Barbie Girl (Baby Doll Series) Paperback – July 9, 2013

"Oh. My. God! This book ensnared me with it's likable, witty, funny, and REAL Characters. With a Story that leaves you raw. But most of all it broke me down and made me cry & feel. It's what a YA Contemporary book is all about :)"What can i say besides AMAZING. Seriously this book was completely different from what I read and yet it managed to keep me hooked. The book is in the POV of Barbie and Dylan, which i always love in a YA Contemporary. One of the things about the book is that neither really wants to like the other but throughout the novel they eventually do.Barbie is labeled a "slut" with her barely clothed self and reputation. She had a lot of ghosts that throughout the book we see and realized that she isn't what others labeled her to be. She doesn't have the perfect family and her mom is the WORST! I couldn't believe she was her mom and Barbie basically raised herself and her little brother. She had a sweet side and a tough side and always spoke her mind. She was complex but I LOVED her for her imperfections! She never felt loved and being loved was such a new feeling that she was basically rejecting it, as seen below:"Tears burn down my check. I can't have him love me, and I can't love someone else. I am too damaged and he deserves so much more"Dylan too was a kid who got bullied but now he's grown up and want's to stay out of sight. I liked him. But at times I wanted to beat him up because he had Barbie who really wanted to know him and even went as far as to help him win the attention of his crush Katie; whom isn't as "perfect" as she seems. It kinda tore me apart because Dylan & Barbie really got well together and made each other grow. I liked how Barbie changed HIM, as seen below:"Third turns down her road, he knows where she lives. He has had a glimpse into her world. While I was too worried about what she was doing to mine to even be a decent enough human being to get to know hers."The ending of this book was BAM! It went fast and it tore me apart. I was SO SHOCKED, I felt for Barbie and I cried like a baby! Then after this horrible event, Barbie changes but is still fighting, not for herself but for her brother Everette. I was so MAD with Dylan at the end because he crossed a line and even his friend third was on Barbie's side.I loved the sweet parts just as much as the painful parts. There's prom and how it changed there worlds and really by the end i was an emotional MESS! I really have no words that could describe this book, because honestly this book was out of the charts AMAZING! Please READ IT! Like, NOW!! :) [Below, Me after the ending]Overall, this was a AMAZINGLY real read filled with love, heartache, and love I LOVED this book x 1,000. I am DYING to read the next one!! 5/5 CRAZY STARS! Ah-Mah-Zing! It blew my mind away and broke me! :D

When I first read the name of the book, "Barbie Girl" I have to admit, I was a little turned off. The cover did peak my interest though, because I figured she wasn't going to be the typical "Barbie" type. I'd actually struggled with the idea of whether or not I wanted to buy the book. When the author offered me a chance to read it for free, I jumped at the chance. Funny thing was, I decided to buy it after reading a couple pages. This author def. deserved the purchase of her work.I was trying to read this book in the middle of reading a few other stories...that didn't last long. This book drew my attention and I spent hours thumbing through it, unable to resume my other reads until it was complete. This story brought me back to my high school days and reminded me of all the different "types" of people that were encountered in my youth. It was a heartwarming and heart wrenching story line that begged for my attention. It was an absolutely astounding reminder that you never know what another person could be hiding. I think it was amazing that she was able to weave so many life's lessons into this short and easy read.Well done, Heidi Acosta! I cannot recommend this book enough. :)

Aside from the grammatical errors, I actually liked the book. It would definitely read better if the errors were fixed, but overall, the story flowed pretty well.Barbie is a girl with a troubled home life. However, to make things more complicated, she has an autistic brother that relies on her so running away isn't something she can do. Her dad and his, are not in the picture and their mom is a drinker. Barbie is the beautiful girl from the wrong side of the tracks who lives life her way. Everyone thinks she is easy and does drugs, and she doesn't really do anything to dispel those rumors. She kind of encourages them.Dylan is a boy who lives the completely opposite life from Barbie. He comes from a stable home, with his little sister and both parents. However, he isn't the popular kid. He is smart, but extremely rigid. Because he was picked on when he was younger, he does everything he can to walk a straight line so as to not bring back any negative treatment.Their two worlds collide. Although they have known each other most of their lives, Barbie and Dylan are very different people and when she needs his help with tutoring, things really start to get interesting. He doesn't want to do it, but agrees when she promises to help him snag his "dream" girl. The one that does not know he exists. The girl who is not so perfect herself, but he doesn't see it. As you can imagine, things don't go exactly as planned and eventually the two will develop feelings for each other, but like most teens, after a lot of misunderstandings and bad decisions, the two will end up feeling hurt and betrayed.I didn't always agree with Barbie's decisions, but can definitely see where she was coming from. She had a lot to deal with, and did it her own way. She was truly a very strong personality. I was more bothered by Dylan and the blinders he wore. He saw only what he wanted to see and because of his insecurities, lost the people that knew him best and still liked him.At the end, they were both still making mistakes. I think she was unfairly harsh with him...his choice resulted in something better for her even if she did not know it at the time. And him....how do you not work harder to win back your best friend and to walk away from someone you know you don't really care for? Cause Katie is definitely not a nice person and Third, although he made some mistakes too (um, how do you not tell your best friend what is going on?) was still his best friend. He had his quirks, but was one of the most likeable characters. I don't think he always helped though, and in some cases actually did help to confuse the situation.I guess this is where book 2 comes in.