Beautiful by Amy Reed

Rating:
Characters: 18/20
Plot: 18/20
Originality: 17/20
Writing: 18/20
Recommendation: 18/20
Overall: 89/100 or B
Cassie moves from Bainbridge Island to Seattle. She decides that she need to leave her good girl persona behind. She chooses some dangerous friends and is immersed into the world of drug, sex, and secrets. Cassie loves the thrill of her new life, but she also terrified of what could happen. She loses her virginity to a older boy. Cassie also embraces the numbness of drugs. Now she is being called beautiful. Cassie doesn't notice the down spiral that her life is going on and how much danger she is really in.
Cassie is an interesting character. She wants to fit in like most teens do, but she chooses the wrong crowd and had to live with consequences. I am going to admit that I didn't like the ending of what happens to Cassie, because it shows teens that they have the ability to give up, instead of working yourself out of the mess of your own creation. Beautiful was a fast paced book that had a lot of emotion. Also, the plot was well done and interesting. The only flaw that I saw was how she just stopped talking to her friends that lived in Bainbridge Island, it is a 45 minute ferry ride. I have had friends move to Seattle and they still come back and hang out. I also have visited them. I live farther away, then that. I found that not be realistic. It was a fairly original book, about what can happen when you get into drugs so young. It was as sad as the true stories are. Reed is an amazing writer and I am excited for more books from her. She created great characters and the setting to let the story unfold. I recommend that you check out this book, if you liked Crank or the movie Thirteen.