Lipstick Apology by Jennifer Jabaley

Sometimes a good-bye is just the beginning...

When Emily Carson's parents die in a plane crash, she's left with nothing but her mother's last words scrawled in lipstick on a tray table: "Emily, please forgive me."

Now it's fall and Emily moves to New York City— where she attracts the attention of two very different boys: the cute, popular Owen, and her quirky chemistry partner, Anthony. With the help of some surprising new friends, Emily must choose between the boy who helps her forget and the one who encourages her to remember, and ultimately heal.

Emily just found out that both her parents were killed in a plane crash. Now she has to go live with her aunt in bubbling NYC-much different from her hometown in PA. I was really engrossed with one of the two competing story lines in this novel. The one in which Emily heals by making new friends and trusting new people. I found that the secondary cast of characters were the most fun and interesting. Jolie was very real, and I really enjoyed her character. Trent was hilarious. I devoured the scenes where he was present. Lindsey, Anthony, and Carly were also very heartfelt and I enjoyed their "on screen" time as well.

The one aspect I felt was missing from the plot was the climax of the apology. I felt it was rushed and kind of unbelievable. The idea was there-and surprising, but I felt the author should have given more time to developing it.

Seeing Emily's growth from her tragedy was what made this novel such a gem. I couldn't begin to understand what it is like to go through sometime that horrifying but I felt the author really did well to make the novel heartbreaking, readable, and satisfying.

I would recommend this novel to anyone really. Anyone who has lost someone they loved, have gone to a new school, fell in love for the first time, or had any coming of age experiences. Emily's experience just happened to be one of the terrible ones but I think everyone will find something to love and have a lot of sympathy for Emily.

Rating: 4.0

Happy Reading!