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Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend (Confessions #2)

Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend (Confessions #2)

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Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend (Confessions #2)

Author(s)

Louise Rozett

Publisher

Harlequin TEEN

Genre(s)

Contemporary

Age Range

12+

Release Date

June 25, 2013

ISBN

978-0373210657

Buy This Book

Rose Zarelli 2.0 here—2.0, as in, innovative…superior…improved.

Improved how? Glad you asked. This year, I will not:

1. Do things just because other people want me to.

2. Randomly shoot off my mouth.

3. Worry about whether I'm someone's girlfriend—or not.

So, what will I do this year?

1. Find my thing and be who I want to be.

2. Learn when to speak up—and when to shut up.

3. Tell off Jamie Forta and move on.

I'm older and smarter now—I can totally pull this off. How hard can it be?

Editor reviews

2 reviews

Emotional, Heartrending Sequel.

June 18, 2013

Overall rating

5.0

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What I Loved: Louise Rozett has truly captured the voice of Rose, giving readers a realistic look into the life of a teenager that is both heartbreaking and hopeful.

Depression isn't always the angsty, weepy, person who refuses to get out of bed, eat or has thoughts of ending their life. Sometimes, it's the person whose stuck in a kind of "nothingness" that they can't seem to escape. They want to feel things but they just can't. (I can personally relate to both.)

This is where we find Rose in CONFESSIONS OF AN ALMOST-GIRLFRIEND, stuck in the nothingness. She is surrounded by people and situations that should garner some sort of emotional reaction, but doesn't. She has the occasional outburst of feeling - anger, desire, frustration and confusion, but for the most part, Rose is just going through the motions of her life. It gets to the point where she even allows other people to decide what she should do and what clothes she should wear.

It would have been very easy for Rozett to walk us into the "nothingness" with Rose and leave us there, but she doesn't. Instead, she provides a way for Rose to experience new things and to "feel" again. It's raw, emotional and painful, but it's real. It's in those feelings that Rose will start to discover who she is, what she wants and most importantly, how to love herself.

There is an engaging cast of supporting characters and while I did manage to feel more compassion for Regina and her family, I still don't trust her. I also think everyone should have an Angelo in their lives.

And then there is the tall, dark and brooding Jamie Forta, the one person who makes Rose feel all kind of things. Rose wants to nothing and everything to do with Jamie all at the same time (me too) but he remains elusive and just when she thinks she has him figured out, he retreats into the familiarity of his own struggles. My heart broke for Jamie and I was torn between wanting to hug all his pain away and shaking some sense into him while yelling, "YOU ARE WORTH ALL THE LOVE! JUST LET THEM LOVE YOU JAMIE!"

What Left Me Wanting More: FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS JAMIE FORTA, PLEASE LET THERE BE A THIRD BOOK! *bribes Harlequin Teen with cupcakes*

Favorite Quote: "But when Jamie Forta is looking at me, I wish with every bone in my body that I were beautiful."

Final Verdict: Emotional, heartrending sequel that will break your heart in all the right ways. READ IT!

Jen Top 10 Reviewer 415 reviews

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User reviews

2 reviews

Overall rating

3.7

Plot

3.5(2)

Characters

4.0(2)

Writing Style

3.5(2)

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August 02, 2013

Overall rating

3.0

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(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Harlequin (UK) Limited and Netgalley.)
This is book 2 in the ‘confessions’ series.
15-year-old Rose still doesn’t know where she stands with Jamie Forta, her mother is still making her go to therapy with her, and once again Rose is labelled as a tattle-tale and a sl*t, and all before the first day at school.
She’s also worried that her brother is doing drugs, and her memorial website for her father isn’t getting the attention it once was.
Where does Rose stand with Jamie? What is her brother getting involved in? And does she really need to be in therapy?

This was an interesting second insight into Rose’s life, and her continuing boyfriend troubles and grief over her dead father.

Rose once again was a little grumpy at times, but I think she had a right to be. Everyone seemed to think that her anger was unwarranted, while I thought it was completely justified, and I’d have been angry in her position too. I didn’t actually think her outbursts were all that bad though, I’d have been much worse in her situation.

I disliked the way that Jamie treated Rose really. One moment he would act interested, and then the next he’d be treating her like she wasn’t old enough to know her own feelings, which was unfair.
Rose’s mother seemed to treat her the same way, and didn’t seem to care what Rose’s feelings were about anything as long as they didn’t interfere with her own.

There wasn’t a lot of romance in this book at all. Rose’s interactions with Jamie were mainly him stringing her along and pushing her away, and the other surprise relationship didn’t offer us any romance either. Most of the storyline was just about Rose’s life, and those of her friends. It was nice that Rose found something that she was good at in singing, but it seemed a bit unfair she was even criticised for that!
I did enjoy this book overall, but for me it wasn’t quite as good as the previous one. The ending was positive, but I still felt that some things weren’t really finished, and I’m still not sure what the future really holds in store for Rose and Jamie.
Overall; an good YA story about a girl’s struggles with grief and high school.
7 out of 10.

sarah elizabeth Top 500 Reviewer 15 reviews

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LOVE IT!

July 01, 2013

Overall rating

4.3

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I am NOT a fan of contemporary books, but I love this series! Rose never lets me down. The first book, Confessions of an Angry Girl, blew me away and Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend did not disappoint.

What do I love about these books? That is way too hard to narrow down into a few paragraphs. I can say that I appreciate the content. Dealing with grief is tricky for most people, and I cannot imagine dealing with the kind of loss Rose must cope with on a daily basis. It's nice to see all the angles of grief. It cannot be wrapped up with a nice little bow, and Louise Rozett does not try to do it either. That is much appreciated.

I am also googley-eyed over Rose. She is so flawed it's not even funny, yet she is so real. She has major self-esteem and trust issues, which carries over into just about everything she does. Rose is your normal teenage girl trying to fit in and stand out at the same time without ever really knowing who she is. But of course, just like in Confessions #1, she finds another piece of herself along the way. (and I must say, that piece is turning out to be pretty fierce!)

Finally, I must say that Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend has new characters that keep things pretty interesting. (That's another thing that I love about this book!) While Rose is on her road to self-discovery, there is a whole lot of drama going on in the background. The subplots are all over the place, and they all lead to the same end point. It's brilliant. I am still a bit annoyed by the older guy-younger girl romance(s) that pop up all over the place, but I try to look beyond that. (Is it really normal for a college sophmore to be dating a high school sophmore? That just seems so wrong to me... and illegal.)

If you enjoy contemporaries, you will LOVE Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend (but you need to read Confessions of an Angry Girl first). You may even be like me and not really like contemporaries, but you'll still like this one. There is something for everyone here!