Beautiful Girl by Fleur Philips is about a girl whose face becomes scarred, halting her acting career but allowing her to finally be normal.

Melanie is 17 years old and she’s stunning. It’s a blessing and a curse. Her mom controls her life, dragging her to auditions whether Mel wants to or not. Nothing will deter her mother.

Except when Melanie gets into a car accident that leaves her scarred. Her mother whisks her away to Montana, far from the prying eyes. Mel’s mother is devastated, but Melanie finally feels normal.

Those feelings only increase when she meets Sam, a Native American boy to whom she instantly has a connection. Sam struggles with taking care of his drunken father, but something truly special also surrounds the family.

‘Beautiful Girl’ review

Author Fleur Philips wastes no time getting to the crux of the story. Within the first few chapters, we already see how controlling Melanie’s mother is, we witness the young girl’s accident, and we watch as she’s hidden away from the public eye. Soon thereafter, Sam enters the picture and the pacing only quickens from here on out.

What begins as a typical story about one girl’s struggle of not wanting the life that was handed to her on a silver platter, soon morphs into a tale of a boy and girl drawn together by outside sources. Sam’s family possesses a gift, and it’s clear that he and Mel were meant to find each other.

Beautiful Girl does not shy away from the ugly reality of life. This story gets dark, and Philips doesn’t hide what goes on in the mind of a young woman who has been pushed beyond her limits when it comes to being told what to do. Tragedy, heartbreak, and redemption abound as Melanie’s life quickly spins out of control.

Beautiful Girl by Fleur Philips hits store shelves on June 9, 2015. You can add it to your Goodreads list, or you can purchase it on Amazon or IndieBound.