DNF at page 44.

This book might be very good. But I found the protagonist more annoying than endearing and her story too sad. I do enjoy Ms. De La Cruz's writing, but not this book.
Olivia is not a very likable protagonist and thus I found it difficult (but not impossible) to have sympathy for her.
I put it down for over a week and never once even thought about it.

I do hope to someday finish this book.

Trigger Warning for scenes involving self-harm, underage drinking, and the topic of eating disorders, specifically bulimia.
My previous experience with Melissa De la Cruz was reading "The Witches of East End" and this book is certainly not dealing in magic. Rather, Cruz's character, Liv is a high school student with a talent for art, but a very low self esteem. Her parents are distracted by her father's political race for governor and her older brothers have their own adult worries. Neither they nor her best friends, Sam and Antonia notice Liv's descent into an eating disorder. Determined to make it with the "in crowd" and snag one of the hot teen actors that attends her school, Liv will do anything to finally be pretty.

I noticed at the end of her book, Cruz dedicates the story to those who she knows that have suffered from this disorder. Although as a reader, it was sometimes hard to connect with Liv and in the beginning of the story, I just felt she was so very shallow. But then I came to understand that because of her self perception, Liv truly was unable to stop herself from continuing to purge her body. On the other hand, I felt the end was rather rushed to resolution and while there were glimmers of emotion from Liv's family members, I find it hard to believe that a young woman would only spend a few days in hospital after battling bulimia for almost two years. Mind you, I do love the last sentence of the story about how Liv needs to love herself before dating again .

Liv Blakely is a junior in high school and is struggling with challenging circumstances: her congressman father decides he wants to campaign to be the governor of California and hires a demanding man to control the family's public image, her parents are controlling and don't seem to care about her needs and artistic talent, her love life is nonexistent, and she is struggling with bulimia while trying to keep it hidden from everyone. As more complications arise and she has disagreements with her two best friends, Liv finds it increasingly difficult to please people and control her bulimia. Will Liv be able to get her life back, stay out of the spotlight, find a solution for her health problems, and find someone to love her?

This book was so sad. I learned quite a bit about the perspective of a person struggling with an eating disorder, but it was a very hard book to read. I was glad to see things looking up for Liv at the end of the book, but I found myself skimming ahead often so I could finish quickly. I didn't like the way the author addressed underage drinking - mostly everyone in the book either ignored it, encouraged it, or participated in it. I didn't care for the loose morals of many of the characters or the profanity. I also didn't like way a certain political agenda was being pushed in the book, though I know my opinion is unpopular. I gave the book three stars because of the much needed portrayal of health and family issues as well as an encouragement towards body positivity, but I didn't care for the rest of it.
I received a review copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I couldn't get into this book, the main character is from a very wealthy and prominent family and I couldn't sympathize with her.

Olivia Blakely has been under a lot of pressure. She is the daughter of a politician and she is younger than everyone else in her class. Liv has always struggled with accepting her body and her weight, but when her normal pressures are compounded with trying to get into art school and the attentions of the boy she is interested in, her careful devotion to her weight spirals into a case of bulimia. Will her family and friends notice these changes? Will Liv learn to love herself and not worry about what the world thinks?

Someone to Love is a stand-alone novel that leaves a lot to be desired. It is a hard topic that is even harder to relate to, yet it seemed that many parts of the story were disconnected and forced into the greater story. De la Cruz has a large fan base and many people will pick this book up. It may not be for everyone, but if it helps one person struggling with self-acceptance and encourages them to ask for help, then it is worth reading and recommending. Someone to Love will be an enjoyable read for the right reader.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Teen for letting me read and review this book.

Olivia is a struggling teen full of self-doubt and loathing that manifests itself in an eating disorder, self harm, and reckless behaviors. The anguish she feels, and how she smothers those feelings, are at times difficult to read. The author doesn't hide the spiral of destruction, nor make the solution look easy and unrealistic.

I did worry that the book could be a little too helpful to a young adult looking at providing information on how to manage an eating disorder successfully but know that the information in the book is not new, or a secret, and that any teen fully involved in their own eating disorder would probably know all these tips and tricks already.

Having Olivia appear to be the girl who has 'everything' and comes from a lifestyle that most do not enjoy, yet still struggle with the same insecurities and issues will be appealing to readers.

This book would be a good read for a parent trying to understand their child struggling with self destructive behaviors. The book is almost like a 'what not to do' for parents. I felt that all the adults and friends in this book either did not notice Olivia's problems or chose to do nothing which felt like they abdicated their responsibilities as people who loved her.

A few quotes I appreciated:

'My own private revolution, for no reason other than that I'm a teenager. It's practically my duty to get under my parents' skin."

' The smaller a girl is, the more visible she is to the world. The more she makes herself disappear, the more she matters. It's all a trick.'

'...that broken people need to love themselves and heal themselves before they can truly love others, that love is the most healing medicine anyone can give to the self.'

I didn’t enjoy this book. The dialogue was stilted and the story wasn’t engaging. It rambled on quite a bit. It was about a very serious subject matter but I felt really removed from the story and didn’t care what happened to Liv.