Blog Tour & Giveaway: Review & Favorite Quotes of This Tiny Perfect World by Lauren Gibaldi

Title: This Tiny Perfect World
Author:  Lauren Gibaldi
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 27, 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary

Synopsis:

Penny loves her small-town Florida life, and she has her future mapped out. She’s going to community college after graduation to stay close to home and her best friend, Faye. She’ll take over the family diner that her dad has been managing since her mother died. And one day, she’ll marry her high school sweetheart, Logan.

But when she unexpectedly lands a scholarship to a prestigious summer theater camp, she is thrust into a world of competition and self-doubt. And suddenly, her future gets a little hazy. As she meets new friends, including Chase, a talented young actor with big-city dreams, she begins to realize that maybe the life everyone (including her) expects her to lead is not the one she was meant to have.

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Once again, Lauren Gibaldi has written another book with so much emotional power behind her characters. In This Tiny Perfect World, we are streamed through the world and emotions of the main character, Penny. It’s currently Penny’s summer break, and while her friends are pursuing jobs, she is participating in a summer program for actors. Penny is from a small town, where no one really leaves. But in this story, Penny begins to see that her passion for acting may not be just a hobby and the small-town-world she has perfected with great friends, a loving dad, and a caring boyfriend, might not be enough for Penny to stay after she graduates high school. 

One of my favorite things about Gibaldi’s writing is that she makes her characters so real and honest. In This Tiny Perfect World, Penny’s inner dialogue is so gritty and vulnerable. I enjoyed watching Penny challenge herself to push forward; she dares herself to take on acting roles that are so different to her normal lifestyle. But it’s through  theater camp and her play-acting friends, Penny discovers there are dreams and goals beyond her small town walls. Penny thought she already had her life planned out after high school, but she acknowledges that not everything is black and white. Situations change. People change. And people, like herself, are on a continuous journey of figuring who they are and what they want in life. 

Overall, This Tiny Perfect World is different that Gibaldi’s other two books., because it is not as swoony and romantic-based. Instead, the focus in this book is on Penny’s individual character development. I like that Penny’s life begins on such a narrow and focused path, but by the end of the book, Penny realizes her world is wide open to more possibilities. This story is very straight-forward, thought-provoking, and will have you engaged in internal dialogue of a teenager who has a loving soul and a fierce spirit to mature and discover the world around her. 

WIN 1 copy of THIS TINY PERFECT WORLD by Lauren Gibaldi
(OPEN INTERNATIONALLY-as long as the Book Depository ships to you)

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US ONLY…Comment below and win a swag package from the author (picture below). I will randomly pick one (1) winner on March 12, 2018 at noon.

Lauren Gibaldi is a public librarian who’s been, among other things, a magazine editor, high school English teacher, bookseller, and circus aerialist (seriously). She has a BA in Literature and Master’s in Library and Information Studies. She lives in Orlando, Florida with her husband and daughter. Her books include THE NIGHT WE SAID YES, AUTOFOCUS, and the forthcoming THIS TINY PERFECT WORLD.

 

February 27th

Pink Polka Dot Books– Welcome Post

February 28th

Broadway World– Guest Post
Jill’s Book Blog– Review
Belle’s Book Blog– Review

March 1st

Rants and Raves of a Bibliophile– Review & Favorite Quotes
We Live and Breathe Books– Review & Meet the Characters
Bookwyrming Thoughts– Review

March 2nd

Two Different Worlds– Interview
BookCrushin– Review & Creative Post

March 3rd

Here’s to Happy Endings– Story Behind the Cover
A Thousand Words A Million Books– Review

March 4th

Blushing Bibliophile– Review & Favorite Quotes
Literary Meanderings– Guest Post

March 5th

Little Library Muse– Interview
Becca’s Lost in Lit– Review & Book Style
The Candid Cover– Review

 
Note: Thank you to the The Fantastic Flying Book Club for having me on this blog tour. And a huge thank you to HarperTeen for providing me an e-galley to read and review the book for free in exchange for an honest review. All statements and opinions are my own.