Echo by Amanda Clay

Emily(Echo to her friends) is getting ready to go to Nocturne in Vancouver. A place where her cousin will be showing off her newest clothing creations. Emily is looking forward to modeling one of those creations. Of course she wants to look her best and that best means being the skinniest she can be. Echo at first starts out by limiting her intake of food. It then progresses to times of binging and purging. When Echo sees herself in the mirror all she can see is the fat content of her body. Soon her best friend Julian confronts her about becoming too skinny but Echo assures him that she is eating and being careful. When her new boyfriend Eddie and several other friends begin to take notice and express concern, once again Echo assures them all that she is being careful. Echo knows that she is in control and nobody can stop her from reaching her goal. Echo wants to be perfect, she finds out at Nocturne what a steep price being perfect can be.

My Thoughts:

ECHO sucks you in from the first page to the very last. It is told from Echo's perspective so the reader is able to see all of Echo's thoughts and feelings that lead her on this journey of destruction. ECHO's characters bring a variety of feelings to the reader also. Echo's best friend Julian is gay and they share many evenings together working on just the right outfit to put together. His care and concern for Echo is heart-warming as he confronts her about her eating disorder. I could not stand Echo's mother! In my opinion she is the majority of the problem in Echo's eating disorder. Instead of a nurturing mother she is more like a jealous high school girl willing to do what it takes to cut out the competition. Eddie made a great boyfriend for Echo as he too had a dysfunctional family life.

Amanda Clay did a great job portraying the progression of Echo's eating disorder. The characters were well thought out and consistent in their behavior. A great story for teens who love to read about angst and drama and real-life situations. My one warning about the story would be that some of the language could be offensive to some readers. While I have read books with much more cursing, the "F" word is scattered throughout the story. An entertaining first novel from Amanda Clay that has me looking forward to her next novel.

The List by Siobhan Vivian

Nobody knows who writes "The List" each year. The Tradition has been passed on for years. The week before Homecoming "The List" appears with the names of the ugliest and the prettiest girls in each grade. Nobody has ever claimed to have written "The List." Years before the seal of the school was stolen and is used to officially emboss "The List." Each year it is passed on to someone else in secret. That person doesn't know who was the list maker before them, but then it is their turn to make "The List."

For the 8 girls on The List life changes dramatically during the week before Homecoming. This year Bridget Honeycutt is chosen as The Prettiest for the junior class. Immediately the pressure is on Bridget to look her best. This manifests in an eating disorder that she thought had been put behind her over the summer. But she is determined to fit into that smaller dress size by the end of the week. Jennifer Briggis becomes the first four-peat girl as ugliest. Her former best friend Margo was chosen as prettiest which puts her in the top running for Homecoming Queen. When Sarah finds her name on the ugliest list she is determined to fight back. She decides to not bathe for the entire week much to the disgust of the student body that have to be in classes with her. Each girl handles their fame or rejection in her own way, unfortunately letting The List change them whether for positive or negative. With one girl determined that this will be the last List EVER.

My Thoughts:

There were a few things that I disliked about this story. The cursing, the sexual situations, and the drinking/smoking. BUT, I think the story brought out a lot of how fragile young adult self-image can be. And then to have their flaws or assets brought out in public like "The List," how damaging it can be even to the most put-together teen. This was not a "feel-good" story, it didn't end with everyone experiencing their "happily ever after." High school is messy, egos and self-image are fragile and the author was able to show that in this story. And there were moments when friendships and relationships weathered the storm which made the story more palatable for me.

There You'll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones

Finley is on her way to Ireland as part on an exchange student program. She is following her brother’s footsteps after his death.  Since Will was killed Finley has found herself in a downward spiral. She feels that God is no longer listening to her. Since reading Will’s journal and seeing how much he saw God while in Ireland, Finley believes that if she just follows in his footsteps that maybe God will meet her there also. 

Beckett Rush is a hot young actor heading to his home in Ireland to film his latest vampire movie. When Finley, being bumped up to first class, sits next to him on their trip to Ireland he assumes that she too will be one of the many girls that swoon over him. He is in for a huge surprise. Finley is uninterested in his notoriety. 

Finley’s host family runs a Bed & Breakfast. Finley is less than enthused when she finds that Beckett is staying there for the duration of the filming of his movie. Since Finley is without a car it puts a crimp in her following Will’s journal. Beckett offers to drive her around in return for her being his assistant. She helps him run lines. He finds her honesty refreshing.

One of Finley’s first assignments when she starts school is to adopt a grandmother from the local nursing home. She is assigned Mrs. Sweeney, a cantankerous woman who is dying. Finley tries to get out of the assignment or to get reassigned to someone else, but her teacher is not going for it. What Finley doesn’t count on is learning to love the woman and helping her find forgiveness in her last days.

With the mounting pressure of school, an audition at a conservatory, her mounting feelings for Beckett, and being unable to come up with an ending for her musical piece, Finley starts to spiral downhill. Will she meet God in this place or will she lose Him and herself in the process?

From the moment I picked up the book I had a hard time putting it down. Jenny B. Jones has a way of writing that captures the reader from the very beginning of the book until the last page is turned. I connected with the characters and empathized with both of them. Without being overly preachy Jenny B. Jones was able to show her characters struggle with faith and ultimate victory.