Same Difference

Book Review #11
Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian
Rating: Three stars (refer to the rating system on the right)

Summary:
Emily is sick of living her cookie cutter lifestyle in Cherry Grove, Pennsylvania. She wants a change, she's been in the same town with the same friends for a long time. From many peoples' views it would appear that Emily has a "perfect" life- money, looks, good friends, but if you look closer you see that Emily's not happy at all. She is sick of doing the same thing everyday and wasting the days of Summer.  Emily decides to enroll in an art program (three days a week)in Philadelphia to try to discover who she is. She meets people who finally understand her and share her  love of art. Emily is introduced to new experiences and meets new friends who show her the world  in a whole different way, but as the summer progresses Emily starts to get confused and caught in between two worlds.

I love the cover of Same Difference, in fact that's what made me pick it up in the first place. The thing I most enjoyed about the book was the fact that it was realistic. The characters have real emotions and their share of dysfunction. The author did a great job showing the ups and down of friendship, she perfectly captured the way you can love and hate your best friend at the same time. I think a lot of people can relate to  the struggle for finding your own identitiy.  The only thing I didn't like about the book was that even though Emily wanted to be her own person, she tried to imitate every person she met. At first she was a carbon copy of Meg, then she tried to be just like Fiona. I felt like she didn't really have her own personality. Although in the end, I loved being there with Emily as she grows up and finally realizes she can have the best of both worlds. I really enjoyed the Same Difference, I didn't fall in love with it, but it's a good read :) I would recommend this book to fans of Deb Calliti.