Review of Ugly by Kelly Vincent

 

Kelly Vincent is back on the blog today! We have an excerpt and review of Ugly. Be sure to get more opinions as you follow the tour and then leave your own thoughts along the way! Best of luck entering the great giveaway.

Sophomore Nic Summers tries to ignore the taunts of “ugly lesbian.”

Because she’s not sure they’re entirely wrong. But she also has bigger concerns for now, including prepping for the school’s art contest. And while she isn't certain of her sexuality, she does know her life is on the verge of falling apart when her best and only friend, Sam, drops the bomb that her family’s moving to Scotland. Together, to soften the blow and distract themselves from the inevitable, they start Operation Social Interaction for Nic—or OSIN for short—to try to find her some new friends.

But it’s an uphill battle for the introverted teen artist.

As Sam’s last day nears, Nic's self-confidence wavers even more, and she starts questioning everything. If lesbian doesn’t feel quite right, maybe she’s transgender? It isn’t until she stumbles across the label “gender nonconforming” that things start to make a little more sense, and fall into place. But finding the right label doesn’t really tell her what to do next, and before she knows it, Sam is gone.

Mustering all her resources, Nic realizes she needs to find her own path and live her own truth.

Read an excerpt:

All afternoon, I obsessed over the whole Carlos thing. Could he really like me?

Admittedly, it could have simply been that I was there, and he was bored. But I didn’t think so. I had a good feeling about this.

About time.

I missed having my eraser in chemistry because I decided to sketch out the periodic table while the teacher rambled on about something or other, and I messed it up counting out the transition metals. Plus, I’d need it over the weekend. Once I was on the bus, I put my headphones on and cranked up some Killers.

My asshole brother Caleb flicked me on the head when he passed me, heading for the back. He was such a douche now.

Still, the only thing in my head was Carlos, and how he maybe liked me.

My best friend Sam—short for Samantha, but she’d die if I called her that—was always getting on my case about not being brave enough socially, so I tried to think of what I could do that would be proactive and maybe even bold. We had a plan, called Operation Social Interaction for Nic—or OSIN for short—to wrangle some friends for me. She’d be proud if I did something on my own. I just had to figure out what.

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**My thoughts**

This is a story that I really felt. While I wasn't questioning my gender or sexual preferences at that age, I was definitely not the girly girl. And being bigger, I was made fun of a lot, though I hadn't been called a boy since I was 7 and had short hair. I've also known plenty of other teen girls who have gone through a lot of these feelings and questions. It's hard to be true to yourself when you're not the kind of person who fits into that preconceived mold of how girls "should act and look." And it can be hard to find friends. I also related to that part of the story. I just didn't like how everyone fixated so much on Nic finding friends. Putting that kind of pressure on someone doesn't make friendships any easier. And yet, we also expect this out of our kids as well.

Plus she has all kinds of other added pressures on her. Money is tight at home, so her parents are fighting and making changes. Her best friend is moving to the other side of the world. It's a lot on a kid at any given time, let alone with all of this other added pressure. She does still have her art, but there's even pressure there at times.

Oh, and then trying to figure out boys? It's still difficult in adulthood, let alone those teenage years. No wonder Nic is so confused.

When an incident at school triggers the counselors, Nic finally starts getting some help. A secret from her past emerges, but they don't go too deeply into it for a while. It is a significant thinking point for her, though. Conversations about it may help some readers in their own thought processes.

I was highly annoyed with a lot of adults in this story. I especially hate when I read about teachers being so flippant with the feelings of students because I am a teacher and try really hard to not do that. But I also realize that a lot of teachers out there don't care the way that I do.

As in Kelly Vincent's other books, there are a lot of issues that this teenager is dealing with. Many other teens are going to read this and see themselves in it. I hope that if they do, they are inspired to take steps to truly figure out who they are and to feel comfortable in their own skin. I know they can because I did and I have seen my former students do the same.

Thank you to the author and Goddess Fish for a requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read my review of Finding Frances.

Read my review of Always the New Girl.

Kelly Vincent wrangles data weekdays and spends the rest of her time playing with words. She grew up in Oklahoma but has moved around quite a bit, with Glasgow, Scotland being her favorite stop. She now lives near Seattle with three cats who help her write her stories by strategically walking across the keyboard, with her first novel, Finding Frances, a fine example of this technique. She has a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Oklahoma City University's Red Earth program    .

Website: www.kellyvincent.net

Blog: www.kellyvincent.net/blog



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