Every Ugly Word by Aimee L. Salter Review

Title: Every Ugly Word
Author: Aimee L. Salter
Age Group: Teen/Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Series: N/A
Star Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

I borrowed this book from the Kindle Unlimited library and reviewed it.

Bullying--I'm sure that isn't a new concept to most people. And it's unfortunately something that is an epidemic among young people. I'm no stranger to the scars--I was bullied a lot as a kid, so much that I loathed going to school. That sometimes it was too much to even get out of bed in the morning. And those words have a lasting effect--I will never forget the hell that middle school was for me. It was nothing short of torture.

Every Ugly Word is a frightening, dark little book--but what's so frightening about it is that it utterly exposes what life can be like for the majority of students: fear and paranoia, self-loathing and rage. This book just ripped my heart right out of my chest--and I mean that in an entirely good way. Despite the sensitivity of the subject matter, Salter completely conveys what it's like.

Ashley Watson wants nothing more to be left alone. Left alone, and for her best friend, Matt, to fall in love with her. And her older self, her twenty-three year old self, lurks in a mirror, watching her as she goes through all this--telling her that she'll get through it. But when things become too much, how will she go on?

Ashley--God. I felt for her so much. I related to her so much--it was honestly like looking through a mirror. Albeit a very painful one. She was a great character, trying so hard to keep her head above water when most of the other characters in the book wanted her to drown. This book scared me, in that reminding me children can be incredibly, and often senselessly, cruel. I felt for her, even down to the ugly emotions--when it goes on and on, where do you go? Who do you turn to?

The other characters often disgusted me, especially Karyn and Finn. And sometimes, Ashley's best friend, Matt, was right up there with them. It was chilling to read. But this book needs to be read. It is a frightening, twisted, often fucked up commentary on what it's like to be an outcast. I am completely in awe, and I will love this book forever. The bottom line: A dark, twisty little mindfuck of a novel, Every Ugly Word should be required reading for anyone whose ever felt like an outcast. Next on deck: Lost Voices by Sarah Porter!

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