***Originally posted to: Bookish Book Blog |YA and Adult Book Reviews, Author Interviews, Guest Posts, Giveaways and news! ^___^ 
 Katie Dale concocts a deliciously compelling blend of personalities, heartbreak, and family drama, in a story of one girl's journey of self-discovery and finding her place in the world. Someone Else's Life is a compulsively readable novel, and one that is sure to resonate with its readers. 
 The plot line focuses almost entirely on Rosie, a seventeen-year-old girl who just lost her mom to Huntington's Disease and is now terrified by the possibility that she herself might have inherited the disease. Just as she's about to get tested for it, her mother's best friend, Sarah, tells her the truth. And the truth is heartbreaking. Rosie's mom was not her biological mother. Devastated, lost and confused, Rosie decides to find her real mother, and she will travel across the continent to trace her. 
 Rosie's story was a deeply moving one. From the very beginning every page is loaded with her emotions. And they are very convincing, vibrant, even gut-wrenching at times. The love she has for her mother is deeply felt, and her regrets about the past and her fears and hopes about the future are heartbreakingly real. She's a very relatable protagonist, and one that you can truly connect with. Katie Dale did a really great job crafting her character, as well as all the other fantastic protagonists in her novel - to the point that you really don't feel like you're reading a YA contemporary book, more like you're listening to a story told by your best friend. There's a very comforting feeling of familiarity to this book. The characters described in it could be people you pass by on the street every day. Their worries and dreams, all the battles they fight - they're the same worries, drams and battles that we experience every day. Perhaps that's why this story made such a huge impression on me. I was really moved by it, really glued to its pages, hungry for more, impatient to find out what will happen to Rosie, Andy, aunt Sarah, Nana, and Kitty Clare. 
 Speaking of characters, I feel that I need to mention how delighted I was with Rosie's strong personality. This girl went through so much and yet there was no self-pity, no whining, no throwing fits nor crying into the pillow for hours. She was such a reasonable, understanding, patient, compassionate and forgiving character. So tough, brave and determined to find true happiness, taking special care not to hurt anyone else in the process. I loved her. I really did. I cheered for her, and laughed and cried with her. Andy, too, was a very thoughtful character. Unlike many boys in YA literature of modern times, he was not a picture perfect. He had his flaws and that made me like him even more. It made him real. Sure, he was handsome, caring and supportive. He was also quite romantic and swoon-worthy, but at the same time he had his bad (or not-too-good) moments, when he couldn't understand what was happening with Rosie and the frustration coming from that would make him impatient and angry. And that was perfectly fine, because that's how normal people react. Like I said, Katie Dale did a phenomenal job fleshing out her characters and breathing life into them. I was completely and utterly impressed! 
 The plot line itself is a harrowing one. At times it will make you sad, at times it will make you smile or even laugh. Few scenes might make your heart pound faster. Ultimately, though, it will make you think. If you're anything like me, you will be thinking about this story long after you'll turn the last page. This book does that to you. Rosie's lively first-person narrative will inspire some long hours of pondering issues ranging from identity, self-acceptance, to family and relationship complexities, along with deciding what truly matters in life. Anyone who has ever dealt with death in family, or wondered about their place in the world, will find it really easy to relate to this beautifully-written, charming novel. 
 And it will also teach a you a very important lesson: that the blood-relation does not make a family. People who truly love you, care for you, and accept you for who you are - they make a family. And the love that comes from that transcends blood. 
 Katie Dale has written an intimate and authentic portrait of a teen who finds herself struggling to embrace her uncertain future. It's a fabulous read. I strongly recommend it!