My Life in Black and White discussion

The Realistic Fiction book I chose to read is “My Life in Black and White” by Natasha Friend. The reason I rated the book 4 stars is because out of the three choices we were given it is the book that caught my attention the most. The book is about a pretty girl named Lexi that goes through a windshield face first causing her permanent scars. Due to this trauma in her life she must learn to adapt to her life after the accident. Based on that small summary provided by Goodreads I was instantly hooked! Now that I have pointed out the plot I can continue to explain my interest on this book.

First, the main character Lexi is a girl which I quickly made a connection to as I am a girl myself. However, I have never suffered an accident that has left me physically scarred therefore I cannot fully relate to Lexi but would like to know how this event changes her life. What intrigues me the most is the problem within the story, a girl who suffered an awful accident that is emotionally causing conflict with her own self.

Second, I also think that Lexi will have a hard time accepting her new self as she is still obsessed with her image in some way. I know that Lexi has lived her life as being the “Pretty girl” and suddenly she must accommodate to her new life as the “pretty girl who had an awful accident”. This made me question what kind of growth would I expect from Lexi in this book? Lexi most likely will have a hard time accepting the physical changes but she will also change from within. That could potentially be the solution; self-acceptance.

Third, there seems to be an element of mystery in this story. Before Lexi’s accident she witnessed an incident between her current boyfriend and her best friend but we are not told what Lexi saw. The summary also explained there was an accident that permanently marked but leaves out how the accident occurred. Why did Lexi go face first through a windshield? Where was she? What caused the accident? Was it truly an accident?

Finally, if the solution to this realistic fiction book is self-acceptance I can infer that the theme will be understanding that beauty isn’t everything. With that said I am completely sure that this book deserves 4 stars as a rating! I sure hope I enjoy reading the entire book as much as I enjoyed reading the books sho