Every Ugly Word by Aimee L. Salter
Publisher: Alloy Entertainment, 2014 (first published Nov 4th 2013)
257 pages, kindle edition
Source: Netalley
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Paranormal, Fantasy, Supernatural, Abuse
Link: Goodreads
Synopsis (from Goodreads):
When seventeen-year-old Ashley Watson walks through the halls of her high school bullies taunt and shove her. She can’t go a day without fighting with her mother. And no matter how hard she tries, she can’t make her best friend, Matt, fall in love with her. But Ashley also has something no one else does: a literal glimpse into the future. When Ashley looks into the mirror, she can see her twenty-three-year-old self.
Her older self has been through it all already—she endured the bullying, survived the heartbreak, and heard every ugly word her classmates threw at her. But her older self is also keeping a dark secret: Something terrible is about to happen to Ashley. Something that will change her life forever. Something even her older self is powerless to stop.
Her older self has been through it all already—she endured the bullying, survived the heartbreak, and heard every ugly word her classmates threw at her. But her older self is also keeping a dark secret: Something terrible is about to happen to Ashley. Something that will change her life forever. Something even her older self is powerless to stop.
My Review:
In Every Ugly word, we meet Ashley. Ashley's the victim of some pretty vicious bullying in school. And unlike most victims, Ashley doesn't even get to escape the drama at home, since her mother is almost as bad as the kids at school. The little help Ashley does have is her mirror, more specifically, the 23-year-old version of herself that she sees in the mirror. She relies on her older self to help her and walk her through situations she runs into. However, for the most part, Older Ashley isn't much help. She gives Ashley the bare minimum which frustrates her and causes her to act like a rebellious teenager and do the exact opposite of what she should.
Throughout the story, you're faced with this timeline, this constant sense of building, of dread, and of time running out. While Ashley is talking to her doctor, you know she's waiting, we're just never told for what. When the book reaches its climax... Wow! Whether or not she sees it in herself, Ashley finally becomes her own heroine.
One thing I loved about this book is it's incredibly, frustratingly realistic. Throughout the book, Ashley is severely bullied and I kept waiting, wanting her to finally stand up and do something. But she didn't. While I hated her actions, or lack thereof, she was real. She was scared. She was hurt. She was withdrawn. She didn't feel like anything or anyone could save her. I actually like how, when you look at the things that are done to her, they don't seem that bad, but as a whole, and knowing that she knew why it was happening, it just compounded until she couldn't take any more.
Every Ugly Word is a great book showing just how your actions can affect other people, even if you're not realizing it. Sure, to some, bullying is just kids being kids and picking on each other, but to the person being bullied, it can be life changing, and sometimes life-threatening.
Throughout the story, you're faced with this timeline, this constant sense of building, of dread, and of time running out. While Ashley is talking to her doctor, you know she's waiting, we're just never told for what. When the book reaches its climax... Wow! Whether or not she sees it in herself, Ashley finally becomes her own heroine.
One thing I loved about this book is it's incredibly, frustratingly realistic. Throughout the book, Ashley is severely bullied and I kept waiting, wanting her to finally stand up and do something. But she didn't. While I hated her actions, or lack thereof, she was real. She was scared. She was hurt. She was withdrawn. She didn't feel like anything or anyone could save her. I actually like how, when you look at the things that are done to her, they don't seem that bad, but as a whole, and knowing that she knew why it was happening, it just compounded until she couldn't take any more.
Every Ugly Word is a great book showing just how your actions can affect other people, even if you're not realizing it. Sure, to some, bullying is just kids being kids and picking on each other, but to the person being bullied, it can be life changing, and sometimes life-threatening.
My Rating:
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