Vain by Amelie Fisher - 5 stars

Completely Unexpected….Blindsided by this Profound Love Story.

When I read the description of Vain and purchased it, I was expecting a gritty, scandalous account of one brazen young women.  However, what I found was a story of a girl thrust into a dangerous, depressed world expecting misery but found herself.  In learning to love herself she was then able to learn true love and what it means to truly care for another being.

Sophie Price is a pompous, promiscuous, rich kid.  She didn’t care about hurting other people’s feelings (even those she called friends) because she was their queen…and they bow to her…not the other way around.  The normal weekend party is busted by police and Sophie is caught for the second time with drugs and the judge isn’t going easy this time.  Her sentence…an orphanage in Uganda for 6 months.

At the orphanage Sophie meets and works with Dinjane (Ian), who at first does not seem to like Sophie and selfish ways.  As they continue to work together, they learn more about each other and become closer.  Ian, the children and the other orphanage volunteers show her a deep love she never knew existed.

Sophie’s journey transforms her life.  Learning truths about herself and the world, she discovers what a small glimpse of the world she received back home.

This book, as I mentioned, was completely unexpected and I loved every minute of it.  The characters were interesting and you were so easily drawn into their world – the pain, the suffering, the joy, the love...I was wowed by this book.  5 stars all the way!

My Scale:

5 stars – made me feel what they felt, was obsessed to the point where I couldn't concentrate at work because I wanted to read. I wanted to read every free minute possible –even if it was a few minutes in the Burger King drive-thru or the couple minutes I’m waiting for the toaster.


4 stars – I felt what they felt, was moderately distracted at work and read when I could. Thought about the characters but there wasn't an impulse to read with each beat of my heart.


3 stars – great story, able to feel their emotions but wasn't distracted at work. I read when I could but not necessarily every night before I go to bed like normal.


2 stars – interesting story, but not pulled in. Finished the book because I want to know what happened at the end.


1 star – didn’t even finish the book