For years, Allie Johnston has wanted something she rarely discusses outside of an online chat group: a nose job. For her, a nose job could mean becoming beautiful, which in turn, would equal great self-esteem and happiness. When she meets two girls online who also want nose jobs, the three team up to support each other as they face the procedure. As Allie begins to seriously face the surgery and not just dream of it, she will have to decide if fixing her nose is what she is really after.

A DIFFERENT ME by Deborah Blumenthal captures the voice of an insecure young girl perfectly. Allie's journey in attempting to see past the immediate, past social concepts of beauty, past the person with the picture perfect life, and past her own mirror is touching and real. At first, I was a bit turned off by the slightly over the top teen slang, but by the end, I think it only helped in creating and showing the person Allie was for comparison to the Allie she develops into. The overarching concepts in the story are so meaningful and show that when it comes to big ideas like what true beauty and self-confidence are, no age group has it right or perfectly defined.

A DIFFERENT ME primarily focuses on Allie's internal development, but there are strong friendship additions to the story that add wonderful layers to the dynamic. I love the problems and pressures Allie must face to see what can go on behind a pretty face and that friendship is more than mutually making fun of others. There is a small romance that also adds sweet swoons and some touching dialogue to the story.

For readers of contemporary young adult fiction, A DIFFERENT ME offers a look at a young girl whose voice readers won't find difficult to recognize as possibly one they had growing up or one they still carry inside them. Deborah Blumenthal wows with her literary tackle of large concepts that need to be examined.