Pink by Lili Wilkinson

Pink by Lili Wilkinson

Publication Date: Feburary 8th, 2011

(First Published August 1st, 2009)

Published by HarperCollins Publishers

Hardcover, 304 Pages

Source: ARC received from publisher for honest review

Summary from Goodreads:

"Ava has a secret. She is tired of her ultracool attitude, ultra-radical politics, and ultrablack clothing. She's ready to try something new—she's even ready to be someone new. Someone who fits in, someone with a gorgeous boyfriend, someone who wears pink.

Transferring to Billy Hughes School for Academic Excellence is the perfect chance to try on a new identity. But just in case things don't work out, Ava is hiding her new interests from her parents, and especially from her old girlfriend.

Secrets have a way of being hard to keep, though, and Ava finds that changing herself is more complicated than changing her wardrobe. Even getting involved in the school musical raises issues she never imagined. As she faces surprising choices and unforeseen consequences, Ava wonders if she will ever figure out who she really wants to be.

Humor, heart, and the joys of drama—on- and offstage—combine in Ava's delight-fully colorful journey of self-discovery."

My Review: ***** = 5 Stars

When I got the email asking if I wanted to review this book, I didn't hesitate saying yes. I love the simple but interesting cover(reminds of ying-yang, which will make sense after you read the book), the summary sounded awesome, and John Green blurbed it so I thought immediately, I will definitely like this book. And I did. But I didn't just like it, I loved it.

Ava wants to be normal, and to be normal, she uproots herself from her school and what her life has become, to start over at a private school. The premise of this story is pretty neat actually. Ava is extremely motivated to be different, or at least to try and be different, and I'm pretty sure I would never(or could ever) do what she did. So mad props to her for the effort she put in to her transformation. Not only does she change schools, but she changes her entire outward appearance(clothing, makeup etc.). On top of that, she wants to try a shot at having a, what she thinks "normal" should be, relationship(boy and girl).

I really loved the main character, Ava. She did a lot of things to try and find her spot, and she made numerous mistakes, but she also went out of her way to right the wrongs she made. Along the way to finding out who she really was, she made new friends, and she learned many lessons.

I don't want to give away too much, but I adore the ending and I look forward to getting my hands on more of Lili's work(this is her US debut, but she has released other books).

Pink is a heartwarming tale, full of friendship and romance, but it also offers us a look at just how hard it might be to truly find yourself, and all the fun you can have doing it. A must read!

Stay tuned, I'll be posting a giveaway for my ARC of Pink shortly after this post goes live!

Find Lili Wilkinson on Twitter: @twitofalili

or her webpage here.

Sherry<3