Beautiful
by Cindy Martinusen-Coloma

    BEAUTIFUL by Cindy Martinusen-Coloma
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  11/3/09
    Publisher:  Thomas Nelson
    Reviewed by:  Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
    Rating:  5 Stars


    Let me start this review by saying that you need to read this book.  Go, right now, and pick up a copy.  I'll give
    you my personal guarantee that you'll absolutely love it as much as I did.

    Ellie Summerfield is beautiful, popular, smart, and has a great, amazing boyfriend.  Her social calendar is always
    full, she's President of this and in charge of that, and if you asked anyone at West Redding High School to
    describe her, they'd probably tell you that she's basically perfect.

    To Ellie, perfect is the last word she'd use to describe her life, although she wouldn't be able to tell you exactly
    why.  Why does she love her boyfriend, Ryan, and yet not feel in love with him?  Why does her sister, Megan,
    always make her feel like she's doing something wrong?  Why do her parents have all of these plans for her that
    don't mix with the ones she has for herself?

    She may have been able to answer all of those questions on her own, before the accident.  But the car crashed,
    then caught on fire.  Her maybe-friend, Stasia, died.  And Ellie, well, Ellie doesn't look quite as beautiful as she
    used to.

    When your face is that of a monster, and your faith in God and family and friends and just about everything else
    has been tested, when the "perfect" of your life is gone, what else is left?  As Ellie struggles - through physical pain,
    emotional distress, and self-pity - it's only by coming out the other side that she'll learn that being beautiful has a
    whole lot more to do with what's on the inside than what's on the outside.

    Let me say again - I absolutely loved this book.  The characters, the writing, the pitch, the tone; it's all amazing.  
    There was not one misstep in BEAUTIFUL; every word was a joy to read, and I was sad when it was done.  
    Cindy Martinusen-Coloma has a way of writing that lets you live right alongside Ellie, feeling her happiness and
    heartbreak, dealing with her pain (both physical and emotional), dreaming and hoping and wanting and living.

    This is a great book, one that you'll love reading and will be sad to see come to an end.  And if you're worried
    about the fact that it's Christian fiction, please don't be.  The message is one of love and acceptance, not one of
    browbeating you into being a believer.  BEAUTIFUL is a book for everyone - and everyone will love
    BEAUTIFUL.