Review: The Life of Glass by Jillian Cantor

TITLE: The Life of Glass
AUTHOR: Jillian Cantor
FORMAT: ARC, 340 pages
GENRE: Young Adult
SOURCE: Received ARC from the author
AVAILABLE: February 9, 2010 

Description from Goodreads:

Before he died, Melissa’s father told her about stars. He told her that the brightest stars weren’t always the most beautiful—that if people took the time to look at the smaller stars, if they looked with a telescope at the true essence of the star, they would find real beauty. But even though Melissa knows that beauty isn’t only skin deep, the people around her don’t seem to feel that way. There’s her gorgeous sister Ashley who will barely acknowledge Melissa at school, there's her best friend Ryan, who may be falling in love with the sophisticated Courtney, and there’s Melissa’s mother who’s dating someone new, someone who Melissa knows will never be able to replace her father.

To make sure she doesn’t lose her father completely, Melissa spends her time trying to piece together the last of his secrets and completing a journal her father began—one about love and relationships and the remarkable ways people find one another. But when tragedy strikes, Melissa has to start living and loving in the present, as she realizes that being beautiful on the outside doesn't mean you can't be beautiful on the inside. 

My Thoughts:
The Life of Glass is a coming of age novel about a 14-year old girl, Melissa. Her father died from lung cancer which came as a surprise since he was not a smoker. For Melissa, it was like losing half of herself. She was closest to her father whereas her mom and sister were two beauty queens in a pod. Melissa's best friend is Ryan, the boy who lives down the street. They are pretty inseparable until Courtney, the new girl in town, starts crushing on Ryan. Ryan and Courtney become a couple and that leaves Melissa alone to think about life and what she wants from it.

I related to Melissa quite a bit. Like her, I wasn't part of the pretty or popular crowd. I didn't have a large group of friends; I had two close friends and still I was quite a loner. And I, too, lost my father as a teenager. A loss like that, like that of a parent especially during your adolescence, gives you a lot to ponder about. Life takes on a whole new meaning and you start to discover what really matters in life, even at such a young age. The Life of Glass gives you Melissa's journey to her self-discovery and most importantly, her discovering her self worth.

Cantor's writing flows fluidity and captured me from page one. She has a knack for writing emotions from the heart as if this was a story from the heart, equipped with first-hand experiences. I felt for Melissa as she was going through her grief and found myself wanting to give her a big hug.

The Book Vixen's Rating: 

Where to find Jillian Cantor
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