Review: Fingerprints of You by Kristen-Paige Madonia

Title: Fingerprints of You
Author: Kristen-Paige Madonia
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publishing Date: August 7th 2012
Pages: 272
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
Series: Stand Alone
Source: Hardcover

Goodreads Summary:
Lemon grew up with Stella, a single mom who wasn’t exactly maternal. Stella always had a drink in her hand and a new boyfriend every few months, and when things got out of hand, she would whisk Lemon off to a new town for a fresh beginning. Now, just as they are moving yet again, Lemon discovers that she is pregnant from a reckless encounter—with a guy Stella had been flirting with.

On the verge of revisiting her mother’s mistakes, Lemon struggles to cope with the idea of herself as a young unmarried mother, as well as the fact that she’s never met her own father. Determined to have at least one big adventure before she has the baby, Lemon sets off on a cross-country road trip, intending not only to meet her father, but to figure out who she wants to be.

Review:
I had been waiting for this book for quite a bit of time. I have to admit the cover drew me in first. It is so artistic, fascinating, and colorful. I read the synopsis and decided to give it a shot. I have been really trying to expand my reading to contemporary romance and realistic fiction this year. I was not disappointed in this book at all. It was a very raw book for me, very emotion, and very thought provoking.

The story revolves around a 17 year old girl who has traveled quite a bit moving from one place to another with her mother. Over the years it seems that this girl, Lemon, has grown a bit of resentment towards her mother for all the moving and lack of information about her father. In the latest move her mother has an eye on a younger man who results in Lemon making a very impulsive decision that leaves her pregnant and leads her mother to a new move. Now they are in a new place and things start to look up for her mother, a good relationship and a pretty good job. Lemon has also made a pretty good friend. The pregnancy awakes quite a few questions and unsettled feelings inside of Lemon and she decides to take a road trip wither her really close friend to California, to find her father. Lemon learns a bit about love, family, and loss once she gets to California.

The characters were pretty awesome in this book. Well developed and very well rounded. Lemon is a smart girl but has many unresolved issues and with all the things her life out of control left her feeling out of place. She makes some pretty impulsive decisions throughout the story, some end well, some don’t. She starts off pretty selfish and distant but by the end of the book she grows up pretty well. Lemon’s mother, Stella, is a bit of a free spirit. (hence her daughter’s name) and misses quite a bit of key moments in her life, moments that give her the need to be settled and nurturing. Lemon’s best friend (spacing on her name at the moment) is wild and loud but also loyal and wise in many ways beyond her years. The character list could go on and on as there are many supporting characters and many drop ins that focus on different relationships that one has throughout tier life, parent-child, sibling, friendship, and love.

The story was very well paced for me and I couldn’t help but keep going. I knew with every page there would be more heartbreak, more joy, more truths, and more epiphanies for Lemon. The story focuses mainly on lemon and her relationships, but it goes beyond their and brings in her mothers and fathers current and past relationships as well. The book actually refreshed many things I already felt and knew, but it was good to experience from a younger mind when everything seems so bold and so strong.

I enjoyed the book oh so much and can’t wait to see what the future brings from this author.

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