A review by nagam
Everything I Was by Corinne Demas

3.0

Overall, this book was really sweet and innocent. Irene is a thirteen year old girl, whose whole life changes when her dad loses his Vice-President job for a large company. Because of her parents poor financial decisions, they lose their NY penthouse and many of their belongings. They leave the city at the end of Irene's school year and move in with her grandfather in the country.

As this was something many people in our country were faced with trough the recession, I was anxious to see the scenario from a teenager's perspective. I do agree with many of the other reviewers that I didn't know this focused on a 13 year old girl; I typically like YA books that are targeted to older teenagers. (It is true that it isn't until page 50 that you finally find out Irene's true age). Not knowing her age made her seem pretty immature in the beginning. The girl on the cover looks like a much older girl to me, so I assumed she was incredibly immature based on some of the questions she asked her parents or grandparents.

As soon as her age was confirmed, I took the book more at face value and understood the immaturity. I began to enjoy Irene's character a lot more as well. The friendship she formed with Meg was one of my favorite parts of the book. Meg was sweet, kind, quiet, but also incredibly wise beyond her years and so understanding. Meg was one of the main reasons I wanted Irene to end up staying in the small town instead of moving back to NYC.

There aren't enough books that so strongly portray such a wonderful grandparent. He was my other favorite character. He listened, guided, and taught Irene in a gentle way that her parents didn't know how. He was for her what her parents couldn't be because they were so focused on getting their old life back.

A great story about selflessness and the coming of age of a thirteen year old.