Customer Reviews

Lipstick Apology

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When Emily Carson's parents die in a plane crash, she is left with nothing, but her mother's last words left on the tray table in lipstick: "Emily, please forgive me."
Now it is fall and Emily is living with her makeup artist in New York City. She atracts two boys, the cute, popular Owen, and her quirky chemistry partner, Anthony. One makes her forget and the other one helps remember and find the truth to her mother's last words. So, that she can come to terms with the truth.
Lipstick Apology is full of quirky characters. Aunt Jolie and Trent were so funny together, I could read a book just about them. Emily was interesting and had depth like real teenangers. I also liked how Jabaley showed how easy friendship is and how complex romantic relationships are to have a real one. The plot was sweet, yet intense. The love story was a wonderful touch to the story of Emily finding herself. It was original. Jabaley is an amazing writer and I can't wait for more from her in the future. Lipstick Apology is great for an intense, yet fun read.

After family tragedy Emily's life as she knows it is turned upside down, with an unanswered question concerning her mother. Lipstick Apology is fast moving enough to hold your interest, I really didn't want to put it down. Tragedy, Real Life Situations, With Humor TOO!
Great First from Jennifer Jabley - expect to see this one on the movie screen!
I cann't wait for her next one!

LIPSTICK APOLOGY features Emily, whose life has turned upside down when her parents are killed in an airplane crash. While watching the news, stunned by what has happened, a reporter spots something unusual: a tray table with the words, "Emily, please forgive me."

Four little words that change everything. Now, Emily isn't just mourning the loss of her parents-- she's searching for answers. Can she really move on if she doesn't even know what her mother is apologizing for?

LIPSTICK APOLOGY is moving, heartfelt, tragic--and yet, it manages to be funny at the right moments too. If you like your chick-lit with a little heart, this is the book for you!

5 Stars.

I have been staring at this book forever whenever I stop inside bookstores, but I finally decided to grab it a while back - and then proceeded to stare at it within the comforts of my own home. I am not sure why I put off reading Lipstick Apology for so long, but since I have been on a YA contemporary kick, I decided to give it a go.

THE GOOD BITS
{Life must go on...} Lipstick Apology is a story about a girl trying to move forward after an unspeakable grief. Her parents died in a plane crash - should Emily be worrying about clothes and boys and other teenaged drama? Yes, she is still grieving, but her life must go on in because the world does not truly stop for anyone. I liked the presence of Aunt Jolie who takes on the parental role and virtually becomes a single mother. She is in over her head, but she tries the best she can to do right with her niece and adjusts her living arrangements. Grieving is a work in progress, and I felt that Emily and Aunt Jolie gave their best efforts to deal with the major life changes.

{Believable characters} If I had to describe Lipstick Apology, I would probably say that it seemed honest-to-goodness real. The diversity of teenagers seemed spot-on, and I could relate to all their flaws and vulnerabilities. Or at least picture their real-life counterparts. Yes, even the immature boys who think use their irresistible hotness for evil purposes (such as humiliate a terribly sweet girl with the unfortunate happenstance of crushing on said boy). Nothing too exciting or fantastic, but a slice of life that paints a sincere and realistic portrayal of a girl whose world will never be quite the same again.

THE BAD BITS
{Lack of romance?} There were two contenders for Emily's heart, but I did not feel that either gave their best efforts. (Spoiler :: The ever-popular Owen seemed nice enough, but I did not feel the wattage of killer green eyes that Emily did. He felt a little flat for me. On the other hand, Anthony had great potential, but he did not have enough pagetime with Emily for me to commit to their relationship.) Which I can see as a positive thing because romance - while great and comforting - may not be the best solution to a grieving heart. I guess I expected more of that romantic tension since the book summary alludes to the boys' importance.

{Questionable ending?} Naturally I wanted to figure out what Emily's mother meant with her cryptic EMILY PLEASE FORGIVE ME message. Emily does find out the truth eventually - but again I expected more from the truth than what Lipstick Apology delivered. I do not think Emily gave enough time to digest her mother's actions, and while the ending may be beautifully wrapped in forgiveness, I have to admit that I am a little put out by it. I can understand and appreciate the end-result, but I feel that Emily rushed into that decision without really talking to anyone about it. If I had been in Emily's shoes, I think I would have discussed the truth to death with Aunt Jolie at least.

THE OVERALL
Lipstick Apology is a quiet book, and I cannot say that it rocked my world in the same manner as Stephanie Kuehnert or Elizabeth Scott. This book puzzles me. It felt almost too realistic where no one really knows their purpose in life and everyone wonders around semi-confused. The different story elements - Emily's grief versus normal teenage drama versus the mysterious farewell message - did not seem to connect with each other to form a bigger and more satisfying puzzle.

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!

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Before even seeing the summary for this book, I just knew from the cover that I was going to be in for quite the amazing of rides.

Lipstick Apology ( Awesome title, right?) was heartbreaking while still being a heartwarming read. I just loved the story Jennifer created in this book. The plot contained a new and fresh idea. I seriously don't think I've ever see a book that dealt with a mysterious message left in lipstick, have you? Another rewarding quality of the story was that it was fast paced and filled with twists that you didn't see coming. Plus, most of the situations Emily, Trent, and Jolie got in brought out several LOL moments.

Emily was a fabulous main character, I thought. Yes, she did have her breakdowns and freakish moments, though what can you say when her parents just died. I loved how she was always looking out for the underdogs in her posh private school. Lastly, I really liked the two love interests Jennifer gave Emily. Owen was the typical spoiled but hot rich boy and Anthony was the sweet guy from Brooklyn with a heart of gold. I was always jumping from team Anthony to Owen to Anthony again. Though in the end, I loved Anthony the best because there was just something so sweet and innocent about him.

Overall, Lipstick Apology was a fantastic debut by Mrs. Jabaley, I serioulsy can't wait to read more by her.

Grade: A+

I was so excited to get this book because I had seen it on a couple of blogger sites and when I read the description I thought it was going to be pretty good. This novel starts off with Emily's party back in her hometown in Pennsylvania. Right in the middle of it her Aunt Jolie walks and tells her that her parent's plane crashed. As they sat together in her bedroom watching the news, a report came on and they discovered a tray table with the words: Emily Please Forgive Me. Summer past very fast and suddenly it came Fall and she moved out to New York City with her Aunt. Now in a new High School she meets two boys, one that makes her forget about the mysterious message and the one who makes her remember.

Honestly I didn't really enjoy this novel as much as I thought I was going to. Emily is so shallow and one-minded throughout the entire first part of the novel that it just annoyed me really bad but eventually it does get better. The language was very 21st century and I really liked that. There was romance, friendship and just the knowledge that you never truly know someone. We journey with Emily in her quest to find herself as well as discovering what the written apology meant. Her best friend Georgia is just like my best friend Christian, despite them living at a distance, they could call each other and depend on one another like true family. It does have some funny moments. Like I said before the only thing that annoyed me was that she was so shallow. She cared so much about Owens good looks and ranking in the school, rather than Anthony who was sweet and a good friend. I give this book 3.5 out of 5 paws.

My Thoughts: This book was pretty great. The first few pages had me almost crying. Maybe because I've been through the death of a parent and just feeling what Emily must have felt got to me a little bit. Thats ok though, reminds us to put things in perspective. All Emily has left is an apology written out in lipstick. What does it mean?? She goes off to live with her aunt in a whole new world in her eyes. She ends up gaining alot of respect for herself and her aunt over the course of this book. She finds out more about her parents and herself. She realizes what the apology must have been "about."
Plus this one has 2 guys in it, and I'm a sucker for love interests. We meet Owen who is the super popular boy who has his eye on Emily. You know the kind of guy you could never date, because you weren't popular enough. Than there is Anthony who is kind of a loner and keeps to himself but once you really "look" at him you realize there is more than meets the eye. One part of the book actually made me blush a little. Anthony comes out of the bathroom in a towel,,, ohhhhh babbbbyyyy!!! This book was really good. Emotional, funny, embarrassing at parts.

Overall: I liked this one a lot. I finished it in a few days. Emotional at the beginning and the end. A good story! 2 hot guys, what more do you want?

Cover: Its cute. I could see this girl being Emily. Just a regular looking girl. I also like the background image. (Reviewed by Princess Bookie)

When Emily's parents are killed in a plane crash, she is sent to New York City to live with her aunt. Now she must start over: new school, new friends, and questions surrounding the mysterious apology from her mother that surfaced in the wreckage.

A fantastic concept that doesn't disappoint and a delightful cast of characters make this a must read!

Emily Carson is in the midst of a party when she finds out her parents have died in a plane crash. She is further shocked when a seat-back tray is discovered with a message written in lipstick from her mom to her: Emily, please forgive me.

Those four words keep Emily from grieving in peace, as the national media focus on her and the lipstick apology that she doesn't know the meaning of. All summer she hides within herself and her childhood home before heading off to New York City to live with her glamorous aunt Jolie, a make-up artists famous for all the famous people she makes-up and for her skin care product line. Never married and childless, Jolie isn't sure how to help her niece overcome her grief and settle into their new lives together.

Emily is enrolled at a prestigious New York City school, and at first all she can see are the differences between the students there and her friends back home in Pennsylvania where she grew up. As she slowly adjusts to her new world, she must learn to distinguish true friendship based on the person within, not the looks outside. And she grapples with the meaning of her mother's message.

Lipstick Apology by Jennifer Jabaley starts off somewhat rocky, with characters that seem more like caricatures than real people. There's a gay hairdresser, rich prep school girls, and self-centered high school jocks. In some ways, it reads like a made-for-TV movie, covering issues on the surface, but not very in-depth. However, as the book moves along, we get a closer look at Emily and her motivations, her insecurities and her quest. While I never felt as though I truly got into Emily's brain and understood what she was going through, I do believe this book offers lots to talk about in a mother-daughter book club with girls in high school. It offers good discussions on forgiveness, friendship, family, love and grief.