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Every Ugly Word

Aimee L. Salter (Goodreads Author)

3.99 · Rating details · 2,280 ratings · 418 reviews

#1 Amazon Bestseller: Books for Teens (Oct 2015)

When seventeen-year-old Ashley Watson walks through the halls of her high school bullies taunt and shove her. She can’t go a day without fighting with her mother. And no matter how hard she tries, she can’t make her best friend, Matt, fall in love with her. But Ashley also has something no one else does: a literal glimpse int ...more

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Kindle Edition, 257 pages

Published July 29th 2014 by Alloy Entertainment (first published October 30th 2013)

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Aug 01, 2014 Aimee Salter added it · (Review from the author)

Shelves: favorites, favorite-teen-reads

As the author I don't think I can objectively review my own book. Instead, I'll tell you what drove me to write it:

Bullying, for me, started mildly in the seventh grade, became a bit of a problem in eighth grade, and got completely out of control in high school.

Remembering those years is kind of a slide-show of "I hate you" and expletives, gleeful finger pointing, and internal stress. I used to live in this constant state of preparedness -- waiting to see who might suddenly show up and have som ...more

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Jul 29, 2014 Paula M rated it it was amazing

Shelves: for-review, arc, favorite

YOU CAN ALSO READ MY REVIEW HERE.

WHERE DO I EVEN START?! First of all, I want to give thanks to the ladies over Mark My Words PR for the ARC, you guys rock! And of course, to the author herself, Aimee, for writing such a masterpiece! Her latest book gets nothing from me but admiration!

Let's put these photos here for a second:

***Photos not mine. See more HERE .***

I started reading Every Ugly Word without any clue of what’s it about (not unusual for me). And yes, I personally thin ...more

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Oct 14, 2017 enqi ☁️✨ rated it liked it

Shelves: on-my-kindle, standalones, 2017

Every Ugly Word is a book that left me with a myriad of thoughts and feelings, and until now I’m still finding them very hard to put into words. I’m really not certain what I should feel about this book, but it is definitely a well-written debut and I did enjoy reading it.

There is no doubt that this book is a page-turner. At the very beginning of the book we are introduced to a gripping premise and there’s also a ticking time bomb that adds a sense of suspense to the story. Ashley is telling her Every Ugly Word is a book that left me with a myriad of thoughts and feelings, and until now I’m still finding them very hard to put into words. I’m really not certain what I should feel about this book, but it is definitely a well-written debut and I did enjoy reading it.

There is no doubt that this book is a page-turner. At the very beginning of the book we are introduced to a gripping premise and there’s also a ticking time bomb that adds a sense of suspense to the story. Ashley is telling her shrink the long story of how she even had to see him in the first place. Framing devices are sometimes confusing to me, but this one worked pretty well, and also served to remind the reader of that constantly ticking time clock. Also, the writing wasn’t overly lyrical or flowery, but solid and well polished, and the transitions between Ashley’s recount and the present-day are smooth and seamless.

There is also no doubting how raw and emotional this piece of writing is. Ashley is cruelly and relentlessly bullied at school, and the bullies do all kinds of terrible things to her. It’s very clear that they’ll pull out all the stops to bring her as much pain and humiliation as possible, and it’s very hard to watch Ashley’s ridicule and suffering. (Bullying is a personal trigger for me, as it’s happened to me before, and I’ve always had low self-esteem and insecurity issues which just made it worse. I know how it feels when you believe every word they say about you, when you start to see less and less worth in yourself, when you truly think that every stinging comment thrown at you is true. It’s not. You are beautiful, and you are wanted, and you are loved.)

Aimee Salter’s story stands out in one way: Ashley sees an older version of herself in the mirror, and her older self can talk to her. But this is also the downfall of the book. This space-time continuum concept, while interesting, made for a very confusing ending. It’s the main reason why I didn’t really enjoy this book. Besides, Ashley spends half the book wilfully ignoring the advice her older self gives her. I’m pretty sure if I was talking to someone who’d been through the exact same things I did and was trying to warn me from the wrong paths, the last thing I’d do is ignore her. And the big reveal at the end was just utterly confusing. I spent a lot of time trying to understand what had happened in the end, and I still didn’t get the parallels, if there were meant to be any. It was like the perspective of the book suddenly changed without any warning to the reader and it really threw me off.

But Aimee Salter does write good, believable characters. They wear their hearts on their sleeves and backstab each other for their own personal gain and I love it. Her characters are vibrant and alive. That being said, Ashley didn’t really appeal to me as a heroine. She wasn’t any less real, I just thought that there would be some character development, some character arc or turning point where Ashley stood up to the people tormenting her, found some creative way of retaliation, or maybe even did something about it - transferred schools maybe, or approaching someone. But she didn’t. She just sat back and took it and I did feel for her so much, but ultimately I felt she was lacking.

I’ve seen so many rave reviews about Every Ugly Word, so I guess I’m one of the minority in saying that I thought this book was purely average for me. It didn’t start out like that, though - my boyfriend picked a random book off my tbr and it just happened to be this, and I remember when I was reading the initial chapters I was entirely hooked. The flaws I’ve pointed out could be subjective and many other readers might not see them as issues. Nevertheless, if you’ve ever been bullied, stepped on, or treated like a doormat, you must read this book. It is relatable and will resound with your soul and break your heart. ...more

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Jan 30, 2018 Alaina rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, kindle-unlimited, young-adult, fiction, romance, mystery, paranormal, january-challenge-2018, supernatural

Everyone deals with a bully: whether you were the one bullying or being bullied.

Every Ugly Word definitely deals with the bully situation head on.

It makes you feel so freaking badly for Ashley, who is the MC. Now I wasn't bullied in school nor was I the bully - so I really don't really know how I would feel in this type of situation. However, whenever I read about bullying in a book or watch in a show/movie - I'm definitely so sad. Like full on ugly crying sad. I hate bullying. If I saw it hap ...more

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Oct 22, 2014 Booknut rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mature-themes, favorites, kleenex-tissues-required, heartbreak-and-loss, high-school-dramas, mystery-and-sherlocking, madness-and-psychosis

**Check out the original review over on 21st Century Once Upon A Times**

'My physical scars aren't the reason I'm here. He can't fix those. But he can help me by letting me out.

(...) He will let me out today. He must. If I can get home in time, I can fix...everything.'

What if you gazed into the mirror...and someone else was staring back at you.

When seventeen-year-old Ashley Watson looks in the mirror, she sees her twenty-three-year-old self.

Older Ashley lives on the other side of the mirror ...more

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Oct 02, 2013 LPJ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: self-pub

I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this book, most of which are difficult to put into words. Let's start with the good: this was a page turner. The premise is interesting, plus there's a ticking time clock in play that gives you a driving need to keep going and find out just what exactly is going on here and how it will play out in the end.

The framing device: Stacy telling her shrink the long, sad story of how she ended up talking to the shrink in the first place works. I don't often li I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this book, most of which are difficult to put into words. Let's start with the good: this was a page turner. The premise is interesting, plus there's a ticking time clock in play that gives you a driving need to keep going and find out just what exactly is going on here and how it will play out in the end.

The framing device: Stacy telling her shrink the long, sad story of how she ended up talking to the shrink in the first place works. I don't often like framing devices or the interruptions they keep adding, but this one served to build tension and remind us of that ticking time clock. The writing is also quite good. Not distracting and overly lyrical, but solid and polished.

However, at no point did I really like Stacy. This is a hard one because I did feel for her. She is a seventeen year old who is bullied horribly at school. Prank calls & texts, kids tripping her in the halls and overall making her life a living hell. It was pretty extreme and truly horrible, so I sympathized with her. But the thing about heroines is at some point they should be heroic. I kept waiting for that turning point that would be the match that lit a fire under Stacy's ass so that she would do something different. Become stronger, come up with some creative way to retaliate or at least just get out of dodge, transfer schools, make some new friends at other schools, get a job or something to get her away from her horrid life and allow her to shine. But she just keeps her head down, ignores it all, keeps pushing through - which is its own kind of strength, I guess, but it wasn't enough for me.

Her "best friend" Mark was kind of a tool. But then again, teenage boys are all kind of tools. Still, it was very hard for me to like him too given his obliviousness about what his friends were doing to his "best friend." Stacy accepts everything without really fighting back, which is not what I want out of a heroine.

Her long held secret, that an older version of herself visits her in the mirror to dole out cryptic advice, keeps the story fresh. But Stacy spends so much time willfully ignoring Older Her. If I was given advice by an older version of myself, how stupid would I be to not take it? Or to think I could keep something secret without her having gone through it years before? Older Stacy isn't very specific, worried about telling Young Stacy too much and blowing a hole in the space-time continuum or some such wibbledy wobbledy timey wimey thing, and Young Stacy, being the quintessential teenager who makes horrible decisions, is bratty about not being told every single detail that she wants to know, and goes into situations time and time again that Older Stacy warns her against. *head desk*

The redeeming aspect is that Salter has created some very vibrant and realistic teen characters with their chips on their shoulders, their arrogance, their cruelty, self loathing, fragile hopes and so much more. I always believed Stacy's actions even if I kind of hated her for them. She made me uncomfortable and sad, but she was very much alive.

The other pretty big issue I had with this is the reveal - when we learn what Older Stacy has really been trying to accomplish this whole time. The problem? It doesn't make a lick of sense. (view spoiler)

In the end, Stacy says that she'll "never be the star of my own story." I'm not sure what to make of that. I'd just spent the past several hours thinking I was reading about her being the star of her own story. But I have to agree. If the point of this to make a non-hero hero then I guess Salter has succeeded. Stacy is a character who is decidedly unheroic. The courage she eventually displays is mostly out of desperation, not out of true character growth. I didn't understand how the events of the novel inspired her to love herself or believe herself lovable. (view spoiler)

Still, I think this is a strong debut -- maybe it was just a little too real and not escapist enough for me. I'm attracted to characters who inspire me, characters who push through their circumstances gaining grace and courage and end up doing remarkable things. Though I didn't feel like Stacy was that kind of character, it was a good journey and I'd check out more from this author. ...more

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Sep 18, 2014 Kalla [A Bookish Nerd] rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley, arc, beautiful-cover, favorites, ebooks, i-cried, love-love-love, young-adult-contemporary, worth-paying-for

If you've been bullied to the point where you thought life didn't matter anymore, this book is going to break your heart.

I was bullied up until I transferred to a different high school. I'm not ashamed to admit that I was in a very dark place. I wanted to just give up for good. Every cruel word that someone said to me made me hate myself even more, and I wanted to die. Truly. Every Ugly Word brought back those memories. The feelings were so raw, so real, that I sobbed through most of this book. ...more

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Mar 09, 2016 J. Kahele rated it it was amazing

Wow!

I have read many stories about bullying but never have I read one with such intensity as this one was. It was almost like a self portrait of a person and the emotions she endured during her high school years. So real, gripping and raw that I found myself screaming, crying and wanting so badly to help this poor girl.

The writing was unbelievable. Ashley's character was written so that you could feel and see everything she went through. If ever a book I would recommend it would be this one. A g ...more

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Nov 23, 2014 Abbie rated it liked it

Shelves: kindle-unlimited

This was an okay read, but i did feel bored at points.

I felt really sorry for Ashley. I was bullied all through school as well, so i know how bad she felt. Having a mother with an attitude like hers did would make the situation ten times worse though.

There were times where i felt bored, and thought the book would never end, but it kept my interest just enough for me to want to carry on reading, so i could find out how it all ended.

Overall, Okay read.

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Dec 18, 2013 ＳℓιM rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Getting bully sucks, and people don't realize what they put someone through. individuals who bully someone have no life and be asking for attention. just to make people laugh. I will never be a fan of bullying. Your family friends people from school bullies you no matter where they're coming from it's a shame how some people can be.

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Jul 29, 2014 Maxine (Booklover Catlady) rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult-read, relationships-romance-read

Sometimes a YA novel comes along that has a depth to it, a meaning, a message. This is one of those novels. Every Ugly Word tackles the issue of high school bullying, and pulls no punches in holding back on how it's done. A heart breaking read that's written well. A story that you so want to have a happy ending too.

When seventeen-year-old Ashley Watson walks through the halls of her high school, bullies taunt and shove her. She can't go a day without fighting with her mother. And no matter how ...more

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Sep 14, 2014 Marjolein rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, children-ya, read-in-english, contemporary

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

There were two things I was looking forward to in this book. No, make that three as I'd read some very positive reviews as well. One, the complete story is set as a conversation between Ashley and her psychiatrist (a setting I find incredibly interesting as it is exactly the kind of thing I've been planning to use for my own story - the one that has been in my head for a couple of years now and doesn't really feel like coming out). Besi Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

There were two things I was looking forward to in this book. No, make that three as I'd read some very positive reviews as well. One, the complete story is set as a conversation between Ashley and her psychiatrist (a setting I find incredibly interesting as it is exactly the kind of thing I've been planning to use for my own story - the one that has been in my head for a couple of years now and doesn't really feel like coming out). Besides, it has a Möbius-strip time paradox, which I always find fascinating. For both things however, it's important it's done right, for it can make or brake the story.

For that was my reason to read the book, it's not the main subject. Ashley is being bullied in the most terrible way, and even though it's clearly visible (even for teachers or the like) nothing gets done about it. Her mother is, to say the least, unsupportive, blaming Ashley for the awkward feeling she has when hanging out with the parents of the kids that bully Ashley. O, how I wanted to slap her in the face. Things get even worse when Matt, her best friend and secret crush, befriends her torturers making her feel even more abandoned. And all the while, Ashley's talking to her older self in the mirror, who's say she's trying to save her from the same fate but isn't willing to give her enough information to do so.

It was a real pageturner. I was really curious to find out what the terrible thing that happened (and that they refer to right at the beginning, she's not seeing a shrink for nothing of course) was, especially since I also believed that it was the thing that Older Ashley was trying to save Ashley from. When I was reading I was always thinking: this is the last chapter, than I'll go to sleep. But I kept thinking it for the next 6 chapters or so. The setting working very well and made it very hard for me to put the book away.

I was wondering about the mirror paradox though. Ashley's conversations with her older self I'm willing to buy without as much as a second time. Nothing weird about that. But at first it's suggested that she's some several years older that Ashley's now. While near the end, it feels like

(view spoiler)

This however did not spoil the story for me. I wanted to say I enjoyed reading it a lot, but that feels wrong with a subject this serious like bullying. The story was very interesting though and the setting and (although not perfect) the paradox didn't let me down. I would definitely read another book by this author.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more

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Oct 23, 2014 Teri Beth rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc-netgally

ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley

Every Ugly Word is a really good book. It didn’t leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy like I usually prefer, but it’s a compelling and intriguing story that kept me glued to the pages. As someone who has never dealt with bullying, Every Ugly Word showed me just how cruel people can be. Ashley is a very real character, she has faults and flaws, she doesn’t always make the best decisions, but she’s just trying to survive. My heart broke for Ashley and all she ...more

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Aug 02, 2015 Trisha rated it really liked it

"That says everything about them and nothing about you."

Man, that is one of the hardest lessons, isn't it? That what people say about you - when they gossip or talk crap - shows SO much more about them than you. But that's hard to know in highschool - it's hard to know as an adult.

This is a tough book to read - touch because it's ugly and cruel. The bullying and bad parenting is painful to read through. But the message is good and the story was interesting enough that I kept reading.

and I always ...more

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Sep 22, 2014 Brooklyn rated it did not like it

Shelves: made-me-cry, so-much-emotion, wanted-to-scream, tab-books, reviewed, 1-star

"When seventeen-year-old Ashley Watson walks through the halls of her high school bullies taunt and shove her. She can’t go a day without fighting with her mother. And no matter how hard she tries, she can’t make her best friend, Matt, fall in love with her. But Ashley also has something no one else does: a literal glimpse into the future. When Ashley looks into the mirror, she can see her twenty-three-year-old self.

Her older self has been through it all already—she endured the bullying, survive "When seventeen-year-old Ashley Watson walks through the halls of her high school bullies taunt and shove her. She can’t go a day without fighting with her mother. And no matter how hard she tries, she can’t make her best friend, Matt, fall in love with her. But Ashley also has something no one else does: a literal glimpse into the future. When Ashley looks into the mirror, she can see her twenty-three-year-old self.

Her older self has been through it all already—she endured the bullying, survived the heartbreak, and heard every ugly word her classmates threw at her. But her older self is also keeping a dark secret: Something terrible is about to happen to Ashley. Something that will change her life forever. Something even her older self is powerless to stop."

I liked this book. I really did. It was the details that earned this book such a low rating from me. I won't apologize, but I will explain why I gave it two stars. Bear with me here. When I picked out this book, I was really excited. It seemed like it would be a page-turner (and it was) and it seemed like it would be yet another amazing novel about the hardships of bullying and what the victim has to endure (and again, it was). Ashley made a mistake when she was younger that caused events that affected her throughout the rest of her life. It's a mistake anyone could have made, really. Who hasn't told a little lie in order to jump up the social hierarchy? My problem isn't any of this. That part was fantastic. I think that what I had a hard time with was a) the whole mirror thing (don't worry, I will get into that) and b) the fact that some of the situations seemed just so over dramatic and could have been a little less worse had Ashley reacted like a normal human being.

Okay, so problem A. The mirror. A first I thought it was really cool. Who doesn't want to be able to talk their future self and get warned of all the crap that's going to come your way (the whole 'you'll look crazy talking to a mirror' thing aside)? But as I kept reading, a few things started to bother me. First off was the fact that Older Ashley said that when she'd been younger, she'd had an Older Ashley too. What? Did Ashley just live in some sort of time loop where every time her life went terribly wrong, her Older Self would appear in the mirror to help her out? Oh, my god. I'm getting a headache just thinking about this. Or are there multiple Ashleys living out their life again and again in a constant loop (hello, time loop, my old friend) so that there CAN be an Older Ashley? (view spoiler)

(view spoiler)

How about the book saying that Older Ashley was a couple years (going by the fact that she was in a college dorm and all that) older than Younger Ashley but then making it sound like she'd been out into therapy right after her incident, which would make her only a couple months older? And if she wasn't put in therapy right away, why was she put in YEARS after the whole thing? Because she's talking to herself? But the doctor was interested in her incident. Not as much the talking to self thing.

(view spoiler) Oh my god, I cannot take this. I'm sorry, I can't even get through this in order to talk about the other things I disliked and liked about the book. There are just too many holes in this. The bullying part was good, it was realistic and showed emotional trauma. But I can't focus on that at all. This book would have been much better off being written in a different way. I really don't want to even think about it because the whole time-space loop hole unexplained supposed time travel thing is getting to me. I'm changing my two stars to a one star. I really hate books involving time travel. ...more

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Dec 27, 2016 Claire (Book Blog Bird) rated it it was amazing

4.5 stars
When seventeen-year-old Ashley Watson walks through the halls of her high school bullies taunt and shove her. She can’t go a day without fighting with her mother. And no matter how hard she tries, she can’t make her best friend, Matt, fall in love with her. But Ashley also has something no one else does: a literal glimpse into the future. When Ashley looks into the mirror, she can see her twenty-three-year-old self.

Her older self has been through it all already—she endured the bullying, 4.5 stars
When seventeen-year-old Ashley Watson walks through the halls of her high school bullies taunt and shove her. She can’t go a day without fighting with her mother. And no matter how hard she tries, she can’t make her best friend, Matt, fall in love with her. But Ashley also has something no one else does: a literal glimpse into the future. When Ashley looks into the mirror, she can see her twenty-three-year-old self.

Her older self has been through it all already—she endured the bullying, survived the heartbreak, and heard every ugly word her classmates threw at her. But her older self is also keeping a dark secret: Something terrible is about to happen to Ashley. Something that will change her life forever. Something even her older self is powerless to stop.

So this was a really unusual book. In my experience, books tend to either be about issues (e.g. bullying) or about supernatural stuff (e.g. communicating with your future self), but rarely about the two.

In Every Ugly Word, the author has managed to pull together two stories - one about her protagonist Ashley undergoing some pretty horrific bullying by literally everyone at her school (and for the most bizarre, non-reason, which I’ll come to later) and at the same time being able to converse with future (five years in the future) self and actually it works really well. I read this book in about a day and a half and found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it.

One of the things I liked most was the mystery aspect. Ashley’s older self knows what Ashley is going through and knows what is coming up next, but she’s frustratingly opaque and sparing with actual, solid advice. It was intensely annoying at times, but managed to hold my interest.

Ashley herself was a really likeable character. Despite being bullied every single day, she still manages to stick up for herself and have hopes and aspirations for the future. The evil bullies never completely manage to crush her spirit. Her friend Matt, on the other hand, could do one. I got that he was going through stuff of his own, but he was really blinkered and naive about the torment Ashley was going through.

This book shows bullying in a very positive light. Not positive as in bullying=good, obviously, but as in you can be bullied and not let them break you. You can be bullied but still have hopes and dreams for the future and even though it seems impossible, this too shall pass. It doesn’t, however, trivialise the effects of bullying.

The actual reason for the bullying (in eighth grade Ashley herself started a false rumour that she had slept with a friend of hers and this triggered off a spiral of slut-shaming) was a bit unbelievable, especially as she’d been popular prior to this incident, but I guess bullying can spring from anywhere, so who am I to judge?

All in all this was a really interesting, unique book. Totally recommended. ...more

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Sep 13, 2014 Sue rated it it was amazing

Shelves: net-galley, young-adult

What a well thought out good riveting book.

I loved the layout where Ashley Watson is talking to her Consultant/Psych doctor yet she is telling her story, then it breaks back to the consultation. As questions are asked of her, she then relates more of her terrible experiences.

Ashley is teased, bullied, got at and so undeserving of it all.

There has been odd times in a book that I have read where I feel like shouting out loud. I HATE bullies, its one of my pet hates and I would take any bully on. H ...more

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Oct 28, 2014 Juletta Gilge rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley, 5-star-worthy

**ARC provided by author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

This book was that powerful. If any of you go and view the books I have read and rated, you will realize how difficult it is to get a full five stars. This book gets six stars. For those of you who have been bullied, the main character is someone you will be able to identify with. For those of you who are introverts or shy or have anxiety, you can identify with this book. Aimee Salter has created a masterpiece that (for me ...more

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Apr 17, 2015 Adita ✨The Slumbering Insomniac✨ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya-mania, post-reading-euphoria, heartrending, teary-eyed

Bullying- the worst form of crime- it inflicts lesser physical pain, or the victims care less about the outward injuries..or are forced to overlook the physical pain by their broken inner selves..broken into smithereens.. damaged beyond redemption. It kills every ounce of self-respect and self-esteem that the victims have in them and slowly they descend into a living hell.

A gut-wrenching story of a certain Ashley which seemed too real to be brushed off as fiction- expect for the future-self part ...more

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Jun 01, 2017 PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps rated it it was ok

Ashley meets with her psychiatrist, hoping to be released from the hospital after six months. To prove she's ready, she must recount the incident which lead to her breakdown. When looking in mirrors or glass sees her 23 year old self, whom she calls Older Me. Older Me gives cryptic advice. Delusion or something more?

Bullying is at the heart of Ashley's troubles. Her overcritical mother, who the psychiatrist calls Ashley's first bully, seemed to groom Ashley for the bullying. She lost all her fri ...more

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Aug 07, 2014 Sarah Elizabeth rated it liked it

Shelves: love-triangle, mental-health-problem, netgalley-edelweiss, r2r-complete, read-2014, contemporary, young-adult, mystery, paranormal

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Mark My Words Book Publicity and NetGalley.)
17-year-old Ashley is stuck in an institution talking to a psychiatrist.
What happened to lead Ashley to the institution? Is she really crazy? And where does she go from here?

This was an interesting story, but it was difficult to know what was real and what wasn’t.

Ashley was an interesting character, and I felt so sorry for her and the bullying she had to put ...more

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Nov 26, 2014 Jules rated it really liked it

Shelves: covergasm, tragic-and-epic, contemporary

I've been bullied before so let's just say that this book is relatable to me and I may had some bad times with the Ash, but I love how the author portrayed the whole story :)

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MY OPINION

Every Ugly Word. I just consumed every moment in this book. And I remembered those times that I myself experienced bullying, but I never thought that it could get worse than that.

I had to admit that when I started reading this book it was hard to appreciate what it meant at the time. I was stuc ...more

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Jul 02, 2015 Elizabeth Mathis rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reviewed-contemporary, reviewed-life-ruiners, 5-penguin-reads

When seventeen-year-old Ashley Watson walks through the halls of her high school bullies taunt and shove her. She can’t go a day without fighting with her mother. And no matter how hard she tries, she can’t make her best friend, Matt, fall in love with her. But Ashley also has something no one else does: a literal glimpse into the future. When Ashley looks into the mirror, she can see her twenty-three-year-old self.

Her older self has been through it all already—she endured the bullying, survived When seventeen-year-old Ashley Watson walks through the halls of her high school bullies taunt and shove her. She can’t go a day without fighting with her mother. And no matter how hard she tries, she can’t make her best friend, Matt, fall in love with her. But Ashley also has something no one else does: a literal glimpse into the future. When Ashley looks into the mirror, she can see her twenty-three-year-old self.

Her older self has been through it all already—she endured the bullying, survived the heartbreak, and heard every ugly word her classmates threw at her. But her older self is also keeping a dark secret: Something terrible is about to happen to Ashley. Something that will change her life forever. Something even her older self is powerless to stop.

Rating: 5/5 Stars
Quick Reasons: gut-churning, goosebump-inducing story; powerful and emotional scenes; characters you love, loathe, and loathe to love (yes, I said it this was for a reason); a haunting and unexpected plot twist

Wow. WOW. I just...I can't quite wrap my head around what I finished reading about a minute ago! I will be thinking about this story, and the effect it's had on me, for a long time to come. I'm sure this will be added to both my favorite reads AND my recommendations shelf. Just... WOW.

Let me try to get my head on a little straighter here. I picked this up relatively cheap from amazon for my Kindle; the blurb intrigued me, and I've been drawn more to contemporary than to other reads lately, and I just... Going in, I was pretty sure there was more to the story than what the “back of the book” (or, in this instance, the top of the goodreads page) led me to believe.

I wasn't far from wrong about that...but I also wasn't RIGHT about it, either. Because somewhere in the middle of this book (or maybe even before I went into it?) I started doubting the character and her clarity. I found myself wondering if, maybe, she wasn't quite the reliable narrator she was being depicted as. I found myself doubting HER...and that was a big, big mistake—because that's exactly what the point of this book was about.

There is a fine line between writing from the perspective of someone who dealt with the abuse and bullying of their peers for years on end...and writing it WELL. Aimee L. Salter took this—the emotional damage, the way such cruel words haunt and taunt, the pain and destruction living in such hostile environments for so long cause—and molded it into a heartbreaking, breath-stealing story about finding your way despite the obstacles. About finding...and OWNING...yourself.

The characters are realistic, endearing, and practically leap off the page at you as you read. You'll find, early on, there are characters you absolutely cannot stand (even BEFORE you realize what the story's about), characters you love or relate to...and characters you WANT to love, but loathe, because their actions are all tangled into a mess you can't overlook or forgive them for.

The story is powerful, woven so beautifully. The climax is intricate, each small fracture (like glass, people!) crackling together into a crescendo I never saw coming. When I reached that page, I literally sat here for a few moments just drinking it all in, because... Well, I'll be honest here: I've NEVER seen anything like it done in literature before. It was a literary thing I loved immediately, for being so unique. I had goosebumps. Thinking about it now, I'm getting them all over again.

The writing is gorgeous, as well—easy to follow, with only a few slight grammatical errors/missing words (it happens, though; we're all human here). The character growth(s) are astounding and complex, clashing and embracing in ways you'll kick yourself for not seeing before. And the moral... Goodness, the moral of this story is one I think we can ALL get behind.

I highly recommend this read, and have to admit to being a little more than a little disappointed about how few people seem to talk about this book. I found it purely by accident browsing amazon one day... I want that “accident” to become an “on purpose” for more people in the future! This book is definitely worth it; you won't know what hit you!

--cross-posted to tumblr and wordpress-- ...more

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Dec 08, 2014 Giselle rated it liked it

Shelves: arc-electronic, requested-for-review, 3-star, age-young-adult, genre-fantasy, from-netgalley, genre-contemporary, 2014, genre-romance, genre-vampires

An Electronic Advanced Reader Copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review. Quotes have been pulled from an ARC and may be subject to change.

This is one of those books where you just want to throttle some of the characters for their sinister and sadistic ways. Since I didn't read the synopsis, I didn't know this was about bullying. Even though there was a little paranormal twist what with her seeing the older her in the mirror, it's one of those stories where you can't believe thi ...more

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Aug 10, 2014 Megan (thebookishtwins) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary, mental-health, own, standalone, reviewed, netgalley, romance, favorites, fantasy, read-in-2014

I received this free from the publishers via NetGalley

'It isn't what happens to you in your life that destroys you. It's what you do about it.'

Ashley Watson has spent most of her high school life being bullied. She spends the week walking the school halls where she is constantly shoved and taunted and bullied. Her relationship with her mum is strained. Her best friend doesn't see her the way she wants him to. She can also see her future self when she looks in the mirror. Her future self has done ...more

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Jul 02, 2017 Reading is my Escape rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2017, booklikes-opoly

What would you do to save yourself?

People do what they want. They love who they love. No one else can change that.
The only thing you can control is you.
- Chapter 5

That was the last straw. I breathed too hard, then I broke. All the pieces inside snapped apart and fell away, tinkling to the floor of my life and leaving a yawning hole where my heart should have been.
- Chapter 28

It might not get better tomorrow, but it will get better.
- Author's note

This book is heartbreaking, and yet hopeful. What would you do to save yourself?

People do what they want. They love who they love. No one else can change that.
The only thing you can control is you.
- Chapter 5

That was the last straw. I breathed too hard, then I broke. All the pieces inside snapped apart and fell away, tinkling to the floor of my life and leaving a yawning hole where my heart should have been.
- Chapter 28

It might not get better tomorrow, but it will get better.
- Author's note

This book is heartbreaking, and yet hopeful. Teenage main character Ashley is in love with her best friend Matt, but he thinks of her as just a friend. He is popular at school and Ashley is constantly teased and bullied. In the first chapter, we find Ashley speaking to her psychiatrist and hoping to be released from the institution she resides in. He is asking her to recount the events leading up to "the incident" which resulted in her stay at the institution. We find out that Ashley sees an older version of herself in the mirror. Older Ashley gives her advice and tries to help her change her life. Older Ashley wants Ashley to have a better life than she does. But, she leaves out details in the hopes of protecting her younger self.

That might seem a bit confusing, but the book is not. We see Ashely's attempts to be strong and we worry about what will happen to her. Ashley's mother is almost as bad, if not worse than the kids at school. Her mom treats her as if she is the one doing something wrong. If she could just be more normal, then she wouldn't get bullied or if she could just fly under the radar and not do things to aggravate the other kids. Seriously?? Bullying is never the fault of the victim. Ashley's mother should have been her protector, not someone who makes her feel worse.

I liked this book. I felt bad for Ashley, and yet hopeful that she would find the strength to survive, despite everything and everyone who hurt her. At the end of the book, the author talks about how bullying is a form of torture and that she was a victim herself for many years. She talks about how she wants readers to know that they deserve help and gives them phone numbers and websites to use for help.

I read this for the Electric Company space, author's first and last name contain all the letters in "Tesla"
It has 282 pages and is worth $6.00

...more

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May 01, 2015 Paloma Meir rated it it was amazing

Wow, that was quite a book. I opened it up a few hours ago to read a few pages before going to the market. I didn't end up going to the market. I can't even remember the last I was so sucked into a story. Powerfully told.

Every Ugly Word is the story of Ashley, a girl who has been relentlessly bullied since middle school. Her only support is her friend Matt. He's good to her, loyal, well beyond what an average seventeen year old boy would be capable of in real life.There's a romantic shadow over ...more

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Jan 21, 2016 Sariah rated it it was amazing

"It takes a lot out of an artist to show their plain face to the world, like this."

I've never met or spoken to Aimee Salter. But if I ever do meet her, the first thing I'll do is give her a big hug.

This is not the kind of book I like to read. I like light and fluffy. It's what I write, it's what I read. "Every Ugly Word" showed up in a BookBub advertisement, and I thought the premise sounded interesting. It certainly was - but nothing quite like what I was expecting.

This book should be required ...more

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Mar 07, 2015 Amanda rated it really liked it

Every Ugly Word was really good. I love twists in books, and this one had a really good one. I didn't expect it to go the way it did. The main character is well developed, but she is a little hard to relate to. At times I found myself frustrated with her decisions. I would suggest this book to any one of my friends. It was pretty great. I was full of empathy for the main character. When a book really makes you feel, you know it's amazing.

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Jan 07, 2019 Alyssia Cooke rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary, haunting, stunning, mental-health, young-adult, disturbing, bullying, top-2019

It's not often two books leave me speechless in a single day. Between this and Paper Butterflies though, they managed this feat quite aptly. I meant to review this yesterday but couldn't find the words to do it justice. Every Ugly Word is a stark depiction of bullying and the effects it can have on someone's confidence, their actions and their future. It is touching and harrowing at the same time and it had me hooked from the very first page.

The set-out of this book is clever and it took me a li It's not often two books leave me speechless in a single day. Between this and Paper Butterflies though, they managed this feat quite aptly. I meant to review this yesterday but couldn't find the words to do it justice. Every Ugly Word is a stark depiction of bullying and the effects it can have on someone's confidence, their actions and their future. It is touching and harrowing at the same time and it had me hooked from the very first page.

The set-out of this book is clever and it took me a little while to twig the importance of the conversations with the psychiatrist and what they represented. In fact it probably took me far longer than the author had intended but hey... I found the alternating view points to be a well done plot device and the way it was always managed that the second viewpoint was always from the psychiatrists office ensured that it was never confusing. Whilst the narrative device of having 'older me' giving advice from the mirror was a tad disconcerting to begin with, it quickly became an integral part of the books structure.

The characters are all brilliantly well written and characterised, from Ashley herself as she struggles to cope with a hellish life at school and a difficult relationship with her mother to all of the other characters both large and small. All of the characters were tremendously real, and the romantic interest was no different in this; he is a teenage boy and whilst he cares about Ashley, he also often thinks with his penis and can be well-intentioned but deeply hurtful. The bullying throughout is relentless and brutal throughout the book and regardless of everything else here, it is definitely the undeniable focus of the story. This was a definite bonus for me as whilst the teenage romance triangle did exist, it was another bounce off to the darker elements of the novel rather than a sickly sweet.

I hammered through this in a matter or hours, absolutely devouring the pages in turn. I really wanted to find out what the terrible thing was that Older Ashley was trying to prevent, but I was also completely living in the moment with Younger Ashley. I found the entire thing eminently believable; much of what happens to Ashley could have been prevented had she acted or reacted differently, however at no point is that used as an excuse for the merciless bullying she undergoes at the hands of others. It's more as though the author recognises that sometimes teenagers can be their own worst enemies and that will have a knock on effect on everything around them. Likewise Matt so often makes things worse when he is genuinely trying to make things better or help in some way; he's gullible to a fault for a start and so whilst his intentions are good, it doesn't take a genius to see that they are going to go horribly wrong.

There are a lot of trueisms within this gem of a novel about family, bullying, friendships, relationships and sex and yet they never seem trite or pert. They always fit in with the nature and the structure of the story and somehow seem in the right place. ...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Crazy for Young A...: Every Ugly Word by Aimee L. Salter → Start Date: July 30, 2015	7	22	Aug 02, 2015 06:21PM
What WAS Matt Thinking?	2	30	Apr 18, 2015 09:16AM