Love, Meg by C. Leigh Purtill

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Pub. Date: April 2008
Age Range: Young Adult
Pages: 304
Format: hardcover
Source: contest prize

Fifteen year old Meg Shanley knows two things: first, her older sister Lucie is the only family she has. Second, Lucie will uproot her to a new town and a new school at least once year. This time, it's Hollywood.

Alone and lonely n LA, Meg settles into a familiar routine. She scopes out New Friend candidates and determines the shortest distance between home, school and Starbucks.

Then Meg discovers a secret that turns her whole world upside down. She has a family she never knew about - an uncle and a grandmother - in Queens, New York.

Meg is convinced she can have the dream life she's always wanted. She defies Lucie and flies to Queens.

When she arrives - three thousand miles from everything she's ever known - she discovers that real love has always been just a letter away.

Okay, I admit. When I first read this book I didn't expect anything much, either because the story sounded familiar or the cover looked so boring (I know I'm bad, but I do judge a book by its cover). Guess what? I was surprised after I finished it. C. Leigh Purtill did a good job at making simple things beautiful and touching.

The first thing I recognized the book was Meg's huge obsession over Jennifer Aniston. It wasn't just a celebrity crush, it was like Jen was someone really important to the teenager, the only person she could confide in and ask for advice. Meg was not happy with her life. She hated moving all over the places, was afraid of making friends because she knew the bond wouldn't survive the distance once she was told to pack and leave (again). Her sister Lucie appeared to be so selfish and tired all the time, which Meg wish she could tell her, but never did. That was why she turned to Jen. Meg's letters to Jen were nice to read. It showed a lot of love and respect for the actress, as if she was Meg's real sister, but the tone also contained craziness of a loyal fan.

I loved how Leigh worked on the characters' emotions in this book. Anger, madness, sorrow, joy, ect were portrayed at a decent extent so that you could still feel them but they were never to become overwhelming. My favorite part were when Juny gave Meg her very first kiss at New Year's Eve and when she finally came back to Hollywood to settle her life after the long adventure. There were also twists in Love, Meg. Seriously, who aren't into twists? I don't want to give it away so find out yourself ; ) All I can say is that one was extremely shocking and one was way too cute and touching.

The only thing that didn't satisfy me was the ending. I thought Meg deserved more than that. I so wish that she had been accepted by her father. After all, he was the reason why she came to New York.

If you want to read this book, you should read it with a family member.

Rating: 3.5/5