Ann not Annie
by Sage Steadman
Publication Date: September 20th 2017
Genre: Contemporary, YA, romance
Ann, not Annie, is tired of her nominal existence and has vowed to turn things around by dating the hottest guy in school, Jacob Waters. Easier said than done since Jacob isn’t even aware she exists. The truth is, due to Ann’s lively temper she spends more time in detention with the rest of the school rejects than she does fantasizing about Jacob Waters wearing spandex.
Her best friend and devout alien believer, Lisa, doesn’t like the changes she’s seeing in her BFF. Neither does Danny Feller, a fellow detention inmate and resident lost boy who has started keeping an extra watchful and unwanted eye on Ann.
When a chance encounter in an empty hallway changes everything, Ann finds all her dreams coming true and she is well on her way to living the perfect life she’s always wanted. But appearances aren’t always what they seem and Ann is going to have to face not just cold hard facts, but also her past.
MY THOUGHTS
Wow.
This is one of those books that after you finished it, you just sit there for a full minute, thinking about hat you’ve just read.
This book exceeded my expectation completely. Although I actually don’t exactly have an expectation, I did not expect it to be this good at all.
This book is an art piece. It took me on an emotional roller coaster and taught me more about life than what I can from my parents in a year. Last time I read a book like this, a YA book with a YA character with such depths was When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. That was in 5 years ago.
In fact, this book actually has a lot of similarities with When You Reach Me. Beside from the similarities between the protagonists (despite their life and family situation), both books mentioned a lot of another book that was very important to the protagonist and the story, except Ann not Annie had a little bit more YA factor in it.
This book exceeded basically in all ways for a good book, but there are few factors that stood out from excellent, to phenomenal.
This book had astonishing character developments. Especially from our protagonist, Ann. She grew so much throughout the book, we get a glimpse to the old, innocent naive Anne before October 5th, then to the broken Ann no Annie, ultimately to Annie, who learned to embrace life the bad with the good, not regret anything and to just move forward.
We felt the pain and suffering she had with Ann no Annie, the fear for her as we watch her start to go down on the wrong path with Jacob and ‘the popular group’. Finally, we experienced the relief from her ‘realizing’, and the joy when she finally found joy.
All this in a nutshell.
This book took me on a breathtaking journey, and I finished in a sitting. I got so much more from what I expected and is a pleasant surprise. If this book receives recognition any less than When You Reach Me, this book is totally underrated. It deserved every attention that it gets.
No way, absolutely no way I’m giving it anything less than five stars.
Absolutely. Amazing.
I received a free copy for an honest review.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sage Steadman was awarded a master’s degree in social work from the University of Utah. While pursuing her passion for writing, she worked as a licensed mental health therapist. She published her debut novel, “Snowflake Obsidian: Memoir of a Cutter,” in 2010 under her pen name, The Hippie, and since, re-released the second edition under her real name. The novel has been deemed an “idyllic” read, filled with love, humor, romance and heart. She is also the co-author of the gritty and inspiring historical fiction novel, “Upon Destiny’s Song,” alongside classical guitarist, Mike Ericksen, and has penned an article on teen cutting for Canadian Magazine, “Edmonton’s Child.” She has recently produced a stunning and thought-reflecting novella entitled, “The Waking Dream.” Sage is heralded as a talented writer who tackles her novels with a witty, raw and honest approach. She currently lives near Salt Lake City, Utah with family.