Twelve-year-old Wren’s life is changing by the minute. With her parents’ divorce, her dad’s remarriage, and her big move with her mom to a new town, she turns towards the only constant in her life, her new obsession with special effects makeup by her favorite artist CAT FX. She especially loves that she can create different versions of herself and escape reality. She gets so caught up in her life with her new best friend and the school play that she doesn’t realize her mom’s new and sudden behavior. Will Wren finally try to find the answers she is looking for?
In this book, Wren seems like she’s lost and is trying to find herself which is something I can deeply relate to and I think that when you are able to connect with a character in a story it makes the reading experience and the plot a lot better. One thing that I would change about this book is the fact that some of the messages displayed in this book had good and bad meanings. For example, when Wren was having problems, she didn’t open up to anyone and although this contributes heavily to the plot, it could convey the wrong message to the people who might be dealing with these kinds of issues in real life. In the book, characters have connections with each other or share the same experiences/character traits even if they don’t know each other.
One memorable thing that really stood out to me in this book is Wren’s friendships. In her old town, she had a friend who wasn’t really her friend whereas now in her new town she has a new best friend who actually accepts her and her interests. Although she has new friends in her new town, the characteristics of her old friend is carried out through another character who is one of Wren’s new friends. She holds some of the character traits that are resembled in her toxic ex-best friend. I find it very interesting that the author decided to this because it doesn’t happen very often in books.
HCPL TeenScene's Read + Review 