Someone to Love

by Melissa de la Cruz

Overview

EVERYONE IS LOOKING

Olivia “Liv” Blakely knows how important it is to look good. Her father is running for governor, and Liv will be making public appearances with her family. Liv has an image to uphold—to her maybe boyfriend, to the new friends who suddenly welcome her into their circle and to the public, who love to find fault on social media.

Liv’s sunny, charming facade hides a dark inner voice that will settle for nothing less than perfection. No matter who she has to give up to get there. No matter what she has to lose to do it. Liv is working for the day when what she sees in the mirror is worthy…worthy of confidence. Worthy of success. Worthy of love. But as the high price of perfection takes a toll, placing her body and soul at risk, Liv herself has to realize what she has to live for.

Melissa de la Cruz’s powerful new novel depicts one teen’s battle with self-doubt and an eating disorder, and shows that the struggle to find someone to love starts with oneself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781488015502
Publisher:	Harlequin Teen
Publication date:	09/20/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	383
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Melissa de la Cruz is the #1 New York Times, #1 Publishers Weekly and #1 IndieBound bestselling author of novels for readers of all ages, including The Isle of the Lost and Return to the Isle of the Lost. Her books have topped the USA TODAY, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times bestseller lists and have been published in more than twenty countries. Today she lives in Los Angeles and Palm Springs with her husband and daughter.

Editorial Reviews

"Filled with a great deal of teenage angst, this tale will be relevant to many young adults trying to survive daily pressures. De la Cruz might be best known for her fantasy work, but her realist work is strong as well."
-Booklist

"De la Cruz has a good handle on the details of eating-disordered behavior, particularly the disjunction between mindset and reality and having to hit bottom before getting help. Other plot points, though...end up feeling more contrived than realistic."
-Publishers Weekly

"Descriptions of Liv's disordered eating and self-harm never feel gratuitous or glorified; instead, her first-person narration provides both a mirror and window into an experience of bulimia-a form of disordered eating relatively rare in contemporary young-adult novels. Readers will root for Olivia. Well done."
-Kirkus Reviews

"Paired with resources on how to get help with eating disorders, anxiety, and depression, this book is a welcome addition to any library that services teens."
-School Library Journal

From the Publisher

2017-09-18
A high school junior struggles with disordered eating and a life in the spotlight in de la Cruz's latest. Blonde, white Olivia Blakely can't wait to escape her life in California and head to New York, where she's sure she can pursue her artistic career. Liv doesn't feel like she fits in at her elite private school, which is full of socialites and celebrities. Her emotionally distant politician father is running for governor, garnering the family unwanted attention, especially unwelcome since her relationship with her body is unbearable. Fat-shamed by both her brother and her first boyfriend, Liv's been unable to shake the nagging, pressing, all-consuming cognitive distortions that feel only temporarily relieved by binging and purging, abusing alcohol, and, occasionally, cutting. Her only solaces are her two best friends and her crush on a Korean-American actor/classmate. But as men increasingly attempt to control her (her father's campaign manager inspecting her image; her crush's best friend assaulting her), her body, her potential career, and her potential to find love feel like they're spiraling dangerously out of her control. Secondary characters have a diverse range of ethnicities and sexualities. Descriptions of Liv's disordered eating and self-harm never feel gratuitous or glorified; instead, her first-person narration provides both a mirror and window into an experience of bulimia—a form of disordered eating relatively rare in contemporary young-adult novels. Readers will root for Olivia. Well done. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews