Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Pretty Amy Blog Tour Review and Interview!

Welcome to my first blog tour post!
 I have now officially been blogging for four months!



Before I read Pretty Amy by Lisa Burstein I thought Amy and her best friends were going to be arrested because of a silly prank. I was really excited to find out what exact crazy prank was pulled. I created scenarios, in my mind, of some prank ideas. Would Amy, Lila and Cassie splatter food on the outside of Lila’s boyfriend Brian’s house? Or maybe they would steal the boys' cars.



Instead, Pretty Amy was a story of the effects of not only being arrested but recovering from ruining your life by sliding into the influence peer pressure to take drugs. Even more, Pretty Amy is a story of a girl completely devastated by her life and, is now, is striving to be happy. Amy thought she would be happy being the friend of the cool girls. But she is not.


I enjoyed reading through Amy’s story of self-discovery. I disliked feeling Amy’s depressed outlook of life for the most part of the novel but was amazed by how easily I was captured by Amy’s mood. I liked Amy as a character because she is a complex character with real feelings and problems. I enjoyed meeting the funny characters that Amy met too. From convenience store Conner who is happily married to the ditzy but well-meaning lawyer Dick Simon to Amy’s controlling mother, the characters all brought excitement to the story. I rejoiced in how individualistic each character turned out to be!


I feel that Pretty Amy is a very profound story that I admired and enjoyed. It’s the type of book that is best to read when you want a through-provoking contemporary novel. I probably would have liked Pretty Amy more if the plot was more fast-paced and exciting. There were some scenes that caused me to be eager to continue reading but there was times in the story where the plot appeared repetitive. I lost interest half-way through the novel, but, after a break, I was able to enjoy reading the book again.

Overall, Pretty Amy is a unique novel that I will remember in the years to come for its unique and inspirational take on a real teenager girl's feelings. This book has inspired me to be proud of my past mistakes and look forward to the future.


3.5/5 Stars


Cover:


I was first introduced to Pretty Amy by its cover reveal awhile back. I immediately fell in love. It is a perfect, incredible and gorgeous cover. 

What I love most about it is that it reminds me of the bat mitzvah dress I wore a few years ago. My Bat Mitzvah dress is my favorite dress ever and I cannot feel happier about how a similar elegant dress is featured in the beautiful cover.

I award the cover of Pretty Amy 5/5 Sparkling Stars!
 
Interview!

I am so happy to have the chance to interview Lisa Burstein!

Q: What authors and books inspired you to write? 


A: I love Courtney Summers, Sara Zarr, John Green, Margaret Atwood and Deb Caletti, any author who is willing to be raw and real.My favorite book of all time is A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.


Q: How did you come to choose Amy as your main character’s name? 


A: Well, she really is an "every-girl" so I wanted to give her a very common name.


3. What first drew me to your book was its cover. Are you pleased with how Pretty Amy’s book cover came out? How did the cover choosing process work?


Yes, so pleased. It was all Liz Pelletier publisher at Entangled her design, her concept. It is beautiful!


4. I heard that you are planning to write another book in Amy’s friend Cassie point of view. Any early details and information on Dear Cassie yet? 


It's a companion novel to PRETTY AMY that follows Cassie's post-prom arrest to a rehabilitation retreat in the woods, told in Cassie's irreverent voice via her diary entries.


5. What do you hope readers of Pretty Amy discover from the book? 


Try to remember that even thought high school can sometimes feel like a roller coaster; as Amy says, "Four years of hardship, toil, boredom, and memorization; of each day feeling the happiest you think you could possibly feel and then sadder than you ever imagined," you will start to even out on the other side.


Thanks for reading! 
I hope everyone checks out Pretty Amy!

6 comments:

  1. Fab review and interview Rachel, I adored Amy and thought some of the secondary characters were hilarious! I didn't know there was a companion novel coming out from Cassie's pov! yay! :)

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  2. That's exactly what I thought too! Every time I read the synopsis, I think of a prank gone wrong, but it doesn't sound like that at all! Still, Amy's self-discovery and the complexity of the characters makes it sound like a great contemporary :) And I love how Lisa named Amy to make her feel more like a regular girl we'd see every day -- that was really sweet!

    Awesome review & interview, Rachel! I'm glad you enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read more about Amy's contemporary adventures! :) <3

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  3. I'm way more intrigued now that I know it is about drugs. That feels like a real issue instead of just a plot set up.

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  4. Congrats on your 4 months blogoversary! I am intrigued by this book...been seeing it around. I am going to have to check it out for myself. Great review :)

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  5. Great review and fabulous interview! Pretty Amy sounds like such a real and amazing journey... and I feel the need to read this book more and more with every review I read. :)

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Welcome!

As of March 21, 2012, my blog is an award free zone. I thank you for considering me but I do not have the time to fulfill the award duties.
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Rachel