Review - Never Enough by Denise Jaden

Author - Denise Jaden
Publisher - Simon Pulse
Release Date - July 10th, 2012, 400 Pages

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?

                                           
                                                                                                                                          *A review copy was provided by Simon Pulse for review purposes*

Never Enough delves into the lives of sisters that are both facing their own personal demons. We are introduced to Loann and her sister, Claire. Loann is use to being basically the shadow of Claire, even her parents make the remarks of “Why don’t you be more like Claire?” or “Look at what Claire has done, or is doing in her life” this of course is bound to make anyone start to doubt themselves and that is exactly what Loann is doing. She doesn’t see herself as pretty, she thinks that Claire is absolutely beautiful and something that she’ll never be. She’s never been the popular one and dies to get the smallest chance to hang out with Claire and her group of friends. And it doesn’t help that Claire’s boyfriend is the one and only Josh that Loann has crushed on since the sixth grade so any chance to be near him is just a bittersweet bonus for her.

At the beginning I was on the fence on how I felt about this because it seemed that Loann was always thinking that everything was about her. The people that were gossiping or snickering always had to be making fun of her, even though that wasn’t even the case. However, each time I would think about that and how irritating it was I would put myself in her shoes and with her insecurities I’d probably be thinking the same thing. Loann has never had many friends and things quickly go south with the two people she could call friends so now she’s even more alone than she has been. This is when we are introduced to Marcus, the boy with his own problems that has his locker right next to hers.

What I loved the most about Never Enough is watching the characters grow and feel off of each other. They are there to give each other strength and space equally. Sometimes I wanted to smack Loann for the reactions that she had but after she cooled off she notices her mistakes and that redeemed her, in  my opinion anyway. The way that Denise has weaved everything together was beautiful, however I must warn you, you may need tissues towards the end. I didn’t forsee the waterworks when I started this or hell half way through it, but sure enough; I was so into what was going on the next thing I know there is a tear going down my cheek. The love that is in here isn’t something that happens right away but when it does it makes it that much better. There is a light at the end of the tunnel for Loann with everything that she has been through.

I was so wrapped into the story with Loann that I didn’t see what was happening to Claire until it was there, and there was no turning back for any of them. You get to see the small changes but aren’t thinking too much about the situation because of the way that Claire is acting and the next thing you know it’s something that is out of control.

If you like a book that will suck you in from the beginning, drive you a little bit crazy but in a good way, and leave you with tears at the end then this is definitely one that you will want to get your hands on. You get to feel so many emotions while reading this…we have love, hate, rage, revenge, sorrow, forgiveness, and loyalty. Ms. Jaden knows how to deliver a knock-out when it comes to her writing style. I haven’t read Losing Faith but after this it’s on my list now.

-Shellie