Afbeelding van de auteur.

Rebecca Phillips

Auteur van These Things I've Done

14 Werken 187 Leden 11 Besprekingen

Werken van Rebecca Phillips

These Things I've Done (2017) 53 exemplaren
Faking Perfect (2015) 33 exemplaren
The Girl You Thought I Was (2018) 27 exemplaren
Just You (Just You #1) (Volume 1) (2012) 25 exemplaren
Out of Nowhere (2013) 17 exemplaren
Any Other Girl (2016) 12 exemplaren
Someone Else (Just You #2) (2012) 8 exemplaren
A Dangerous Harbor 4 exemplaren
Until Now (Just You #3) (2014) 3 exemplaren
The Next Whatever (2021) 1 exemplaar
The End of Always (2024) 1 exemplaar

Tagged

Algemene kennis

Geslacht
female

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Besprekingen

Faking Perfect/Rebecca Phillips Though this book initially looked very chickflicklit, I was impressed by the depth Phillips portrayed and the way her characters were so carefully constructed.
 
Lexi, our main character, was exciting and real the whole way through, and I loved watching her grow through the events of the book. Her reaction to the events of the book were always fun to see and I anticipated her very real actions and her bold moves. I loved seeing her interact with her friends as well as with the three family figures she had.
Her motivations felt genuine and Phillips made her voice extraordinarily real.
 
Her relationships with Ben, Tyler, and Nolan respectively were each distinct and had an interesting dynamic and revealed a lot about Lexi. Watching Lexi realize who was important and unimportant to her was fascinating, as was seeing her thoughts and opinions change, often following instead of preceding her actions.
 
I loved that this book wasn't afraid to tack in some more taboo issues, such as teenage pregnancy. I enjoyed the two major settings, and the way that Lexi's high school was set up in a way that felt natural, instead of overly dramatic as some novels tend to do. Smaller characters with Grace, a girl Lexi babysits for, and Lexi's pet snake and its backstory, add a lot of depth to this book.
 
The concept of everything teetering precariously was very prominent throughout this book, and the tension remained at a level that made me eager to continue reading.
I finished this in an evening and found it well worth the time invested. It left me with a smile on my face, and will leave you with one too.
 
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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Gemarkeerd
whakaora | 4 andere besprekingen | Mar 5, 2023 |
4.5 stars.

Fast-paced with appealing characters, Any Other Girl by Rebecca Phillips is a gripping young adult novel that touches on quite a few relevant social issues.

Kat Henley's friendliness is often perceived as flirting and as the story opens, a conversation at a party with her best friend Shay's boyfriend ends their two year friendship when Shay accuses Kat of flirting with him. The last weeks of school are uncomfortable since all of Kat's friends are also Shay's friends and they turn their backs on Kat in support of Shay. With her apologies falling on deaf ears, Kat is more grateful than usual to be spending the summer at her family's summer cottage. Eagerly anticipating their last summer together before her cousin Harper leaves for college in the fall, the two girls are delighted to discover a new family is staying at the lake. They quickly invite Emmett Reese to hang out with them and as soon as Kat realizes Harper has a crush on Emmett, she vows to keep her distance from him but will her match making efforts pay off?

Growing up with two dads, Kat learned the best way to deflect negative attention from them was to draw attention to herself. She is naturally exuberant but this attention becomes a way to validate her self-worth and this is where she runs into trouble. She carefully cultivated a girly girl persona to prove to outsiders that she does not need a feminine influence but in doing so, Kat also gives up anything that could be perceived as tomboyish.

Harper is the complete opposite of Kat. Quiet and unassuming, she lacks confidence and her self-esteem took a beating after her parents' divorce. She has never had a boyfriend or made a big deal about liking a boy, so Kat realizes very quickly just how much Emmett means to her. Harper and Emmett have a love of sports in common but their interactions are often awkward and uncomfortable. Tension mount between the cousins once Kat begins to realize that she has feelings for Emmett and that he feels the same way.

Emmett is a nice, polite young man who quietly observes what is going on around him. He is dealing with family issues the best way he knows how and he is just biding his time until he can leave for college. Trying to avoid his parents as much as possible, Emmett uses running as an escape and he has created a safe place to spend time when things between his parents get too bad.

Despite both Harper and Kat liking the same young man, this is not a typical love triangle storyline. Kat's main focus is fixing her cousin up with Emmett and she respects Harper's feelings for him. For his part, Emmett never makes any type of commitment to Harper but once he realizes Kat does not plan to act on her feelings for him, he does make an attempt to see if there is any spark between him and Harper. Only when that fails does Kat even consider a relationship with him, but she remains torn between her loyalty to her cousin and her deepening emotions for Emmett. Kat continues trying to avoid hurting Harper but when the truth finally emerges, the ensuing rift between them seems impossible to repair.

By summer's end, Kat is more self-aware and she has a much better understanding of the impact her behavior has on others. She also realizes that she can maintain her femininity while at the same time participating in the sports she loves. Kat also manages to face Shay and apologize for her actions with her boyfriend without expecting anything from Shay in return. Kat grows and matures throughout the novel and while she makes a few necessary changes, she still retains the traits that set her apart from others and make her unique.

Any Other Girl is a sweet young adult romance that manages to avoid unnecessary angst or drama. The characters are multi-faceted with easy to relate to flaws and imperfections. The storyline is well-developed and Rebecca Phillips adds depth to the plot with sensitive portrayals of realistic situations such as homophobia and Emmett's troubled home life. All in all, it is a heartfelt novel that I greatly enjoyed and recommend to readers of all ages.
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Gemarkeerd
kbranfield | 1 andere bespreking | Feb 3, 2020 |
Faking Perfect by Rebecca Phillips is an absolutely outstanding young adult romance. A marvelous cast of characters, a unique storyline and realistic situations make the novel easy to relate to and impossible to put down.

Lexi Shaw has carefully created a persona that helped her cultivate a circle of friends who are popular and well-liked. In an effort to appear as perfect as her friends, Lexi covers up the things she does not like about herself (i.e. her freckles) and her past (her drug addicted absentee father). But she refuses to give up the one friend who knows everything there is to know about her, Nolan Bruce. Nolan's family provides her the stability and normal family life she does not get in her own home and despite her friends' disdain for him, she will not let them come between her and her best friend. Although she has had a long term crush on perfect Ben Dorsey, she also has a penchant for bad boys and she scratches this particular itch with Tyler Flynn. Lexi and Tyler have been involved in a secret no strings fling for months but it is purely a physical relationship with a strict set of rules that Tyler must follow if he wants to keep seeing her.

Lexi has not had an easy life with her single mother and sometimes their roles are reversed since her mom is more interested in her latest loser boyfriend than paying bills or keeping food on the table. Lexi escapes as often as she can by hanging out at the Nolan house or going out with her friends. She does not always make the best or wisest decisions, but fortunately, she learns from her mistakes. Her experiences with Ben become a turning point as Lexi comes to the realization that no one is perfect. Once her secrets are exposed, Lexi finally begins to embrace herself, flaws and all.

Faking Perfect is a compelling novel with an appealing, angst free storyline. The cast of characters is vibrantly developed with relatable flaws and imperfections. Rebecca Phillips realistically depicts teen behavior and she handles some very difficult issues in a forthright and matter of fact manner. It is a heartfelt and thought-provoking young adult novel that I highly recommend to readers of all ages
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Gemarkeerd
kbranfield | 4 andere besprekingen | Feb 3, 2020 |
I enjoyed this book from the start. It certainly had a captivating beginning, with Morgan successfully shoplifting a bikini she wanted. Although I don't condone her actions, I could understand why she felt it necessary to steal/ Her parents' divorce had a huge impact on her and she only felt in control was when she was taking things that weren't hers. The author described Morgan's feelings extremely well - the adrenaline rush, the fear, the guilt and the paranoia.

Throughout "The Girl You Thought I Was, I enjoyed following Morgan's journey as she struggled with her mother's actions. Morgan was a sympathetic character and I think many girls could relate to her. I also enjoyed her relationship with her older sister, her father and her friends. Eli was a sweetie, dealing with his own issues and, thankfully, the author didn't swamp the book with their subsequent romance. It developed gradually and authentically.

Overall, a solid read dealing with real-life issues, consequences and solutions.
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½
 
Gemarkeerd
HeatherLINC | Feb 5, 2019 |

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Statistieken

Werken
14
Leden
187
Populariteit
#116,277
Waardering
½ 3.7
Besprekingen
11
ISBNs
25
Talen
1

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