Brilliant. Review to come...

She's Got Books on Her Mind

You know who's my new friend? Adele Griffin. After reading Amandine I am more than ready to read more. She crafts the tale of Delia, our main character, who just moved into town. Delia's a loner, overweight, and has a secret that can come and bite her back if she isn't too careful. The story is told in the past tense. Delia is trying to come to terms with how things turned out all messed up. She starts her story off with her meeting a strange girl with a lab coat and ballet shoes asking her if she wanted to see a journal she keeps of all of her ugliest things. The girl's name is Amandine and she likes to shock people. She likes to be noticed to which is evident based on her clothing. She also likes to manipulate you into staying her friend after you realize that even if she's very different from everyone else and she seems like a ton of fun to be with, in reality she's very harsh and will do anything to get what she wants even if it means trying to hurt you.

I loved the way the story was told in past tense. Delia has one of those wise, I've-seen-everything type of voices. It was easy to slip into her world because of that. I don't know how but Delia just got to me right away. I cared about her and could never think of seeing her as someone in the wrong. She may have played games with Amandine but she never meant anything to go to far. Amandine had a way of making her feel like she was in the wrong by putting others against her. And everyone just adored Amandine because she was so casually... her. She just does everything so overdramtically. She's one person and then she's another. Nice, sweet, the perfect daughter that her parents could hope for. But, she was so... pushy and mean. The lives of others were just a game to her. I couldn't help be fascinated just like Delia was by how she interacted with people and swayed them onto her side.

"I did not think she could tell I was staring at her, but she knew. It was something I learned about her, later. That Amandine was always aware of her audience."

Delia's secret was an interesting one. I think by Amandine trying to hold it over her head she made the situation worse for herself. Sometimes enough is enough but then Amandine of course had another trump card. The story was basically showing how things can spiral out of control. How if you don't take a hold of what makes you you there just may be a chance that someone will come up and give you a new identity, a new way of being. It shows you how easily the world can change you and one person can mess up what you percieved the world and people to be. It also about learning from your mistakes. Really what I thought about the message of the story was to choose your friends wisely and make sure they aren't crazy people... But, no really is was a great story with great messages. It was haunting and it was beautiful.

"Ah, nobody learns anything from being happy."

Overall: Absolutely loved this book. It made me think. It's characters were fascinating. I loved this story so so much. I loved everything about it and more. And of course I loved it because how can I not be a fan of someone who's a fan of another great author - my favorite author - Robert Cormier - the genius. ( )

Just a bit blah. Amandine is not menacing enough, and the ending is a trifle disappointing. ( )

You can read this review and more like it at Pretty Deadly Reviews.

I was a huge fan of Adele Griffin's Tighter and so when I saw a title of hers on NetGalley I knew I had to snatch it up. Adele's writing is very dark, tackling heavy issues always, but without exploiting them, or turning them into some freak show. This can be said about Amandine but I did feel like it was lacking in a few areas.

On the surface, Amandine is one hell of a story. Delia, a loner who has moved quite a few times in her childhood, further and further from New York City each time, is just starting high school when the book begins. She makes a friend in her first week, eccentric and strange Amandine, who wears a new costume every day - a lab coat, a flamenco dancer, an Old Hollywood starlet, you name it, she's worn it. At first, Amandine is wonderful, a totally new and shiny experience for Delia. Amandine is charming, a ballet dancer, a lover of opera. She woos Delia's parents easily. But under the surface, Delia can sense an darkness in Amandine that is only intensified the longer she is exposed to her. Soon after the two meet, Amandine builds a web of lies surrounding herself and finally the whole thing crescendos and explodes - and nearly everyone around the girls is hurt in the aftermath.

Delia was a very interesting character, even though I'm not her biggest fan. She stands out amongst today's YA protagonists: she's overweight, a real loner, with some dark secrets of her own. She is quite the unreliable narrator, and the entire time I wasn't really sure if I could believe her or not. I'll let you read the book yourselves and decide on your own.

Now, the real reason I rated this two stars is because I felt that it was underdeveloped. Amandine was really short - according to my Nook, it was only 95 pages, which means it's probably somewhere around 200 pages in print. Because of how short it was I thought there was a lot lacking. I know I said Amandine was intense, but I never really felt it escalate and take over the entire book. The mood of the story was very bland and the narrative almost clinical.

I also felt that it was written a little young. There was so much potential in the story of a girl who was obviously troubled and surrounded herself in a cocoon of lies. There were small hints that the grotesque mind of Amandine, but not enough to really impact the reader. I felt that Griffin had a lot of room to really push the limits with this one, and let all the goriness and grit show.

So, in all, I was pretty disappointed with this one. The story itself is very Griffin - dark and gritty with an unreliable narrator and a very thin line between perception and reality. But the writing was lacking, and I felt that the story and the characters were tragically underdeveloped. If you're looking for something along these lines, though, I would definitely recommend her newer works, Tighter and All You Never Wanted. ( )

I was a huge fan of Adele Griffin's Tighter and so when I saw a title of hers on NetGalley I knew I had to snatch it up. Adele's writing is very dark, tackling heavy issues always, but without exploiting them, or turning them into some freak show. This can be said about Amandine but I did feel like it was lacking in a few areas.

On the surface, Amandine is one hell of a story. Delia, a loner who has moved quite a few times in her childhood, further and further from New York City each time, is just starting high school when the book begins. She makes a friend in her first week, eccentric and strange Amandine, who wears a new costume every day - a lab coat, a flamenco dancer, an Old Hollywood starlet, you name it, she's worn it. At first, Amandine is wonderful, a totally new and shiny experience for Delia. Amandine is charming, a ballet dancer, a lover of opera. She woos Delia's parents easily. But under the surface, Delia can sense an darkness in Amandine that is only intensified the longer she is exposed to her. Soon after the two meet, Amandine builds a web of lies surrounding herself and finally the whole thing crescendos and explodes - and nearly everyone around the girls is hurt in the aftermath.

Delia was a very interesting character, even though I'm not her biggest fan. She stands out amongst today's YA protagonists: she's overweight, a real loner, with some dark secrets of her own. She is quite the unreliable narrator, and the entire time I wasn't really sure if I could believe her or not. I'll let you read the book yourselves and decide on your own.

Now, the real reason I rated this two stars is because I felt that it was underdeveloped. Amandine was really short - according to my Nook, it was only 95 pages, which means it's probably somewhere around 200 pages in print. Because of how short it was I thought there was a lot lacking. I know I said Amandine was intense, but I never really felt it escalate and take over the entire book. The mood of the story was very bland and the narrative almost clinical.

I also felt that it was written a little young. There was so much potential in the story of a girl who was obviously troubled and surrounded herself in a cocoon of lies. There were small hints that the grotesque mind of Amandine, but not enough to really impact the reader. I felt that Griffin had a lot of room to really push the limits with this one, and let all the goriness and grit show.

So, in all, I was pretty disappointed with this one. The story itself is very Griffin - dark and gritty with an unreliable narrator and a very thin line between perception and reality. But the writing was lacking, and I felt that the story and the characters were tragically underdeveloped. If you're looking for something along these lines, though, I would definitely recommend her newer works, Tighter and All You Never Wanted. ( )

in a sentence: Lonely Delia moves with her loving parents to a new town, again, and on her desperate search for a friend is picked up by the dramatic Amandine whose friendship goes from weird, to worse.

This novel is slathered with anxiety and the overwhelming feeling of discomfort through and through. Delia is awkward, overweight, and self-conscious. She is noticed by the overly confident, underweight, and bizarre Amandine. Perhaps it's her desperation to find a friend, or that Delia is just intrigued by Amandines 'stage presence' that she allows their friendship to continue despite red flags all over the place. The reader feels for Delia and her frustrations. She has great parents, they just lack a little in the compassion and understanding department. No matter how great her life may be at home, her relationship with Amandine is rocky and unhealthy, and a total thrill ride for her and for the reader.

I am still in awe of how Adele Griffin was able to completely capture the angst of Delia in a caring and real way. The young adult reader in me feels for Delia, while the adult reader feels bad for Delia. The line is thin, and is walked very well. Amandine's character is outrageous, but believable in context of a teenage girl with social issues. This was an incredibly quick read, and the fact that it's hard to put down makes it that much quicker. The young adult reader within me was completely absorbed in the subtle drama and tense emotions from all of the characters. The dialogue reflects the angst in Delia, and the reader is always guessing as to what is going to happen, when the turning point is, etc. ( )