Review: My Life in Black and White by Natasha Friend

MY LIFE IN BLACK AND WHITE
By: Natasha Friend
Published By: Viking Juvenile
Release Date: June 21, 2012
Series: None
Pages: 294
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Reading Level: Young Adult
Source: Bought
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads Summary: What if you lost the thing that made you who you are?

Lexi has always been stunning. Her butter-colored hair and perfect features have helped her attract friends, a boyfriend, and the attention of a modeling scout. But everything changes the night Lexi's face goes through a windshield. Now she's not sure what's worse: the scars she'll have to live with forever, or what she saw going on between her best friend and her boyfriend right before the accident. With the help of her trombone-playing, defiantly uncool older sister and a guy at school recovering from his own recent trauma, Lexi learns she's much more than just a pretty face.



The beginning of the summary poses a very interesting question - if you lost one thing that defined you, how would you define yourself? That premise coupled with the cover made this book one that I knew I'd have to read.

Lexi knows that she is beautiful - she has been told so all her life, even by strangers. Even her best friend Taylor approached her years ago because she was pretty. Her life seems to be fairly perfect. But in one night, that all disappears. Lexi sees the unthinkable happening between her best friend and her boyfriend. Desperate to escape the sight, she gets into a car with someone who's more interested in her than in watching the road...and before she knows it, her face has gone through a windshield. After being hospitalized and enduring several surgeries, she's faced with the task of putting her life back together. But how can she do that with no best friend, no boyfriend, and a less-than perfect face? Now that she can't rely solely on her beauty, who will Lexi be?

In Lexi's struggle to reinvent her life, this book explores a lot of relationships - those with family, those with friends, and romantic relationships. Throughout the book she spends more time than she expected with her mother and her sister, coming to know her sister especially in a way that she hadn't before. As for her friends, Lexi has to decide which is more important - her anger or her friendships. Finally, Lexi saw that sometimes love can be found in unlikely places. With all of these things, I have to say that I really liked the person Lexi grew to be. She definitely went through a process similar to the five stages of grief, but she made it through them. This book really shows how you can take control of your life and recover from setbacks if you're willing to work at it.

The one thing that I really would have liked to have seen more of is the relationship between Lexi and Theo; it felt a bit rushed and glossed over. However, I really enjoyed the time that we did see between them. I also liked the activity that Lexi picked up as she worked to rebuild her life - it's something not often seen, and that made her character stand out. Even after finishing this book, I've wondered if Lexi's life continued on the new path she set it on.

My Life in Black and White is a quick read but one with a lot packed into its pages. I look forward to reading more from Natasha Friend!

Review: Gilt by Katherine Longshore

GILT
By: Katherine Longshore
Published By: Viking Juvenile
Release Date: May 15, 2012
Series: The Royal Circle (#1)
Pages: 406
Genre: Historical Fiction
Reading Level: Young Adult
Source: Netgalley
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads Summary: In the court of King Henry VIII, nothing is free — and love comes at the highest price of all.

When Kitty Tylney’s best friend, Catherine Howard, worms her way into King Henry VIII’s heart and brings Kitty to court, she’s thrust into a world filled with fabulous gowns, sparkling jewels, and elegant parties. No longer stuck in Cat’s shadow, Kitty’s now caught between two men—the object of her affection and the object of her desire. But court is also full of secrets, lies, and sordid affairs, and as Kitty witnesses Cat’s meteoric rise and fall as queen, she must figure out how to keep being a good friend when the price of telling the truth could literally be her head.



I love historical fiction, especially books about England's Tudor period. I was particularly excited about this book because it looks at someone other than Anne Boleyn. While reading, I truly was transported to the court of Henry VII and caught up in the gossip, scandals, and flirtations that come with life at court.

Kitty Tylney has always been a "lady-in-waiting" to her best friend Catherine Howard, the "Queen of Misrule." Living away from home while their fathers try to make advantageous matches, Kitty and Catherine plot and scheme about how they can make their way to court. And then one day, their dreams come true. Catherine catches the eye of Henry VIII and is taken to court to be his new wife. Before long, summons also come for Kitty and two of their other friends. At first it seems like old times, but tensions run high at court and secrets are rampant. And no matter how much Catherine might try, she cannot always escape her past. When Catherine starts to fall out of favor at court, what will happen to Kitty? And will Kitty ever have a life of her own?

The thing with historical fiction books is that you already know the ending. However, this book was an exception, because this book was not about Catherine Howard, it was about Kitty Tylney. Gilt is a classic example of a book in which characters come to life. Cat and her life dominated the story. In many ways Cat drove me crazy, infuriated me, and made me want to smack sense into her. At the same time, though, I kept rooting for Kitty. I wanted to see her find her own happiness, and I loved that she was willing to keep trying despite everything that happened to her. I enjoyed some of the games and the glamour of life at court, but underneath that not much was sunshine and roses. There is an underlying element of fear to everything Kitty does, and that kept this from being a completely easy read.

For most of this book, I was whisked away to Tudor England. I found most of the writing style and dialogue to give the sense of the past without being overly stuffy or formal. A few phrases were anachronistic, but for the most part everything was consistent. The descriptions are wonderful, and the romantic interests for Kitty certainly spice up the story.

I definitely enjoyed this debut novel from Katherine Longshore. If you are not fans of historical fiction, I do know of several people who don't typically read this genre and still enjoyed Gilt, so don't let that put you off. I will look forward to reading more from Longshore in the future!