Customer Reviews

Albatross

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tess was trying to make it work in her new town of Grand River, Michigan. She never wanted to move from Chicago, where her old life, boyfriend, and best friend remained. However, it was best for her mom after the divorce from her father.

Part of making it work, which in turn makes her mother happy, meant doing things that Tess would normally do if she was back in Chicago, like participating in the solo and ensemble competitions. Not the best French horn player, all Tess needed was someone to accompany her, to enter the competition with her. The name Micah was given to her by her director.

Micah, the seemingly weird guy who always stayed to himself, who Tess found rather intriguing. For some reason, Tess was drawn to him, even if she did find out about his weird relationship to Daisy, the girl with the gorgeous voice but a not-so-beautiful reputation. Tess gains the courage to talk to Micah, and soon enough she develops a little crush.

The crush would turn into affection, which would then turn into wanting his attention, which would unfortunately lead to abuse. Even if people warn Tess about Micah - people like Toby, the really cute, extremely nice drummer from band - or even when Tess' own mind warns her, for some reason she just doesn't want to listen. She allows it to continue, apologizing when she shouldn't, taking on the harsh words being thrown at her when she should stand up for herself.

As the story continues, the reintroduction to her past life that involves her father connects Tess to her current situation, and how it feels unusually "normal."

ALBATROSS is a powerful, insightful novel that centers on a problem in relationships that has unfortunately become all too common. Readers will feel like the people who witness those being emotionally abused in a relationship, and want to try so hard to tell that person to get away from the abuser, but are unable to fully control the situation. Josie Bloss constructs a realistic portrayal of such frightening yet truthful experiences of abuse that will exert a passion in readers to take action when they witness or are themselves in an abusive relationship.

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

Albatross by Josie Bloss
Flux, 2010
229 pages
YA; Contemporary; Relationship Abuse

Summary: Tess has just moved to a new town with her mother, leaving behind her abusive dad. She feels lost and alone at school until she meets Micah, the brilliant and gorgeous guy who soon comes to consumer her thoughts.

*Spoilers ahead*

Thoughts: I had seen several positive reviews of this throughout the blogosphere so when I noticed it at my library, I snatched it up and read it fairly quickly. It is not my usual type of book as it deals with relationship abuse; Tess's dad and Micah emotionally manipulate Tess and physical abuse seemed a definite possibility (actually Micah does bite Tess on the arm). This was actually a pretty hard book for me to read; I felt literally pained reading about her interactions with both of those males and I kept waiting for her to break free (she does!)

When I first saw the relationship of Micah and Daisy, explained by him, I saw them as sort of a Heathcliff and Cathy, definitely one of the most messed-up relationships in literature. But Micah was abusing her similarly to how he treated Tess and she was also able to break free of him. Yay!

My biggest problems were the quickness at which Tess became obsessed with Micah and the relative lack of information about all of the other people in her life. I thought her feelings about Micah could have been elaborated on more before she became so involved with him. I found him rather pretentious and, having read the summary, I could tell he was bad news. I guess I understand that the reader can't know too much about the friends as Tess pulls back away from them whenever they try to warn her about Micah but at the end, they still are ill-defined to me. The book also avoids putting her in a new relationship despite the presence of a new and very nice boy as Tess is mature enough to realize that she is not quite ready for another romantic entanglement and does have issues to work on before being able to be with someone.

*End spoilers*

Note: Albatross comes from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Coleridge, not the Monty Python sketch like my dad suggested when he saw me reading this.

Overall: 4/5. It was well-written but it is not really my type of book. I would still recommend it and I'm trying to get my sister, who usually prefers more serious books than me, to read it.

Cover: I'm not really a fan of real-life people on covers (I prefer cartoons) but I think the colors are good.

How do I write this review? I have so many emotions going through me after finishing this book that I don't even know where to start.

First of all, lets start with Micah. What an ass. Sorry for the language, but it is the only word to describe this guy. He is controlling, moody and a jerk. He thinks it is okay to play on the emotions of girls to make himself feel better. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to beat the crap out of this boy if he were real! Then when you get further into the book, and come to the biting scene, you just want to scream and pull your hair out!

That brings me to Tess. How can she put up with the crap she gets from Micah? I understand she just moved to the town, she had a horrible father--who I might add is just like Micah in ways--but that is no reason to want to fall into a relationship that is so emotionally damaging that you aren't yourself anymore.

The best part of this book is the friends that Tess have and Toby. They try to tell her and to help her get out of the situation, but Tess doesn't want to listen. I love the ending. It is just what Tess needed.

This book is about emotional abuse, some physical abuse and overcoming the low self esteem and codependency that can happen in these types of relationships. A great book for a young adult to read and recognize the signs of these types of relationships before it is too late. A great read for adults as well that will open your eyes at teenage emotional abuse. I just wish we could have dug deeper into why Tess fell for Micah in the first place. It was rushed and didn't flow right at first. Once you start reading it though, it gets better and sucks you in.

I really had no idea what to expect when I started Albatross. I hadn't read any reviews and the summary didn't give much away. I kind of liked not knowing what was coming and in the end I really liked the book.

Tess is new in town. After a rough divorce she moves to a new town in Michigan with her mom, one where she knows no one and doesn't really care. All that changes when she meets Micah. He is unlike anyone Tess has ever known and she is immediately drawn to him. Despite everyone warning her against him, Tess begins to spend more and more of her time with him. Will Tess' friends warnings prove to be true or will things be different with Tess and Micah?

One of the drawbacks about Ablatross was that it didn't immediately capture my attention. It was only once I got about 60 pages in that I became interested in the story. The first part was background and it was a little boring. Once I got past that part I enjoyed the book and read it pretty quickly.

Tess wasn't a very strong heroine through most of the book and it bugged me. I hated how she acted with Micah and how she wasn't confident in herself at all. She finally grew as a character towards the end of the book and that was when I started to like her, when she got a backbone. And all I will say about Micah is that he was a dick. You will have to read the book to find out why.

Overall, Albatross was a really good book and really unique. It wasn't a happy book most of the time but it had me smiling at the end. I definitely plan on checking out Josie Bloss' other books.

Have you ever fallen hard for somebody who didn't like you back? Have you ever found yourself desperately trying to win the approval of somebody who treats you like crap? Have you ever felt like, no matter what you do, you're never going to be good enough for anybody to love you?

If you said yes to any of those questions, you will appreciate the truthfulness and insight in Josie Bloss's new novel, Albatross. Bloss's third young adult novel shows a depth of insight into the psychological mechanisms underlying emotionally abusive relationships that readers of all ages will appreciate. Bloss artuflly weaves together her main character Tess's troubled family life with the character's powerful obsession with a new love interest from her school. In the process, Bloss picks apart the complex psychology of obsession and offers some hopeful insights about how to overcome it.

This book is great for grown ups who have delt with unhealthy relationships in their lives, or for young people (particularly young women) who want to avoid them in the future. For a young adult novel, Albatross espouses an image of healthy relationships that is remarkably mature, while still managing to be thoroughly witty, crisp, and entertaining.

4 Stars - WOW....

It took me awhile to write this review after reading this book, because the story affected me so much. I still don't think this review does it justice. I think you'll need to read it to understand what I mean.

What's scary about this book? That there's people out there like this.... it gave me shivers and really made me think about how there are some cruel people out there, come big or small, old or young.

When Tess moves with her mother to a new town and starts at a new school, she's looking to fit in. She's told by a few people to stay way from Micah because he's not the nicest person around. Tess is thrown together with Micah and finds him interesting and wants to learn more about this cute boy. She ends up more then attracted to him - people repelling ways and all.

Bloss hit the nail on the head with these characters. It's amazing and scary just how close both Tess and Micah are to real people. The dark side of their relationship just takes hold and drives the story even further down a road that you don't want to see anyone go down. Even Scarier is the fact that there are guys like Micah and Tess's dad out there and girls like Tess fall for them, because it's all they know from their home lives or all they think they deserve.

The author has created a perfect mix of true life on both sides of the story - The girl who falls for the not so nice guy and doesn't see it until it's too late and the guy who's out to step on anyone he can along the way.

A story that is so believable that it had me shaking my head and wanting to yell at both Tess and Micah throughout the book. Bloss is an author that I'll be on the look out for her next book. She's got a knack for writing, without a doubt.

Bravo, Josie! I wish I had read this book when I was much younger because it is a wonderful book and it would have saved me some real grief. I think you are going to hear from many young women who will be inspired by Tess's backbone and bravery. Plus, the story is riveting and the ending is so satisfying!