CONFESSIONS OF AN ANGRY GIRL by Louise Rozett

Confessions of an Angry Girl (Confessions #1) by Louise Rozett • contains 266 pages • published 28. August 2012 by Harlequin Teen • classified as Young Adult • obtained through Overdrive • read as eBook • shelve on Goodreads
• shelve on The StoryGraph

Synopsis:

Rose Zarelli, self-proclaimed word geek and angry girl, has some confessions to make…

1. I'm livid all the time. Why? My dad died. My mom barely talks. My brother abandoned us. I think I'm allowed to be irate, don't you?

2. I make people furious regularly. Want an example? I kissed Jamie Forta, a badass guy who might be dating a cheerleader. She is nowenraged and out for blood. Mine.

3. High school might as well be Mars. My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time. (Mars is red and "seeing red" means being angry—get it?)

Here are some other vocab words that describe my life: Inadequate. Insufferable. Intolerable.

(Don't know what they mean? Look them up yourself.)

(Sorry. That was rude.)

Premise of Confessions of an Angry Girl

Confessions of an Angry Girl is more than a fitting title. Rose has a number of reasons to be angry. As if being a freshman isn’t daunting enough, Rose has greater worries when she starts high school. She lost her father. He left for Iraq as a contractor and she never saw him again.

Life at Union High isn’t any more forgiving towards her. She likes a guy who is technically unavailable. His girlfriend has it in for her. Her best friend, Tracy, wants to be a cheerleader and will stop at nothing to become one.

As prepared as Rose is academically, socially she is a lot more challenged. For that, she relies on Tracy to keep her up to speed. Though how much she really should be listening to her friend is increasingly questionable. After all, losing her virginity hasn’t even crossed her mind. Yet, there Tracy is, obsessing.

As it is, it takes a lot of effort, coupled with clenching of her fists to keep her from actually punching anyone.

Humour

For someone who’s angry, Rose is pretty humorous. I got more than a few chuckles out of reading Confessions of an Angry Girl. Reading about high school and the horrors of all the uncertainty that lay ahead brought back quite a few memories. Freshman year here made me laugh, squirm, get angry, feel sad and be deep in thought all over again.

Realistic Portrayal of Grief

Louise Rozett dealt some very poignant issues in Confessions of an Angry Girl. Most obviously, there were loss and grief. She portrayed very realistically the responses one might have towards losing a loved one. Also, questions about emerging sexuality were explored with hilarity, injected with appropriate seriousness. Bullying, be it as the bully or the bullied, the consequences and impacts, were also brought to the fore.

I liked that the main character had a sound head on her shoulders. She didn’t become excessively whiny or self-absorbed, although she did seem to think that she was smarter than most people her age. Her curiosity reminded me of how naive 14-year-olds really are while making me think about issues I probably took for granted all these years. Even if high school is or was very different for the reader, I’m sure Rose brought enough colour and character to be relatable. Her life was wrought with confusion:

• She missed her dad,
• she had no idea if her feelings for Jamie were reciprocated,
• she was afraid of losing her best friend,
• she made an enemy in one of the popular girls,
• she had disagreements with her brother who was away her college,
• she felt neglected by her mum.

That makes six points and if not even one of these points has ever remotely concerned you, your life must have been pretty smooth sailing. Basically, for me, this book was a throwback on the days bygone. At the same time, it made me realize that some things don’t change even as we grow older. We continue to have out insecurities well into our twenties at least and for that, I related to this book.