Book Review: A Beautiful Mess by Ali Berlinski; Pubslush Publishing

Biracial and bicoastal, Berlinski spent her childhood flying between the families of her divorced parents, without ever feeling like she fit in anywhere. Fortunately, she never lost her sense of humor, which is apparent on every page of her first book, a riotous and revealing look at the consequences of divorce, too much air travel, cultural diversity and conflicting and conflicted parents. With an open heart and an honest soul, she recounts her somewhat misspent youth and a wildly exciting (though equally torturous) love affair with the guy of her dreams. She loves, she loses and she packs it in, leaving behind the guy, two dysfunctional families, and a comfortable life to move to a foreign country and start all over again.

She’s Carrie Bradshaw reimagined as a third grade teacher in Brooklyn with zero interest in Manolo Blahniks. She’s a tough New Yorker with a tender twist of California sunshine in her blood that knows when to fight and when to surrender. Her journey will be oddly familiar and utterly unique to anyone who’s ever believed that love would save them—if not with this guy, then maybe with the next.

As her grandfather once said, “Well, it may not be the party you hoped for, but since we’re here, we might as well dance.” So now she lives in Spain and, despite everything, Berlinski keeps on dancing.
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My Review

The first 3/4 of this book reminds me of a confession from a stand-up comic or something. It has a mixture of witty one liners and a lot of complicated life stories.

It felt like accidentally stumbling on someone’s journal and seeing their true colors, the way their life unfolds, and their dirty little secrets. Most people aren’t going to confess how confusing their life is.

She is half Filipino, half Polish, is the middle, oldest, AND youngest child. How this comes about I never knew until this book. She has an Asian stepmom, 2 two older Caucasian siblings, and 2 half-Filipino-half-Puerto Rican younger siblings.

When I first got the book I thought it was going to be a hilarious memoir all the way through. It wasn’t, there were only a few funny parts- but it was worth the read.

She lays everything on the line. Her relationship with her parents and stepmom, her siblings, and even her relationships with men. She has an amazing “nickname” for one of her old boyfriends..

In the middle of the book is when she whips out her “personal tragedies” which consist of fights with her boyfriends, what went wrong, and what she could have done. Also—conversations and issues with parents.

I really liked the book. It  had me intrigued from the very beginning. I like reading memoirs though. Other people’s life stories have always been an interest to me..

GET IT for yourself! A Beautiful Mess by Ali Berlinski

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Jessica Renee