Title: The Mean Girl ApologiesAuthor: Stephanie Monahan
Genre: NA Contemporary Romance
Published: June 2nd 2014
You know that catchy song you keep hearing on the radio? It’s about you.
Natalie Jamison has spent five years trying to forget the girl she was in high school: popular, pretty…and, okay, mean. Now in her twenties and living once again in her small town, she’s right back where she was: following Queen Bee Amber and keeping secrets from her best friend, Sarah.
Secrets like Jack Moreland.
Everyone knows Jack Moreland—his new album, Good Enough, is everywhere. He’s famous. Impossibly handsome. Completely untouchable. But what none of Natalie’s old clique knows is that in high school, Natalie and Jack fell in love. And their secret relationship was incredible, painful—and earth-shattering enough to inspire an entire album.
Facing friends and enemies isn’t easy, but Natalie will go to great lengths to prove she is good enough—to her friends, to herself, and most of all, to the small-town boy turned worldwide heartthrob she never forgot.
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The Mean Girl Apologies was a sweet read and I felt that it hit close to home. It made me think of my high school days and how I was treated and how I treated people too. I think a lot of readers would relate to this book and I think that is one of the reasons why I enjoyed it.
The chapters, mostly, alternated between the present and the past, following Natalie's perspective. In high school you could see the turmoil Natalie was dealing with; her struggles being in the popular group, her building friendships with Jake and his friends, and how she regretted her decisions. In the present, seeing Jake become successful was exciting, and realising his songs were inspired by their relationship was a bit surreal. Looking back at her past, Natalie is determined to set things straight. She re-evaluates current friendships and tries to fix things in her past, including her relationship with Jake.
Seeing Natalie put her life under the microscope was great and how she realised that some relationships were unhealthy was great growth for her. She is determined to make her life about herself and not so much about her highschool group. I liked seeing Natalie and Jake interact before and after the incident, to see how their relationship started and began again.
The characters were well developed and I liked how the relationships grew. There were a few sweet moments, some intense scenes, but no sex scenes. Even without them I enjoyed the story and the building tension. I think Stephanie Monahan has done a fabulous job with Natalie’s story and I will definitely keep my eye out for future books from her!!
