Albatross [Paperback]

Tess was trying to make it work in her new town of Grand River, Michigan. She never wanted to move from Chicago, where her old life, boyfriend, and best friend remained. However, it was best for her mom after the divorce from her father.

Part of making it work, which in turn makes her mother happy, meant doing things that Tess would normally do if she was back in Chicago, like participating in the solo and ensemble competitions. Not the best French horn player, all Tess needed was someone to accompany her, to enter the competition with her. The name Micah was given to her by her director.

Micah, the seemingly weird guy who always stayed to himself, who Tess found rather intriguing. For some reason, Tess was drawn to him, even if she did find out about his weird relationship to Daisy, the girl with the gorgeous voice but a not-so-beautiful reputation. Tess gains the courage to talk to Micah, and soon enough she develops a little crush.

The crush would turn into affection, which would then turn into wanting his attention, which would unfortunately lead to abuse. Even if people warn Tess about Micah - people like Toby, the really cute, extremely nice drummer from band - or even when Tess' own mind warns her, for some reason she just doesn't want to listen. She allows it to continue, apologizing when she shouldn't, taking on the harsh words being thrown at her when she should stand up for herself.

As the story continues, the reintroduction to her past life that involves her father connects Tess to her current situation, and how it feels unusually "normal."

ALBATROSS is a powerful, insightful novel that centers on a problem in relationships that has unfortunately become all too common. Readers will feel like the people who witness those being emotionally abused in a relationship, and want to try so hard to tell that person to get away from the abuser, but are unable to fully control the situation. Josie Bloss constructs a realistic portrayal of such frightening yet truthful experiences of abuse that will exert a passion in readers to take action when they witness or are themselves in an abusive relationship.

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

Albatross by Josie Bloss
Flux, 2010
229 pages
YA; Contemporary; Relationship Abuse

Summary: Tess has just moved to a new town with her mother, leaving behind her abusive dad. She feels lost and alone at school until she meets Micah, the brilliant and gorgeous guy who soon comes to consumer her thoughts.

*Spoilers ahead*

Thoughts: I had seen several positive reviews of this throughout the blogosphere so when I noticed it at my library, I snatched it up and read it fairly quickly. It is not my usual type of book as it deals with relationship abuse; Tess's dad and Micah emotionally manipulate Tess and physical abuse seemed a definite possibility (actually Micah does bite Tess on the arm). This was actually a pretty hard book for me to read; I felt literally pained reading about her interactions with both of those males and I kept waiting for her to break free (she does!)

When I first saw the relationship of Micah and Daisy, explained by him, I saw them as sort of a Heathcliff and Cathy, definitely one of the most messed-up relationships in literature. But Micah was abusing her similarly to how he treated Tess and she was also able to break free of him. Yay!

My biggest problems were the quickness at which Tess became obsessed with Micah and the relative lack of information about all of the other people in her life. I thought her feelings about Micah could have been elaborated on more before she became so involved with him. I found him rather pretentious and, having read the summary, I could tell he was bad news. I guess I understand that the reader can't know too much about the friends as Tess pulls back away from them whenever they try to warn her about Micah but at the end, they still are ill-defined to me. The book also avoids putting her in a new relationship despite the presence of a new and very nice boy as Tess is mature enough to realize that she is not quite ready for another romantic entanglement and does have issues to work on before being able to be with someone.

*End spoilers*

Note: Albatross comes from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Coleridge, not the Monty Python sketch like my dad suggested when he saw me reading this.

Overall: 4/5. It was well-written but it is not really my type of book. I would still recommend it and I'm trying to get my sister, who usually prefers more serious books than me, to read it.

Cover: I'm not really a fan of real-life people on covers (I prefer cartoons) but I think the colors are good.

How do I write this review? I have so many emotions going through me after finishing this book that I don't even know where to start.

First of all, lets start with Micah. What an ass. Sorry for the language, but it is the only word to describe this guy. He is controlling, moody and a jerk. He thinks it is okay to play on the emotions of girls to make himself feel better. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to beat the crap out of this boy if he were real! Then when you get further into the book, and come to the biting scene, you just want to scream and pull your hair out!

That brings me to Tess. How can she put up with the crap she gets from Micah? I understand she just moved to the town, she had a horrible father--who I might add is just like Micah in ways--but that is no reason to want to fall into a relationship that is so emotionally damaging that you aren't yourself anymore.

The best part of this book is the friends that Tess have and Toby. They try to tell her and to help her get out of the situation, but Tess doesn't want to listen. I love the ending. It is just what Tess needed.

This book is about emotional abuse, some physical abuse and overcoming the low self esteem and codependency that can happen in these types of relationships. A great book for a young adult to read and recognize the signs of these types of relationships before it is too late. A great read for adults as well that will open your eyes at teenage emotional abuse. I just wish we could have dug deeper into why Tess fell for Micah in the first place. It was rushed and didn't flow right at first. Once you start reading it though, it gets better and sucks you in.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 7 reviews  4.3 out of 5 stars