OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Aloha Self-Esteem?" by Alicia Emamdee.]
It was my pleasure to read the book Aloha Self-Esteem? by Alicia Emamdee. The target audience for this contemporary novel is young adult females. Though I am technically not a young adult anymore, I was at one time, and I still love books written for this audience. Actually, I really wish I had been able to read this book back in those days.

In this lovely story, we follow Jennifer, aka Jen for short, as she transitions from a shy, awkward teenager into the person she was destined to be. Of course, this destiny doesn’t just happen. She has to make it happen. She starts off facing two major problems in her life. One: she has a massive crush on a cute boy at her school, but there is no chance that she will ever be able to speak with him without looking like an idiot. Two: in order to visit her cousin in Hawaii over summer break, Jen has to bring up her GPA. Doing so means presenting a paper in front of her entire psychology class. It’s nothing short of her worst nightmare.

When she overhears her eight-year-old sister and friends speaking negatively about their own bodies, Jen is struck with motivation for her psychology paper: how to improve self-esteem and gain self-confidence. She begins her research right away and is driven by all the advice she uncovers. She is even able to meet with Diane, a therapist who specializes in dealing with self-esteem and teenage girls. With Diane’s personalized help and information for her paper, Jen begins to apply her research to her own life. As she improves her self-esteem, her problems become smaller while her life becomes easier and just more enjoyable in general. Others around her see what a difference having high self-esteem has made in her life, and her friends begin to follow in her motivational footsteps.

Needless to say, this story is extremely empowering to young women, especially those who have low self-esteem or difficulties believing that they are capable of doing all the things that they want to do. It sends a great message to girls of all ages and includes lots of practical tips that anyone can use to help improve their self worth. The author definitely knows what she is talking about in this field, though there is a disclaimer at the beginning of the book that you should seek professional guidance and not rely solely on this book for your mental health care needs. Although it is a work of fiction, readers could easily assume that it is based on a true story, so I’m actually glad that the author put in this disclaimer. We don’t need anyone angry if what worked for Jen doesn’t work for someone else!

The really interesting aspect of this book is the unique incorporation of the readers into the story. The narrator of the story, our first-person heroine Jen, occasionally addresses the readers directly, usually to give some kind of instruction on what to do in the present self-esteem enhancement exercise. The first time it happened, I was a little confused. I actually had to question whether this book was a fictional story or a non-fiction, self-help book. To answer my own question, it’s a little bit of both, if you want it to be.

I really wanted to give this story a four star rating. I really did. As I was reading, I came across a few small things here and there that I didn’t necessarily like, but I was willing to overlook my little pet peeves (e.g., USING ALL CAPS to emphasize a word/phrase instead of using italics: fine, personal preference I can live with. Horrible grammar and spelling in text message conversations: realistic touch I can also live with even though it drives me crazy. A few paragraphs that weren’t indented for some reason: whatever, I can get over that.) just because the story was too good for me to be bothered by these petty things.

However, though I hate to have to put this however in here, I found a major problem in the story as I got closer to the end. Around page 200 (out of 258), I found myself getting a little bored. The climax of the story had already passed. Jen had already met all the goals she had set for herself at the beginning of the story, yet there was still a quarter of the book left to read. I felt like the last fifty or so pages of the story were completely unnecessary. It kind of felt like the author wasn’t sure how to end the book, so she just kept writing and writing. The actual ending wasn’t terrible, but it just seemed to take too long to get there from the climax.

In the end, I have to rate this book 3 out of 4 stars, though it sort of pains me to do so. I think with a fair bit of tweaking, this book has such great potential to be even better than it already is; maybe add in a little more conflict as Jen struggles toward her goals, and make the climax a little more intense. I want to feel Jen’s angst more! That being said, overall, this is a fantastic book, and I would highly recommend it to any young women out there who need a reminder about how amazing they are. Like I said before, I really wish I had this book back in my more youthful days.

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I think it is so good to come across books that teach young people about the psychology behind what they may be going through. Great review!

npandit wrote:I think it is so good to come across books that teach young people about the psychology behind what they may be going through. Great review!

I agree! This was my favorite of the books I have reviewed so far! I wish I could have given more points than just 3. Like maybe 3.5 or something. Hahaha. I recommend it! And I would like to see more like it.

As someone who has a Psychology degree and suffered from low self-esteem for many years, I am very intrested in reading this book. Low self-esteem among young women is a significant issue in our modern culture, and I find it interesting that the author chose to approach this subject through a fictional work. There are tons of self-help books about overcoming low self-esteem, but I think that reading a novel about a girl who overcomes this huge social obstacle would be beneficial for young girls. Novels usually make for easier and more enjoyable reading, and readers are more likely to remember concepts from a book that they liked (new flash for school boards all over America!).
I guess my point is that this novel might have a more positive impact on young readers than a self-help book on self-esteem targeted to the same audience.

This was a great review, thank you for bringing this book to my attention

LivreAmour217 wrote:As someone who has a Psychology degree and suffered from low self-esteem for many years, I am very intrested in reading this book. Low self-esteem among young women is a significant issue in our modern culture, and I find it interesting that the author chose to approach this subject through a fictional work. There are tons of self-help books about overcoming low self-esteem, but I think that reading a novel about a girl who overcomes this huge social obstacle would be beneficial for young girls. Novels usually make for easier and more enjoyable reading, and readers are more likely to remember concepts from a book that they liked (new flash for school boards all over America!).
I guess my point is that this novel might have a more positive impact on young readers than a self-help book on self-esteem targeted to the same audience.

This was a great review, thank you for bringing this book to my attention

I definitely agree! You might check it out to see if it would useful for you (for recommending to other people).
It's fiction, but there is a character who is a counselor, and I suspect that she might be based on the author. My suspicion only, not a fact. But I would guess that her advice from the story would be pretty similar to what a real counselor would say, so it's like sneaking in real-life self-help information into the fictional story. Really well played!

Great review! And great topic. *adds to reading list*

Skillian wrote:Great review! And great topic. *adds to reading list*

Yay! I hope you enjoy it! I sure did!

(your reading list must be miles long now!)

I know........................... it really is. I feel for every one I read I add at least 4 more.

Thank you for the great review!

gali wrote:Thank you for the great review!

Thanks gali!

I mean... you're welcome!

Thanks for the well written, interesting review. It's nice to see a book that promotes self-esteem in teenage girls. I can understand you wanting to give the book a higher rating, due to the positive message.

The concept of this book seems well thought out. Well written review.

bookowlie wrote:Thanks for the well written, interesting review. It's nice to see a book that promotes self-esteem in teenage girls. I can understand you wanting to give the book a higher rating, due to the positive message.

I really did! I was such an awesome book! It just felt like the positive message was over too soon!

-- 11 Mar 2015, 21:39 --

debo9967 wrote:The concept of this book seems well thought out. Well written review.

Thanks, debo!