Book Review-Vintage Veronica

By Erica S. Perl

Published by Alfred A Knopf (Random House Kids)

Published March 9th, 2010

Source: from Alfred A Knopf (Random House Kids)

Veronica Walsh is 15, fashion-minded, fat, and friendless. Her summer job in the Consignment Corner section (Employees Only!) of a vintage clothing store is a dream come true. There Veronica can spend her days separating the one-of-a-kind gem garments from the Dollar-a-Pound duds, without having to deal with people. But when two outrageous yet charismatic salesgirls befriend her and urge her to spy on and follow the mysterious and awkward stock boy Veronica has nicknamed the Nail, Veronica’s summer takes a turn for the weird. Suddenly, what began as a prank turns into something else entirely. Which means Veronica may have to come out of hiding and follow something even riskier for the first time: her heart. (taken from goodreads)

I really love the cover of this book! It's very catchy. Vintage Veronica follows the story of 15 yr old Veronica, who's grown up heavy, has a low self esteem and is very fashion minded. She's a collector of vintage clothing and works in a vintage clothing thrift store. The way she describes some of the clothing she has and sees coming into the store had me wishing this clothing store was real. I would have been there in a heart beat.

I like the world in which the book was set, which is mostly in the vintage thrift store, Clothing Bonanza. I appreciated Veronica's voice, as it's one that is seldom heard in YA books. Veronica is real, as she talks about her eating problem and what it's like growing up heavy. Not many people are nice to those who don't have "the look". Veronica has no friends, until she unexpectedly falls for Len. I adored Len's character, as he sees Veronica like no one's seen her before. He makes her feel loved and though she doesn't believe it, he finds her beautiful. Len also has his own secrets.

My heart went out to Veronica and all the bullying she's dwelt with her whole life and the way her mother at first treated her. I couldn't connect with her character, as I had a hard time getting into her voice. The language in this book really turned me off as well. I felt the language was forced and tried to overly appeal to the YA genre.

Veronica and Lenny both learn a lot about themselves as they work through their own personal troubles. Through the course of the book, they both grow up a lot and learn to stop running from their problems. Each learns to trust the other, when they've not been able to trust anyone else in a long time. They both learn there's more to each other than what other people see. I liked that while they make mistakes, like lying, their consequences are real. In the end, they both face the things they've been bullied by their whole lives. I'd definitely recommend this for 14 years and older.