Published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA on 2015-03-03
Genres: Diseases, Illnesses & Injuries, Family, General, Health & Daily Living, Love & Romance, Parents, Young Adult
Pages: 368
Goodreads
Jodi Picoult for teens meets Lurlene McDaniel. Beautiful written, beautifully moving, a vivid contemporary story of a girl’s unusual but terrible dilemma - and the love story that springs from it.
16-year-old Erin is a smart if slightly dorky teenager, her life taken up with her best friend Trina, her major crush on smoky-eyed, unattainable Michael, and fending off Faith, the vision of perfection who’s somehow always had the knife in for Erin. Her dad, a pilot, died when she was very young, but Erin and her mom are just fine on their own.
Then everything changes forever one day after school when Erin’s mom announces she has breast cancer. And there’s even worse news to come. Horrified, Erin discovers that her grandmother’s death from cancer is almost certainly linked, the common denominator a rare gene mutation that makes cancer almost inevitable. And if two generations of women in the family had this mutation, what does that mean for Erin? The chances she’s inherited it are frighteningly high. Would it be better to know now and have major preemptive surgery or spend as much life as she has left in blissful ignorance?
As Erin grapples with her terrible dilemma, her life starts to spiral downwards, alleviated only by the flying lessons she starts taking with grumpy Stew and his little yellow plane, Tweetie Bird. Up in the sky, following in her dad’s footsteps, Erin finds freedom chasing the horizon. Down on the ground it’s a different story, and facing betrayal from Trina, humiliation from Faith, and a world of disappointment with Michael, Erin knows she must discover the truth about herself. Sure enough, she’s positive for the gene that’s slowly killing her mom.
Suddenly, Erin’s life has turned into a nightmare, and the only person she can truly talk to is a girl called Ashley who she meets online. But when, in a moment of madness, Erin flies away with Tweetie Pie to find her new friend, she finds herself on a journey that will take her through not only shock and despair - but ultimately to a new understanding of the true meaning of beauty, meaning, and love.
Happy Friday my Friends and today I’d like to tell you my Five Reasons why I think you should read or would enjoy Positively Beautiful by Wendy Mills.
A heartbreaking – horrible situation totally crashes a 16 Year old! Erin does not have it easy. Her father died when she was pretty young and now, her mom is diagnosed with Breast Cancer. It broke my heart seeing this girl having already so much grief in her young life.
Addressing a very real situation many women & girls have to face … Because Erin does not only have to deal with her mom having cancer, but also that her mom has a mutated gene – the BRCA gene – that is unfortunately heritable. Now, Erin has to decide if she wants to know and what this will mean for her. And with situations like these, it’s hard to find someone to talk about, which left Erin heartbreakingly alone with her feelings.
The value of friendship and finding a friends where you’d least expect to find one.. As alone as Erin felt, she finds a friend online whose family also has the mutation and suddenly Erin has someone to talk to. It shows how important it is to have someone you can talk to, even if it’s someone online you have never meet. Often people are too scared to talk to the people closest to you. This part was incredible genuine and real.
And… not to forget about the romance, because there is romance where youd least expect it to be and I really enjoyed the romance part too, it was sweet and slow burning!
Positively Beautiful handled breast cancer and what it means for a young girl absolutely wonderful and in a very honest way. The story does not shy away from asking questions that might be uncomfortable. Erin at some points decides that she wants to be tested and of course, with her being a Teenager she does not talk and think it through with someone else, but handles it on her own. Many girls would react exactly the same way!
A book that will make you cry – SO HARD! Honestly, this book will break your heart so much and many times. I felt with Erins situation and how emotionally draining it must have been for her and … the story just made me cry so hard!
The reason why I gave it 4 instead of 5 was that even though I felt with Erin, she sometimes reacted a little in a rush and without thinking. Some situations were also a little over the top ….
Bewitched Rating
Bottom Line
Positively Beautiful by Wendy Mills is a genuinely heartbreaking story that will touch many woman and girls, as breast cancer is unfortunately such a real threat.. I love how wonderfully real and genuine Erin was.
Have you read Positively Beautiful and how did you like how Wendy Mills addressed great cancer? Do you have any plans to read it? I can truthfully recommend this to everyone who likes an emotional read!
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I love this format for a review! I’m so glad you liked Positively Beautiful.
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Wendy! Thank you so much for stopping by today! I truly loved your book and I especially liked how you approached this so difficult topic. It definitely got me thinking since my mom also had Breast cancer. She fine now, but it’s been a difficult time.
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Ah, books that make you cry… Sigh. Ever since I read Before I Die I decided never to touch them again – and yet I’m always breaking my word. Positively Beautiful sounds wonderful.
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I absolutely loved this book! It was so well done, and I only hope that more people read it because it’s definitely one that everyone should read. I keep thinking it would make a great book for a mother/daughter book club because of the strong relationship between Erin and her mom.
I love your reasons! Great review!
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