Blue Plate Special by Michelle D. Kwansey - A Review

Title: Blue Plate Special
Author: Michelle D. Kwansey
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Pages: 304 Rating: 5/5

"Doomed loves, failed families, nixed dreams—someone else's leftovers are heaped on our plates the day we come into this world.

Big Macs and pop tunes mask the emptiness as Madeline watches her mom drink away their welfare checks. Until the day Tad, a quirky McDonald's counter boy, asks Madeline out for a date, and she gets her first taste of normal. But with a life that's anything but, how long can normal really last?

Hanging with Jeremy, avoiding Mam, sticking Do Not Disturb Post-its on her heart, Desiree's mission is simple: party hard, graduate (well, maybe), get out of town. But after Desiree accepts half a meatball grinder, a cold drink, and a ride from her mother's boyfriend one rainy afternoon, nothing is ever simple again.

Too many AP classes. Workaholic mom. Dad in prison. Still, Ariel's sultry new boyfriend, Shane, manages to make even the worst days delicious. But when an unexpected phone call forces a trip to visit a sick grandmother she's never met, revealing her family's dark past, Ariel struggles to find the courage to make the right choice for her own future.

Three girls from three different decades find out it's what they do with their leftovers that matters—because, after all, life is your own blue plate special."

My thoughts:

Blue Plate Special is a inspiring book and three teenage girls told in different decades of time. Put together beautiful, this book will have you flipping the pages to see what happens with each girl as it slowly forms into a heartfelt novel.

There are three main characters in this book. Madeline is overweight and has been teased by it since she was a kid. She struggles to care for her mother who always drinks. She was my favorite character throughout the whole story. My other favorite comes with the next mentionable. Desiree story is told through prose. Which I find perfect for her cause. Desiree has to live with her mother who couldn’t care less about her daughter, always giving remarks about what’s she wearing and that’s all. Yet, something happens and she’s never the same. Lastly, there’s Ariel. Ariel’s taking AP classes and takes everything almost seriously. That is until she meets Shane. The boy that is showing her a different side. Completely different, yet the same with their flaws, all of these characters have some meaning in each of the stories. And I loved that fact.

The writing is hands down the best out there. There is just the right amount of description, and you can see the characters through their ups and downs. She gave her character’s such life, I believed they were actually telling you something. The plot went down smoothly, and from the amount of concentration it would have taken to write different views and keep up with the novel all together is really telling you something. Besides being confused in the beginning, it quickly subsided as I started to figure out how they all fit together. Keep in there, and it’ll be an amazing book!

Overall, I found this book seriously inspring story about mother and daughters and the reasons behind how someone acts and why. The author clearly created an amazing novel. I'm glad I read it.