Review: Pink by Lili Wilkinson

Pink by Lili Wilkinson

Pages: 300
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: August 1st, 2009
IBSN: 9781741758344

Ava Simpson is trying on a whole new image. Stripping the black dye from her hair, she heads off to the Billy Hughes School for Academic Excellence, leaving her uber-cool girlfriend, Chloe, behind.

Ava is quickly taken under the wing of perky, popular Alexis who insists that: a) she's a perfect match for handsome Ethan; and b) she absolutely must audition for the school musical.
But while she's busy trying to fit in -- with Chloe, with Alexis and her Pastel friends, even with the misfits in the stage crew -- Ava fails to notice that her shiny reinvented life is far more fragile than she imagined. 

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

I would've read this book eventually anyway, but JOHN GREEN BLURBED IT. And as soon as I found that out, I had to read it immediately, in spite of the embarrassing Australian cover to check out from the library:

Pink was an extremely fun read. It was laugh-out-loud funny, and at other times, very sweet. There were serious moments too, dealt with well by both the author and the main character.

Ava was a great character. Her voice was clear, and I really felt a connection to her throughout the book. I was sympathetic towards her as she tried to find herself.

The other characters were well fleshed out and had depth. I found myself caring about them all, and wanted to BE one of the stage crew kids.

The ending was satisfying. In the beginning of Pink, Ava changed schools, changed the way she dressed, tried to change the way she felt, in order to find herself. I won't spoil it by telling you whether she achieved that or not, but regardless, she developed a lot over the course of the book, and the ending really showed that.

Definitely a more character-driven book than I'm used to, I give Pink a 5 out of 5. 

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I read this book for the Aussie YA Reading Challenge.