"Glass Girl" Review

Date to be published: April 1, 2013

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Number of Pages: 305

Publisher: PlaylistFiction

First Thoughts:

I loved so much about this book, the way it captured my heart, the way it made it hard to put down. This was such a fragile and precious story and I fell right in love with all the characters and scenery surrounding them. I enjoyed reading this book, I tried my best to savor every last morsel of the book….this book taught me so much about loss and grief, it was like I was experiencing it myself, the heartache, the sadness and deepness to the character; it amazed me.

Plot:

The plot was very well organized and created; I loved the way the author was able to create a story not only about grief but a little romance too. I just loved seeing Meg and Henry’s relationship blossom, it created a great sub-plot to the main plotline. The pace of the story was just right, I didn’t detect any parts that dragged. I really enjoyed the story itself and loved reading right alongside Meg. This story really held a lot of emotions that I was able to truly feel, I didn’t even have to struggle to feel the grief and sadness that Meg felt and that’s the kind of story I love to read, a book that gets my emotions involved. Overall I enjoyed the plot and thought it was a great story.

Romance:

I loved the romance in this book, it was sweet to see the slowly blossoming romance. I didn’t think that the love felt fake, it felt genuine and true. I loved the relationship between Meg and Henry and felt that it added to the story, it allowed the characters to grow.

Characters:

I loved all the characters in this story, they acted and seemed so real. I thought they actually added to the story, they made the reading that much enjoyable. I also thought that they were placed in just the right places that made the story seem more alive and true. I also thought that the characters were created beautifully and I felt that they were more of an actual person than made up character. Overall I really enjoyed the characters in this book.

Transformation of Character:

Meg did transform some in this book, we got to see her at her highest grief point down to her acceptance of said grief. But the transformation was both beautiful and believable. It was gradual and took time and that made it more realistic. So overall the transformations that took place in this story were great and painted a good picture of a new character.

Description:

The description was the best part of this book I thought. I loved how the author used attention to detail and made picturing each scene easy and convenient. I think the best part of the description was when she was describing the emotions, I really got a sense of what the character was feeling and also what they were thinking. The description of being fragile was brilliant, the whole concept of this book deals with the assumption that Meg is made of Glass and she could shatter at any moment, the descriptions that went along with that were awesome and beautifully placed. As far as dialogue goes, there wasn’t any problems with it and it all seemed to match with the character. So overall I loved the description in this story and thought it was both brilliant and artistic.

Style:

This book was written in one POV and in first person. This was ideal because we as the reader really needed to get inside Meg’s head and really get to know and understand her. The emotional part of this book wouldn’t have been astounding if it was written in another POV. This way we got to see everything Meg was seeing and get to hear her thoughts. The writing itself was beautiful and creatively mastered. There were moments in the book where it seemed almost poetic….the way the words twisted and snarled, it was amazing. So overall I enjoyed the style of this story.

Quote of the Book:

“Uncle David told me once that our thoughts are just whiffs of chemicals that combine in a miraculous way to form feelings and emotions---seems like a dangerous accident waiting to happen. A certain combination will create arousal….another combination just infinitesimally different will create disgust. One combination and you’ve got a hero…”

Goodreads Summary:

The ice cold fear I’d felt, not knowing if Wyatt was alive, pressed into the wall with other girls and surrounded by guys who were unspeakably brave, hit my body again in a wave. This was trauma—the gift that keeps on giving.

When Meg Kavanagh finds herself in the unthinkable role of grieving sister, she discovers some harsh truths—parents aren’t perfect, life’s not always sweet, and the dead don’t write back. Worried she might have caused Wyatt’s death, Meg folds her heart into a box. Her famous mom grieves by slowly disappearing, and her dad copes by moving them to a small town in Wyoming.

What she finds in Wyoming blindsides her.

His name is Henry, and he’s a rancher’s son who pulls Meg into his larger-than-life world and shows her that being sensitive is not an excuse to sit this one out. Meg wants to be brave like Henry because the best things in life—like falling in love and finding mercy—require uncommon courage. And Henry has a secret that changes everything.

From YA author Laura Anderson Kurk comes an unconventional and bittersweet story of first love and family ties. Fans of Deb Caletti and Sara Zarr will appreciate Kurk’s authentically imperfect characters and emotional storytelling.

With characters who feel real enough to walk the halls of your high school, Glass Girl sheds light on tenderness, the rush of first love, and the miracle of mercy.

Last Thoughts:

I would recommend this to any teen or young adult who is willing to learn about the stages of grief and what it can do to a person. This was both and insightful and fun book to read, I never wanted to put it down. I would totally want to read more about Meg and Henry, I fell in love with the way the two interacted and would love to see a continuance of their story. Overall this was a artistic and beautiful story.

My Rating: