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The Mess Of Me Chantelle Atkins 9781492178941 Books

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The Mess Of Me Chantelle Atkins 9781492178941 Books

So, I just finished this novel about thirty seconds ago. Thousands of thoughts are running through my head and, like main character Lou Carling, I feel I have to write them down somewhere. Like any reader I was tentative of picking up an indie novel, only to be smacked in the face by poor editing and bad writing--again. But this... From the first paragraph I was enchanted. I read how Lou would feel her hip bones (her bone handles) and I identified with that immediately, because as a teen, to me, those handles while lying flat were the best thing in the world! As I read I kept waiting for that moment when I'd set it aside, like other teen dramas, and forget about it. But I couldn't. Lou kept me coming back at an appalling frequency that compromised my own personal hygiene at times. The fact that she and her best friend Joe are the most filthy-mouthed teens I've had the pleasure of following just makes it even better. Lou narrates with such snark that I'm immediately wanting to sit down and have her tell me all about everything, just so I can have a laugh.

This novel deals with issues such as self-harm, eating disorders, under-aged drinking, and drugs in a realistic way. It doesn't skirt around them, it doesn't glorify them or vilify them. It shows all of these issues in a raw and unblinking manner.

Author Chantelle Atkins has done an amazing job in bringing to life some wonderful and realistic characters in this absolutely beautiful, funny, sad, thought-provoking, panic inducing, MESS that is Lou Carling's life. Lou may be a mess, but she's a mess I'd love to be friends with. As for Chantelle? Her writing is anything but messy. I am definitely going to be checking out more of her works. Chantelle Atkins is the indie author risk we've all been waiting for.


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The Mess Of Me Chantelle Atkins 9781492178941 Books Reviews

Incredibly well written! This author gets right everything about being sixteen in a dysfunctional world. As others reviewers have said, the story is completely character driven, but in addition to the strong characters, the narrative line is a tight, tense story. Though it employs the traditional teen technique of writing to a diary, it never ever feels clichéd. The writer is masterful in handling the first person, present tense story addressed to a second person diary. She never breaks the first person narrator barrier. My only criticism is an editorial one that left too many possessive apostrophes undone. Other than that the story galloped along with no awkwardness. I highly recommend this for a YA coming of age story -- language and all -- as well as for adult readers.
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I began to read this book with some trepidation, thinking it to be a little young for me. However, I was quickly, and pleasantly, surprised at the depth of this novel. The story is of a teenager and her friend who have been extremely close all their lives. The young girl, Lou Carling, struggles with the angst of growing up, and placing more value on how she looks rather than who she is. The problems that she, her friend Joe, and another friend deal with on a daily basis are current and realistic. Not wanting to give anything away or spoil the plot, I can only say that it was a page turner, and I did not want to put it down. It was easy to get caught up in the story, and to be sympathetic to Lou and Joe's plight. This book is gritty, and the characters hold nothing back. Great novel. I am looking forward to reading more from this author. (less)
I had read the author's The Boy With the Thorn in His Side and loved it and was eager to read more of her work, This is an engaging story, with such well rounded and believable characters and you really have a chance to get to know them. The situations that Lou and Joe, friends since birth, encounter are sometimes quite painful, but their mutual understanding, their deep genuine affection for each other, shines through without a false step or a sense of being overdone or unrealistic. Both Lou and Joe are likable and their relationship is at the heart of this story. I believe that the predicaments they deal with will resonate with a varied audience, and I don't hesitate to recommend this book.
This indie YA novel by English author Chantelle Atkins features realistic and gritty teenage characters, a rarity in modern literature. Some readers may be put off by Joe and Lou's frequent swearing, constant drinking, and waffling about how they feel and what they will do, but this makes them ring truer to actual teenagers. And between tackling Joe's dysfunctional home life, Lou's eating disorder and depression, and Marianne's self-harming with a startling sensitivity and understanding, Ms. Atkins may save a few young lives should this novel fall into the right hands. (And by the end of the book I wanted to throw my arms around Lou's mom and tell her she's doing a fantastic job and that I wish all mums were more like her!)
A Great Read! By the most auspicious good fortune, I chanced upon this book. By better fortune, I "Looked Inside." The rest, as they say, is history. The story is compelling a sixteen year old girl, Lou, and her best friend, Joe, become enmeshed in a sticky web of events created by older family members with a history of dark and cruel afflictions. The characters are complex and real and gripping; all of them. Atkins is a superb writer, one who pays exquisite attention to the nuances required by the pickiest of readers. This author respects her readers, and she rewards them with honesty and unvarnished reality. Her writing moves like a mighty river where you are helpless in its flow. Although all books, like rivers, must end - and this one ends right - you simply care too much by then to let these people go. A great read by a great author!
So, I just finished this novel about thirty seconds ago. Thousands of thoughts are running through my head and, like main character Lou Carling, I feel I have to write them down somewhere. Like any reader I was tentative of picking up an indie novel, only to be smacked in the face by poor editing and bad writing--again. But this... From the first paragraph I was enchanted. I read how Lou would feel her hip bones (her bone handles) and I identified with that immediately, because as a teen, to me, those handles while lying flat were the best thing in the world! As I read I kept waiting for that moment when I'd set it aside, like other teen dramas, and forget about it. But I couldn't. Lou kept me coming back at an appalling frequency that compromised my own personal hygiene at times. The fact that she and her best friend Joe are the most filthy-mouthed teens I've had the pleasure of following just makes it even better. Lou narrates with such snark that I'm immediately wanting to sit down and have her tell me all about everything, just so I can have a laugh.

This novel deals with issues such as self-harm, eating disorders, under-aged drinking, and drugs in a realistic way. It doesn't skirt around them, it doesn't glorify them or vilify them. It shows all of these issues in a raw and unblinking manner.

Author Chantelle Atkins has done an amazing job in bringing to life some wonderful and realistic characters in this absolutely beautiful, funny, sad, thought-provoking, panic inducing, MESS that is Lou Carling's life. Lou may be a mess, but she's a mess I'd love to be friends with. As for Chantelle? Her writing is anything but messy. I am definitely going to be checking out more of her works. Chantelle Atkins is the indie author risk we've all been waiting for.