Chapter by Chapter

I fell in love with Confessions of an Angry Girl by author Louise Rozett last summer and was so happy when I got to start reading Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend. I loved the main character, the situations she was placed in and of course Jamie Forta (who is drop-dead attractive and my forever-favorite-bad-boy). Fans of the first novel will love the sequel, I know I did.

               Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend takes place right after whereConfessions of an Angry Girl left off. Rose has just finished her first year of high school and is moving into her second. She has big plans in store for the school year. She’s discovered that she’s a singer, her best friend is becoming a total fashionista and Rose intends to make sure that things are different this year.

               Trouble at a party before the school year starts results in Rose starting with another scandal as she begins to notice that like herself, her closest friends have also changed. Physically and personality-wise. Rose decides to join her school’s production of Anything Goes and hopes that she will be cast as a main character and show off her killer voice. As the year progresses, Rose begins to notice that the plans she made at the start of the year aren’t exactly falling into place.

               Then Jamie Forta returns, in love with Rose one minute and telling her that he can’t be with her the next. Rose doesn’t know what to believe and isn’t sure if the stories she’s heard about Jamie and her once-bully Regina are true. Her best-friend Tracy is keeping secrets, her brother has been kicked out of school and her mother is driving her crazy. This is definitely not what Rose expected from this year.

               The big thing that I loved most about the Confessions series is that it properly executes how teenagers are when it comes to the main character Rose. I know a lot of reviews that I’ve read for the first novel say that Rose doesn’t seem to have much character development and stuff, but what made me love the series and Rose was that she’s realistic.

As a teenager myself who entered my first year of high school with Rose, I really liked reading about a main character who was going through the same problems that I was (for the most part) and had to overcome those challenges. In the sequel, Rose is entering her second year (which I will be doing soon) and (like myself) plans on reinventing who she is. Totally awesome because that’s pretty much what most teenagers are doing at this point in their lives. If you’re looking for a realistic main character who a teen can relate to, you need to read about Rose Zarelli.

The big thing that actually had me going nuts with “I-know-that-feel!” was Rose’s descission to become a singer. The same big choice that I have made for myself. Her school’s musical was Anything Goes, which is the same one that my school put on. I auditioned and hope to land a lead role (just like Rose) and came up being casted as a member of the ensemble. I totally knew how Rose felt, how disappointed she got, and loved how realistic it was.

With the return of Jamie Forta came the return of my love for him. Jamie gets way more attractive in this novel. His tall, dark and brooding self is playing with Rose’s heart and while that did get me upset, he has his secrets. We only start to learn about his relationship with Regina and her family, while also finding out secrets about Regina that nobody knew. Regina’s younger brother has just entered his first year of high school and his being ridiculed for being openly gay. Lots of drama to add to Rose’s life.

I’d recommend this series to teen readers who are looking for a series that will relate to them in some way or form, fans of contemporary novels and high school drama will love the Confessions series. I honestly cannot wait for the next novel and look forward to growing up with Rose.