The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet Review

Date Published: May 1, 2013

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it on Amazon or B&N

Number of Pages: 179

Publisher: PlaylistYoung Adult Fiction

First Thoughts:

I had a little difficulty getting into this book from the first page but after a while the writing became addicting and I wasn’t able to easily put down the book. The story was so inspiring and full of emotion that I was easily able to connect to it. I loved reading parts of Ellie’s book she was writing, the author made it so appetizing that I would love to read her book too. So overall I really enjoyed this book and look forward to future works by this author.

Goodreads Summary:

Ellie Sweet is a lot of things—good girl, novelist, silent adorer of the new boy at school, Palmer. But when “outcast” gets added to the list, she decides it’s time to take reality into her own hands … and tweak it as needed.

In the pages of her book, she’s Lady Gabrielle, favorite of the medieval Italian court. Her once-friends are reduced to catty ladies-in-waiting, and the too-charming Palmer—who in real life never spares her a second word—gets to be nothing more than a rake wracked by unrequited love for her. She even has a perfect real-life villain in the brooding Chase, who hails from the wrong side of town.

But just when she’s getting along great in her fictional world, the real one throws her a few curves. With Chase pursuing her, Palmer wanting to date her—but in secret—and the details of her manuscript going public, Ellie suddenly receives more attention than she ever really wanted. And when her former-friends discover what she’s been writing, they’re determined to teach Ellie a lesson about the severe consequences of using her pen as her sword.

Plot:

This book was full of complex issues that involved the life of a 16 year old girl. I loved that the conflict was realistic and surreal. I really could imagine Ellie’s life going the way it did and the heartache and realism to the conflict was amazing. I really enjoyed being a writer right alongside Ellie. As far as the pace of the book I found it normal to fast speed. Like I mentioned earlier the plot was a little slow in the beginning of the book but soon picks up speed and makes for a quick read. So overall I enjoyed the plot of the book but just had a little trouble getting “into” the book at the beginning.

Romance:

There was definitely romance going on in this story. Though I don’t know if I would call it a love triangle per se but there was definitely two boys competing for the attention of Gabrielle Sweet. I thought the romance was cute and very teenagerish. Definitely a realistic relationship, it’s not too farfetched. The relationships between the two guys was noticeably different. One guy treated her as special as a new born kitten while the other guy wanted to hide her; his pride getting in the way. So between the two romances in this story you are kept up on your toes.

Characters:

I really enjoyed the characters in this book; they were magnificent. Ellie or should I say Gabrielle was so lovable and sweet, her last name really does fit her. I was really able to connect with her and feel all the emotions she had swirling deep within her. And as for Chase, I see him more of the bad boy, the one ready to partay! Palmer on the other hand I absolutely loved. I fell in love with his character the moment he first called Ellie sweetheart. Every time I heard him call her sweetheart I immediately thought of Haymitch from the Hunger Games. He called Katniss sweetheart all the time and I could hear his voice every time Palmer said that word. Cool huh? Overall I enjoyed the characters 

immensely and thought they added a great layer to the story.

Transformation of the Character:

I wouldn’t say Ellie really transformed much in this book. She did a little bit but nothing to really impact the reader. I thought this was ok in this book because Ellie needs to blossom slowly…she doesn’t need to change overnight and it was good to see the little transformations that did take place within the story. So overall, I didn’t really think this aspect impacted the story that much.

Description:

Loved the description in the book, I had no problem visualizing each scene. The emotional part of the description was well executed, I really was able to feel all the nervousness, the anticipation, the pain that Ellie was feeling. It was a rollarcoster of emotions in this book but that’s what made it that much more enjoyable to read. I didn’t have to fake emotion or try to force emotion into the story, it was already there. As for the landscape and scenery it was well portrayed and beautiful. So overall, I enjoyed the description and I did feel like it added great texture to the story.

Style:

This was written in one POV and in first person. Being written in only Ellie’s POV was definitely the smart move to make, we were able to connect with her and see exactly what was going on in the book. I felt like if there would’ve been more than one POV the mysteriousness of the story would disappear, leaving the story bland. As for being in first person, we as the reader were able to understand Ellie more. We were able to better connect with her and really grasp on what she is made of. As for the authors writing, itself I thought it flowed beautifully and was definitely fun to read. There was not any difficulty understanding what was happening in the story. It was all very much easy to read but beautiful and almost poetic at the same time. The style of this book definitely added great layers and texture to the story. This book just wouldn’t be the same without it.

Quote of the book:

“…I’m ashamed of me too, of who I was. I’m ashamed I was the type of person who let you get away with keeping me hidden….you right that I deserved better. But so did you.””

Last Thoughts:

I totally loved this book, I laughed, I cried, there moments I wanted to be there for Ellie but it was an overall good book. I would recommend this to any YA genre lover; this is going to rock your socks. The story both intrigued me and captured my heart. I cannot wait to see what else is in store for Ellie. Definitely, a book I would want to read again and again.

My Rating: