Review: Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend (Confessions #2) by Louise Rozett

After reading Confessions of an Angry Girl last year, I knew that I was going to read the sequel Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend when it came out. 16-year old Rose Zarelli has a unique voice and one that I can totally follow and understand without rolling my eyes from all the angst, and ugly moments that she experiences over the course of the story.

Rose has definitely come a long way from the first book but her life hasn't exactly been a box of chocolates. She's been forced into therapy by her mother Kathleen because of her web page dedicated to her deceased father. Her brother Peter is a hot mess and needs some real help quickly. Her best friend Tracy has completely engrossed herself in the fashions of her fellow students. Her supposed boyfriend Jamie Forta is keeping a distance which frustrated Rose to no end until he shows up and teases her to the point of losing control. 

Rose once again finds herself in a difficult situation when she has to make yet another snap decision about staying out of someone's life, or speaking up and hoping it doesn't cause her to be completely ostracized by her school mates including mean girl Regina Deladdo. Naturally, everyone blames Rose for their own problems including the person that Rose tries to help.

It's interesting how Rozett captures the essence of what it means to be mourning the loss of someone she was close to. Although time has continued to roll onward, Rose is still grieving over the loss of her father in Iraq. Now that her only outlet to connect to others who may have lost someone has been deemed inappropriate by her mother, she tries her hand at singing instead.

I found the story actually more interesting than the first book in that Rose actually finds an outlet, besides sitting in her room and closing herself off from everyone, in wanting to be a singer. I actually didn't scream and run in the other direction when Rozett stayed on the subject of bullying and in this case whether or not a student has the right to participate in sports if he/she is gay. They absolutely do! I also found the inclusion of the story about Matthew Sheppard an American student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered to be poignant and not in your face. 

I am one of those reviewers who will get kicked and screamed at because of my absolute desire to kick Jamie in the balls and watch him run away screaming like a girl especially with the books ending and other annoying things he does without telling Rose. He sends so many different signals to Rose that I didn't bother to scream in frustration, I just continued reading hoping that Rose's inner voices would finally guide her on the right path.

You should know that I now have a mad crush on Angelo Martinez who helps Rose in the end. He's one of those characters you just want to grab a hold of and hug until you can't breath any longer.  

In conclusion, Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend is definitely worth the time and effort it takes to read this book. Will be looking forward to Confessions #3 soon! 

*Recvd via Netgalley 04/19/2013* Expected publication: June 18th 2013 by Harlequin

Author - Louise Rozett
Title - Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend
Publisher - Harlequin
Released: June 18, 2013
Genre: Contemporary
Received from publisher via NetGalley