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Ava has a secret. She is tired of her ultracool attitude, ultra-radical politics, and ultrablack clothing. She's ready to try something new—she's even ready to be someone new. Someone who fits in, someone with a gorgeous boyfriend, someone who wears pink.
Transferring to Billy Hughes School for Academic Excellence is the perfect chance to try on a new identity. But just in case things don't work out, Ava is hiding her new interests from her parents, and especially from her old girlfriend.
Secrets have a way of being hard to keep, though, and Ava finds that changing herself is more complicated than changing her wardrobe. Even getting involved in the school musical raises issues she never imagined. As she faces surprising choices and unforeseen consequences, Ava wonders if she will ever figure out who she really wants to be.
Humor, heart, and the joys of drama—on- and offstage—combine in Ava's delight-fully colorful journey of self-discovery.
A 2012 Stonewall Children's & Young Adult Literature Honor Book
Frustrated at being penned in by her counterculture parents, 17-year-old Ava shifts away from her unconventional school and a longstanding relationship with her beautiful but sometimes chilly girlfriend in this funny and poignant Australian import. She is unsure about many things; her decision toswitch to anacademically rigorous high school is her first step in trying out a new persona. Her plans also include wearing the soft pink sweater of her dreams, attempting to fit into the mainstreamand possibly, just maybe, dating a boy. Nothing turns out as she'd expected, though, and Ava finds herself spending a lot of time with the outcast members of her new school's stage crew (or "Screw" as they've proclaimed themselves), to whom she relates much more than she'd like to admit. Ostensibly a focus of the novel is Ava's process of understanding her sexuality, but her search for belonging doesn't stop there. While the resolution of her struggle is too predictable, the delightfully authentic,bawdy dialogue and cast of intensely likable misfits energetically propel this story forward. Readers will enjoy the ride. (Fiction. 13 & up)
Anonymous
Posted July 26, 2011
i was at my local library looking at the new books section and i saw this book. i picked it up intrigued and i read the description. i decided to check it out and boy am i glad i did. it really explores a different type of book and is perfect for anyone looking for a good read
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 27, 2011
so far this book is really good im on the 6th chapter and it really good!!! i xan hardly put it down!!
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 25, 2012
Im 11 and im not sure if i shuld read it.
2 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 12, 2012
This book was very good. Ava the main charecter is struggling to find her place in the world. I'm 13 and i thought itwas appropriate for me. Pretty good!! A few tgings happened in th plot that wern't followed up on in the next chapter. Not enough to notice though. Grade:B
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 5, 2011
I read the sample and it's really good but it's so expensive...
SHOULD I BUY IT OR NOT????????????
2 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 1, 2013
I got locked out :(
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I forget where I first heard about pink, but I knew that I had to read it and I knew that I loved its slick cover design. Fast forward a year to now, and I can regretfully say that pink is the book I should have read sooner than later because it is one of those rare sock-rocking books that make up for all the reading FAIL! in my TBR pile.
THE GOOD BITS
{Girl cut from a different cloth} I loved the concept of Ava trying to figure out not only her identity, but also her sexuality. For some teenagers, these might be one and the same and quite obvious, but I think Ava represents those in-betweeners who feel alone in their indecision and uncertainties. Is she still a feminist if she likes the color pink? How can she crush on a boy when she is involved with a girl? Can two girls be friends if one of them is a lesbian? Is it too late to change your mind and/or change teams? Lili Wilkinson treads carefully and thoughtfully as the teenagers try to figure out themselves as well as each other in this whole crazy mess we fondly label as “high school.”
{You eat, sleep, and breathe tech} There are no words to explain why I have such high regards to theater techies. I never really buried myself into the gritty underbelly of theater since it definitely required more commitment than I could handle in high school, but I could feel its allure. Set changes are the BEST. THING. EVER! to watch. In pink, I loved the cranky old stage manager, the geeky banter and random “would you rather” questions, and can I get a shout-out to Boys from the Dwarf? These were my people, and I always love watching the main character fall in love with them too. pink is a homage to techies out there, and I loved every moment of it!
{Think PINK} This color pops up a lot in this book, and I love how the ending comes together for Ava, her girlfriend, and her classmates. The story begins with a pink sweater of incredible softness – what Ava deems as “normal” clothes and not the black chicness that her parents and girlfriend prefer. As a former pink-hater, I too can appreciate Ava’s embrace of the pink. Sure, it may be considered the color of girly power, but in the end it is just a color – and if we want to wear said color, it does not necessarily lead to simpering or emotional trainwrecks. In this book, pink becomes Ava’s trademark – it may have started out as a way to feel normal, but pink is the color that makes her happy inside.
THE BAD BITS
{Nothing} If there were any bad bits to this story, Lili Wilkinson just tickled me pink with everything else that I don’t remember them. Maybe that the ending tied together a little too perfectly? But, honestly, I wouldn’t have imagined it any other way.
THE OVERALL
Why did I wait so long to have my socks rocked by pink? I am not sure, but I am hoping that YOU do not waste any more time! The characters are far from perfect, but together they paint such a heartfelt and honest picture of the confusion everyone goes through in life. I laughed a lot, cried some, and enjoyed the entirety of pink – and when I reached the last page, I sighed with such satisfaction for a story well done!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 2, 2011
I win this book in book firm through a contest, but it's awesome! I would have paid money fo it without hesitation! I reccomend it to anyone! It's interesting and very addicting. I highly reccomend you at least read the sample.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 16, 2013
U ppl r so dumb
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Posted April 28, 2013
See u single people there !!!;)
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Posted April 4, 2013
I acually liked this story espeasially when Ava transsformed loved it
Fashionably yours,
Teensensation
Anonymous
Posted April 2, 2013
U here yet babe?
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Posted March 30, 2013
Yes ava is lez.bian
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Posted March 30, 2013
Is ava gay?
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Posted March 21, 2013
Im almost seventeen wht is an orgas.m plz tell me thnx.
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Posted March 21, 2013
Heyy srry i had work....
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Posted March 31, 2013
Here
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Posted March 17, 2013
Ahhh
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Posted March 18, 2013
At rock me result one
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Posted March 17, 2013
Waits for alex~penelope
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Overview
Ava has a secret. She is tired of her ultracool attitude, ultra-radical politics, and ultrablack clothing. She's ready to try something new—she's even ready to be someone new. Someone who fits in, someone with a gorgeous boyfriend, someone who wears pink.
Transferring to Billy Hughes School for Academic Excellence is the perfect chance to try on a new identity. But just in case things don't work out, Ava is hiding her new interests from her ...