Book Review: Never Enough

Title: Never Enough

Author: Denise Jaden 
Release: July 10

From the author of Losing Faith, a novel about two sisters and the eating disorder that threatens to destroy their family.

Loann’s always wanted to be popular and pretty like her sister, Claire. So when Claire’s ex-boyfriend starts flirting with her, Loann is willing to do whatever it takes to feel special… even if that means betraying her sister.

But as Loann slips inside Claire’s world, she discovers that everything is not as it seems. Claire’s quest for perfection is all-consuming, and comes at a dangerous price. As Claire increasingly withdraws from friends and family, Loann struggles to understand her and make amends. Can she heal their relationship —and her sister—before it’s too late?

My Review 


I honestly don't know what I thought of this book, but I will tell you this much -it has stuck with me since I read it way back in like January!  It's a tough story with a lot going on.  


I liked the characters.  They were real.  I could see Loann being in a real high school.  She didn't seem unbelievable.  And how she reacted to everything go on around her was perfect.  How do you deal with your family falling apart around you???  She was confused, in denial, ran away, got angry, tried to help and many times was clueless.  At her age I think many girls would be the same.  I liked that she didn't become this mature voice of reason that was in charge of the situation.  I could've NEVER bought that!


Now I have to talk about her parents.  Usually there's one character in a book I'm super frustrated with, and in this case it was her parents.  I just wanted to shake them and tell them to grow up! I'm a mom, and I'd like to believe that I would've handled the whole situation better.  But I guess unless I'm in that situation I wouldn't know.  There was just so many time I knew they were doing the "wrong" thing.  In reality though that is probably how many families would handle it.  What do you do???  In the end I was ok with the parents, but I did still worry how they would continue on.


The one situation that troubled me was Loann's relationship with Marcus.  I wasn't against it or anything.  It's just at times it confused me.  It confused Loann too, so I could really relate to her at this point.  It was more the character of Marcus.  Now I get he was going through a ton as well - his life was as complicated as Loann's!  How she turned to him was great because it gave her an outlet, but at times it felt like it just overly complicated the plot.  It was one more thing that needed to be dealt with.  And with so much else happening it push it a little to the edge of being too much.


In the end Never Enough is the portrayal of a family in crisis.  It was both frustrating and at times painful to read.  But isn't that real life??


Final thought:  It has stuck with me since January.  How many books truly do that?
Best stick-with-you image: The photographs.  
Best for readers who: Are ready to handle some tough situations
Best for ages: 13+ for sure if not older


For the Guys?  No I don't think so unless they really want insight into a crisis normally found with girls.  If they have a friend or sister in this situation it would be good.