A Different Me - Hardcover

Blumenthal, Deborah

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0807515736 ISBN 13: 9780807515730

Publisher: AW Teen, 2014

Synopsis

Allie Johnston's secret wish since the day she was twelve is to have her nose done. But she hasn’t told anyone―not her parents, or even her best friend, Jen. But when she starts visiting a plastic surgery discussion board on the Web, she finds people who get her, for the first time in her life. Her new friends, including two girls her age with vastly different backgrounds who share her obsession with changing their faces―but for very different reasons. A sharply written, insightful book about learning to be happy with who we are.

About this title

About the Author:

Deborah Blumenthal is an award-winning journalist with work in many national newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times Magazine, where she worked as a beauty editor. She lives in New York, New York.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 7 Up—Allie wants plastic surgery to make her nose more appealing. She has kept this secret for years from her parents and her best friend, Jen. When she turns 15 she decides to be proactive. With encouragement from two new friends she's made in an online chat room for girls with similar desires, Allie finally tells Jen and her parents that she wants the plastic surgery. As Allie plans the most important decision of her life, she's tasked with mentoring the most popular girl in school, and a mysterious boy who likes capturing people at their most unattractive times with his camera begins to target Allie. She begins to realizes that no one is perfect. Whether it is a nose job, a troubled mother, or a sick brother, everyone has problems. After that realization, Allie has second thoughts about the surgery, wondering if a new nose will actually make her happy. Blumenthal takes the time to develop the protagonist. Allie struggles with her parents, her friends, and her self-esteem, and she becomes a stronger person for it. The secondary characters, however, are more predictable. The language is authentically teen, but the narrative's pacing is choppy and plot jumps sometimes disrupt the flow of the story. However, despite the labored writing style, teens will identify with Allie's struggles.—Jeni Tahaney, Duncanville High School Library, TX

About this edition

• Publisher: AW Teen
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0807515736
• ISBN 13: 9780807515730
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272