Riley Rose, atheist and bad girl, has been tricked into attending Spirit Ranch, a Christian camp. There she meets Dylan Kier, alumni camper and ... read full description
reviews
Jul 31, 2008
Becky
rated it: 
Howell, Simmone. 2008. (November release). Everything Beautiful.
First sentence: I am the maniac behind the wheel of a stolen dune buggy. Dylan Luck is at my side. We are tearing up the desert, searching for proof of God. My driving experience amounts to a few stuttering laps of the Safeway parking lot. That was supervised--Dad blanching and clutching his seatbelt. This is something else; something beginning with Freedom.
The above is quoted from an ARC, so it's possible th More...
First sentence: I am the maniac behind the wheel of a stolen dune buggy. Dylan Luck is at my side. We are tearing up the desert, searching for proof of God. My driving experience amounts to a few stuttering laps of the Safeway parking lot. That was supervised--Dad blanching and clutching his seatbelt. This is something else; something beginning with Freedom.
The above is quoted from an ARC, so it's possible th More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jan 11, 2009
Rachael
rated it: 
Ever since the death of her mother years earlier, Riley Rose has been on the fast track to self destruction, choosing to muddle her way through life with the aid of drugs, alcohol, and sex. Against her will, Riley’s father and his girlfriend Norma force her to go to Spirit Ranch, a religious prison in the middle of nowhere, as Riley sees it. Riley prepares herself to loathe the experience, the annoyingly religious campers, everything that just doesn’t fit with Riley’s personality. But Riley neve
More...
0 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Dec 05, 2011
Rebecca
rated it: 
I read Everything Beautiful, three years ago and really enjoyed it.
Recently I had thought about it and with the help of Goodreads, was re-united again. :)
After a second time of reading it and refreshing my memory, these are my thoughts on this book.
Everything Beautiful is a great book, that is funny, and made me smile, but also was heartfelt. It's a book about acceptance, and just being your unique self!
I loved the characters! They were so unique, different More...
Recently I had thought about it and with the help of Goodreads, was re-united again. :)
After a second time of reading it and refreshing my memory, these are my thoughts on this book.
Everything Beautiful is a great book, that is funny, and made me smile, but also was heartfelt. It's a book about acceptance, and just being your unique self!
I loved the characters! They were so unique, different More...
2 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jun 10, 2011
Kylie
rated it:
"Do you think I'm fat?" I asked him.
He swallowed and wiped his mouth. "I think you're beautiful."
Everything beautiful is a story about a love story about the broken and the broken-hearted.
Riley Rose, a sixteen year-old teenager is sent away to Spirit Ranch Holiday Camp by her father and her new step-mother. She was a wild girl that needed to be tamed.
Riley Rose did not expect to make friends at the camp. Nor did she expect to find som More...
He swallowed and wiped his mouth. "I think you're beautiful."
Everything beautiful is a story about a love story about the broken and the broken-hearted.
Riley Rose, a sixteen year-old teenager is sent away to Spirit Ranch Holiday Camp by her father and her new step-mother. She was a wild girl that needed to be tamed.
Riley Rose did not expect to make friends at the camp. Nor did she expect to find som More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jan 08, 2012
Sarah
rated it:
Funny, charming and just a little bit tear-jerker-y, Simmone Howell’s Everything Beautiful is a wonderful coming-of-age story that takes almost everything you thought you knew about Young Adult literature and turns it on its head.
Riley Rose, the main character, is a larger than life tearaway who, after an incident involving vodka jellies and a swimming pool, is sent to Church Camp for a week. There, she befriends Dylan Luck, a teenage veteran of the Spirit Ranch Holiday Camp – a paraplegi More...
Riley Rose, the main character, is a larger than life tearaway who, after an incident involving vodka jellies and a swimming pool, is sent to Church Camp for a week. There, she befriends Dylan Luck, a teenage veteran of the Spirit Ranch Holiday Camp – a paraplegi More...
Oct 25, 2011
Camelia
rated it:
I never thought I could love a book as much as I loved this one. The inside cover mislead me, and I thought, "Why did I get a book about finding God? This cover is really misleading!" Now, I'm not xactly an aetheist, but I don't go to church every Sunday, I don't pray on my knees beside my bed unless I feel desperate and that I need help from someone besides myself. I don't like to admit when I DO need help, so I have trouble with that. Do I believe in God? Yes and no. There's j
More...
Jun 20, 2011
K
rated it:
I wanted to get to know these people after the first chapter. All two and a half pages worth.
Riley’s dad doesn’t really know what to do with her. Sex, drugs, rock n’ roll—you name it, he’s out of his element. His girlfriend wants a vacation and happens to have an “in” at the Spirit Ranch summer camp, the very last place irreligious Riley wants to call home for the next week. Cue dad driving off into the sunset with heinous girlfriend, sans daughter. Riley quickly establishes herself More...
Riley’s dad doesn’t really know what to do with her. Sex, drugs, rock n’ roll—you name it, he’s out of his element. His girlfriend wants a vacation and happens to have an “in” at the Spirit Ranch summer camp, the very last place irreligious Riley wants to call home for the next week. Cue dad driving off into the sunset with heinous girlfriend, sans daughter. Riley quickly establishes herself More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jun 10, 2011
Krista
rated it:
Ever since the death of her mother years earlier, Riley Rose has been on the fast track to self destruction, choosing to muddle her way through life with the aid of drugs, alcohol, and sex. Against her will, Riley's father and his girlfriend Norma force her to go to Spirit Ranch, a religious prison in the middle of nowhere, as Riley sees it. Riley prepares herself to loathe the experience, the annoyingly religious campers, everything that just doesn't fit with Riley's personality. But Riley neve
More...
Apr 25, 2011
Jess - The Tales Compendium
rated it:
I had been wanting to read this for such a long time and I had heard so many wonderful things about it but I was kind of disappointed, it just didn't grab me like I thought it would. I can't quite put my finger on why though.
Riley is a pretty miserable girl who hides behind false bravado and seeks 'companionship' wherever she can find it. Due to the death of her mother and her father's new way of living - and girlfriend- Riley finds herself best buds with Chloe, a total wild child an More...
Riley is a pretty miserable girl who hides behind false bravado and seeks 'companionship' wherever she can find it. Due to the death of her mother and her father's new way of living - and girlfriend- Riley finds herself best buds with Chloe, a total wild child an More...
Jul 13, 2010
Joanne
rated it:
When Riley's Dad gets a new girlfriend, life turns upside down for Riley. She doesn't like Norma and Norma doesn't like her. But it is not until Riley finds herself shipped off to 'camp' that she realises just how bad things have become. Determined to continue on her path of bad behaviour and general obnoxiousness, Riley Rose is sure that she can turn this 'spiritual camp' upside down. And when she meets Dylan Luck, recent paraplegic, she thinks she has found a fellow troublemaker. What follows
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
May 10, 2010
Kelly
rated it:
This is one of those books that I bought 'cause it reminded me of a movie.
Riley is a non-believer who is exiled to church camp for a week because her dad and his significant other can't handle her. (She drinks, does drugs, smokes and has sex with a bunch of guys she doesn't care about because it's easier than feeling anything.)
So she ends up at church camp where she has an escape route planned after a few days. She feels like she's better than the other campers (altho More...
Riley is a non-believer who is exiled to church camp for a week because her dad and his significant other can't handle her. (She drinks, does drugs, smokes and has sex with a bunch of guys she doesn't care about because it's easier than feeling anything.)
So she ends up at church camp where she has an escape route planned after a few days. She feels like she's better than the other campers (altho More...
Jan 21, 2010
Theresa
rated it:
Three and a half is the only star amount I wish was available on here that isn't. I never want to give things two and a half stars, or four and a half, or whatever. I think I'll stick with three on this book.
I wanted more from this book. I've taken a break in recent months from a lot of YA lit, and this was my first back in a while, and I just wanted more from it. I like Riley, and the best scenes are certainly when she's off in the desert with Dylan, or when she's yelling at s More...
I wanted more from this book. I've taken a break in recent months from a lot of YA lit, and this was my first back in a while, and I just wanted more from it. I like Riley, and the best scenes are certainly when she's off in the desert with Dylan, or when she's yelling at s More...
Oct 14, 2009
Cornmaven
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Aug 06, 2009
Steph
rated it:
From the author of Notes From The Teenage Underground – also an excellent novel – Everything Beautiful charts one week in the life of Riley Rose, as she’s sent to a Christian camp by her father, under the influence of God-bothering stepmother Norma for bad behaviour. Riley is a spirited and tough character, acting out perhaps because of the death of her mother two years earlier. She’s fat, and proud of it. My first impression was that Riley was going to be Saved By God– but this book doesn’t pre
More...
Aug 02, 2009
Diana
rated it:
Riley Rose is banished to church camp when her widowed father, who has found God and a determinedly cheerful girlfriend, goes on a romantic vacation. Riley finds this particularly heinous as she considers herself an Atheist. She does find Dylan, a fellow camper who is a paraplegic, interesting and enticing. It made me think a little of Norma Klein's My Life As a Body and Ron Koertge's Stoner and Spaz in that it included sex and disabilities not being antithetical to each other. I liked the Austr
More...
Jun 14, 2009
Adam
rated it:
Okay again I declare myself a good friend of the author, which always makes writing about their books a touch awkward, but.
I really liked this story about a second-string badgirl (ie, the best friend and accomplice of the cool badgirl) getting sent to Jesus camp in the Little Desert (in northwest Victoria, Australia) so that she can stir some shit up among the popular Christian kids who've been going there every summer all their lives, and also knock some crap out of her own self-ima More...
I really liked this story about a second-string badgirl (ie, the best friend and accomplice of the cool badgirl) getting sent to Jesus camp in the Little Desert (in northwest Victoria, Australia) so that she can stir some shit up among the popular Christian kids who've been going there every summer all their lives, and also knock some crap out of her own self-ima More...
Jun 05, 2009
Books and Literature for Teens
rated it: 
I read two reviews on Shelfari and both people loved this book. Me, well I couldn't finish it (I skipped to the end just to see what happened, I know naughty me). The main character, Riley, was happy with herself one minuet and treated her soul like trash the next .She was too arrogant and really needed to stop mimicking Chloe-you could definitely tell this girl had a problem. Thankfully that problem was solved in the end. On the only other thing I had a problem with was that Riley (and the othe
More...
Nov 05, 2010
Daryan
rated it:
The first book I read was called Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell. This is a fiction book about a girls experience at a religious camp. This book is directed towards people who like books that they can relate to.
My personal opinion about the book is that it’s a very well-written book, and a lot of people could easily relate to it. It relates to my life because I’m not religious and this girl is a lot like me.
It starts when Riley is forced by her dad to go to a religio More...
My personal opinion about the book is that it’s a very well-written book, and a lot of people could easily relate to it. It relates to my life because I’m not religious and this girl is a lot like me.
It starts when Riley is forced by her dad to go to a religio More...
Nov 26, 2011
ALPHAreader
rated it:
Sixteen-year-old Riley Rose doesn’t believe in much. Since her mother’s death Riley has been on a ‘downward spiral’, she has become ‘rebellious’ and her behaviour warrants ‘concern’ from her father and his new ‘girlfriend’, Norma. So they’re sending Riley to Spirit Ranch, a Christian camp. Riley will have to leave behind her best friend, Chloe, and any designs she has on cute boy crush, Ben. She has to sleep in a cabin with a prissy Christian bitch called Fleur and a quiet God-fearing doormat ca
More...
Feb 04, 2010
Erica
rated it:
When I read a book, my goal is to see things through the main character’s eyes as much as possible, even if the character seems vastly different than me; Riley is one of those characters. Despite that, though, I found her to be relatable and could easily empathize with her plight in the book. She’s strong-willed and wants desperately to be impervious, hiding herself in defiance and sarcasm, but as she moves through the story, she gradually begins to tear at the wall she’s built around herself.
More...
Aug 31, 2009
E.
rated it:
Tricked into attending a week-long Bible camp by her dad and kooky stepmother, Riley Rose feels doomed. For one, she’s an atheist, and she certainly doesn’t play by the rules. She’s a big girl, but she flaunts her figure just to unnerve the people around her. She cuts and dyes her own hair. Her best friend is definitely a bad influence, but Riley likes it that way. She arrives at camp with a plan to go AWOL halfway through the week. But by the time that day comes, Riley’s take-no-prisoners attit
More...
Apr 02, 2009
Molly
rated it:
Riley Rose (I love that name, BTW) isn't a bad girl, but, she happens to find release from her pain through sex, drugs, eating and alienating herself from anyone and everyone. Her mother died 2 years ago (it was quick and painful- cancer) and now she's lost her dad as well. No, he hasn't died, but he's reinvented himself as a devout Christian and married a woman who's basically changed his life. Now Riley feels completely lost and clings to her one friend, Chloe. Dad and new stepmom think she ne
More...
Sep 08, 2010
Isamlq
rated it:
Persnickety Snark's review got me interested. These are just a couple of things she had to say:
"Riley is the traditional bad girl protagonist - she swears, she smokes, she tumbles and she hides the fact that she loves reading. We've all met this character before, her mother has died and she's journeyed on a path of self-destruction to mask her inner pain. However, in this case, Riley is a big girl. Yes, she's fat, chooses to wear copious amount of black and has violet, asymmetri More...
"Riley is the traditional bad girl protagonist - she swears, she smokes, she tumbles and she hides the fact that she loves reading. We've all met this character before, her mother has died and she's journeyed on a path of self-destruction to mask her inner pain. However, in this case, Riley is a big girl. Yes, she's fat, chooses to wear copious amount of black and has violet, asymmetri More...
Sep 23, 2010
Clover (Fluttering Butterflies)
rated it:
I first came across Everything Beautiful after a review of it over on another blog. I was super excited to read it after that and thought myself incredibly lucky to meet Simmone Howell at the fabulous author event organised by and for Chicklish in June. Simmone Howell is absolutely lovely and I would have read this book straight away.
I really loved Riley. She's all messed up from her mom's death years before, and she doesn't seem to be coping very well with her dad's new girlfr More...
Dec 23, 2009
Suzanne
rated it:
(7 out of ten on the Peach-worthy scale) Riley Rose is a fat chick whose mother has died and whose father is more interested in his relationship with a new lady than with how Riley might be coping with it. She's goth and up to no good with her friend Chloe, but Dad & Norma insist that she is going to Spirit Ranch, a Christian camp in the Australian wilderness, while they enjoy their holiday together. Riley has no intention of drinking the Kool-Aid and is getting massive hostility from the Queen
More...
Sep 24, 2010
Alison
rated it:
It's ironic that I read this during Banned Books Week, because it has just about everything the people who ban books hate. Language. Teen drug use. Teen smoking. Teen drinking. Homosexuality. Anti-religous themes, and religous themes. Teen "unscrupulous behavior." Oh, and my favorite, "disrespect to authority." But blended in with all the bad stuff is an awesome story about the important things in life, the equality of all people, and not being just who others want you to be.
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jun 12, 2009
Mel
rated it:
I wasn't going to read Everything Beautiful but one of my kids read it in one night and told me I had to, so there you go. It was a funny and touching story of Riley, an overweight and outrageous girl who finds herself dumped at Christian Summer Camp for a week by her father and his girlfriend. Her friend back home orchestrates an escape, but the real surprise (to Riley, not to us) is that she actually would rather stay with her new friends and the mysterious, wheel chair bound ultra Christian
More...
Nov 01, 2010
Nic
rated it:
Favourite Quote: "He swallowed and wiped his mouth. 'I think you're beautiful'."
Everything Beautiful is a wonderful coming age of tale that was both hilarious and heart wrenching. It sends a message how important it is to truly love yourself with all your uniqueness.
The writing from the very first page had captured my interest, by the third page it had me laughing and by the fifth page it had pulled at my heart. When a book can do that within the first 5 pages More...
Everything Beautiful is a wonderful coming age of tale that was both hilarious and heart wrenching. It sends a message how important it is to truly love yourself with all your uniqueness.
The writing from the very first page had captured my interest, by the third page it had me laughing and by the fifth page it had pulled at my heart. When a book can do that within the first 5 pages More...
27 comments
like
(10 people liked it)
Oct 05, 2009
AnnaBnana
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jul 17, 2011
Ange
rated it:
HILARIOUS!! would be one word to sum up this book. It was so entertaining it had me in fits of laughter most of the time, other times my heart retched for the characters in the story.
It was the characters that made this story so awesome. They were fun, quirky and unique. Riley Rose the protagonist was a bad girl, atheist whose inner narrative was comedic and entertaining. She is such an entertaining character that I liked her immediately. After her mother died of cancer a few years earlie More...
It was the characters that made this story so awesome. They were fun, quirky and unique. Riley Rose the protagonist was a bad girl, atheist whose inner narrative was comedic and entertaining. She is such an entertaining character that I liked her immediately. After her mother died of cancer a few years earlie More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
