I believe in Chloe and chocolate.
I believe the best part is always before.
I believe that most girls are shifty and most guys are dumb.
I believe the more you spill, the less you are.
I don't believe in life after death or diuretics or happy endings.
I don't believe anything good can come from this.
Riley Rose doesn't want to be at Spirit Ranch Holiday Camp. Riley wants to be partying with her best friend Chloe. She has a plan to get away from the jumpsuit-wearing counsellors, the feel-good mantras, do-gooder campers and the monotonous schedule of team-building exercises and outdoor activities.
But Spirit Ranch is not what it appears. Secrets abound - a missing shroud, an abandoned house, a boy called Bird. And why the hell doesn't anyone want to talk about the accident that landed the mysterious Dylan in a wheelchair last year?
Everything Beautiful is as its cover states: a love story about the broken and the broken-hearted. It is full of characters who are not what they first seem to be, proving you should never "judge a book by it's cover". I truly fell in love with some of Howell's characters - like Sarita, Riley's Indian roommate who desperately wants to shine, but doesn't have a clue; or Olive and Bird, the quicky siblings you want to do right by; and Dylan, mysterious and newly wheelchair-bound Dylan, who no one knows what to make of...or how to see past the wheels. There were also those characters I felt a little less inclined to like, sometimes to the point that I was literally begging Riley to slap 'em around! Like the good-looking and arrogant heartthrob, Craig; and Ethan and Richard, who are in serious need of a mind of their own. But each character has their purpose and they bring their own sparkle not only to the book but to Riley's story.
Riley lost her mother to cancer not so long ago, and in the short time since her death has gained a step-mother she is nowhere near prepared for. In both losing her mother, and feeling betrayed by her father, Riley has lost her faith - not only in terms of religion, but in the world and the people around her. Forced to spend a week at Spirit Ranch, Riley feels life can't get any worse...which is of course proven wrong, considering the humiliating events that occur early in her time at the camp. But bit by bit she lets a little more of herself show, and as she does she forms some unforgettable relationships that help her see the world around her in a different light.
Overall I really enjoyed Everything Beautiful. I read it in one sitting, and finished with a big smile on my face, full of these characters, hope and faith. It's a great feel good book, one I hope you may enjoy too.
You can check Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell out at the Library now.
