Lipstick Apology by Jennifer Jabaley

Lipstick Apology
Jennifer Jabaley
Release Date: August 6, 2009
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: 286

Rating: 4 stars

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.

Debut author Jennifer Jabaley has written a wonderful, feel-good romantic comedy with real emotional depth. Full of lovably wacky characters, Lipstick Apology is a heartwarming story about the true meaning of forgiveness.

This was a really great read! It was a book I had trouble putting down at certain points. Lipstick Apology was full of humorous moments and sad moments all with an element of suspense. It was a book that was heartbreaking, and heartlifting at the same time. You had no clue what the message left by Emily's mother meant. With the premise and plot of the book, I just was expecting a little more. To me, if my mother had died and left me a message saying forgive me, I would search until I knew. Emily did little to nothing for the first section, then towards the end searched for the answer with a bit more work. Nonetheless, this was still a good read.

My favorite scenes of the books were the ones with Jolie, Trent, and Emily. They were just so entertaining to read. The scenes with Anthony were among my favorites as well. Anthony just lit up all the scenes he was in.

I loved the characters. You had Emily - the girl who's lost her parents and thrust into life in NYC, Jolie - the aunt who now has to adjust to raising her sister's kid, Trent - Jolie's friend, Andi and Lindsay - the two popular girls, Lindsay being the nicer of the two, and many more! Jolie's position was portrayed so well. You saw her not know exactly what to do and adjusting majorly to life with someone else you're responsible for and living with you. I absolutely loved her! Trent was just a laugh the entire time and was my favorite character of the book. Anthony was the sweet guy - the one Emily's blind too. I would've loved to see him a bit more throughout the book. Emily was a bit too much on both ends of the scale at times, but she grew on me as the novel went on.

Lipstick Apology overall was a great debut by Jennifer Jabaley and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next!