Holding On To Zoe by George Ella Lyon

(Apologies for the horrible picture it's the best one I could find)

Summary:

After sixteen-year-old Jules has her baby, Zoe, it doesn’t matter anymore that her mother thinks she’s a drama queen, or that her father left them years ago, or even that Zoe’s father is gone, too. She and her baby make a family now; she doesn’t need anyone else in the world except Zoe.Though it's tough being a new mom, balancing Zoe’s needs with working at the Toyota factory and thinking about how to finish school, Jules is sure she’ll figure it out. Still, she wonders, why can’t anyone be happy for her and Zoe? And why does her mom refuse to believe that Zoe's real?
Summary taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 176 pages
Source: NetGalley ARC
Publication Date: July 27th 2012

This book was such a disappointment for me. I had been hoping that my streak of "bad" books was over for the year. Apparently that's not the case at all.  I really hate writing negative reviews, because I don't want to hurt the author's feelings but they are necessary.

When I first saw this book listed on NetGalley I was so excited to read it because it reminded me a lot of the book Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks which I've read at least a dozen times since I first discovered it when I was 10 years old.

Unfortunately for me, the book fell way short of my expectations. For me the story was bland, fragmented and over all very poorly written. I did not care for Jules at all. She was very one dimesnsional and though the sexual abuse she suffered was bad, it did not even come to light until the later 15 pages of the book. If it was he authors intention to truly write a powerful work of fiction for teens than it would have been better if that part had been worked into the story sooner than later.

The way the story was told was so fragmented it drove me nuts! I truly disliked it. The plot was promising, but it was poorly executed. To me it's as if it were a jig-saw puzzle that was put together by a teenager with no concept of how a story is supposed to be written. Basically, the book was a complete failure for me and while I don't feel comfortable recommending it to anyone, as always I urge you to think for yourselves and give it a try if you want.

*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my free and honest review.

★