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Albatross

Name: Albatross
Author: Josie Bloss
ISBN: 9780738714769

by Josie Bloss

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Overview

He was music, everything else was noise.

Everyone at Tess's new school warns her that Micah is bad news-a heartbreaker. And a girl named Daisy is acting like she owns him. Still, Tess can't ignore her attraction to this brooding, brilliant, friendless emo guy who can turn on the charm-or heart-shredding scorn-at a moment's notice. Starting over in a new town after her parents' split isn't easy for Tess, and Micah feels like her first real connection. But then their bond suddenly feels like shackles.

Caught in an obsessive triangle of jealousy and codependence, can Tess learn to break away and find herself again?

"Taut and emotionally wrenching . . . I couldn't put it down. Josie Bloss is an author to watch."-Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries and the Airhead series

Synopsis

He was music, everything else was noise.

Caught in an obsessive triangle of jealousy and codependence, can Tess learn to break away and find herself again?

"Taut and emotionally wrenching . . . I couldn't put it down. Josie Bloss is an author to watch."-Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries and the Airhead series

Publishers Weekly

Following her parents' divorce, Tess moves with her mother from Chicago to Grand River, Mich., and enters her last year of high school feeling isolated and angry about being ripped away from her old life. “I was very tired. Tired of pretending like I was fine with it all, that I was okay with being here, that I wasn't worrying about Dad and what he was doing now that we were gone.” When she meets brooding and brilliant Micah, she is enthralled with his intensity and intimidated by his complex relationship with another student, Daisy. Tess's self-confidence plummets as her obsession with Micah grows and as he vacillates between affectionate and abusive. She struggles to listen to the little voice in her head that urges her—literally and repeatedly—not to be a victim (“I really hope you're not going to stand for this, the voice said.... Get up and walk out”). Bloss's (Band Geek Love) prose verges on melodrama and the message about controlling relativonships can feel heavy-handed, but her descriptions of lust and envy are honest and captivating. Ages 14–up. (Feb.)

About the Author, Josie Bloss

Josie Bloss grew up in East Lansing, Michigan. She attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. When not mining her high school journals for material, Josie enjoys obsessing over various TV shows, karaoke and all things theater. She lives in Bloomington, Indiana.

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Editorials

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up—Tess's parents have recently separated, and the teen and her mother have moved from Chicago to Michigan to start over. Once there, Tess finds herself inexplicably attracted to Micah, an angst-ridden boy who belittles her, contrasting her with his "true love," Daisy. Sprinkled throughout the story are italicized phrases—assertive responses that Tess lacks the self-esteem to voice aloud. In an epiphany, she realizes that her attraction to Micah stems from his familiarity: her father is insulting and abusive in the same way, and she begins to speak out, expressing the internal dialogue she has been having all along. Albatross is a startlingly realistic portrayal of emotionally abusive relationships. Its message to young women is clear: do not put up with men who make you feel bad about yourself.—Leah Krippner, Harlem High School, Machesney Park, IL

Publishers Weekly

Kirkus Reviews

Music geeks walk the fine line between love and unhealthy obsession. Despite her friends' warnings about his creepy behavior, Tess falls for intense, pretentious Micah. From the start of their relationship, Micah never fails to let Tess know that she is second to his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Daisy. Micah ignores Tess, makes remarks about her dumb, shallow friends and bites her hard enough to leave a mark, but Tess can't get him out of her head. Her tolerance of Micah's behavior echoes the way her mother handled her distant, critical father. Once she finds the bravery to stand up to her dad, she also finds a way to break off from Micah. Bloss shows the ways that emotional bullying can affect a supposedly loving relationship and how one teen repeats-and breaks-the cycle of abuse. Though some moments of Tess's growth in strength are rendered heavy-handedly, her story will wrench hearts. Girls who believe in the swept-off-her-feet romance may see that a "perfect" boy's veneer can hide an ugly, domineering personality. (Fiction. YA)