Review: 40 Things I Want to Tell You

40 Things I Want to Tell You by Alice Kuipers
Release Date ~ February 10, 2012
HarperTrophy ~ HarperCollins Canada
ISBN13: 9781443405874
Review copy received from HarperCollins Canada for blog tour

Goodreads Synopsis:
Amy (a.k.a. Bird) seems to have the perfect life: loving parents, a hot boyfriend, the best friend ever. She even writes an online advice column, full of Top Tips, to help other teens take control of their lives. But after a new guy shows up at school, Bird can’t seem to follow her own wisdom.

Pete is the consummate bad boy. He’s everything Bird is not: wild, unambitious and more than a little dangerous. Although she knows he’s trouble, Bird can’t stay away. And the more drawn she is to Pete, the more cracks are revealed in her relationship with Griffin, her doting boyfriend. Meanwhile, her parents’ marriage is also fracturing, possibly for good.

Bird is way out of her comfort zone. All it takes is one mistake, one momentary loss of control, for her entire future to be blown away...

Amy just wants to fly; no matter what she has planned out for her perfect life, all she really wants is to learn to fly. To take that risk, jump, and realize that she can make it.

And don't we all want that? To finally break free of those things holding us back? The thing is though, that some times things don't work out the way we planned. And things don't turn out for Amy the way she thought they would. But her journey is lovely and oh-so-heartbreaking.

Oh and this cover is just so PERFECT for the book. Plus, it's really very pretty! I just love it :) It captures the story wonderfully.

1. A truly impressive narrative:
   Amy's voice shines right through the novel, and I liked how the advice letters to her had different voices to them as well. They were each written in a different style, appropriate to their author. We really get a good idea of the thought process Amy goes through, and I found it interesting that Alice Kuiper explicitly pointed out that writing from Amy's frame of mind was tricky because it was so different to her own. And even though I didn't really appreciate the narration until the end of the book, I thought it was brilliantly done.
2. Great secondary characters:
   In my opinion, a well-rounded story involves a wide cast of characters who all add something to the story. Amy's friends and family accomplis exactly that and more. As much as the story is about Amy, so much of it happens because of her connections to and relationships with those around her.
3. A very real, and raw, story:
   I couldn't help but relate to Amy. I saw so much of myself in her and her thoughts, her feelings, her decisions, her questions. But the scary part? That was how real and probable her story is. Things like it happen, and her story was presented in a likely way, one that I noticed I've seen happen to other girls in real life.

As much as I loved it, I still couldn't fully understand why Amy was making some of the choices she did and I would have have liked to have spent a chapter or two with her reflections on this because it didn't really seem to be covered. And in all honesty too, I wanted so much more from the ending for Amy. I mostly understood why things turned out the way they did, but there was one relationship with a guy that I was taken back by after reading the decisions he made and what he ended up choosing; it seemed rather uncharacteristic and I wasn't too sure what to make of it.
I was utterly impressed by this touching and remarkable story, and I honestly believe that it's one of those rare ones that will really stick with you and leave a lasting impression. I know this book might be a little harder to come by since it's published in Canada, but if you have a chance to read it then I hope you jump at the opportunity to do so!

And keep an eye out, because next week Alice Kuiper is doing a bit of a blog tour where a few blogs will be sharing guest posts from her! :)