The Life of Glass

by Jillian Cantor

Before he died, Melissa's father told her about stars. He told her that the brightest stars weren't always the most beautiful--that if people took the time to look at the smaller stars, if they looked with a telescope at the true essence of the star, they would find real beauty. But even though Melissa knows that beauty isn't only skin deep, the people around her don't seem to feel that way. There's her gorgeous sister, Ashley, who will barely acknowledge...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061686514
• ISBN13: 9780061686511
• Release Date: February 2010
• Publisher: Harper Teen
• Length: 340 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.1" x 7.1"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

Loved All The Characters!

Taken from [...] My Thoughts: I really enjoyed reading this book! This is such a complex yet simple book, you'll have to read the book to totally understand what I mean. We meet Melissa who is just your average teenage girl. She watched her father wither away day by day and pass away finally. It happened in the beginning of the book so you feel the heartbreak right away. I think I could relate to her in so many ways. My father also passed away when I was 13 years old, so I knew exactly how Melissa felt. We meet the side characters such as Melissa's family, Melissa's best friend and neighbor Ryan. Ryan seemed like a somewhat nerdy guy but he was such a sweetheart. We meet Courtney who is new, so a few of the guys want her and of course she takes an interest in Ryan. At that moment, Melissa realizes her feelings for Ryan may run a little deeper than she thought. I felt like I could really relate to Melissa and I enjoyed reading our Ryan and Courtney's biking adventures. I liked hearing about her father's journal. I liked all the other side characters. I thought this book was sweet. You'll have to read it to find out what happened to Melissa and Ryan's relationship, Courtney and Melissa's friendship, and how she dealt with her father's death. I recommend this book. Have the tissues handy. Overall: Loved it a lot. It was a sweet and emotional book.

Beautiful, Lyrical Book!

When Melissa's father died, he left behind a journal filled with love stories and interesting facts. Among these, the fact that it takes glass a million years to die. Melissa decides to continue her father's journal, and to write down the love stories of those around her in an effort to keep his memory alive. In addition to love, another theme in this wonderful book is beauty. Melissa's mother and sister are conventionally pretty, and her sister competes in pageants. Her best friend Ryan also begins to fall for the gorgeous new girl in school. This leaves Melissa feeling unsure of her place in the world, and if she herself, can be considered beautiful. Throughout the book, Melissa must reconcile the memory of her father, with the changes to her family and friends around her. I absolutely loved this book; I was hooked from the first page to the last. Cantor has written a book that is thoughtful, emotional, realistic and poignant. I highly recommend this book for both adults and teens alike!

Yet Another Fantastic Book by Cantor!

Last year a little debut called The September Sisters took a place in my heart and The Life of Glass continued to do the same. I can't even begin to describe how much I absolutely loved this book of love, loss, and moving on, because I don't think my words could ever do it enough justice. The one thing I absolutely love about Jillian Cantor's books is that she takes a topic so simple that you worry for a moment that it'll provide to be dull, but instead proves to be complex and enjoyable with her smooth, lyrical like writing ,and her characters who always earn my respect with their realness. I liked how Melissa could be any teen because of the fact she was dealing with a loss of the loved one, worried about fitting in while staying true to herself and coming to term with several issues that I bet any teen or even adult, possibly, can find relatable. And talking about relatable-ness, I give props to Jillian for addressing toxic friendships with Courtney and Melissa. Further more, I loved how sweet Ryan was most of the time to Melissa and how Jillian once again have siblings take part in the plot of her book. Though, this time in a happier way, thankfully. In all, The Life of Glass once again shows of Jillian Cantor's story telling talent making it a book I'll definitely be suggesting come February. Grade: A+

Encompasses whole high school experience!

The Life of Glass is one of those books, one of those books that encompasses the whole high school/growing up experience and in my opinion the author does it beautifully. At first glance I thought the book was going to be mostly about Melissa dealing with her dad's death and all the other things being sort of secondary plots but turns out her father's death was sort of the map that she experienced everything else on and it came together so perfectly. Melissa reads from her father's journal when she needs to feel close to him or just needs something, and one of my favorite parts of the book is inside that journal. Her father (and also Melissa) write these wonderful little stories of how couples met and got together (her parents, her parent's parents etc) and they were just so touching. So as I mentioned the focus of the book is not just on Melissa and dealing with her grief but it's also about her family and how they move on, her friends (new and old in school) and finding love for the first time. I hated the way that Melissa's sister Ashley treated her and even her mother sometimes, they were sort of off in their own little world but what was really impressive was that Melissa didn't really care that she was not like them and did her own thing. Yes she grows and changes and finds more in common with them but she still remains her own person and I think that's one of the most important messages in the book. And probably my favorite plot involved Melissa and her friend Ryan, they have been friends forever never thinking about anything more than hanging out and riding the wash and then new girl Courtney jumps in the middle of their friendship and turns everything upside down. The Life of Glass is a wonderful book that covers so much and I definitely will be checking out Jillian's previous release and any other books she has to come!

Loved it

I have said this many times over the course of my reviews, but YA are incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful selection of top quality authors writing books aimed at them. When I was younger, we certainly did not have the wide selection and the quality that is found in today's YA books. I particularly enjoy the fact that both publisheres and authors do not shy away from writing books on difficult subjects - while doing it in a honest and compassionate manner - I certainly could have used a book such as The Life Of Glass when I was 14! This book touches on a subject matter that is extremely close to my heart. Reading this book brought back alot of memories for me and I could feel Melissa's pain and at times, her complete feeling of disconnect from the world (a necessary move in order NOT to feel all the pain inside). Melissa is smart and has been dealt a huge blow -at a very young age - and is trying to cope and "deal" in the only way she feels she can - by reading her dad's journals. However, as with all things in life - there is a reason behind her dad's death - and Melissa will slowly, but surely learn her life lessons (those that life is teaching her and those that her dad wants her to know). This book could easily have been just an average book, which eventually ends up in "sugar land" with everybody living happily ever after without a care in the world - but thankfully, the author's wonderful quality of writing and obvious love for her characters AND her storyline made this book, instead, a true gem. I loved reading this book - it is a mature, sensitive look at grief and at how we go on after we have been ripped apart. But more importantly, it inspires us to "forge ahead" and to believe! I LOVED, LOVED this one (sniff! sniff!).