Book Review: OUTWARD BLONDE by Trish Cook. A Fun and Entertaining Look at Teenage Angst.

Genre: Young Adult

Publisher: Adaptive Books

Release Date: Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Rating: ★★★★★ 4 Stars

Synopsis: Teen socialite Lizzie Finklestein has all the qualities of a trainwreck in the making. With a physically absent father, an emotionally absent mother, and an addiction to shopping and hard partying she can’t seem to shake, Lizzie is on a certain path to destruction. Rock bottom finally comes when one of her public drunken escapades gets caught on camera and shared with gossip sites.

Lizzie’s parents decide it’s time for a change of scenery. They have her whisked away from her Manhattan penthouse apartment in the middle of the night and dropped at Camp Smiley, a gritty wilderness survival program for troubled teens deep in the Rocky Mountains. Surrounded by a motley crew of campers all facing their own demons, she’s convinced she has nothing in common with these misfits.

Lizzie must learn to survive in the harsh conditions of the outdoors, including how to dig her own toilet and build a fire by rubbing two sticks together. Lizzie feels that she’s only left with two options: get with the program, or get out of there.

When asked if I was interested in reading Outward Blonde, I hesitated for a moment. I’m nowhere near being a millennial; in fact, I’m the mother of one. But, my inner child became elated when I learned the book takes place at a summer camp, albeit for troubled kids, but a camp nonetheless. I apparently have some deep seeded, unfulfilled fantasy of attending a summer camp since it eluded me during my childhood. I now live vicariously through television series, movies, and books dealing with roughing it in the wilderness. Although, my idea of camping is more like glamping because I need running water, both hot and cold, and a bed to sleep on. Hey, I’m no spring chicken – I need the creature comforts.

As I began reading Outward Blonde, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like main character Elizabeth “Lizzie” Finkelstein at all. My first impression of her is that she’s a hopelessly spoiled brat who has a serious entitlement complex, constantly complaining about her parents’ divorce. I get the abandonment issues she has since her father isn’t around but it’s not like he’s a dead beat dad. He’s doing much needed philanthropic work in Africa. Her mom on the other hand is a different story. While mom is around, she’s usually heavily medicated. The author, Trish Cook, does a great job of making Lizzie pop off the page. It’s almost as though Lizzie is a real person and these events actually occur. The realism throughout Outward Blonde helped me visualize many of the activities Lizzie gets herself involved in. From dates with James Franco (yes, it’s in the book) to talking to baby raccoons at Utah’s Camp Smiley, you begin to realize some of the deeply rooted emotional damage Lizzie’s parents’ divorce has inflicted.

Lizzie’s time at Camp Smiley takes some wild turns and her incessant need to “escape” her confines made me want to smack her silly. Sometimes, young people (hell, even grown-ups) don’t know what’s good for them, especially when they’re a spoiled, hormonal teenage girl with some real-life issues.

Cook’s humor absolutely shines in Outward Blonde. The hilarious depictions used to describe poor Lizzie’s intestinal woes had me laughing out loud. And the colorful array of words used to describe the female anatomy had me cracking up. There are also a bevy of self-deprecating humorous moments. But if you don’t speak in acronyms, the “WTF,” “FOMO,” and BTDubs may have you looking up slang on the internet. Thankfully, I was able to channel my inner millennial and figure it out…well, most of it anyways.

At the heart of Outward Blonde is a great story about friendship, finding and believing in oneself, and accepting the flaws of others. Lizzie’s journey is wrought with drama, sadness, lots of climbing, laughter, some intensely itchy situations, and most of all, love. The way Lizzie and her fellow campers — Sam, a confused lesbian; Chandra, a do-gooder with a gambling problem; Ari, the way-too-skinny bad boy “artiste;” and Jack, the good guy who wears guilt like a second skin — come together during an unexpected adventure to Vegas shows Lizzie what true friendship is all about.

If you are looking for a fun, lighthearted, feel good book with some laugh out loud moments, then Outward Blonde is the one. It’s got heart, humor, drama, summer camp frivolity, and a message that will have you smiling by the time you turn the final page.

I was provided an ARC (advance reader copy) by Adaptive Books for an honest review.

Outward Blonde

ISBN: 978-1-945293-04-7

B&N LINK: HERE

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.