Book Review: Beautiful Lies by Jessica Warman

Beautiful Lies by Jessica Warman
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Published: August 7, 2012
Pages: 432
Age Demographic YA Mystery

Rachel and Alice are an extremely rare kind of identical twins—so identical that even their aunt and uncle, whom they’ve lived with since their parents passed away, can’t tell them apart. But the sisters are connected in a way that goes well beyond their surfaces: when one experiences pain, the other exhibits the exact same signs of distress. So when one twin mysteriously disappears, the other immediately knows something is wrong—especially when she starts experiencing serious physical traumas, despite the fact that nobody has touched her.

As the search commences to find her sister, the twin left behind must rely on their intense bond to uncover the truth. But is there anyone around her she can trust, when everyone could be a suspect? And ultimately, can she even trust herself? Master storyteller Jessica Warman will keep readers guessing when everything they see—and everything they are told—suddenly becomes unreliable in this page-turning literary thriller.

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Review for Beautiful Lies
by Jessica Warman

Mysteriously alluring and boldly intriguing, Beautiful Lies is sure to mystify reader's. Exciting and full of suspense, Jessica Warman delivers, yet again, another young adult novel that will keep reader's guessing as they flip the pages. Delving further below the surface of a normal bond shared between identical twins, Beautiful Lies is a gripping runaway mystery full of so many amazing twists and turns. Filled with extreme bouts of emotional trauma and pain that seems to manifest itself physically in ense moments of distress, this story of two twins closer than most is one of the most beautifully written pieces of young adult drama in my personal opinion. Jessica Warman wastes no time doing what she's become best known for, as she weaves a story so personally touching, full of fear and despair, that is sure to ensnare the hearts and attention of many who embark on the journey with these two twins.

Beautiful Lies builds layer upon layer of misplaced trust, unexpected intrigue and mystery, as well as danger filled pages sure to keep reader's captivated and guessing. The devastating sorrow and the fact that this chillingly suspenseful story isn't spun from shiny rainbows and gold dust, makes it all the more terrifying and real. There is heart shattering sorrow born out of overwhelming sacrifice sure to knock the breath out of anyone. The gripping tension filled pages of this amazing novel are well written and can be, on occassion, a little bit confusing to readers. This same confusion seems to run along the thread of a theme developed throughout, Beautiful Lies.

From start to finish it is interesting getting to know both of the twins, experiencing the confusion along with Alice, as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Her pain and sorrow is real and manifests itself in the most peculiar way, as she experiences what her twin (Rachel) experiences, and her frantic search and disillusion at trusting just anyone when they could be a suspect. These characters are real and they come to life on the pages, most are enjoyable and likable, while few other's fan be complex and not as likable. If reader's have enjoyed Jessica Warman's prior young adult novels, such as Breathe and Between, they will surely enjoy this one as well. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys true young adult mysteries, as this will stump and mystify them while delivering one interesting unexpected twist at the end.

ABOUT JESSICA WARMAN

Website || Twitter || Goodreads

Jessica Warman is the author of Breathless, which received three starred reviews and was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and Where the Truth Lies. The idea for Between came from an incident in her childhood, when a local boy went missing after a party on a yacht (he was eventually found, alive).

Author information taken from her Goodreads.

{ This book was provided by ATW ARC Tours, in exchange for an honest review which I have provided here in this post. No money has exchanged hands, as I review books for fun simply because I love to read and share my thoughts on them with other's. I am not interested in receiving any monetary gain at all for my thoughts.}

Book Review: Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf

Breaking Beautiful
by Jennifer Shaw Wolf
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Publication Date: April 24, 2012
Pages: 368
Age Demographic: Young Adult
amazon | b&n

Allie lost everything the night her boyfriend, Trip, died in a horrible car accident—including her memory of the event. As their small town mourns his death, Allie is afraid to remember because doing so means delving into what she’s kept hidden for so long: the horrible reality of their abusive relationship.

When the police reopen the investigation, it casts suspicion on Allie and her best friend, Blake, especially as their budding romance raises eyebrows around town. Allie knows she must tell the truth. Can she reach deep enough to remember that night so she can finally break free? Debut writer Jennifer Shaw Wolf takes readers on an emotional ride through the murky waters of love, shame, and, ultimately, forgiveness.

* Summary taken from Goodreads.

❝My Thoughts❞

Breaking Beautiful is an emotional rollercoaster ride full of heartache, love, forgiveness, and hope. Jennifer Shaw Wolf pens a beautifully gut-wrenching story of shame, startling realities, and romance so powerful that readers will not know what hit them. It's brimming with mystery and intrigue, intermingled with despair and pain so raw that the emotion leaps off the pages. There is a journey that the reader takes along with Allie, the main character, as she sets to recover the memories of the horrible night Trip died and what actually did happen. It's touching and moving, fiercely compelling, and startling in many ways and will not soon be forgotten.

It was truly heartbreaking to see just how much Trip had worn down Allie, how shameful she felt, how afraid she was to speak of the abuse that she suffered at his hands. What made it even worse, is that two of Trip's friends knew and had seen his abuse towards Allie, and just turned their heads and looked the other way. Even though Allie was a wonderfully compelling and likable character that readers could sympathize with, the approach that Jennifer Shaw Wolf took in writing her as this shadow of a person that wasn't exactly whole in a lot of ways was completely new and interesting. It was handled as if reader's were discovering the mystery of what happened that night along with Allie, as she started to vaguely recall the memories of past abuse and that particular fateful night. It was nice to see the rocky road to Allie's recovery, self-insight, and hope unfold between the pages.

Breaking Beautiful is full of interesting characters unique in their own personalities and motives, it's rich in detail, and incredibly realistic which gives it even more of a powerfully emotional punch. The sensitive subject matter of abuse is handled well and is woderfully developed, the slow progression of a blossoming romance between Allie and Blake shines through beautifully, and the underlying message of hope illuminates magniciently. It is a complex beautiful mess, but one that I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys young adult contemporary mystery. It's just so flawless and beautiful, that at times the writing made me want to cry.

Want to purchase a copy of Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf?

You can do so by visiting my Amazon Store and adding them to your shopping cart. While you're there, feel free to look around, you might find something else you want. I hope you enjoyed reading my review of Shattered Dreams. I definitely suggest you pick up a copy for yourself or even for someone else, if you think they'll like it.

ABOUT JENNIFER SHAW WOLF

Website || Blog || Facebook || Goodreads

Jennifer Shaw Wolf grew up on a farm in the tiny town of St. Anthony, Idaho. She spent cold Idaho mornings milking cows in the dark and attended a school where Hunter’s Education was part of the sixth grade curriculum. She’s always been a writer, whether it was sewing together books to read to her little brothers or starting an underground newspaper in sixth grade. She met the love of her life at Ricks College, (now BYU Idaho), after he dropped her on her head. She graduated from Ricks and then Brigham Young University, Provo with a degree in Broadcast Communications. Now she lives in beautiful, green, (rainy) Lacey, Washington with her husband and four kids. She loves to produce videos, ski, ride horses, and read, but really all she has time for is chasing kids and writing.

Author information taken from her Goodreads.

{ This ARC was provided by ATW ARC Tours, in exchange for an honest review which I have provided. No money exchanged hands, I review books for fun because I love to read. I am not interested in monetary gain. Any piece of this ARC that was/wasn't quoted, is not part of the finished product and should not be perceived as such.}

Guest Post: Class of 2k12 Features Jennifer Shaw Wolf & Breaking Beautiful

In April of 2011, I was contacted by Caroline Rose about participating in the Class of 2k12. At that particular time my blog was less than three month's old, however, I was thrilled with the opportunity nonetheless. So, I set to work compiling a list of questions that would be circulated between 20 different new upcoming debut author's for 2012 and 15 of them generously responded by picking between two or three of the questions and wrote their own little guest post to be posted here on my book blog, on the day their books release. The goal is to create as much buzz for these upcoming debut author's and their amazing books as bloggers can, by passing along the information and blogging about them.

ABOUT JENNIFER SHAW WOLF

Website || Blog || Facebook || Goodreads

Jennifer Shaw Wolf grew up on a farm in the tiny town of St. Anthony, Idaho. She spent cold Idaho mornings milking cows in the dark and attended a school where Hunter’s Education was part of the sixth grade curriculum. She’s always been a writer, whether it was sewing together books to read to her little brothers or starting an underground newspaper in sixth grade. She met the love of her life at Ricks College, (now BYU Idaho), after he dropped her on her head. She graduated from Ricks and then Brigham Young University, Provo with a degree in Broadcast Communications. Now she lives in beautiful, green, (rainy) Lacey, Washington with her husband and four kids. She loves to produce videos, ski, ride horses, and read, but really all she has time for is chasing kids and writing.

Author information taken from her Goodreads.

Today, I am lucky enough to have the wonderful and amazingly talented Jennifer Shaw Wolf here at my blog featuring her new debut young adult novel, Breaking Beautiful. It just released today, which is exciting and amazing for her. I personally enjoyed reading the emotional, heartbreaking story she penned so beautifully. This is a book that I feel everyone would benefit from reading, not just young adults. You should definitely pick a copy of it, if you haven't already. Jennifer Shaw Wolf is such a delightful person to get to know and she has super awesome taste in music, it's almost like she snagged a look at my own playlist. I have so much LOVE for Shinedown's, If You Only Knew. C'mon, show some awesome support for such an amazingly phenomenal new debut. :D

❝The Watchword Featuring❞

Jennifer Shaw Wolf

What type of writing environment or space do you typically do most of your writing in?

My favorite place to write is on my living room couch, in front of a roaring fire. There I’m close enough to be part of what’s going on in my house with my kids and husband, but still able to work. But I don’t really have a typical writing space. I envy writers who have an office with a bulletin board covered in plot maps, pictures, and inspirational sayings. With four busy kids, I write wherever and whenever I can. My laptop, nicknamed “my precious” goes with me everywhere. I’ve written on road trips (thank goodness I don’t get car sick), while I’m waiting for my kids to finish piano, soccer, football, or play practice. I’ve written at the gym thanks to a shelf that fits on the treadmill, I’ve even written in a bathroom at a campground, (it was the only place where there was an outlet to recharge my batteries).

Is there any specific way you go about researching materials you use when writing your book, that inspired you to write this novel? Did you create a playlist that helped you set the mood for your writing, mediums or genres?

When I was working on BREAKING BEAUTIFUL I spent a lot of time exploring the coast here in Northern Washington. I love poking around in the little caves or just walking along the shore. The sea stacks and volcanic formations at places like Ruby Beach are so cool. I based the beaches in BREAKING BEAUTIFUL on that area. My husband is a photographer and he took a bunch of pictures at the beach. I went through those pictures sometimes when I needed ideas.

Music is also a huge inspiration to me whenever I write. When I get ready to write a book, I plot/outline the whole story in my mind and then play the scenes over and over again like a movie in my head, especially when I go running.

Running with music that reminds me of my story helps me to put scenes together. Some of the songs that I listened to when I wrote BREAKING BEAUTIFUL were “According to You,” by Orianthi, “Since U Been Gone,” by Kelly Clarkson, and Daughtry’s “Life After You.” I wrote the climax of the book to the song, “If You Only Knew” by Shinedown. I listened to that one over and over and it still brings back those images every time I hear it.

Breaking Beautiful
By Jennifer Shaw Wolf
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Publish Date: April 24, 2012
Format: Hardback, pp 368
Age Demographic: Young Adult
amazon // barnes&noble

Allie lost everything the night her boyfriend, Trip, died in a horrible car accident—including her memory of the event. As their small town mourns his death, Allie is afraid to remember because doing so means delving into what she’s kept hidden for so long: the horrible reality of their abusive relationship.

When the police reopen the investigation, it casts suspicion on Allie and her best friend, Blake, especially as their budding romance raises eyebrows around town. Allie knows she must tell the truth. Can she reach deep enough to remember that night so she can finally break free? Debut writer Jennifer Shaw Wolf takes readers on an emotional ride through the murky waters of love, shame, and, ultimately, forgiveness.

*Summary taken from Goodreads.

❝Check out the trailer for Breaking Beautiful❞



Want to purchase a copy of Breaking Beautiful?❞

You can do so by visiting my Amazon Store and adding them to your shopping cart. While you're there, feel free to look around, you might find something else you want. I hope you enjoyed the review and the book, if you've already read it. If you haven't, then I definitely suggest you pick up a copy for yourself or even for someone else, if you think they'll like it.

Amazon | Barnes&Noble
BooksAMillion | Book Depository

Thank you, so much Jennifer Shaw Wolf for stopping by the blog and for sharing this wonderful guest post and an amazing playlist with the rest of us. I wish you a ton of success with Breaking Beautiful as it was such a beautiful heartwrenching read that captivated me from start to finish with its mysteries. To the rest of my fellow bloggers, I urge all of you to definitely pick up a copy of this book and read it and encourage other's to read it as well.