Someone to Love - by Melissa de la Cruz (Paperback)

About the Book

The spotlight of her father's run for governor sparks a girl's quest to be perfect and popular, leading to self-doubt and an eating disorder in this powerful novel by a #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author.

Book Synopsis

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Isle of the Lost, Alex & Eliza and Something in Between comes a powerful story about learning to love yourself.

Olivia "Liv" Blakely looks like she is living the perfect life. She's caught the attention of her teen TV-star crush, started rubbing elbows with the popular crowd, and her dad is running for governor. There's a lot to Like.

But the outside world never sees the full story. With all the good fortune piling on, Liv has been feeling the pressure, too: pressure to maintain that perfect image for her family, her new friends and the public, who love to find fault on social media. Behind Liv's sunny, charming facade is a dark inner voice that will settle for nothing less than perfection--no matter the cost. Soon Liv's struggle to shine in the spotlight becomes a daily battle with self-doubt and bulimia.

As the high price of perfection puts her in danger of real bodily and spiritual harm, Liv will have to learn that there is no one out there worth loving more than she loves herself.

Review Quotes

"Filled with a great deal of teenage angst, this tale will be relevant to many young adults trying to survive daily pressures. De la Cruz might be best known for her fantasy work, but her realist work is strong as well."
-Booklist

"De la Cruz has a good handle on the details of eating-disordered behavior, particularly the disjunction between mindset and reality and having to hit bottom before getting help. Other plot points, though...end up feeling more contrived than realistic."
-Publishers Weekly

"Descriptions of Liv's disordered eating and self-harm never feel gratuitous or glorified; instead, her first-person narration provides both a mirror and window into an experience of bulimia-a form of disordered eating relatively rare in contemporary young-adult novels. Readers will root for Olivia. Well done."
-Kirkus Reviews

"Paired with resources on how to get help with eating disorders, anxiety, and depression, this book is a welcome addition to any library that services teens."
-School Library Journal