Other Words For Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

Other Words For Love
Author: Lorraine Zago Rosenthal
Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: January 11th 2011
Pages: 368
Source: Bought
My Rating: 5/5 Stars

Summary: (From Goodreads)
 When an unexpected inheritance enables Ari to transfer to an elite Manhattan prep school, she makes a wealthy new friend, Leigh. Leigh introduces Ari to the glamorous side of New York--and to her gorgeous cousin, Blake. Ari doesn't think she stands a chance, but amazingly, Blake asks her out. As their romance heats up, they find themselves involved in an intense, consuming relationship. Ari's family worries that she is losing touch with the important things in life, like family, hard work, and planning for the future.

When misfortune befalls Blake's family, he pulls away, and Ari's world drains of color. As she struggles to get over the breakup, Ari must finally ask herself: were their feelings true love . . . or something else?

My Review:
Other Words For Love is absolutely spectacular. Half of me really does not know how to write a review for this book since it's so awesome, but the other half really wants to start gushing and gushing about this book. I thought this book was amazing, and though I use that word a lot, I don't use it lightly. I haven't read very many oh-my-goodness-5-star-reads books in a while, but Other Words For Love changed that. In fact, it's past five stars.

I have been wanting to read this book for quite a long time. Before it came out, I was planning to get it immediately, but that just didn't happen. I loved the cover, the book sounded absolutely fantastic, and there had been a lot of good reviews. I finally got my hands on a copy, and though I tried to savor this book, I was done in two days.

Lorraine Zago Rosenthal's characters are perfect. What I mean by perfect is not actually the typical sence of "perfect." No, I mean these characters are wonderfully flawed, very complex, and so real you feel as if they were sitting right beside you. I think the characters, specifically Blake and Ari, were taken to a very high and almost unreachable level of reality. They really could be walking down the street.

Ari was definitely what made this novel. She is such a relatable character, a character with flaws and insecurities, and I definitely could see a lot of myself in her. I think she's a character that everybody can relate to, whether in one way or another. This is mostly off topic, and isn't the main thing I can relate to her in (it's mostly her sense of insecurity for me,) but I get really bad auras too.

This story is set in New York in the 1980s. I think it's the perfect setting for this book, and really gave it the atmosphere it needed.

This is a sotry about first love. It explores the ups and downs, and how it can take over you love-positively and negatively. But it's also a story of realization. It's an awakening for the main character, Ari, and you do get to see how Ari becomes a stronger person. How she deals with things. How she comes out of the experience of first love. I definitely think that the way this book ends, down to the very last word, was perfectly done. Not to mention that the author's writing is lyrical and full of prose.

Lorraine Zago Rosenthal has definitely made me a fan of her! I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. I'd read anything she writes. This book is definitely up there in my all-time favorites. It's the type of book that really sticks to you, even after a few days. A book that when you finish, you close it and just sit there. Other Words For Love is unforgettable.