Review: Reasons To Be Happy by Katrina Kittle

Title: Reasons To Be Happy
Author: Katrina Kittle
Source: Purchased
Genre: Young Adult/Coming Of Age
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Add to your Goodreads shelf
Caution: May contain spoilers

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REASONS TO BE HAPPY

21. Cat purr vibrating through your skin
22. Jumping on a trampoline in the rain
23. Raw cookie dough
24. Getting yourself all freaked out after a scary movie
25. Dancing like an idiot when no one is watching

What happened to the girl who wrote those things? I miss that girl. She used to be bold and fun. Now she's a big chicken loser.
How could so much change so fast?
Let's see, you could be the plain Jane daughter of two gorgeous famous people, move to a new school, have no real friends, and your mom could get sick, and, oh yeah, you could have the most embarrassing secret in the world.
Yep, that about does it.
So, the real question is, how do I get that girl back?

~synopsis from Goodreads
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My Thoughts:

I picked this one up at the store as an impulse buy. The colorful cover caught my attention. Then the premise of a girl who wrote a list of reasons to be happy and wondered what happened to herself felt like it fit the moment I’m in right now. Caught between the person I used to be when I was younger (full of dreams and hopes and inspiration and imagination) to the person I am now (still have all the above, but it got put to the side because of adult obligations). Plus, I love lists.

This book goes much deeper than some list. It deals with HUGE issues: cancer, death, alcoholism, bulimia, peer pressure, being bullied… and Hannah had to face it all at once. She was trying to keep a sense of self and not let others dictate to her how to live. She wanted to be popular and not lose herself in the process. She keeps referring back to the list she used to write before everything changed. Where did that go? What makes you, you?

The girls at the new school were definitely mean girls (like on the movie by that name), and the guy she had a crush on, Kevin... total. complete. douche. If I ever wanted to hurt a guy, it’d be him. Her Aunt Izzy was wonderful. She knew and understood what Hannah was going through.

The list was definitely something grand. It makes you want to write a list yourself. I want to start one! The story takes a twist on you at one point, including a trip away from her home, but that’s when everything is eye-opening. Hannah learns about herself in ways she never imagined possible. Since this whole part is too important for those who haven’t read it, I won’t detail it too much. I’ll just say it was a great way to bring out who Hannah really is and it makes you love her despite all the dumb things she had done.

Reasons To Be Happy was a very good book. Katrina Kittle takes us through the eyes of one person and opens up the world of the little choices. Hannah’s little choices make you think about your own little choices. Her list makes you want to get up and do something to be happy. Everyone deserves a reason to be happy, and I think everyone needs to find it. Maybe something in Hannah’s list can trigger a positive change in your own life, or remind you of something you used to be and want to be again. In any case, it’s just a good book, check it out!

My Rating:

Very Good: Stay up late