Book Review: Never Enough

Never Enough
by Denise Jaden
372 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: July 10, 2012
Source: From the Author for Review

Loann's always wanted to be popular and pretty like her sister, Claire. So when Claire's ex-boyfriend starts flirting with her, Loann is willing to do whatever it takes to feel special... even if it means betraying her sister.

But as Loann slips inside Claire's world, she discovers that everythign is not as it seems. Claire's taken her quest for perfection to the extreme, and is now waging a life thretening battle with bulimia and anorexia - a battle Loann isn't sure Claire wants to win.

While Claire increasingly withdraws from friends and family, Loann struggles to understand her and make amends. Can she heal their relationship - and her sister - before it's too late?

I loved, loved, LOVED Never Enough. Words can hardly express how much I loved this book. Never Enough was amazing in so many ways and its definitely become one of my favorite contemporaries!

Loann was an extremely relatable protagonist. Maybe it was because she was 5' tall like me (YAY FOR SHORT CHARACTERS!) or maybe it was because of the whole sister thing but either way I loved her, especially her dry sense of humor. Marcus was another character I really enjoyed. He was sweet and funny and I loved watching the relationship between him and Loann develop. Claire was a very interesting character. I've never known anyone who has had an eating disorder so reading about her was very eye opening. I felt like Denise Jaden really dealt with her character beautifully especially with such difficult subject matter.

I think that the story of Never Enough is one that anyone can relate to, especially people who have siblings. There always seems to be some sort of unspoken sibling rivalry over whose the prettiest, coolest, or most successful. Never Enough highlights that rivalry but instead of exploiting it Denise Jaden goes in a very different direction. She illustrates that self-acceptance is far more important than looks or popularity. Loann comes to realize that Claire may seem to have the perfect life, but underneath it all is a girl who battles demons far scarier than anyone realized. The message of Never Enough is a poignant one: don't live your life wishing you were someone else. Live your life celebrating the beauty of who you already are.

 Never Enough is a thought-provoking story with a message that all teens should hear. It highlights that life isn't about reaching for "perfection" but instead about embracing who we are. In the words of Loann:

Nothing is ever perfect. Not this. Not Claire. Certainly not any of the rest of my life. Beauty isn't perfect. It's something to be felt and something to be breathed.

Everything is beautiful, you just have the eyes to see it. I give Never Enough 5 out of 5 ice cream cones.

Julia :)