Confessions of an Angry Girl

Confessions #1

by Louise Rozett

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 gorgeous Jamie Forta, boyfriend of the coolest cheerleader in the school. Now she’s out for blood. Mine.

#3: But most of all high school might as well be Mars. My best friend has been replaced by an alien…and now it’s a case of survival of the coolest.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction, High School, Ebooks, Chick Lit

266 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2012

About the author

Louise Rozett is an author, a playwright, and a recovering performer. She made her YA debut with Confessions of an Angry Girl, followed by Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend, both published by HarlequinTEEN. And then came No More Confessions, in January 2015! She lives with her 120-pound Bernese Mountain dog Lester (named after Lester Freamon from THE WIRE, of course) in sunny Los Angeles, and pines for New York City. Visit www.Louiserozett.com for more info.

Reviews

[Ava · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC supplied by NetGalley and Harlequin in exchange for a honest review.

I had high hopes for CONFESSIONS OF AN ANGRY GIRL when I started, I really did. The premise was interesting, the cover was gorgeous, and at the time (technically, still) I was also angry. I wanted to see how another pissed-off bitch handled it.

CONFESSIONS OF AN ANGRY GIRL takes you through the life of Rose Zarelli, a fourteen year-old who's had everything taken away: her father's life, her mother's will, her brother's caring, and her friend's old personality. Enter Jaime Forta, the older guy who's dating cheerleader Regina (who's even more wicked than MEAN GIRL'S Regina George), who kissed Rose. Regina's mission: make Rose's life a living hell.

Slut-shaming is wrong - just because a girl wears shorts and boots and accents her boobs doesn’t mean she’s a cheap whore; it means she's self confident and that's a great thing. It doesn't mean she's a 'whore', period.

However, I also believe there is a fine line between a revealing outfit, and dancing in a mini-skirt with only your bra on a cold night at fourteen, in front of a bunch of horny teenage boys who’d have sex with a girl (and I wouldn’t put them past date rape) and then immediately start treating her like crap.



Rose is a horrible heroine, if you can even call her that. She complains about everything. Everything. If she was truly livid, she'd scream at Tracy until the stupid bitch thought about what she was doing, she'd slap Jaime, she'd go after Regina waaaaayyy before she did, and we should be able to sense her fury. She wasn't angry like I expected. She was pretty much normal until the ending, when she snapped. Rose didn't have fun once - she didn't even try to act like she wasn't a bitter sixty-year old.

Rose was put in sticky situations, but the way she handled them didn't help her case. I felt for her, truly. Her life was chaotic and she had to deal with Tracy, her 'best friend'. But I just couldn't deal with her character. She didn't have to be such a boring party-pooper for everything. CONFESSIONS OF A BITCHY GIRL was what it should have been called. After a while, it was just like:



Jaime. Jaime, oh Jaime. I don't understand why Rose was so infatuated with him, or him with her. This guy was not interesting. Okay, so he's older and he's hot. Also, he has a troubled past (haven't you noticed that's the new YA requirement?) and he's dating a cheerleader.

Speaking of cheerleaders, Regina, his girlfriend, is not your typical bitchy cheerleader found in YA novels. Actually, she is.... but worse. Regina scared me half to death, but it's true that not all cheerleaders are horrible. I mean, honestly. What is it with all these demoness cheerleaders?! They're cute girls who wave pom-poms. They're not a special species of evil.

Regina, tormenting anyone she didn't like, resembles PRETTY LITTLE LIARS's Alison diLaurentis more than anything. She's twisted and cruel, and I wouldn't want to encounter her... ever.

Tracy is one of the worst friends I have ever encountered. I'm sorry, but if I was Rose, I couldn't have survived with her as a friend. She's the girl trying to fit in with the popular crowd, even if it means betraying her 'best friend' and doing so many wrong things I lost count. Tracy dates a fucking asshole, kisses up to the cheerleading squad, and completely ignores Rose and her advice. All Rose tries to do is help her, and Tracy just brushes her off and regrets it later. Tracy's very ME ME ME ME ME. She could've sacrificed herself at the end of the book to save their friendship and I still wouldn't have forgiven her. The things that she did can't be.

CONFESSIONS OF AN ANGRY GIRL is full of girls discovering the teenage world of sex, guys, alcohol, kegs, police, fake IDs, and all-around evil people. Also, gynecology and-


TMI, And I don't mean THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS.

A little bit of what saved this book is Rozett's clear writing, which could have been better if Rose was actually intelligent and fun. I also found myself wanting to read more and more of CoaAG, even if I hated it.

In the end, it was a 'meh' book for me. Perhaps I'll read the next one. I don't know yet.

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

ME: OMG, I am SO pissed!!!
YOU: Why, Katy? You HAD to know what you were getting yourself into. After all, the book IS called, "Confessions of an ANGRY Girl," isn't it?
ME: Well, yes, you do have a point, but holy hell, Rosie made me want to wring her neck!

Okay, so I DID know that Rosie was going to be an angsty teenager, but instead of an angry girl whose temper gets her into trouble, Rosie is more of a whiny goody-goody-two-shoes who just has angry thoughts but doesn't have the guts to do anything except wallow in self-pity. So I'm a bit disappointed and dissatisfied in a way I'm not sure I really know how to explain.

I understand that she would be devastated after losing her father and dealing with her loss by being mad at the world. But the reason I failed to sympathize with her in this book was because she NEVER showed ANY growth as a character, and THAT is why I'm giving the book two stars.

I think the book would have been better if we had gotten a glimpse of that summer, perhaps in the prologue, of her family receiving the news and how she had her breakdown. I think I would be more inclined to sympathize with her. This book just jumps straight into three months later when she was already this super bitch.

Rozett did ATTEMPT to make Rosie an "angry girl." She was an awful person to her mother, a brat to her brother, a bitch to Robert and a dummy to Jamie. On top of that, she was a horrible friend to Tracy, who I know she was looking out for, but instead of coming across as "I'm warning you because I care about you," she always expressed everything so negative and derogatory like she can't possibly understand why Tracy in her right mind would ever want to continue dating Matt or be a cheerleader. But she just came across as an irritating toddler throwing a tantrum instead of dealing with big-girl problems.

But like I said, she did not grow AT ALL as a character. The whole book was about how everything else was wrong with her world. Her mother has checked out. Her brother doesn't want to be around anymore. Jamie doesn't know what to do with her. Robert insists on being after her even though she's not interested. Tracy is too busy to care about her. And Regina is determined to make her life a living hell. Grow up. This is life. But Rosie does NOTHING to try to change her world other than the Regina situation, but her arm was kind of twisted there, and really, it was Jamie who solved that little problem for her.

I didn't really care for the other characters in this book. Jamie is such a FLAT male interest. He doesn't do anything. And Tracy is such a self-absorbed floozy who only cares about whether or not she should have sex with her boyfriend or whether or not she's popular enough for her cheerleader status. And Regina is nothing more than your typical mean girl queen bee. No one in this book was memorable.

The only exception to this was Angelo, who I thought was a real sweetheart and a big, clueless teddy bear who means well. I also thought Peter had potential to be a great character too. But both characters didn't have a big enough role to make a lasting impression, and I think the book would have been so much better if Rozett had spent just a little more time developing their characters.

And the end? What the EFF was that? It just ended. I was reading along, and then all of a sudden, I get to the last page that says look for book 2. It wasn't really a cliffhanger - just an abrupt dead end in the road.

I don't know. I just thought this book had a lot of potential to be great, and Rozett just didn't handle a lot of things the way she could have to make it a lot better than an "okay" book in my eyes.

[Giselle · Rating 4 out of 5]

If it wasn't for my friends' recommendations I don't think I would have read this book. The synopsis makes it sound like it involves an annoying, bratty main character who whines and complains about stupid high school stuff. Lucky for them, my friends didn't fail me and I found myself really enjoying it. The protagonist, Rose, is a little younger than I usually like my MCs - at only 14 and starting high school - but in a way it brought me back to how jarring it can be to go from one grade to the next where, suddenly, the rules are different, boyfriends and sex seem to be constant hot topics, and popularity seems to be what counts.

Rose is someone I think a lot of people could relate to. For many, starting high school was not an easy - or a welcome - change. Rose is the awkward, confused girl who's feeling like a clueless kid when all her friends seem to be miles ahead of her. On top of everything, she is also dealing with the recent death of her father. Her character could be fairly judgmental at times, even a little prudish, and while she's simply overwhelmed and confused, having been jarred by the sudden changes in her life, I can't say I particularly liked her from the start. Still, I found myself sympathizing with her for how she was made to feel so alone. I also admired her for sticking to what she believed in, and doing the right thing knowing the dire consequences it would bring. It's not everyone who can stay so true to themselves in high school with all the pressures it entails. Most of the book is Rose trying to find where she fits in this big world she was thrown in. Her not fitting in anymore has made her angry, and you could clearly feel her confusion throughout.

I'm not sure how I feel about the romance in the book. Jamie confused me as much as he did her. He has a girlfriend, or so it seems, yet he keeps running to Rose. Then when Rose gets in trouble with this girlfriend he does nothing to defend her. It irritated me in a way that I didn't find him worthy of Rose at all. It's hard to discern what about him had Rose so charmed. I was actually rooting for her friend Robert who is incredibly sweet and obviously in love with her, but for some reason she doesn't feel the same. The novel doesn't dwell on the romance completely, though; the plot keeps its focus on Rose figuring herself out.

Topics in this book range from bullying, to death, to friendship, and family. Her father's passing gives this story quite a bit of emotional depth - more than I was expecting in this type of book. I could easily feel Rose's grief overshadowing her. How her family is dealing with the pain is realistic as well as disheartening, having yet to heal from this sudden gaping hole in their lives. This, along with everything else that is happening at school, forced Rose to grow up. And she does. At the end of the book I found she was a much more determined and confident girl, showing some great character growth. One result of this growth made me especially satisfied at the end, and I can't wait to see its delightful unraveling in the sequel. *evil laugh*

Filled with sarcasm and loud opinions, Confession of an Angry Girl is perfect for when you're looking for your next high-school drama with a lot of heart.

--
A copy was provided by the publisher for review.

For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

[Stacia (the 2010 club) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Welcome to high school, Rose Zarelli. It's survival of the coolest here. And you, with your running shoes and your French horn and your fear of sex and your missing hymen and your weird attacks and your dead father, you are definitely not part of the posse.

Well, fine. So be it.
Fuck cool.

3.5 stars. Take one part Chloe Saunders from The Summoning and one part Ruby Oliver from The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver (dang, that title is about as long as Bloody Jack book 1) and you'll come pretty close to understanding Rose Zarelli. Which means you'll be figuring her out long before she figures herself out. The chapter heading and quote from above is something that comes much later in the book.

First impressions :

I love the chapter headings (as shown at the start of my review). Cute book, albeit extremely young in tone. Yes, there were colorful words, as well as mentions of sex and drinking, but there's always something about girls trying to figure themselves out which has me reminiscing on the very early side of high school. Which, to be fair, is right where Rose has landed. I know that a lot of "enlightenment" takes place between the years of 14 and 18. I'm probably so used to reading on the older side of YA fiction that it always makes me do this little head shake (yes, I actually DO the shake) when I read about girls who don't know stuff that seems obvious to the rest of us.

As the story continued :

I found myself somewhat frustrated with Rose's hatred of all things popular. Instead of figuring out how not to be a "have not," she griped about the "haves." Although, I do think that some of this outlook did go hand-in-hand with her not fully understanding what she wanted to do with her current situation. I was personally glad to see her start to learn to stand up for herself as the story progressed.

Where I landed :

Overall, I ended up liking this more than I expected to. I found characters to like (Angelo and the brother), a character to be curious about (Jamie), and a few characters who I'll probably love to hate. This isn't my normal fare, but I'm glad I took a chance. I'll be looking forward to book 2.

This book was provided from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Michelle [Helen Geek] · Rating 4 out of 5]

09/20/2012 -- Full review posted at: http://2geekgirlsreviewbooks.com

Overall Rating: 4.5
Book Cover / Book Blurb = 5 / 5 = total of 5
Writer’s Voice = 5
Character Development = 5
Story Appreciation = 5
Worth the Chili = 2.5 [ARC from Netgalley, $8.39 if purchased on Amazon or Barnes & Noble]

This author nailed the teen angst, “me against the world” persona. I absolutely identified with Rose and would have loved to have read it when I was a teen. I think it would have helped me understand and accept my thoughts and feelings better. When you read the blurb you may get put off a bit; just another teen lashing out at their “tough little world.” If you think this then you would be DEAD wrong. This is a story of survival and the journey or struggle to survive. For someone who has lived this angst, the author depicts it perfectly. Pretty typical. And the whole high school thing? Who has never thought high school is truly your first lesson in survival? For Rose, she has the double struggle. Loved this girl.

Three things I liked about this book:
1.) Rose’s voice. She is very self-aware. She knows when she is lashing out and works to put a name to it and to try and understand or control it. Rose is 14 and a Freshman in high school. Her father has just died. Her mother isn’t responsive to much as she works through her own grief and the guilt associated with the father’s sudden death. Her brother has just “abandoned” her to go off to college. She has a best friend, but feels she's turned into an alien. She has a few other friends, but she spends more time trying to alienate them, which she knows is not healthy. She feels like the outsider with the other kids in school. They have no worries and her world has collapsed. She is just trying to hold the tent poles up as the canvas flutters in the wind. This girl is dealing with situations in life that bring down adults daily and is doing it mostly alone.

There is something else, but he’s not saying it. I am able to take a few deep breaths, and just as I’m about to give him total hell, he changes the subject. “Rosie, I have something to tell you.” I can tell by the tone of his voice that whatever he’s about to say is not good, and I’m not sure how much more I can take in one conversation. My panic is now complimented with dread, and my head is spinning from overload. I suddenly realize that whatever he’s about to say is the reason he answered my call on the first ring and he’s probably spent our entire conversation trying to figure out a way to say it. Maybe if I don’t answer him, he won’t say it at all. “Are you there?” “Yeah…”

2.) I love the characters this author provides for our enjoyment. We have Rose. A young girl trying to figure life out and is pretty much on her own doing it. We have Mom and Peter. Mom is a therapist carrying so much guilt and grief over the father’s death she checks out. She is literally emotionally unavailable. She’s there, but not there. We have Jamie. The quiet, tough guy who is attracted to Rose. Why? I think he senses in her a kindred spirit. She has suffered a deep loss and he identifies with it. I liked Angelo. He is one of those people you want to know forever. He would do anything for a friend and Jamie is/was his friend. And, so was Sweater [Rosie]. And, what about Robert. He is so hung up on Rose and she was so mean to him. I didn’t think he deserved it and really wanted to hate Rose for her behavior… We have Tracey, Regina, Michelle, on and on, and on. She painted some wonderful characters who made us think and took us back in time to our own experiences. For some of us, their pain … we’ve lived it.

He picks one and then smiles at me. I quickly look back down at my books, thinking I might have made a mistake, being nice to one of the vocational-technical guys. Especially one of the older "vo-tech" guys.
.
.
.
First of all, our cheer-leading team is not one of those amazing, super athletic competitive teams – there are no back-flips off crazy-high human pyramids at halftime. The most acrobatic thing that goes on here is a synchronized hair-flip.

3.) I liked how this author treated the subject of grief in adolescents. Rose is a work in process. She is having a tough time and through her POV we experience this. I think it is important how she takes us through her life daily. How she struggles to remember her father. At first she doesn't want to remember [too painful], then she does. She shows us how Rosie copes. The creation of the memorial website and walking through the decisions of what to include and why. I think this very powerful. I liked how the author had Rose talk about her emotions at various points in the book. Rose’s epiphany when she realized she had huge amounts of anger trapped inside. She became very self-aware, learned some of the triggers and silently went through some anger management techniques. Poignant. And, when you think about the target audience, I think very well written; thoughtful.

What three things did I not like or not appreciate:
1.) I didn’t like the ending. No epilogue and we are left basically hanging, for every single character until 2013. Seriously. We don't know an ending for any of them. They are just hanging out until we tune back in ... We don’t know if Jamie and Rose get together. We don’t know how Rose’s Freshman year ends and we want to. Just left me hanging. I hate that. Seriously hate it. Will it make me buy the next one? Only if the price is right. I have self-control peeps! Tons of it.

2.) If you buy this book, for a “new” author, you'll spend $8.39 for the eBook either Amazon or B&N [pre-order]. A shame really because many won’t spend this on an eBook. Gonna say this again … and will each and every time the pubs want to stick it to us. This is outrageous. This is a new author and an eBook. I don’t get it. I was very fortunate to be awarded an ARC from Netgalley. If I had not had this opportunity, I would not have read the book until I could borrow the book somewhere or the price dropped to $5 or $6 – which is the reasonable price point for me and this book.

3.) The mother. Yep, but she was an absolute mess. The answer was simple right? They needed money and Dad could go to Iraq. Just for a bit of time and money wouldn't be so tight anymore. So, makes sense. He didn't want to go, but she convinced him it would only be a short while and they had cell phones and video on the computer? Right? Well, imagine the guilt and the grief. No wonder at the total "checked out" behavior. Our minds are very powerful things and it was eating her up. It takes time to remember, life goes on. And on. So, I cut the Mom some slack. The person I was angriest with was Peter, but he was just trying to survive too. Emotional devastation. Nothing quite like it and some never get past it.

A personal observation: I’m not sure why YA authors paint adults in an often very harsh light. I read enough of them, that I’ve noticed this pattern or trend. Not sure if this is necessary for the audience, but would like them to think about it a bit. It is nice to see some adult kindness and wisdom shine through. I think it important to give readers a role model. We did have the Sex Ed. or Family Ed. teacher, but other than her, adults didn’t shine through in this one.

This was a very emotional book for me. I read it as an ARC buddy read with several friends. We are all adults but every one of us loved these characters. Some of us where transported to our own painful histories. We appreciated the lesson Rose provided to us; her strength and self-awareness. This is a very good book and if you elect to read it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did; as my Good Reads friends did. I want to thank them for moving this to the top of my “to read” pile and giving me a few thoughts to noodle on and allowing me to share and vent. Thanks Guys.

Very Happy Reading!

I want to gratefully thank the publisher Harlequin Teen and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.


+++++++++++++++++++
ARC on 08/13/2012

[saania jamal ✧]

Confessions of an Angry Reader:

When twelve mere lines manage to get me irate and vexed and frustrated (want some more? go read that synopsis.) with the narrator's voice, I think I'll pass.

[Nereyda (Nick & Nereyda's Infinite Booklist) · Rating 5 out of 5]

***ARC received by Harlequin Teen for review***

As I bend down to lace up, I realize I’m Angry today, with a capital A - I can feel it. Good.

I love to interview authors and one of the questions I sometimes like to ask them is: If someone made a book about your life, what would the title be? Confessions of an Angry Girl would be the PERFECT book title for my life! I’m known to my family and close friends as having a bit of a, um, temper. They make fun of me for it all the time (seriously not a wise thing to do) and call me an angry midget (because I’m 4’10 ½”, yes that ½” makes a big difference to me). When I first saw the cover for this book, I immediately sent it to my sister who said it was the perfect book for me. I was really looking forward to it and had really had hopes for it. This book totally exceeded all of my expectations!

Rose is having a really bad year. Her dad died in Iraq, her family is falling apart, she is losing her best friend to the cheerleaders and the guy she likes is dating one of those cheerleaders. As a result of all these things, Rose is pissed! She is mad at the world in general and ends up taking it out on other people. After some of the cheerleaders, mainly Jaime’s girlfriend, pushes her buttons one time too many, Rose FINALLY gives in to the rage and anger inside her and fights back which is just a beautiful moment! Rose was such an awesome character and even though she was cynical, brutally honest and at times mean to her friends, I completely connected with her and loved her. Although there was a romantic interest between Rose and Jaime, it isn’t the main focus of the book and worked perfectly to create the perfect setting for the next book. Louise wasn’t afraid to shy away from any uncomfortable subjects and did a great job covering them.

I’m at a bit of loss of words to adequately describe my love for this book. I loved everything about this book from the cover to the beautiful story inside. My only problem with this book is that I wish Rose was a bit older than 14 years old (she turns 15 in the book). Maybe it’s because I have been reading mostly New Adult books recently where the main character is 18-23 years old, but it didn’t turn out to be such a big deal at the end. I was expecting a cute story about a girl who finds the meaning of life after losing her father. What I got was so much more! I couldn’t help it and I ended up getting completely sucked in this book dying to see what Rose would do next. The ending was completely unexpected and a cruel cliffhanger. It is seriously evil to make us wait until next year to read the next book, Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend. Funny, emotional and angst-y, Confessions of an Angry Girl is a fantastic story! Seriously dying for the next book! And maybe it’s just the crazy in me talking but I really hope we see more of Rose’s anger in the next book.

5 out of 5 super sparkly stars all the way!


Some of my favorite non-spoiler quotes from Confessions of an Angry Girl:
(These quotes also describe me perfectly! Except that I LOVE Chuck Bass!)

-Nothing is the way it was supposed to be this year, and it’s really pissing me off.

-If anyone ever tried to figure out who I am based purely on my iPod, they’d never be able to do it. Public Enemy is followed by the Pussycat Dolls and preceeded by Patty Griffin. I love my Florence + The Machine as much as my Rihanna, my White Stripes as much as my Black Keys.

-He lights his cigarette and turns his head to the side to exhale while keeping his eyes on me. I am pretty sure he saw Chuck do this on Gossip Girl, and I bet he’s been practicing ever since. I suddenly hate that stupid show.
Apparently I hate everything these days.

-I’m not sure why a bottle of vodka is so much more exciting than a keg, but then again, I’m not much of a drinker.

-Someone jams an iPod in a dock and the Crash Kings starts playing so loud that I can feel my skull vibrating. I stick my fingers in my ears and realize that I’m acting like an old lady.

-And suddenly, the reason I’ve been so mad at everyone and everything for the past few weeks is very clear to me: I don’t understand any of this.

-“Mom told me you were pissed off at the world, but I didn’t realize you were acting like a two-year-old.”

-As my temperature rises and my common sense takes its leave, a thought calmly pops into my head: I don’t have panic attacks-what I have are rage attacks.

***
Just for fun, I thought I would point out some similarities between Rose and I:
-We both have the same eclectic music taste. My iPad is full of very different music genres. I am obsessed with The Pretty Reckless, System of a Down, Serj Tankian, Flyleaf, and Evanescence. Mixed in with those songs is Beyonce, Rihanna, Pink, Backstreet Boys, George Strait, Tim McGraw, Britney Spears and all the songs from the songs from the Victorious soundtrack.

-I don’t really understand the big deal with drinking as I am not a drinker. I’ve only drank a handful of times and have only gotten drunk maybe 3 times in my life. As far as I’m concerned it just makes me go pee a lot and makes me sleepy.

-I am made fun of all the time for acting like an old lady. My sister says I am a 26 year old lady trapped in an old ladies body. Most things people my age like doing doesn’t really interest me at all.

-I am not 14 years old like Rose (I’m 26) but when I was 14 I attacked my sister and her friend from the backseat of the car because they wouldn’t stop making fun of me. My sister was driving and had to pull over to get me off of her. At 14 I also kicked her in the face for making fun of me another time.

-And of course, there is the anger. I am the nicest person until you make me mad. (Doesn’t take much) When I was reading this book I kept thinking to myself: OMG! Was this book written about me? Is someone spying on me? But I’m pretty boring so of course they aren’t.

Anyway, in case you couldn’t tell, I fucking LOVED this book!!!

***
Read more of my reviews and author interviews at:
www.MostlyYABookObsessed.com

[Booknut 101 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read - 5/11/14: This story gets better and better every time you read it. Love it! <3

Review:

"Bad things happen whether you're scared or not, so you might as well not bother being scared. It's a waste of time.”

Rose is a straight-A, word-a-holic.
Rose has erythrophobia (n) - a fear of blushing or turning red
Her (popular, cheerleading-loving) best friend Tracy is intransigent about the fact that being popular = life's meaning/divine calling.
Rose isn't popular.

Rose Zarelli has enough on her plate, simply by being a teenager going to what people call 'high school' but what should be renamed 'the Tenth Circle of Hell' - but to top it all off, she has had the worst summer of her life. Why? Because her father died, leaving her family in a mess, earning sympathetic looks and leaving Rose to deal with more anger than she's ever felt before.

Anger at her mum.
Anger at her brother.
Anger at Tracy.
Anger at her school.
And anger at herself.

But when Rose gets seated near Jamie - her long-standing crush, with his dark hair, brooding demeanour and ink stains on his hands from his artistic scribbles - in study hall, she begins to realise that maybe she feels more than anger. Maybe she feels loneliness, helplessness, hurt and even love.

Rose struggles to sort out her feelings, whilst having to deal with the pressures of school, friendship and family. Everyone seems to expect something from her - they all seem to expect Rose to be someone she isn't sure she knows; that she isn't sure she is. Rose feels like the people around her are moving on and changing, but doesn't allow for the sliver of a possibility that the person who has actually changed is her.

This book is flawlessly written to deliver a raw recount of what it feels like to be in what I like to call an 'emotional rollercoaster with no restraints' - when life throws you curveballs you weren't expecting and suddenly you have more emotions than you know what to do with, pressures from every angle, tears stuck behind your eyes that you can't let out and that strong wish that everything could be the way it was.

The 'angry girl' part struck me too. Alot of the time, Rose is seen as the 'straight A' girl, her 'brother's sister', the 'dead soldier's daughter', the 'psychiatrist's daughter' - so many labels, just like many teens today get either from belonging to a certain cliche or from being associated with certain things. But sometimes, we want to break this label.

And after her father's death, and the anger associated with it, Rose labels herself as the 'angry girl' - though not directly - and because she believes that this is what she is, she continues to feel a sense of helplessness and grief. She feels stuck. But when she sees what others - e.g. Jamie - see about her, and when she comes to terms with what has happened, she realises that labels that are self-given cause as much harm as labels that others give you.

Maybe she doesn't like being the 'dead soldier's daughter'. But being the 'angry girl' is even less appealing.

I loved how down to earth the book was, with Rose's fiery temper and yet her quiet longing for something more. Like every human being at some point, she gets stuck and she resists change. The change in Tracy, the change in her brother, the change of her family life, the change in school, the change in her feelings - all these changes scare her, but resisting them, she realises, is futile.

Confessions of an Angry Girl is heart-warming, movie-worthy and will make you:
1.) laugh at the jokes
2.) shake your head at the antics
3.) cry at the heartbreak, and finally
4.) get angry at the injustices.

And perhaps you'll drop your own labels and start channeling more positive emotions too :D

[Louise Rozett · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's sort of wrong to rate your own book, isn't it...

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rose Zarelli has had one hell of a summer holiday. Her father, an out-of-work engineer who took a contractor job in Iraq in order to supplement her mother's psychiatrist income, died in an explosion along with several American soldiers. She's pretty angry about that. Her mother hardly speaks, and doesn't seem to notice what her daughter is going through, merely offering to set her up with counselling. That makes her pretty mad. Her older brother, Jess, has moved away from home to attend university, seemingly abandoning her when she most needs him, not even coming home on Thanksgiving, leaving her to spend a miserable dinner alone with her mum. That makes her furious.

Rose has just started grade 9, and already she feels like her best friend Tracy has turned into another person entirely. All she talks about is whether she should sleep with her boyfriend, Matt, and once she joins the cheerleading team she's subjected to some rather ruthless initiations that she takes on without complaint, even when the striptease cheer dance ends up on YouTube. Rose can't relate to anything happening in Tracy's life, but knows enough to bite her tongue - most of the time.

There's one high point in her life, such as it is: Jamie Forta, an older boy who sits across from her in Study Hall in the mornings, until he leaves to attend an make-up English class. She's attracted to his dark looks and his "badass" reputation, and in a heady moment lets him kiss her in his car. But that's before she finds out that her brother Jess asked him to keep an eye out for her, and before she learned that he's sort-of going out with the bitchiest girl on the cheerleading squad.

All in all, there's little for her to be happy about in the aftermath of her dad's death, and plenty of occasions to unleash her anger at the crap going on in her life.

I really enjoyed this. I'm sure I'm not the only person to say this, but it reads rather like a more serious, harder-edged, gritty Jessica Darling. Rose has the same academic intelligence and love of big words, but not the smart-ass sense of humour. I don't want to compare the two or say that Rose is a lesser version: she's not written as a copy, she can stand on her own two feet. This is a different story; I mention the similarity mostly to give you an idea of the kind of book it is, and whether or not you'd enjoy reading it.

I enjoyed it, that's for sure. Rozett has a smooth, relaxed style that is easy to get into, and has created a strong, distinct voice for Rose. I forgot entirely that there was an author behind Rose; it was more like hearing Rose directly. In my head? I guess so. ;)

One of the things I enjoyed most about it was the grittier, realistic subject matter. Teen sex, drinking, peer pressure, bullying, vandalism, harassment - these are tough issues and they're faced by teens every day, whether they participate or not. Rozett handles them deftly and with understanding, not sugar-coating anything but not dramatising it either. In this regard, the novel brought to mind Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak - there's even a scene where Rose has to call 911 at an underage party, bringing the cops in, though here, Rose stays to see it through and takes on the flak that results from it. In many ways, she's a great role model, even if she does struggle with her temper at times. The way she works through things, I think teens will be able to relate to her, regardless of how similar or dissimilar the issues involved are. This is the kind of book I enjoyed reading when I was 14, 16 etc. One that didn't pretend teens never swear, never feel the pressure to have sex, never make really stupid decisions, and can't learn from them. The worst thing you can do is pretend they're not like this. Far better to openly discuss it, work through it, show that it's all actually very common, depressingly so. And that there are ways to stand up to it, and survive it.

This is the first book in a new series and there's a lot more to explore. Rose's friendship with Tracy went through some serious upheavals here, and weathered it. Her fledgling relationship with Jamie is a mere beginning, and I loved that it wasn't the focus of this story: I'm turned off by so many YA books presenting intense, eternal-never-dying love between adolescents, crammed into one book (I struggle with it in one sense because I never experienced that kind of emotion as a teen; not only was there no one to bestow that kind of love on, it was an emotion I didn't properly learn until I was a young adult, at university. Not saying high school students can't feel legitimate, "true" love for someone, just that, to me, it's a fun fantasy but not that realistic). Here we have the possible beginning of something, with a lot of room to grow and develop, or not. I'm sure it will, but its slow birth will make it all the more believable. Also, Rose is very young, and Jamie's right to be reluctant to have a relationship with a 14/15 year old. It's not said exactly how old he is, but he seems to be at least eighteen (plus he was held back due to failing grades). It would be too creepy to have him in a full-blown relationship with someone that young.

Speaking of Jamie, you don't get to know all that much about him in this book, enough to see what Rose likes about him and to know that he's worth it, despite his bad taste in cheerleaders (and yet there's a good reason even for that). But there's still so much to learn about him, we've barely scratched the surface, so I'm definitely keen on reading the next book in that regard.

Overall, this was an absorbing, engaging read, fast-paced and snappy, belligerent yet hopeful in tone due to a part of Rose that is hiding under her grief and anger, and sad too. I connected with this emotionally and wished only for a bit more substance to the story: it felt too short and too fast, though how much of that is due to reading it on my e-reader is hard to say (the format does affect how I read, greatly). If you enjoy gritty YA fiction, you'll definitely want to give Confessions of an Angry Girl a try.

My thanks to Harlequin and Netgalley for a copy of this book.

[Jasprit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once in a while you stumble across a book which takes you completely by surprise. Confessions of an Angry Girl is one of those books. To tell you the truth, I didn't think it would be my sort of read, I was intrigued by the sound of the premise, but once I'd picked it up I honestly couldn't put it down, it was such an enjoyable read that I found myself flying through the pages.

Rose had the worst possible start to school; her dad died while working in Iraq, he wasn't even a soldier but was hired as a contractor, he only took up the job to pay for Rose and her brother Peter's college. Now Peter's away at college, Rose's mother's more closed off than ever, Rose's friend wants to join the cheer squad and is getting so caught up in the matter that she's forgetting all about her, she's changing into Regina the Cheer squad lieutenant's minion. On top of that Robert her friend keeps trying to hint that they should be more than just friends, but Rose feels like there is something between her and Jamie, Regina's boyfriend. It's not her imagination but he seems to be paying more attention to her than usual. It's all a confusing position to be in for 14 year old Rose.

When I first read the synopsis I didn't realise that we would be getting a pov from a 14 year old girl! I usually like my povs from characters to be a little older, but I had so much fun getting Rose's thoughts, she could be so blunt at times saying things before thinking, causing herself more problems, but I liked this side about her. She was a freshman with hardly any friends to cover her back, but this didn't prevent her from giving up. With the junior Regina and her friends forever putting her down, she still tried to hold her own. She also had a fun sense of humour, I enjoyed some of the imagery and ideas she would come up with and how sometimes her imagination would wander off to the craziest ideas. At times I forgot how old she really was in comparison to several other characters as she acted quite mature for her age.

The secondary characters were also a funny bunch, Robert with his constant pining over Rose, poor guy was never able to come to the realisation that Rose didn't like him; he was always trying too hard. I had mixed feelings about Jamie Forta, I thought he was just what Rose needed, despite the age gap he seemed to understand her, but then he always blew hot and cold. When I finally thought something would happen between them he would push Rose away. So it was good getting some scenes where we got to know his character that little bit more, my heart really went out to him at times. Also I always seem to have a soft spot for male characters who are referred to by their surnames; St Clair, Barrons and now Forta *sigh*. Angelo Jamie' best friend was a character I truly adored, his and Rose's scenes in the study hall were some of my favourites, some may see Angelo as an irritating person with him constantly bugging Rose when she obviously wasn't in the mood to talk, but he truly did have person's best interests at heart. He was always trying to cheer Rose up, I loved how when she didn't tell him her name he started referring to her as sweater. I would have loved Angelo to have a more prominent role in the book as he always brought a smile to my face. Let's hope this happens in the next book Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend.

Rozette managed to create such a realistic portrayal of how difficult and confusing school life can be for a teenager. Along with the heartache, she was able to mix in some hilarious scenes producing an entertaining read full of charming characters many readers will enjoy. (just be warned you may want to pummel Regina in this book several times.)

This review and more can be found on The Readers Den

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!

I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf for a few weeks now and it’s one of them books that I keep seeing mixed reviews about. So, I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book before I picked it up. Now it’s not often that I read a book that surprises me but that's just what Confessions of an Angry Girl did, and I absolutely fell in love with everything about it.

I can’t remember the last time a read a book like Confessions of an Angry Girl – one that I believe sends out the right message to teens who are considering becoming sexually active. With the characters only being fourteen to sixteen, most would think that it's possibly too young for them to be even thinking about sex or drinking alcohol, however, if you look into the society we live in, kids nowadays, seem to experience things much earlier in life. They’re exposed to sex and drinking one way or another and I highly believe that there should be more books like this available to teens because, it might get them to think about the choices they’re about to or are going to make. That’s what I loved about Rose – the main character. For a fourteen year old girl she was very level headed regarding sex and drinking, she knew what she wanted and wouldn’t let anyone pressure her – especially her best friend Tracy. Rose is supposed to come across as an angry girl – hence the title of the story and I think Louise Rozett did a great job portraying Rose as an angry girl. She’s wasn’t crazy angry but, she was angry enough at her father’s death, at losing her best friend to the popular girls and at her brother not coming home for thanksgiving to pull this story off.

Now, I wasn’t sure how much romance would be involved with the story – or if any, but it was another factor that surprised me. Yes, there’s romance but it a complicated one but it's so, so good. Rose has had a crush on Jamie for years, however there is a slight age gap between them and also, Jamie has a girlfriend - the mean popular girl, Regina. I so wanted Rose and Jamie to work together, but the author really keeps us in suspense, but it works so well with the story because yay, there’s going to be a sequel – Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend. I have to say, I cannot wait! I want more Rose and I want more Jamie with swoon-worthy moments. The moments where they were together in this book though, were perfect and they honestly made me melt. And my favourite scene between them was this;

"He finds his way up the side of my neck, biting me just a little, moving lightly back and forth, like he's searching for a special spot. When he finds it, I make small sound I've never heard myself make before, like a gasp. He traces his tongue in slow circles around that spot. I realise my hands are just lying in my lap, doing nothing. I concentrate on lifting my arm and reaching for his face, but he catches my hand and holds it tightly at the wrist. His lips leave the spot and find their way back to my mouth, which is waiting, hoping for his return. He plants a gentle kiss on my lower lip and then whispers in my ear, "I just got lucky, Rose."

Louise Rozett creates the perfect read – one full of teenage angst, drama, loss and young love. I adored everything about Confessions of an Angry Girl and you simply have to read it!

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads

'As I bend down to lace up, I realise I'm Angry today, with a capital A-- I can feel it.'

Welcome to high school. Where our innocent young people change into something never expected. Where relationships commence. Where drama begins. Where, if unlucky, everything goes down the drain, like a huge mass falling into a black hole. Friends turning to strangers, crushes turning to dates, kisses turning to sex, revenge turning to killing. What a beauty high school is.

For Rose Zarelli, she's one of the unlucky people. Everyone around her is changing, altering. All apart from her. After a horrible summer holiday, still in shock of her father's death, Rose begins high school as freshman fourteen. Us readers get to follow the angry girl's vision of her life and how she deals with harsh issues. And how she deals with new topics like boyfriends, sex and cheerleaders. I pretty much lost it when I read this book. Confessions of an Angry Girl is a book that will make you want to rip your hair out, sob and tackle hug Rose all at once. The way this book was written did not make it to be a cliché story about a girl kissing a trite cheerleader's boyfriend, but a poignant story about a girl finding herself in the new world of unfamiliarities.

I am no person to complain about the characters. I adored Rose with all my heart. Being so worried about how the synopsis had described her, I went in with a cautious head. But do not fear, for me, Rose was my character soul mate. Maybe needs more anger management but I could feel this girl loud and cogently. After all, we are so close in age differences. She not only was impulsive and smart, but also protective and true. Her personality was exactly what I expected a teenager's voice to come through as. Not completely mature but defiant and lost all at once.

If anything, the weakest point of this book was the romance. Sure, swoony love interest, not instant love or angsty, but certainly inconsistent. I was rather infuriated by the fact that Jamie had a girlfriend and hanged out with Rose and kissed her. And the next day he decides to ignore her like nothing happened. I could sense the direction the author was heading with this but I just could not be fully satisfied in this aspect. Nonetheless, Jamie was a great choice as love interest, misunderstood and reaching out.

The themes and dictating messages explored in Confessions of an Angry Girl expand to a large amount. It pretty much covers all points of high school drama, like bullying, relationships and sex. And also dramas elsewhere like at home with the recent passing away of Rose's father and abrupt collapse of connection within the family. All these features were thoroughly fleshed out and genuine that it brought out unexpected emotions and sudden sympathy and empathy.

Confessions of an Angry Girl left me wanting more and so overjoyed at Rose's unwavering attitude. While not all supporting characters were flawless, I appreciated quite a handful. Highly recommended to people who just want some fun.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm giving this 5 big beautiful stars.

First I have to say that this book is in my top reads for 2012. It is honest and real and Rose is one of the most realistically portrayed teen characters I've ever read.

Second I have to say that the description of this book does not do it justice....not even close. Please don't decide whether or not you read it based on that. I feel it makes the story sound shallow and it really is far from it. Basically, Rose is a girl just starting her freshman year of high school. Her father has recently been killed in Afghanistan. Her older brother whom she was always so close with has gone off to college, leaving her behind. Her best friend has been changing faster than Rose can keep up with. They seem to be going in different directions and Rose does not like the path her friend is on. All while Rose is developing a crush on the local bad boy who happens to be dating the cheerleader leading Rose's best friend down the wrong path.. So, with pretty much the whole world stacked against her and the alien feelings of starting high school and navigating the crazy that is freshman year, Rose has a lot to be frustrated with.

This book has a lot going on inside of it. Maybe too much for some, but for me I felt it tackled some very real issues and Rozett did an amazing job portraying them realistically. Nothing is dumbed down here or glossed over.

I work with teens and I have a teenaged daugter this exact age and I can't wait for her to read this. I can't wait to recommend this to other kids too.

I recieved an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through Net Galley.

[Tessamari ♥Many Waters...♥ ~ Sweet Spot Book Blog · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25-3.5 stars

First off, thank you Harlequin publishing for letting me read and review this book. I was eager to get my hands on it :)

Okay onto the review...

For the most part, I liked this story. It was well written to the point where the emotions of our heroine were clearly felt throughout the story. However, this was actually a tough read for me. Maybe because I've been out of high school for a while or maybe because I just can't stand people being harassed or, maybe, I guess it's a combination of both. Either way, I felt for our heroine, Rose. She has just come out of a difficult summer in which she just lost her father, only to enter high school facing more difficult challenges. She definitely went through an initiation of sorts. This book deals with a lot of those high school issues we all went through: Sex, boys, and just trying to find our identity, while trying to just fit in.

She and her best friend, Tracy, are at odds in the beginning. Tracy, to me, was extremely superficial. She tries too hard to be part of the popular crowd. She dates a swimmer, makes the cheerleading squad and basically is shutting out her best friend. I was not a huge fan of Tracy, but at least she kinda redeems herself toward the end. While Tracy tries ridiculously hard to impress, Rose just wants a moment to try to figure things out. High School is a whole new world, with all its fake IDs, beer chugging, and trying to figure out if it's the right time to lose one's V-card. It's a lot to absorb and it's hard to adjust, especially when your BFF is slowly turning into this superficial person, whom you no longer recognize. Then there's the issue of boys. Oh Lord, here we go...

While Tracy debates on losing "it" with her (jerk face) boyfriend, Matt, Rose is trying to figure out Jamie Forta. Jamie was a former teammate of her brother, Peter. He's a junior and is a complete mystery to her. You can tell he likes Rose, but both parties are reluctant, especially since Jamie is rumored to be dating Regina. Ugh. Just hearing her name provokes images of the movie Mean Girls, which ironically, this Regina reminds me of that Regina. They're both very mean, spiteful B's. Anyway I digress. So when Regina starts to get suspicious with Jamie and Rose's involvement, she makes Rose's High School life difficult. Yea, I don't like her.

By the end of this book, I was left a little drained, especially since it just abruptly ended the way it did. I will definitely be adding book two to my TBR. I would recommend this book for those who are in the mood for a not-so-typical coming of age story.

Official release date for this book is August 28, 2012

[Grecia Robles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro es mi favorito de la trilogía
Recuerdo que cuando lo leí me mantuvo muy entretenida hasta el punto del desvelo
Me gustó bastante y eso es mucho que decir para un libro de pubertos
La prota tiene 14 años o seaaa pero tiene más personalidad que muchas de 30.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book provided by Harlequin through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 STARS
THIS, DEAR READER, is a tale of the hell of high school. Of being dropped into a world where it seems like everyone is speaking a foreign language. Where friends become enemies and enemies become nightmares. Where life suddenly seems like a string of worst-case scenarios from health-class movies.
This is a story about a girl with a stellar vocabulary who is four years away from college and a year and a half away from a driver’s license. About a girl trapped in a hostile universe where the virginity clock is ticking down—relentlessly—with zero consideration for her extenuating, traumatic, life-altering circumstances.
This is a story about death. About the occasional panic attack, the inability to shut up and high school in the suburbs without a cell phone.
Read it and weep.

Doesn't THAT make you want to read it and that's just the prologue!


What a way to start the book! It captured me and drew me in only to trap me from page 1!


Welcome to high school, Rose Zarelli. It’s survival of the coolest here. And you, with your running shoes and your French horn and your fear of sex and your missing hymen and your weird attacks and your dead father, you are definitely not part of the posse.
Well, fine. So be it.
Fuck cool.

I love Rose! I love Jamie! I loved Robert! And sometimes I loved Tracy! The characters were very likeable and I found myself laughing with them, being angry when they were angry and essentially their emotions rolled into me.

What a tough year for Rose though heck I'd be angry too!

I loved this and I every girl especially teenagers will be able to relate to some of this wild crap!
-pressure to be cool
-pressure to loose your virginity
-pressure to have a boyfriend
-pressure to get into the right clique
-pressure to do well
-pressure to look good

Amongst a gazillion other things.

I cannot wait for the next book!

The writing was very good, it was written in such an engaging way that every line drew me further and further into the story, I love that this book is very realistic and relatable. I will definitely be looking out for Louise Rozett's future work.

A very enjoyable and angry read, suited to all YA readers!

[Anjana · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off - 2013?!?! I can't wait until then to find out what happens next! Gah!

Confessions of an Angry Girl surprised me, in a really really good way. Rose Zarelli is a high school freshman who's trying to get over the death of her father. While most people grieve, she's angry, like all the time. Add to that the drama of high school, it's enough to drive anyone crazy.

I can't name just one specific thing that made me love this book, there's all these little things or rather, it's everything that makes this a fun read. I started reading it expecting a story revolving around the universal drama of high school cliques and teenage life - best friends, boyfriends, crushes, parents, curfews, parties, first times and all that but Confessions of an Angry Girl had much more than that. To start with, I loved Rose's voice; she's not your typical teenage protagonist. Rose doesn't try to fit in or be cool, which is why I admire her. She's sensible and I found her relatable. While some may argue that she isn't a realistic portrayal of a teenage girl in high school, I'm still on her side.

Confessions of an Angry Girl is also one of the rare books where I liked the secondary characters just as much. Louise Rozett deviated from the stereotypical depiction of high school kids in novels and it was perfect - Robert, despite all the smoking and being ruled by his hormones, is a good guy and a good friend. Jaime is an imperfect boy, which is a breath of fresh air among the perfect, hot jocks that end up being the male lead in contemporaries. Tracy..I expected her to disappear on Rose, being carried away by the cheerleaders, but again, Rozett surprised me.

Confessions of an Angry Girl is not predictable, which is why you should read it. This is a really well written and unique high school/coming-of-age novel and personally, I feel that a one year wait for the next book is unreasonably long. Like I said, I cannot wait to read it!

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I get to the last turn, I suddenly see pom-poms in my peripheral vision. A few of the girls are lined up on the side of the track, like they're cheering someone on. I'm tempted to look back to see who it is, but I'll lose my stride if I do. I keep going. I get closer and closer to them, and I realize too late that it's Lena, Susan and Regina. Just as I'm about to pass them, they chant, "How did Daddy's Little Girl like the gynecologist?"

Rose is having one hell of a year. After the death of her father, her family has started to unravel at the seams. Her Mother is withdrawing into her grief and guilt and her brother has deserted them and run off to college. School is no better, all her best friend seems to be interested in is having sex with her loser boyfriend and becoming a cheerleader.

To top it all off, she is being bullied by one of the cheerleaders who suspects Rose is making a play for her boyfriend.

Before I know what I'm doing, I'm running across the lanes that separate me from the cheer bitches. It doesn't matter that it's three against one. After everything Regina has done to me, I want the satisfaction of hurting her. I run faster. I start screaming.
Lena and Susan look like deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car⎯ I must seem like a complete maniac, flying at them, covered in blood, screaming like a madwoman⎯

Confessions of an Angry Girl will resonate with just about anyone who can remember what school was like. It tackles a whole bunch of issues including binge drinking, teen sex, pier pressure, bullying and as you would expect anger, without ever preaching. Louise Rozett doesn't treat young adults like idiots, she doesn't preach, she just tells the story and allows the readers to draw whatever conclusions they will.

Tracy. Tracy told her I kissed Jamie.
I slam into Regina with every ounce of strength I have, knocking her to the ground.

Thanks to Harlequin and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC.

[Searock · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I gave it my heart and bought it a flower.
Then it disappointed me and turned my face sour"*.
-Searock

Thought I'd share with you the love poem I wrote for this awesome book.
*sigh*
I fell into serious puppy love with this young person's book while reading it. It had 5 stars at "hello".
Then something unpleasant happened.
It quit on me.
The thing literally stopped at about the 70% mark.... or what I deem to be about 70% of it's story.

I'll share more thoughts about this book when I have fresh eyes tomorrow.

[Saniya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so glad I did buddy reading with my awesome evil twin who also had the same reaction towards it.
Do read her review because, its what all I felt about this book.
We both might be like this right now.

With all the fans behind us...

[cagla tastemur · Rating 1 out of 5]

Children should not be allowed to read such books



Okay,so I read ıt.That's fine.But I have a expectation.It's the(fucking) age!!!! Which Fourteen years old girl thinks boy friend or sex? Sex?! Are you fucking kidding me?!?!?! Present-day Teenage all of them horny? What the fuck is that? Okay I read ıt bu I don't have to read.Nothing Chances...

[Irina Villacis · Rating 4 out of 5]

antes de la lectura
en el 2014 yo lei unos fragmentos del libro, conocia la sinopsis , conocia el final de este libro y el siguiente. es una lectura Young Adult asi que mirense ustedes que yo ya no le tengo mucha fé pero lo poco que me spoilee me gustó mucho.

durante la lectura
es interesante pero lo lei completo el dia de mi cumpleaños número 23. si , 23 . la protagonista tiene 14 pero no la senti de 14 casi 15 años. ella tiene unos problemas válidos y me recordó a mi misma. a esa edad tambien estaba muy molesta y enojada. ahora no tanto , creo que ya pasé esa fase. pero el enojo en mi adolescencia fue el motor que me ayudó a resurgir. aunque no tiene un problema concreto tiene algunas dificultades que ella intenta resolver por si misma . un camino que es dificil . también murió mi padre y aveces mientras leia también estaba triste por ella y por mi. el amor que suavemente surgió con Jaime forta fue una forma de desviar sus atención para concentrarse en su vida propia y no en los fantasmas.
algo que me fijé es que la Rosie o Rose atrae a un determinado tipo de chico : artista , talentoso , con problemas , tierno y de clase media o media-baja. ( aveces creo que es pobre) lo cual es para variar con las otras novelas algo que notar porque siempre el chico tiene mucho dinero y es un estupido ( los de acá tambien son estupidos a su medida) . disfruté mucho , demasiado con la lectura. hablan también acerca del bullying que le realiza todo el año y su forma de enfrentarlo. tiene un mensaje totalmente diferente y exacto a lo que yo hubiera hechos.
los personajes son demasiados reales.
la madre es sicologa de adolescentes o algo asi pero no puede ni ayuda a su propia hija , esta como muerta. ocurre algo para que despierte. el hermano se va de la casa y se desliga totalmente de lo que le recuerde a su padre. Rose , es la única que recuerda un poco pero esta enojada.
Jaime es un chico artista , callado , con problemas y con una situación economica no muy buena quien es lindo. ( aunque a mi en lo personal no me gusta ahora , seguro que a mis 15 si era mi tipo ahora no)
Robert es un personaje que me gusta , fuma , quiere ser un actor , enamorado totalmente de Rose pero como todas las chicas les gusta porque es guapo ( cabello negro , ojos azules , ese es mi tipo! , aunque muy joven de 17 años ) es un buen amigo. pero considero que es un personaje que veré en el futuro con buenos ojos.


al finalizar la lectura
sabia como terminaba pero me maravillé de poder compartir la historia de Rosie en su primer año de universidad. no me gustó para nada esa mejor amiga perra creo que deberia dejarla para crecer pero supongo que ella , la amiga es lo que necesita ahora en su adolescencia . quien sabe después.
no entiendo porque la gente se enfocaba que Rose era nerd, es cierto que estudiaba pero yo creo que en ella habia mas cosas que ser Nerd . era muchas cosas , tiene la posibilidad de ser un montón de cosas.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louise Rozett's Confessions of an Angry Girl has been in my TBR for longer than I'd like to admit; however, in my quest to read more backlist titles I decided to give it a try. I love angsty contemporary YA - which I felt Confessions of an Angry Girl would be - and I tend to adore the Harlequin Teen line.

The result? Confessions of an Angry Girl is emotional, authentic, and unputdownable.

What I Loved:

1) Rose - Rose is angry, sarcastic, wickedly smart, and vastly unapologetic. She's not afraid to speak her mind, or do her own thing, and I loved that about her. It made her incredibly real. As Rosie navigated through the social cliques and drama of high school, I was transported back to my own time in high school. I feel like anyone - young or old- will be able to relate to her. She's at a cross-roads. She feels like she recognize her friends or her family anymore. She doesn't understand why all her friends care about is sex, alcohol, and fitting in or why her mom and brother just want to forget about her dad. Her emotions jumped off the page and came to life. Sometimes she did the right thing; sometimes she did the wrong thing; but no matter what I never stopped rooting for her.

2) Jamie - Jamie is a wildcard. From the moment he was introduced I knew he was going to play a large part in the book, and I was completely correct. Out of Rosie's friends Jamie was by far my favorite. He is sweet and swoony, and while I didn't always approve of his actions, it didn't make me like him any less.

3) Lousie's Portrayal of High School - It's raw, realistic, and real. I appreciated that she showed the good parts as well as the bad. Over the course of the book, Rose gets her fair share of the high school experience- drinking, cliques, drama, and bullying. The bullying/harassment aspect especially broke my heart. I couldn't believe the horrible stuff Rose went through. I admired her for staying strong, though, and that fight that occurred near the end was so, so wrong but so incredibly epic.

4) The Writing - The writing here is very similar to Rose: blunt and to the point. The scenes had a feeling of brevity, but it worked incredibly well. There was still excellent plot and character development but almost no parts that felt unnecessary or boring.

5) The Ending - The ending was shocking! So many exciting moments/plot twists were thrown in. I can't wait to read the next one!

What I Didn't Like:

1) All The Gossip Girl References - I'll admit this is a me thing more than anything else, but all the Gossip Girl references got on my nerves. Given when this book was released I can understand why it was mentioned, but at the same time the references just seemed so unneeded and even a tad awkward.

Overall, Confessions of an Angry Girl ended up being a refreshing surprise. Blunt as well as quirky, Confessions of an Angry Girl is definitely perfect for fans of contemporary YA.

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[Emily Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had moderately high expectations for this book after reading the awesome synopsis, and fortunately, those expectations were met. Confessions of an Angry Girl was an emotional and, most of all, vividly realistic read. The story sucked me in and I definitely laughed and cried a few times! (Not at the same time though.) I cannot wait to read Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend.

One thing I loved were the characters. Rose seemed real, with her many faults and realistic voice. Her narrative was entertaining, especially her use of the big words, and her character growth by the end was noticeable and amazingly written. Her family also was a realistic set of characters. Rose, her brother, and her mother, are all still coping with the dad's death. I found all the turmoil caused by this a big part of the book. Jamie Forta was another reoccurring character in the book. I am still not quite sure what to think of him... he seems to be hiding something. I hope we will find out more in the next book. However, I do hope he is a good guy, just because I am optimistic like that!

Along with the family troubles, there was also a fair share of high school drama. I will not mention each character, as there were lots. However, all of them seemed interesting and memorable from Robert, a guy who has been tailing after Rose since middle school, to Angelo, a laid back student I want to know more about, to Regina, a evil cheerleader. I find "evil cheerleaders" pretty tiresome nowadays in YA books. However, to me Regina was a little more interesting than the rest, although still a smidgen unoriginal. Overall, the high school drama, and Rose's feeling of not fitting in, were pretty well written.

One thing that flat out impressed me was how the cover relates to the book. Yes, in the book she does have a necklace with an "R" charm on it. I also found it cool that the cover creator people (???) cover designers chose to focus the cover on that part of the book. I also enjoyed the fact that there isn't just one big plot, in actuality, there are loads of mini plots circling around. This made the book seem more dimentional. I mean, our lives don't just revolve around one problem, right? Of course not.

Overall, Confessions of an Angry Girl is a worthwhile read. Fans of contemporary will find the characters realistic and the many emotional plots appealing. I was not kidding when I said this book made me laugh and cry. So, what are you waiting for? This book deserves to be read.

4/5 bookcases

Extra Note: I will probably be reviewing the second book later this month. I can't wait! Has anyone else read this series? What did you think?

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Confessions of an Angry Girl is another great contemporary debut of 2012. I am loving all the new contemporary novels and how original and entertaining they are. Confessions of an Angry Girl deals with a girl's struggle in high school. You might think this is a typical contemporary but the uniqueness of the character and her voice just set this novel apart from other contemporaries.

Rose Zarelli has her issues. She's angry, and doesn't know what to do with that anger. Her dad passed away recently, her mom's an official zombie, and her brother fled the state for university, yea right. She doesn't know where she belongs, is she a geek? or maybe she could be more than that? Now that her best friend became a cheerleader would things change? how about when Forta, the bad boy of her high school shows interest in her and that gets the attention of his evil girlfriend. Rozett's writing is smooth, it sucks you in and you just can't put the book down because its too much fun to do anything else!

Rose's voice drips with sarcasm and honesty. She's hilarious, stays true to her beliefs and doesn't take any crap from anyone. Sometimes people mistake that for her being angry, and sometimes people just get angry at her for being such an opinionated person. Lots of funny situations along with heartfelt and heart pumping scenes are part of this fantastic novel. This is not a standalone and I am glad I found out it isn't because it had an open ending. The second book is titled Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend. With a title like that, who wouldn't want it? I would definitely recommend it to all contemporary fans, this book is one you will devour in a day, if not one sitting!

[Fanny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cuando empece a leer el libro me sorprendi mucho, puesto que la historia no era para nada lo que yo me imaginaba, no pense que la protagonista fuera tan joven y sinceramente no suelo leer demasiadas historias " juveniles " porque la mayoria de las veces termino las lecturas con un sabor de boca extraño, ya que los temas que se tratan en ese tipo de libros me parece un poco inmaduros e irrelevantes, pero eso no me sucedio con este libro, la protagonista pese a ser muy joven, solo 14 años, tiene una cabeza muy bien puesta y es mucho mas madura que otras protagonistas mayores que he leido.
Precisamente, Rose fue una de las razones principales de que este libro me gustara tanto, la ame como protagonista, no me parecio para nada cliche como otras protagonistas, me encanto su " parte " nerd, se me hizo adorable.
A pesar de que la historia no fue todo lo que esperaba, disfrute mucho la lectura, se me paso en un instante.
Seguramente leere los siguiente libros de la saga.

3.5 Estrellas!!

[Estelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

(This review was also posted over at Book Probe. I'm a frequent guest reviewer there so come over and say hello!)

This book has a very fitting name. It certainly made me feel so angry for the characters that it induced strong homicidal tendencies from me. I never even thought I had a violent side in the first place, so it’s an impressive feat for a book to be able to incite such a passionate response from me. If you are the type of person who has already moved on from high school and never looked back since (gosh I feel so old saying this when graduation is months away), stay as far away from this book as you can. Can’t stand high school drama or clichés? The [X] button on the top right hand corner of this window will be more appealing to you than the rest of this review. This is my final warning.

Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett is a contemporary novel about a 14 year old girl Rose Zarelli who has to deal with the loss of her father as well as the absence of her brother as he leaves for college. She also shares a strained relationship with her therapist mother and is forced to endure the tribulations of starting high school as a freshman. Needless to say, you will find a lot of teenage drama and backstabbing in this setting full of cliques, cheerleaders and parties. It’s not exactly a light-hearted read either, as the book does dwell upon various issues such as sex, alcohol, peer pressure and bullying that many young people can relate to. I thought that Rozett had good intentions in the way that these things were portrayed and I appreciate the messages that she was ultimately trying to convey.

I liked Rose as the main character. She had an engaging voice and brutally honest narration that made the story quirky and interesting to read. There was a scene with the gynaecologist that absolutely cracked me up due to the way she described it, and it was definitely one of the most hilarious things that I’ve come across in YA contemporary fiction. Since she was only 14 years old, I had to give her some slack at certain parts of the story however she was overall a very believable character. In fact I didn’t think that she had any real anger issues at all, as most of her actions seemed perfectly normal to me considering her dire situation. She was also the only character in the whole book that I didn’t want to strangle at least 10 times, so I have no major complaints about her there.

On the other hand, I found Jamie Forta to be dull and definitely not worth all the fuss about. To be honest, I’d almost forgotten his name when writing this review at 4AM and the only thing that was interesting about him was the fact that he did Remedial English. Since male love interests in YA fiction are too often portrayed as overly smart/perfect, it was refreshing to see Rose having the upper hand in academics. Thank god she did not have to tutor him, because who hasn’t seen that plot device before. The whole romance between them was a huge ‘meh’ for me although I’m glad that it didn’t dominate the story. In addition, the writing was mostly simplistic and straightforward despite Rose’s attempts to use ‘AP English’. I also found the dictionary definitions at the beginning of each chapter to be underwhelming as even my 14 year old self would have known all of those words.

[Warning: Rant ahead!]

However, the most frustrating aspect of this book was the portrayal of cheerleaders as one-dimensional, cartoony villains. They simply existed for the sake of being responsible for almost every single bad thing that happens in this story, whether it’d be downing a 15 year old girl with vodka, forcing the said girl to dance half-naked in the cold with the act filmed and uploaded to YouTube as well as countless other outrageous acts of extreme humiliation. You think Voldemort and Sauron and [insert famous villain] are evil? Heck, think again. These cheerleaders will make them look like fluffy little bunnies in comparison (I know I’m exaggerating a LOT here but considering that this is freaking contemporary fiction, I just wished that there was bit more depth to all of these characters especially when my willingness to suspend my disbelief is limited for this genre).

The cheerleaders’ group was basically made up of larger-than-life caricatures instead of 14-15 year old teenaged girls you’d expect with pom poms. From the way they spoke and behaved, I half-expected them to be trolling and instead turn out to be aliens or something. Ha, wouldn’t that be a plot twist! I’m not naive enough to believe that bullying and hazing rituals don’t exist at all in the real world. I just felt that the cheerleaders were portrayed in an extremely clichéd and superficial manner that doesn’t do justice to Rozett’s otherwise decent book. There many times where I was so angry for Rose that I had to stop reading and put my e-reader down (after resisting the temptation to chuck it at the wall, which I nearly did since it’s an old, cheap and broken thing anyway). All in all, I know that other readers may be able to better relate to this book. Coming from a student who attends an all-girls secondary school in Australia, I’ve always viewed the American high school scene from afar through movies, TV shows and of course, books. I’m quite sceptical of the extent that which they translate to real life, so my incredulous reactions here are purely based on my personal (and somewhat sheltered) experiences.

Overall, this is a relatively quick light read once you get past the frustrating high school clichés and drama. I liked the book on most part and I have already picked up the sequel. I think most readers will enjoy it for its highly entertaining storyline and likeable main character. It certainly allowed me to be emotionally invested into the plot, albeit not in a very positive way. For that, I’ll give it a solid 3 stars.

[Mummy's Naughty Corner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well unfortunately this book made me feel my age. The characters were annoying and immature. I feel like Rose had no epiphany for her family and she acted like a self centered person. The book does depict high school life but being English some of it was lost on me as our system is different. I liked the fact that it wasn't a fluffy everything works out kind of book. Jamie is on the fence for me I liked him at some parts but not at others.

[Riya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angst-ridden, bittersweet and refreshingly honest, Confessions of an Angry Girl is my favourite YA Contemporary of 2013 so far! It was like ordering a vanilla ice-cream but instead getting the whole deal; one scoop each of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry and rainbow sparkles all encompassed by a crisp waffle cone with melted chocolate drizzled over the whole fiasco like a rivulet of pure heaven. Soulful and delicious. I devoured every bit of it with a ferocity that only comes when I'm reading one of my favourites!!

Rose Zarelli is angry at the world. Her Dad just died in Iraq, her Mom is barely there-emotionally and otherwise, her brother is slowly edging her out of his life, her best-friend is ditching her for the Cheerleading gang, and that the one guy who she actually may tolerate like is going out with the main cheerleader, who is now out for her blood. So, of course she's pissed. I mean, do you blame her?

I am Rose. No, actually, I'm convinced Rozett somehow traveled to Singapore, got the scoop on yours truly, and then wrote this. Okay, I know there's no way in hell that can be true and I don't have it as bad as Rose by any means, but I felt an unmistakeable connection between us. We're kindred souls, I swear. Before starting this, I was slightly worried by the fact that she's only 14, but I soon found that that didn't even matter. Because despite how old you are, or your background, there are some things that everyone can relate to and empathise with. You don't have to be a certain age to experience the things Rose has, which is the way the world works. Bad things happen way before you're ever 'ready' for them. Maybe it's just me, but there's something so liberating and glorious about being angry and basking in the feeling. Despite however much Rose tries to make things work, sometimes the Universe just isn't with her. That's when the anger, lurking under the surface of false emotions and pretences rises up, breaking through the cracks, simmering and unstoppable. My utter love for this book and Rose's character may have something to do with the fact that I see so much of my 14-year-old self in her. I could feel her emotions as if they were my own.

The romance was the only thing I didn't fall that hard for. Jamie was slightly frustrating at times, to be honest. One second he was in, the next he was cold as an ice cube. Although it was pretty clear that he liked her, I just felt like he wasn't worthy of Rose's adoration. However, I do have to say that since Rozett portrayed everything so authentically, I guess Jamie's character was part of that. Nobody is perfect (at least not in real life hehe)- not even those who seem flawless.

It's been so long since I read a YA Contemporary that I fell head over heels in love with like this one. Once upon a time, this was my favourite genre, but lately I guess I got lost in the hullabaloo of shiny covers and cute plots- I forgot how truly empowering and moving this genre could be when done masterfully. Amongst a sea of preppy female characters, bubbly romances and cute guys, Confessions of an Angry Girl reached out to me; alluring and exciting. Completely different and unique, this was a breath of fresh air! All this time I was yearning for something honest and genuine that realistically portrayed this difficult period in a teenager's life, and I just didn't know it until I read Confessions of an Angry Girl.

Don't underestimate this, guys. Fresh, honest and so full of heart and soul, this High-School coming-of-age novel will surpass your expectations and introduce you to one of the most spirited, authentically-depicted female characters I've ever met.