Review: Anderson continually proves us how great of a writer she is and she never fails to surprise me.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 28, 2013
When I first read about Paige on A Beautiful Forever, I remember not liking her as much as I liked the other characters in the Beautiful Series. Also, her indecisiveness there kind of frustrated me in a way, but now that I know ALL about Paige, I've grown to like her and understand her for the way she is.In the beginning of the story, we're met with a very young and vulnerable version of Paige, and having a glimpse of her life as a teenager made things very crystal clear for me. She was from a family who didn't give her the love and affection that one needed to just... feel normal. That's why she grew up thinking that people, in general, will always leave you. They will always let you down. You'll trust them, and after that, they'll abandon you.I was hurting for Paige with every chapter that I read. All the things that she did just to keep living are so wrong on so many levels, and it was just horrible. She was on her own when she was 15 and she didn't know what to do. She didn't have a job and she was homeless. And so, it all started there. I think that Paige went down a very dangerous road that she didn't even want to take. She thought that she had no choice that's why she did things that a girl her age wouldn't normally do. It was hard reading about her journey because it was such a wrong path. There was even a time wherein it was too much for me to take and I would've stopped reading if it weren't for Anderson's impeccably beautiful writing. Even though the theme of the book was very dark and heavy, the author managed to tell Paige's story in such a way that readers will be hooked and captivated.I felt more connected to Paige now compared before and I can't say that I liked what she did in Phoenix but I loved her story as a whole. It was a long and difficult journey for her and I admire her strength and willpower to keep going. Anderson continually proves us how great of a writer she is and she never fails to surprise me. The scenes in this book were so vivid, so detailed and so real.Phoenix is a story about love, loss and redemption. It will wrench your heart, but it will also warm it at the same time. I'm sure that Paige's story will teach us to be grateful and hopeful.*I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. This, however, did not influence my review in any way.*