Rose treats him, way too good for her.

But Rose is still one of the more level headed fourteen year olds I've read about... which is great. I'd love to read more about her. It's not easy being anyone in high school; this was evident as Rose feels constantly shunned, even when she's doing the right thing. What is right is not necessarily popular and what is popular, Rose wants nothing to do with (again, so refreshing).

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The fun Gossip Girl references, vivid picture of what it's like being a teen today (they seem to grow up so fast; faster than we ever did) and the sensitive way in which various issues were dealt with has me thoroughly invested in this series already. Take care, Rose. See you soon?

Rating: 4.5/5 stars