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aliciaannelli's review against another edition
5.0
I started this book in class earlier today and finished by 5 pm. It reads fast because its a book in verse but the story was so interesting that I just couldn't put it down! I loved seeing Angel fight through her struggles and break free from Call. Great book that I would highly recommend!
ninatest's review against another edition
5.0
This book MOVED ME! I think it should be more of a 4.5 stars. I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending but the over all story I am in love with. This book deals with dark and deep serious issues and addressed them so well and uniquely. The author provide background and facts in her author note that I truly appreciated. At points I was brought to tears. This story tells the sad truth of the world we live in. Everyday young girls get trapped inside this life and don't know how to get out. I recommend this to anyone looking for a strong serious moving read.
kilosmom7's review against another edition
4.0
I was not aware that this was written in verse until I opened it but I think that's one of the things that made me like it so much. Short, sweet, to the point. I was so interested in Angel's story, in Melli, and how they were going to overcome the situation they found themselves in.
I think it took incredible strength for Angel to say no to "candy" so many times. Her rational mind was still awake under all of the drugs and nasty things that Call made her do and I think that is the ONLY reason she was able to do what she did with Daddy Dave.
This was a REAL topic and a REAL rendition of the lives lived out there on the street. I was very impressed and couldn't put this one down. HAD to know what happened to the girls.
I think it took incredible strength for Angel to say no to "candy" so many times. Her rational mind was still awake under all of the drugs and nasty things that Call made her do and I think that is the ONLY reason she was able to do what she did with Daddy Dave.
This was a REAL topic and a REAL rendition of the lives lived out there on the street. I was very impressed and couldn't put this one down. HAD to know what happened to the girls.
private_reader's review against another edition
4.0
Yesterday I blogged about controversial themes in verse novels. A recent release verse novel goes further into controversial themes than almost any I’ve ever read. MY BOOK OF LIFE BY ANGEL by Martine Leavitt combines a universally relatable tale about a girl who has fallen as far out of respectability as is possible (she’s become an addicted prostitute) with a very specific rather pointed indictment of the city of Vancouver’s lukewarm investigation of the serial killings of prostitutes by Robert Pickton.
Politics aside this is a deeply involving story driven by a heartbreakingly sympathetic character and several nasty but three dimensional villains. The titular narrator, Angel finds herself on the street as many young women do, by feeling rejected by her family and trusting the wrong man. After the disappearance of a sympathetic colleague, she begins writing her experiences in a journal, her “book of life”. Her verse is harsh, vivid and graphic, though somehow still discrete enough for this to work as a YA text, even perhaps in some more liberal classrooms.
Though poetic and expressionistic, MY BOOK OF LIFE BY ANGEL is nevertheless strongly plot driven with a tense narrative and a nail biting climax.
As a Vancouver resident, I was a little disappointed that the issue of race was explored further. A disproportionate number of Vancouver prostitutes are Indigenous (First Nations) women (and men) and many of Pickton’s victims were First Nations. One source estimates that over 600 First Nations women have been murdered in the sex workers’ trade in Canada. So that this issue was not prominent felt a bit jarring.
Apart from that MY BOOK OF LIFE BY ANGEL is a superb addition to the verse novel genre. Given its subject matter and political overtones it will find readership both within and beyond the YA age group.
MY BOOK OF LIFE BY ANGEL was released on September 4th, 2012. I received a review eARC from the publisher via Netgalley.
Politics aside this is a deeply involving story driven by a heartbreakingly sympathetic character and several nasty but three dimensional villains. The titular narrator, Angel finds herself on the street as many young women do, by feeling rejected by her family and trusting the wrong man. After the disappearance of a sympathetic colleague, she begins writing her experiences in a journal, her “book of life”. Her verse is harsh, vivid and graphic, though somehow still discrete enough for this to work as a YA text, even perhaps in some more liberal classrooms.
Though poetic and expressionistic, MY BOOK OF LIFE BY ANGEL is nevertheless strongly plot driven with a tense narrative and a nail biting climax.
As a Vancouver resident, I was a little disappointed that the issue of race was explored further. A disproportionate number of Vancouver prostitutes are Indigenous (First Nations) women (and men) and many of Pickton’s victims were First Nations. One source estimates that over 600 First Nations women have been murdered in the sex workers’ trade in Canada. So that this issue was not prominent felt a bit jarring.
Apart from that MY BOOK OF LIFE BY ANGEL is a superb addition to the verse novel genre. Given its subject matter and political overtones it will find readership both within and beyond the YA age group.
MY BOOK OF LIFE BY ANGEL was released on September 4th, 2012. I received a review eARC from the publisher via Netgalley.
danirc_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
2.0
2.5.
I'm not entirely sure if the verse format worked with such a heavy story. I feel like it captured Angel's voice right and really added to the despair and pain of her character, but at the same time, the story itself was so tough I'm not sure the verse was necessary to convey the voice, either.
I think there's something topically and stylistically that'll appeal to some fans of Ellen Hopkins, but this is much more literary. This feels like one of those books that could have some award-y talk around it, but I have to be honest in saying I wasn't entirely impressed. It didn't feel fresh and I wasn't all that invested in the horrific events going on -- I wanted to be but something left me feeling pretty removed.
Longer, more thoughtful review to come. This one will take some digesting.
I'm not entirely sure if the verse format worked with such a heavy story. I feel like it captured Angel's voice right and really added to the despair and pain of her character, but at the same time, the story itself was so tough I'm not sure the verse was necessary to convey the voice, either.
I think there's something topically and stylistically that'll appeal to some fans of Ellen Hopkins, but this is much more literary. This feels like one of those books that could have some award-y talk around it, but I have to be honest in saying I wasn't entirely impressed. It didn't feel fresh and I wasn't all that invested in the horrific events going on -- I wanted to be but something left me feeling pretty removed.
Longer, more thoughtful review to come. This one will take some digesting.
wajeeha's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
exurbanis's review against another edition
5.0
Told in the first person by Angel, a sixteen-year-old drug addict working the streets in the infamous Hastings Street district of Vancouver BC, this book is heart-breaking.
We see how small things led her to where she is and how badly she wants out. You'll be rooting for her.
This is one of those books that I just: read it.
We see how small things led her to where she is and how badly she wants out. You'll be rooting for her.
This is one of those books that I just: read it.