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Positively Beautiful
by
16-year-old Erin is a smart if slightly dorky teenager, her life taken up with her best friend Trina, her major crush on smoky-eyed, unattainable Michael, and fending off Faith, the vision of perfection who’s somehow always had the knife in for Erin. Her dad, a pilot, died when she was very young, but Erin and her mom are just fine on their own.
Then everything changes fore ...more
Then everything changes fore ...more
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Hardcover, 368 pages
Published
March 3rd 2015
by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
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17skylar
Not much swearing, a couple of sex words, but not horrible.
Community Reviews
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Start your review of Positively Beautiful

You can also read my review HERE.
This gutted me more than TFIOS did. If you think this will be another cancer story, stop right there. This book truly mirrors its title because Beautiful is the one word I thought when I finished the book. This is Wendy Mills’ debut novel and I just want to hug and thank her for writing this incredible novel.

This gutted me more than TFIOS did. If you think this will be another cancer story, stop right there. This book truly mirrors its title because Beautiful is the one word I thought when I finished the book. This is Wendy Mills’ debut novel and I just want to hug and thank her for writing this incredible novel.
...more
“Courage is not always big and bright and loud; sometimes it’s as silent and small as true words, a smile when you’d rather weep, or g

"You cannot truly love, live, or exist without courage. Without it you are simply biding your time until you die."
This is right up my alley. Erin is my kind of gal-dorky, instrospective, and self- deprecating and although the story is sad, it is still very entertaining and relatable. It started out light and even funny but by the end of the book, I was wiping away unwanted snot and tears. Damn this book!
I couldn't imagine what it must be to have a mom who has cancer and then inherit that gen ...more
This is right up my alley. Erin is my kind of gal-dorky, instrospective, and self- deprecating and although the story is sad, it is still very entertaining and relatable. It started out light and even funny but by the end of the book, I was wiping away unwanted snot and tears. Damn this book!
I couldn't imagine what it must be to have a mom who has cancer and then inherit that gen ...more

“Courage is not always big and bright and loud; sometimes it's as silent and small as true words, a smile when you'd rather weep, or getting up every day and living with quiet dignity while all around you life rages. You cannot truly love, live or exist without courage. Without it you are simply biding time until you die.”
What stood out to me when I first picked up Positively Beautiful--besides the too-bright cover--was the writing! Wendy Mills penmanship is breathtaking beautiful. I mean, ...more

This review was originally posted on The Hardcover Lover.
Thanks to Alexia On The Same Page ARC Tours for providing an ARC for me to read!
A few simple words can't explain what reading Positively Beautiful by Wendy Mills will do to readers. It's an emotional roller coaster of a read that will have readers laughing, smiling, swooning, and crying. You will be in tears by the end of the book. I promise you that. The book will literally transform the way readers think about life and death.
The novel s ...more
Thanks to Alexia On The Same Page ARC Tours for providing an ARC for me to read!
A few simple words can't explain what reading Positively Beautiful by Wendy Mills will do to readers. It's an emotional roller coaster of a read that will have readers laughing, smiling, swooning, and crying. You will be in tears by the end of the book. I promise you that. The book will literally transform the way readers think about life and death.
The novel s ...more

This book was..... Oh my god. This book was... Wow. I mean. Wow. I highly recommend this. Erin was extremely relatable for me, Jason was perfect, and everything about this story was beautiful. P. S. Don't read the end of book in public, or you'll be crying buckets and getting strange looks from strangers, just like what happened to me in school today.
...more

This story. So much feels. So much heart that is put into it, that once I was in the story there was no way I was getting out.
Plot: This is about a young girl who is in the midst of a trial. After loosing one parent, Erin much come to terms about losing the other. AHHH! I can’t even begin to say how much I love this book. I read this book at the doctors office and I had to step out due to the amount of tears coming out of my eyes! Each chapter flows well and is filled with such emotion and heart ...more
Plot: This is about a young girl who is in the midst of a trial. After loosing one parent, Erin much come to terms about losing the other. AHHH! I can’t even begin to say how much I love this book. I read this book at the doctors office and I had to step out due to the amount of tears coming out of my eyes! Each chapter flows well and is filled with such emotion and heart ...more

You can find this review along with many others on my blog!
If you couldn't already tell from the synopsis, this is a cancer book. Personally, I don't have the best history with cancer books. And I mean that in the sense that they tend to really get to me. I've had people who are very dear to me battle this disease and I have lost people to it. So when it comes to books like these, I can be very picky.
This book follows a Erin, a girl who lost her father and lives with her mom. One da ...more
If you couldn't already tell from the synopsis, this is a cancer book. Personally, I don't have the best history with cancer books. And I mean that in the sense that they tend to really get to me. I've had people who are very dear to me battle this disease and I have lost people to it. So when it comes to books like these, I can be very picky.
This book follows a Erin, a girl who lost her father and lives with her mom. One da ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All quotes included are from an ARC, and will be checked with the finished copy of the story once it is released.
Read more of my reviews at My Full Bookshelf Reviews
Which would you rather, to have a long miserable life, or a short, beautiful one?
This book was a beautiful sob-worthy read and I honestly don't think I've ever highlighted so many quotes in a story for no other reason than the fact that they somehow spoke to me ...more
Read more of my reviews at My Full Bookshelf Reviews
Which would you rather, to have a long miserable life, or a short, beautiful one?
This book was a beautiful sob-worthy read and I honestly don't think I've ever highlighted so many quotes in a story for no other reason than the fact that they somehow spoke to me ...more

This is a tough review for me to write because I did not love this book nearly as much as I thought I would. The book starts right after Erin finds out about her mother's cancer diagnosis. To top it off, her mother tells her about a test for the BRCA gene that would tell Erin if she has the gene for breast and ovarian cancer. There is a lot of emotion in these passages. As Erin says, there is her life before and then there is her life after. I felt so sad for her that she had to be strong for he
...more

Dec 05, 2014
Tee loves Kyle Jacobson
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
around-the-world-arc-tours,
november-2014
Positively Beautiful was an incredible read for me. I have to say that I laughed and I cried and then I thought to myself they need to make this into a movie because it would be a best selling movie. I hope this book comes out on Audio Books because I want to listen to it again and again.
Poor Erin she has a life so full of loss and more loss to come. See her father died when she was young and then her grandmother died from Cancer and now her mother is telling her she is dying from Cancer as well ...more
Poor Erin she has a life so full of loss and more loss to come. See her father died when she was young and then her grandmother died from Cancer and now her mother is telling her she is dying from Cancer as well ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

Ok. So, I'm going to admit something right off the bat: I had mixed feelings going into Positively Beautiful.
I wanted to read Positively Beautiful, because I understand Erin. An endocrine disorder runs in my family, and it's a genetic flaw that has resulted in some family members having to take medicaton for the rest of their lives, while other family members have been lost to us completely. As strange as this may sound, I like reading books like Positively Beautiful, because it's a reminder th ...more
I wanted to read Positively Beautiful, because I understand Erin. An endocrine disorder runs in my family, and it's a genetic flaw that has resulted in some family members having to take medicaton for the rest of their lives, while other family members have been lost to us completely. As strange as this may sound, I like reading books like Positively Beautiful, because it's a reminder th ...more

I received this novel as a giveaway through Goodreads.
“Positively Beautiful” by Wendy Mills is a novel unlike anything I’ve ever read. It’s refreshing and honest and of course, it plays with the emotions.
The protagonist is a girl named Erin, whose mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer, when Erin is seventeen. Then Erin finds out that the breast cancer stemmed from a hereditary gene, and when Erin is tested for the gene and the results are positive, she decides to “escape” to a small isl ...more
“Positively Beautiful” by Wendy Mills is a novel unlike anything I’ve ever read. It’s refreshing and honest and of course, it plays with the emotions.
The protagonist is a girl named Erin, whose mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer, when Erin is seventeen. Then Erin finds out that the breast cancer stemmed from a hereditary gene, and when Erin is tested for the gene and the results are positive, she decides to “escape” to a small isl ...more

Jan 08, 2015
Christina
added it
DNF at 28%
**SPECIAL NOTE:** An eARC of this title was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. However, that did not influence this review in any way. All thoughts, quotes, and opinions will be of this version and not of the published edition.
I was always drawn to the book because the cover really is pretty, but the synopsis always had me on the fence. After watching GR for a bit and noticing a heaping of 5-star reviews that boasted about how emotionally impacti ...more
**SPECIAL NOTE:** An eARC of this title was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. However, that did not influence this review in any way. All thoughts, quotes, and opinions will be of this version and not of the published edition.
I was always drawn to the book because the cover really is pretty, but the synopsis always had me on the fence. After watching GR for a bit and noticing a heaping of 5-star reviews that boasted about how emotionally impacti ...more

So I finished this book and it was awesome! It's all about love, death and choices in life. Erin has had such a hard time in this book, especially with the people who love her.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that likes sad romantic books! ;)
SPOILERS UP AHEAD THIS ROAD!
So I was finishing the book at school during class and when Erin's mom died I almost cried. My friend sitting next to me was looking at me and saw the tears in my eyes.
I was really disappointed and sad when Erin' ...more
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that likes sad romantic books! ;)
SPOILERS UP AHEAD THIS ROAD!
So I was finishing the book at school during class and when Erin's mom died I almost cried. My friend sitting next to me was looking at me and saw the tears in my eyes.
I was really disappointed and sad when Erin' ...more

2.75
This was on my radar because I adore Lurlene McDaniel and like some of Picoult's books and the comparison drew me in,
Karen at For What It's Worth and Mary at The Book Swarm occasionally post twitter-style reviews. Karen calls hers Short and Tweet, and I am going to borrow that review style here.
Tweet (longer) Review:
It took me a bit to get into this one. The first part seemed to b be focused on her best friend and her big personality but I wanted to connect with Erin though. To know what s ...more
This was on my radar because I adore Lurlene McDaniel and like some of Picoult's books and the comparison drew me in,
Karen at For What It's Worth and Mary at The Book Swarm occasionally post twitter-style reviews. Karen calls hers Short and Tweet, and I am going to borrow that review style here.
Tweet (longer) Review:
It took me a bit to get into this one. The first part seemed to b be focused on her best friend and her big personality but I wanted to connect with Erin though. To know what s ...more

"Yes, the stories all end the same way. Every one of them, but some sooner than the others, like a good book where someone has torn out the last pages."
"I need to show Mom I can do it, though even on my eighteenth birthday I feel younger and less secure than ever before. Will it always be like this, feeling less equipped to deal with life each year that passes? Is this what being an adult feels like, realizing the choices don't get any easier, just more important?"
"Mama, I'm saying goodbye now. ...more
"I need to show Mom I can do it, though even on my eighteenth birthday I feel younger and less secure than ever before. Will it always be like this, feeling less equipped to deal with life each year that passes? Is this what being an adult feels like, realizing the choices don't get any easier, just more important?"
"Mama, I'm saying goodbye now. ...more

I'm thinking 3.5 stars.
It was good, then iffy, then good again. In the middle the MC got a little annoying. She did some stupid things that annoyed me, and eventually I understood why she did them.. but it was still kind of annoying, hah.
But the book was otherwise really good and towards the end I was CRYING.
The love interest/romance was confusing for a while though O_O More on that later.. :P ...more
It was good, then iffy, then good again. In the middle the MC got a little annoying. She did some stupid things that annoyed me, and eventually I understood why she did them.. but it was still kind of annoying, hah.
But the book was otherwise really good and towards the end I was CRYING.
The love interest/romance was confusing for a while though O_O More on that later.. :P ...more

This was an amazing book. Coming from a family of breast cancer survivors it really made me think about my own situation and would I want to get tested. There is so many different emotions and situations in this book that I think a lot of teenagers can relate to. Be prepared to laugh, cry and possibly yell while reading this book!

Sep 01, 2015
Aubrey
added it
I loved this book! For me the book is very relate able and even though it was fiction I still felt like it was as real as it gets

This book is about a girl named Erin who goes to high school and she's in the junior year, one day when when her mom came home from work her mom looked so tired and sad that she didn't even want to cook dinner but when Erin asked her what's wrong her mom told her that she had breast cancer and Erin was sad because it's always been mom and Erin she did had a dad but he died from a motorcycle accident so if she loses her mom her life would change, also Erin noticed that she could get cancer to bec
...more

Date Read: June 2016
This is my 1st time reading it.
Rating: 1.5 stars.
Review:
Oh boy.
I rounded this book up to two stars because it did have some things I really liked. The cancer elements of this story felt very real and scary, which made them impactful. A couple of the messages the authour was trying to get across actually really resonated with me. The book was paced well and was fairly entertaining, otherwise I would have put it down. At its core I thought this book was a pretty mediocre ...more

Why is it so much harder to write a review for a book you loved, than for one you hated? All I know is that this one particularly resonated with me. Erin is someone who just coasts through life, not wanting to take any risks. Her Dad was a stunt pilot and died in a plane crash when she was little. Ever since then, Erin has taken a page out of her overly cautious Mom's book, reveling in the status quo. She thinks life is enough with her unacted-upon crush on Michael, her close friendship with the
...more

3.5 stars.
Last Friday, Angelina Jolie wrote an op-ed for the New York Times, sharing her decision to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes. As the carrier of the BRCA1 gene mutation, Jolie believed going through with this procedure (and, therefore, speeding along menopause) was the right decision for her — especially knowing that her grandmother, aunt, and mom all died of cancer very young. In her piece, Jolie urges women to know all of their options and emphasizes that everyone needs to choose ...more
Last Friday, Angelina Jolie wrote an op-ed for the New York Times, sharing her decision to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes. As the carrier of the BRCA1 gene mutation, Jolie believed going through with this procedure (and, therefore, speeding along menopause) was the right decision for her — especially knowing that her grandmother, aunt, and mom all died of cancer very young. In her piece, Jolie urges women to know all of their options and emphasizes that everyone needs to choose ...more

Hott Mess Erin
Oh my dear Erin with the odd nickname Rinnie. Erin is a young woman who's father passed away and has recently found out her mother has breast cancer. She's an only child so mom and her are best friends, basically. This is probably one of my favorite bits. Their connection is genuine and strong. However, Erin struggles with the news that she may be a BRACA gene carrier and everything else in her life (there's A LOT going on), so she takes up airplane lessons as a distraction and joi ...more
Oh my dear Erin with the odd nickname Rinnie. Erin is a young woman who's father passed away and has recently found out her mother has breast cancer. She's an only child so mom and her are best friends, basically. This is probably one of my favorite bits. Their connection is genuine and strong. However, Erin struggles with the news that she may be a BRACA gene carrier and everything else in her life (there's A LOT going on), so she takes up airplane lessons as a distraction and joi ...more

This book came highly recommended to me, and I finally picked it up, and then could not put it down. Erin has a relatively normal life. She has the typical teenage life, a best friend, a boy she likes and of course that nasty girl that seems to hate her for no reason. She has a talent for writing. Her father died a long time ago leaving her with her mother who has her own secrets. Erin learns that her mother is a cancer survivor and now the cancer is back. The cancer is linked to a rare genetic
...more

My Thoughts: This was a very emotional roller coaster!
We are introduced to Erin who is just your normal average teenager. She’s a bit on the shy quiet type. She has a best friend named Trina. Trina is the loud one. She has her own sense of style. Erin’s dad passed away when she was young so its always just been her and her mother. Well, Erin’s mom gets diagnosed with breast cancer. This creates a whirlwind of emotion for both Erin and her mother. And of course, everyone surrounding them.
Its a lo ...more
We are introduced to Erin who is just your normal average teenager. She’s a bit on the shy quiet type. She has a best friend named Trina. Trina is the loud one. She has her own sense of style. Erin’s dad passed away when she was young so its always just been her and her mother. Well, Erin’s mom gets diagnosed with breast cancer. This creates a whirlwind of emotion for both Erin and her mother. And of course, everyone surrounding them.
Its a lo ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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All About YA : Blog Tour + Giveaway: Positively Beautiful | 4 | 16 | Mar 07, 2015 03:00PM |
WENDY MILLS was born on the edge of the water and has never left it. She now lives with her family on a small island off the southwest coast of Florida, where she spends her time writing, finding lost socks, and dodging hurricanes. Positively Beautiful is her first young adult novel.
www.wendymillsbooks.com
@WendyMillsBooks
...more
www.wendymillsbooks.com
@WendyMillsBooks
...more
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“Courage is not always big and bright and loud; sometimes it's as silent and small as true words, a smile when you'd rather weep, or getting up every day and living with quiet dignity while all around you life rages. You cannot truly love, live or exist without courage. Without it you are simply biding time until you die.”
—
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“Which you would rather, to have a long, miserable life, or a short, beautiful one?”
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More quotes…