[Review] Positively Beautiful by Wendy Mills

Title: Positively Beautiful

Author: Wendy Mills [Facebook | Twitter | Website]

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's

Genre: Young Adult Fiction - Contemporary, Romance, Loss/Grief, Realistic Fiction

Release Date: March 3, 2015

Source: ARC provided by Around The World ARC Tours, opinions are honest and my own. – review policy here.

Hot Mess Erin

Oh my dear Erin with the odd nickname Rinnie. Erin is a young woman who's father passed away and has recently found out her mother has breast cancer. She's an only child so mom and her are best friends, basically. This is probably one of my favorite bits. Their connection is genuine and strong. However, Erin struggles with the news that she may be a BRACA gene carrier and everything else in her life (there's A LOT going on), so she takes up airplane lessons as a distraction and joins a cancer online forum to find others to talk to. It gets a lot messier before it gets better...

6-in-1 book
There is a lot going on here. Honestly I felt like half of all the tropes were thrown in to see which shook out the best story. Some of the tropes depicted are: parent death when young, cancer, mysterious boys, bullying/mean girls, instalove, and the quirky best friend. It wasn't necessary, added little value and sometimes diverted from the path of importance. Like flying airplanes because that is super cool, something the author knows a lot about, and not a common theme in YA lit.

The shining star!
With all the tropes and side stuff happening I was wavering but then the second act kicked in. The introduction of Jason kicked off a whole different path but one I think was much needed. My connection with Erin grew exponentially. I began to cheer in her corner a bit, even if she isn't perfect her heart is in the right place. Jason is a misguided sweetie and is family is pretty awesome.

And then the last quarter come back

Then it hit me! After the second act and back home, I really began to feel for Erin. Her growth, remorse and personal tragedies began to extend her beyond her years. Some of the story lines began to come together and tie into each other so it wasn't as dizzying. However, I feel if we would've cut a line or two it could've been a cleaner and stronger novel all the way around.

And the ringer... there were tears. I didn't think the feels were gonna hit me but they snuck up in Mills' writing and the waterworks came on.

You will like this if...
You enjoy strong feels contemporaries that deal with grief and personal growth.

3.5 Stars – A couple of loop-de-loops but then high flying through the end.