Hey, everyone! Welcome to my stop on the blog tour of Life Unaware by Cole Gibsen hosted by YA Bound Book Tours! Check out below my review and enter the amazing tour-wide giveaway which is open internationally! Also, if you want to check out the other stops on the tour, you can just click here. Thanks for stopping by!
*****
Title: Life Unaware
Author: Cole Gibsen
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Published: April 28th, 2015
Page Count: 320 Pages
Page Count: 320 Pages
Format: eBook
Source: From tour host
Book Summary:
Regan Flay has been talking about you.Regan Flay is on the cusp of achieving her
control-freak mother’s “plan” for high school success―cheerleading,
student council, the Honor Society—until her life gets turned horribly,
horribly upside down. Every bitchy text. Every bitchy email. Every lie,
manipulation, and insult she’s ever said have been printed out and taped
to all the lockers in school.Now Regan has gone from popular princess to total
pariah.The only person who even speaks to her is her former best
friend’s hot but socially miscreant brother, Nolan Letner. Nolan thinks he
knows what Regan’s going through, but what nobody knows is that
Regan isn’t really Little Miss Perfect. In fact, she’s barely holding it
together under her mom’s pressure. But the consequences of Regan’s fall from
grace are only just beginning. Once the chain reaction starts, no one will
remain untouched…Especially Regan Flay.
*The Reader’s Review*
My rating: 5/5 stars
This book is pure genius, there’s no other word for it. Okay sure, I can also tell you that it’s pretty darn amazing, but most importantly, it’s genius. Bullying is a tough and serious topic, so I’m really amazed in how well it was approached by the author. Life Unaware, instead of being a book focused solely on a person being bullied, shows us the point of view of the bully, and how it comes back to get her.
So Regan Flay was a bully, but she wasn’t actually a bad person. Between trying to hide her anxiety disorder from everyone and of being under all the pressure of what her mother wants her to do, she falls into the wrong of talking trash about other people behind their backs. However, after getting discovered, everyone in High School start bullying her back. Now Regan is struggling to survive school without falling into panic attacks and even worse, trying not to give in to the temptation of looking for the easiest ways out.
I really felt bad for Regan. I know she did wrong and there’s no justifying her actions, but I didn’t have it in me to dislike her. She turned into a really nice person after she stops trying to be that person who hurts people to get what she thinks she wants, and I felt proud of her for trying to keep it together, and of trying to prove to herself that she’s not all bad. They say that the first (and hardest) step of curing a problem is admitting YOU have a problem, and that’s what she does.
One thing I wasn’t expecting about this book due to its main plot, was that I would be grinning and laughing a lot. It was a nice surprise and I liked that it was written this way. It showed that even in the darkest and toughest of hours, there will always be a bright spot. Our bright spot was Nolan, Regans’ best friend’s brother. His upbeat personality was the reason why our main character didn’t fall into the pit of depression and managed to get stronger (this after she started tolerating him) . Nolan is so likeable, he made me laugh plenty and I can’t ignore his great and swoonish lines, but I still feel like smacking him *shakes fist*. So glad things ended the way they did. It was FAIR, and surprising.
Life Unaware can be considered a light read in comparison to other books about bullying, but it’s worth gold and it has a tremendous lasting impression. It made me cry and it even changed my view of some things. Personally, it reminded me that I should be more careful when speaking about people. I don’t mean that I talk trash about my friends or strangers, but even a few comments meant only as a joke can really hurt them and I don’t want to ever make that mistake. Hand out more compliments and tell people how special they are is what I must do, what everyone must do more often, just like in this book (and now I understand Entangled Teen’s giveaway about this book, way to go!).
Now I know this book deserves a better review, but this is all I managed to get out after hours of staring at my screen. So sorry book, you are great, trust me. Words failed me to describe how wonderful you are and how much I loved all of you <3.
To end it all off, all I have left to say is that if you are someone interested on bullying, of trying to get anyone to learn more about it and of its consequences, I highly recommend Life Unaware.
*****
About the Author
Cole Gibsen first realized she
different when, in high school, she was still reading comic books while the
other girls were reading fashion magazines.It was her love of superheroes that
first inspired her to pick up a pen. Her favorite things to write about are
ordinary girls who find themselves in extraordinary situations.
Enter the rafflecopter below to win:
One
t-shirt of the winner’s choice from this site: http://store.twloha.com/collections/girls/shirts
t-shirt of the winner’s choice from this site: http://store.twloha.com/collections/girls/shirts
US only (sorry internationals!)
Hosted by:
I'm finishing this book up for my review for tomorrow. I have to agree Nolan is great! Great review, Melissa!
Thanks, Jazmen! Can't wait to read your thoughts about it tomorrow 😀
Sounds very hard! I remember in my days there was bullying but it seems like now is even worse?