Andrea Portes

In this Mean Girls meets The Perks of Being a Wallflower tale, narrator Anika Dragomir is the third most popular girl at Pound High School. But inside, she knows she's a freak; she can't stop thinking about former loner Logan McDonough, who showed up on the first day of tenth grade hotter, bolder, and more mysterious than ever. Logan is fascinating, troubled and off-limits. The Pound High queen bee will make Anika's life hell if she's seen with him. So Anika must choose—ignore her feelings and keep her social status? Or follow her heart and risk becoming a pariah. Which will she pick? And what will she think of her choice when an unimaginable tragedy strikes, changing her forever? An absolutely original new voice in YA in a story that will start important conversations—and tear at your heart.

Anatomy of a Misfit

Maureen

I didn't see it coming. This is the type of book that centers on the typical High School girl, but it has a common ground. Something every teen girl could relate to, and get a piece of important advice from. Great book, overall.

Melissa Palmer

Book #89 Read in 2014
Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes (YA)

This book details the pressure of being one of the popular kids, maintaining that popularity and the affect that bullying can have on high school students. Anika is most likely the third most popular girl in her class and, to keep her standing, she bows to the whim of Becky, the most popular girl. Anika begins a secretive relationship with Logan; this relationship must be hidden because Logan isn't deemed a cool boyfriend by Becky. Add in to this some dysfunctional familial relationships as well as stealing and domestic violence and you have a book full of edgy teenage angst. This book was well written and just flowed. I recommend it.

I received a copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a honest review. 

http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com

“It’s rare that a book can be as funny and absolutely delightful as it is moving and thought provoking, and Anatomy of a Misfit is both.” —Lauren Oliver, author of Before I Fall Anika Dragomir is the third-most-popular girl at Pound High School. But inside, she knows she’s a freak; she can’t stop thinking about former loner Logan McDonough, who showed up on the first day of tenth grade hotter, bolder, and more mysterious than ever. Logan is fascinating, troubled, and off limits. The Pound High queen bee will make Anika’s life hell if she’s seen with him. So Anika must choose—ignore her feelings and keep her social status? Or follow her heart and risk becoming a pariah. Which will she pick? And what will she think of her choice when an unimaginable tragedy strikes, changing her forever? Part Morgan Matson, part Nicola Yoon, this incredible YA voice narrates a story Teen Vogue calls “perfection in book form.”

devin.reads

Bea R.

“This moment here.
This is all you get.
Before you are part of the sky.”

Tamara Al-Qaisi-Coleman

Tracey O’Rourke

This is going to go on my list of great teen reads, With the Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. Like that book, it has a very strong voice, very clear, in the narrator and a story that seems very true to life.

Zoe Smolen

I would have given this 3.5 if I could. I really enjoyed it. A little cliched at times - but I think it did a good job at capturing the angst of privileged teenage girls.

Devin Jones

Nadia Leontescu

I would give this more of 3.5, but the book felt sort of slow, it didn't grip me and pull me in. But, the tragedy towards the end was SO devastating, and I really didn't expect it! Honestly, I had a dream about the characters the night I finished it, and the whole end tragedy went a lot different in my dream haha. (view spoiler)[In my dream, Logan definitely didn't die, because even my subconscious knew what was best lol  (hide spoiler)]

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

For some reason, I’m having difficulty reviewing this book. I’m not really sure how I felt about it either way, so I’m going for a middle-of-the-road rating. While reading, there were parts that I really didn’t like… then parts I did enjoy. I was all over the board. I’m glad it was a quick read, because I flew right through it and then was left with my thoughts.

Anatomy of a Misfit is a bit gritty, to say the least. It’s along the lines of Mean Girls for sure. Anika, is Miss Popularity, but at the same time a total “B” to everyone around here. Not nice. She’s snarky, and harsh, and just plain rude. This story also touches on several touchy subjects, such as bullying and mental illnesses. I really have to give Andrea Portes a lot of credit for broaching such difficult topics so easily. Not many authors these days have the nerve to do that, and I think it’s noteworthy. Though difficult to read at times, it’s realistic.

There is a love triangle, one I wasn’t a huge fan of. Love triangles honestly don’t really bother me, as long as they’re done right. This one was a bit annoying though. Sorry, I just wasn’t a fan of these two guys and how Anika talked and felt about them. Also… it definitely bordered on insta-love, which is probably my biggest pet peeve. Ugh.

I read this about 10 days ago, and honestly I’m having trouble remembering a lot of the details. It didn’t really stick with me like I thought it would have. I felt like the story didn’t have much of a plot… like I was basically lost throughout the story, waiting for something to happen. Also, most of this story only referred to what was happening at that moment. I would have liked a bit more background on the story, such as Anika’s time with her father, whom she called “Vampire”. 

Overall, it was good. Not fantastic, not without it flaws, but it wasn’t bad. I’m just not sure I’m the one to emphatically recommend this book. It left me with a rather “meh” type feeling, even all these days later.


Audiobook Impressions:
Caitlin Davies did a great job with this audiobook. She portrayed Anika’s bitterness and sparkiness perfectly, while changing it up for the other characters. No complaints here, she did a great job. The audio was really short at just over six hours. I flew through it in a matter of only a few hours, listening on 2x speed. It was definitely a quick read, and one I’m happy I chose to listen to on audio, rather than read. A great performance.

(Thanks to HarperTeen for the review copy!)


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Anatomy of a Misfit

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