REVIEW: Pink by Lili Wilkinson

Title: Pink
Author: Lili Wilkinson
Format: ARC, 312 pages
Genre: Young Adult
Source: review copy from publisher
Published: February 8, 2011 by HaperCollins

Ava has a secret. She is tired of her ultracool attitude, ultra-radical politics, and ultrablack clothing. She's ready to try something new—she's even ready to be someone new. Someone who fits in, someone with a gorgeous boyfriend, someone who wears pink.

Transferring to Billy Hughes School for Academic Excellence is the perfect chance to try on a new identity. But just in case things don't work out, Ava is hiding her new interests from her parents, and especially from her old girlfriend.

Secrets have a way of being hard to keep, though, and Ava finds that changing herself is more complicated than changing her wardrobe. Even getting involved in the school musical raises issues she never imagined. As she faces surprising choices and unforeseen consequences, Ava wonders if she will ever figure out who she really wants to be.

Humor, heart, and the joys of drama—on- and offstage—combine in Ava's delight-fully colorful journey of self-discovery.

Why I Read this Book: The first thing that caught my attention is that cover. I love it! It really stands out and catches your eye. The premise sounded interesting enough however, the book didn’t live up to my expectations.

What I Liked: The writing was good in that it flowed well and was easy to read without any hang-ups. And the title and the cover are a good fit for this book.

The people in the stage crew were a fun group. I love the camaraderie between them. Sam was my favorite character in the book. I was more interested with what was going on with his character than I was with Ava, the protagonist.

What I Didn’t Like: My biggest problem with Pink was that I couldn’t connect with Ava, at all. She was trying to fit in by pleasing everyone that she never did anything for herself. She likes Ethan because Alexis tells her to like Ethan. She tries out for the school musical because Alexis tells her it will get her closer to Ethan. Ava got the opportunity to re-invent herself and I thought she would amount to more. That just didn’t happen. She goes through an identity crisis and I feel like she really didn’t know who she was at the end of the book any more than she did in the beginning.

I did get a small case of the warm and fuzzies (probably because it involved Sam) at the end but other than that the story fell flat. I was surprised to see that the story had ended when it did; I was expecting a little more.

Overall Impression: Pink was a miss for me. I didn’t connect with the story or the main character. I could have easily put this one down except the author’s fluid writing style made Pink as easy read. If you enjoy reading about high school drama, clichés, and don’t mind a bland, meek protagonist, then Pink might be for you. Maybe this book would be a fun read for a young reader. Pink is told in 1st person narrative from Ava’s POV. There’s a little bit of over thinking and analyzing, which I think is to be expected in a YA novel. I like reading YA but it has to have some substance – either a good romance/love triangle or a coming of age experience. There has to be something to reel my inner 17-year old self in, which unfortunately didn’t happen with Pink.

The Book Vixen’s Rating: