Review: romantic insightful read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 2, 2014
The Mean Girl Apologies,  Stephanie MonahanReview from Jeannie Zelos book reviewsI wasn't really sure what to expect here, the description was a bit vague, and as the book wasn't out when I had it for review I hadn't been able to read to see what sort of writing style Stephanie has. Anway, glad to say I really enjoyed this, it surprised me a lot.The book goes back and forth from current day when Natalie is stuck in her small, home town job, copy editing for the local newspaper, despite having grand ambitions, still following Amber and her entourage even though she didn't really like most of  them, and back five years to the final year of school. Back then she was a mean girl, a bully and having a secret relationship with Jack, a beautiful romance but Jack was not part of the “in” group and she insisted they keep it secret. When we see her back then and her actions she really is cruel to some people, but via her inner thoughts we gradually learn just why she's like that.Now Jack's famous, with a hit album, Good Enough. The big hit, the one that gave the album it's title, is playing on the radio constantly, and only Natalie knows its really about her.....She's always regretted her actions to him at the end of their relationship, regretted putting false friends first and decides its time to put things right. And wow – her apologies are tough for her, cause tension with some people and a media storm when it comes to Jack. I loved the book, loved the way it showed how we look back with regrets sometimes, wish we could change the past. She's still in love with Jack, never stopped loving him, still following Amber and letting her dictate her life and actions and its time to grow up and make a stand.I felt for her after a while, though at first I didn't like her at all. Two faced, bullying, rude, one of the top crowds who ridule those on a lower rung, and though she loved Jack she ignored him in public, and treated him like a dirty secrtet. Away from the group though she's a different girl, and at work where she meets Jack that's the side he sees that no-one else does. Then we start to see why she's like she is, what happened in the past to her to make her this way, and how she became trapped in a cycle from which she daren't break out...it's a really thoughtful look at bullies and bullying, and what lies behind obvious actions. I've always regretted some of my high school actions, I wasn't a bully but kept quiet when others were bullied. It was a fear reaction – my primary school years were dogged by both mental and physical bullying, I was scared every day and the fresh start at high school, away from my bullies, led to me just keeping my head down, keeping quiet when I could have spoken out if I'd been braver :-( At times so much of that was in my mind when I looked at Natalie's actions and heard her thoughts.Stars: Four, a really enjoyable and insightful read, more than a simple romance, with a perfect ending.Arc supplied via Publishers.