Tangled by Carolyn Mackler, published by HarperTeen.
So this is my second book by Carolyn Mackler. My first was Vegan Virgin Valentine which I mainly loved because it was set in Brockport, NY where I went to college. How exciting is it to read a book about a place you actually know? Pretty freaking exciting, in my opinion. I loved recognizing street names and restaurants, and pretty much feeling connected to this character because I could actually envision her walking the streets I had once walked. I don't remember much about that book now, nothing against the book just that I have an awful awful memory and have read many books since.
Tangled also took me on a trip back to Brockport (located about a half an hour from where I live now and where my boyfriend still goes to school). Basically the book is centered around four characters: Jena, Dakota, Skye, and Owen. They are all different, yet inter-connected. Jena's mom is friends with Skye's mom who has them all go on vacation to a resort. There they meet Dakota, whose brother is Owen. Jena and Dakota fool around, he blows her off for Skye, who is an actress and apparently gorgeous.
First we deal with Jena's self-esteem issues and her struggle to feel like she is living. She thinks her life isn't important or adventurous so she collects quotes from famous people to live vicariously through. Then we get to Dakota who is dealing with the death of his girlfriend from the year prior. He learns some things about his relationship with her that he wishes he hadn't. He also starts making bad decisions which cost him suspension and a week with his insensitive/tough grandparents. Then we get to Skye who isn't as superficial as she looks. We learn that having the perfect life doesn't always equal happiness and sometimes emotions are better than having none at all. Finally, the book ends with a look at Owen's life. He didn't have it the best growing up as Dakota's younger brother. He was beaten around a lot and that resulted in him being reclusive and living a life online with his blog: Loser with a Laptop. We discover his connection with Jena and how sometimes bad circumstances can turn around and bring you happiness after all.
It may sound like I just gave a lot away, but I promise there is a lot left for you to discover in this complicated novel. I've always been a fan of how strangers are connected and can influence each other's lives without realizing it, so this novel fascinated me from the start. I wasn't altogether impressed with the language of the characters, probably hoping for some third-person awe-inspiring beauty in words. But I realized that it had to be written in first-person point of view through each person. It wouldn't be the same novel if it wasn't. We wouldn't be able to tell what they were actually thinking, thus giving way to their very real and very age-defining emotions. Mackler's handle on the teenagers vividly displays just how confusing and messy lives can be when you're in high school. It also accurately describes how everyone wants to fit in, but really no one fits in, not even when you're on the "inside."
I think this novel is a touch of fresh air. It definitely can help teens realize that we're all struggling with something inside, we're all trying to hold it together.
I honestly didn't love every character or every moment of this novel. I personally only really liked the last part with Owen, but I'm a hopeless romantic at heart and he seemed the most real in a likeable sense to me. It's a good read though, quick and thought-provoking.
p.s. My favorite quotes from the novel were:
"You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star." -241, Nietzsche
'"It's like you wake up one morning, O, and decide that how you've been in the past doesn't have to define who you are in the future.'"-250
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