Blog Tour - Changing My Wardrobe - Review/Excerpt/Giveaway

   

Changing My Wardrobe
By Deb Hanrahan
Release Date: May 26, 2011

Description:
Lindsey, a high school freshman, views her new school as a place to start over. With the help of her friends, she hopes that a change in her wardrobe will prompt a change in her image. She has some success until her long-time nemesis, Avery, reminds Lindsey of her place. Without asking for help from the adults, the main character and her friends struggle to manage the bullying. Despite their efforts, tensions rise, and people get hurt. The ending of this book will leave the reader shocked and heartbroken.

Changing My Wardrobe is a cautionary tale about the immutable problem of bullying. This story not only looks at bullying from the victim's point of view but also explores the motives behind the aggressors’ actions. Changing My Wardrobe demonstrates the fluid and complex nature of bullying by shining a light on the contributing factor of social media.

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Review:

First let me start off by saying I'm so happy I decided to join this blog tour.  This book was so good and very eye opening.  Having a child in school it always makes me worry about bullies and bullying, even if the school has a zero tolerance policy you just never know what is happening or what can happen because no one wants to tell on anyone else.  Nobody wants to be the rat, but sometimes you have to, no matter what can happen. 

We meet Lindsey, Grouper and Teeny who are three best friends getting ready to start their first year in high school, which is life changing in itself.  Lindsey is worried about having any classes or any interaction with Avery who has been bullying her since grade school.  Unfortunately they have gym together.  This is where she meets Jocelyn who Lindsey thinks is weird but it's better than being by yourself.  Jocelyn turns out to be a great asset in Lindsey's life as well as her friends. 

The first day of school Lindsey also meets Marco.  Who to her is unbelievably cute and she takes a chance and befriends him.  Turns out good for her because he's really interested in her as well.  The five of them do everything together.  They even have movie nights on Friday a tradition that started out by accident.  Throughout all of this Avery is still picking on Lindsey but now she sets her eyes on Teeny. 

Lindsey and Teeny happen to run into Avery and her mom at the store where they get a first hand view of how Avery is treated at home.  The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree in this book.  Avery treats Lindsey and Teeny the same way her mother treats her.  It's not an excuse but we see where she gets it from. Because of this incident Avery has her eyes on Teeny and is ready for some revenge.

Throughout the book you see all the little things Avery and her boyfriend do to the group, it starts out little but ends on a much bigger note.  This book really shows you how out of hand things can get, when all they had to do was go to an adult instead of trying to solve things yourself.  These are principles we always try to instill in our children but it never works out because they don't want to tell on anyone and they want to believe that they can handle it themselves.  Bullying is not something you should have to endure or handle yourself this is something that should be told and be helped with.  There have been many movies and great books such as this that shows this predicament. 

I think this book is a really great learning tool for young people and something everyone should read.  It bought tears to my eyes by the end of this and I felt bad for everyone involved.  I don't want to go into too much details because I believe you should read this book.

Characters:
The characters were very realistic and relateable, it could be your best friend or even just someone you know, whether it be on the receiving end or the giving end.  If you know something you should tell someone.  I feel very strongly about this, I have never been bullied but I've known many who were and there are always dire consequences.  This book really touched me and I hope you give it a chance.

Cover:
At the beginning I didn't really get the cover too much, but now that I've read through the whole thing I think the cover fits it perfectly.  I love how they made it seem like the girl is shattered with the look of worry on her face.

Recommend:
Absolutely! I can't give this book enough praise, make sure you pick it up next time you see it.

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Excerpt:

Teeny’s logic made sense to a point. If I wanted my life to be better, I needed to make some changes, and high school was the perfect place for me to do that. But I wasn’t convinced that a makeover was the answer. Changing my life couldn’t be as easy as changing my wardrobe, could it? After all, my face, my body, and my personality would be the same. Avery would still recognize me; she would still see me as the “little mouse.”

My anxiety began to rise as I walked away from my safety net. I knew that I wouldn’t have made it through junior high without Teeny and Grouper; they always had my back. But now things had to change. I couldn’t lean on them as I had done in the past. It was time for me to stand on my own two feet, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that yet.

We walked in silence for a while, trying to shake the negative energy that had engulfed us during our encounter with the devil. I felt as if I had been hit by a bus, and I had only spent a few minutes with that woman. I couldn’t help wondering what it was like to live with her. Did she talk to Avery like that all the time? What about her husband? Was he a victim of hers as well? Or was he her partner in crime, helping his wife strip Avery of any self worth and dignity that she might still possess? No wonder Avery was such a jerk. How could she have a kind view of the world when the people who are supposed to love her the most, treat her so badly?

It was a relief when Avery was with Cal because then she would ignore me. I could only guess that Cal didn’t want to upset Marco, so he kept her in line. For a short time, both Cal and Avery kept to themselves at lunch and outside of school. The mall, the picture, and the accident seemed to have been forgotten. I was starting to think that all the crazy drama was over. But our two groups only had a brief span of peaceful coexistence before our lives grew increasingly intertwined, causing a chain of events that would alter our futures forever.

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About the Author

I live with my husband and three teenagers in the Chicagoland burbs. After graduating from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in Chemistry, I worked at a nuclear power plant for five years. I then left my career to stay at home with my three kids.

Seemingly, overnight, I went from being crazy-busy to having way too much time on my hands. With my husband working long hours and my kids pursuing their own lives, I had to reinvent myself. So, I decided to write that book I always wanted to write. Changing My Wardrobe is my first novel

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Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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DISCLOSURE –

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*