Review: My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody

My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody

PLEASE READ THIS! MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!

Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but I’m sorry, I’m feeling a bit melodramatic at the moment.

Here’s the deal. My name is Brooklyn Pierce, I’m fifteen years old, and I am decisionally challenged. Seriously, I can’t remember the last good decision I made. I can remember plenty of crappy ones though. Including that party I threw when my parents were out of town that accidentally burned down a model home. Yeah, not my finest moment, for sure.

But see, that’s why I started a blog. To enlist readers to make my decisions for me. That’s right. I gave up. Threw in the towel. I let someone else be the one to decide which book I read for English. Or whether or not I accepted an invitation to join the debate team from that cute-in-a-dorky-sort-of-way guy who gave me the Heimlich Maneuver in the cafeteria. (Note to self: Chew the melon before swallowing it.) I even let them decide who I dated!

Well, it turns out there are some things in life you simply can’t choose or have chosen for you—like who you fall in love with. And now everything’s more screwed up than ever.

But don’t take my word for it, read the book and decide for yourself. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll scream in frustration. Or maybe that’s just me. After all, it’s my life.

Review:

Jessica Brody's novels always have such fun and original premises. I adored her young adult debut, The Karma Club, and have been eager to read her next novel for months. My Life Undecided proved Jessica Brody cannot be stopped and I enjoyed every minute of this entertaining and unique novel. Filled with laughs, heartbreak, and more- I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait to see what Jessica next has up her sleeve!

Brooklyn Pierce has always had a little trouble making good decisions. Ever since she was a baby, Brooklyn's decisions have often let her astray and even to danger. And when one particular plan lands her in the police station and ruins her social life, Brooklyn knows she has to do something to make sure she never makes another mistake. So Brooklyn enlists the help of the world. Or at least her blog readers. Brooklyn starts a blog called "My Life [Un]Decided" and she posts polls for every decision she has to make and allows her blog readers to vote. Whatever the outcome of the poll is, that's what Brooklyn will do. One thing Brooklyn knows for sure is that her life will never be the same.

My Life Undecided was packed full of unique and well developed characters. Brooks, at first, irritated me a bit, but as the novel progressed she learned a lot about herself and how her actions impacted those around her. Brooks had a lot of interesting experiences and even when she didn't enjoy some of the things she tried, at least she did it. The plot was wonderfully developed and contained so many fantastic twists and occurrences. As she navigated her new life, Brooklyn discovered a side of herself she never knew existed.

I particularly liked the scenes Brooklyn spent volunteering at the nursing home. Mrs. Moody was a fantastic and unique character and her role in the story was one of my favorites. There was much more to her than met the eye. There were quite a few other secondary characters I liked and Brooklyn's love life also played a part in the story- and how all the polls in the world can't choose who you'll fall in love with.

There were some very important messages weaved into Brooklyn's story and the reader will definitely take something away with them. I enjoyed watching Brooks come up with different polls and to actually act on the decision her readers made for her. This made for an extremely entertaining and humorous read and I thoroughly enjoyed Jessica's sophomore young adult novel. All in all, I definitely recommend My Life Undecided. It's the perfect contemporary read and I can't wait to read Jessica's next book, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father (2012).

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

June 7, 2011/Farrar, Straus, and Giroux (BFYR)/320 Pages/Young Adult

Source: Publisher

Other books by this author: The Karma Club