Review: Life by Committee by Corey Ann Haydu

Life by Committee

Author: Corey Ann Haydu
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Genre: YA Contemporary
Format: ebook
Release Date: May 13, 2014
Source: egalley received from publisher via Edelweiss
Rating: 4 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.***  

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Some secrets are too good to keep.

Tabitha might be the only girl in the history of the world who actually gets less popular when she gets hot. But her so-called friends say she’s changed, and they’ve dropped her flat.

Now Tab has no one to tell about the best and worst thing that has ever happened to her: Joe, who spills his most intimate secrets to her in their nightly online chats. Joe, whose touch is so electric, it makes Tab wonder if she could survive an actual kiss. Joe, who has Tabitha brimming with the restless energy of falling in love. Joe, who is someone else’s boyfriend.

Just when Tab is afraid she’ll burst from keeping the secret of Joe inside, she finds Life by Committee. The rules of LBC are simple: tell a secret, receive an assignment. Complete the assignment to keep your secret safe.

Tab likes it that the assignments push her to her limits, empowering her to live boldly and go further than she’d ever go on her own.

But in the name of truth and bravery, how far is too far to go?

My Review:

This book surprised me so much. I had a feeling I would like it, but I didn’t expect to love it with the intensity that I do. I related a lot to this book and I really think that everyone will be able to in some way. The main character has been alienated by her friends because she got “hot” and became interested in fashion and makeup. Not obsessed with fashion and makeup, but a healthy teenage girl level of interest. But her friends aren’t quite there with her yet, so they dumped her. She’s all alone except for this one girl, Elise (who I loved!) who is her new best friend. To top it off she has a crush on a guy with a girlfriend.

As you can see there are a lot of different things to relate to. The alienation from friends (haven’t we all been alienated in some way by someone at some point in our lives). The wanting something we can’t have. If you say this has never happened to you, I’m going to call you a liar. Doesn’t have to be a guy or a girl, but everybody wants something that they can’t have at some point in their lives.

So when our main character, Tabby, discovers a website where she can share her secrets, she joins. But once she shares a secret she gets an assignment. The assignments ranged from mild to extreme. It really gave Tabby a feeling of empowerment which I understood, but I wanted to jump in and be like “this website is crap, what are you thinking???”. It was so interesting to watch Tabby grow and change and come to different realizations. Being a member of Life by Committee taught her how her actions can affect other people both positively and negatively. She grows so much throughout the book and I loved seeing that transformation.

I also loved her relationship with her parents. Her parents had her when they were sixteen so she definitely had a more casual relationship with them. She doesn’t call them mom and dad and they are more friends than anything else. But as she grows up, so do her parents. And even though they are pretty chill, you could tell that they really care about Tabby. They realize when something’s up and they reach out to her. No typical absentee parents in this book. Yay!

I can’t say enough good things about this book. If you like contemporary YA then you’re going to want to read this one. Light and heavy at the same time. Realistic. Beautiful. This book was amazing. Happy reading all!

P.S. I almost forgot. Tabby is a bookworm! Which just makes everything better. 

Let's talk! Have you read this one? What did you think of the idea of the committee giving out assignments? What about the MC? Her relationship with her parents?