Random Reads
Teen Book Reviews by Anne Keller
Chic Lit with Substance
The Year My Sister Got Lucky by Aimee Friedman
Katie and her older sister are uprooted from New York City to relocate to Fir Lake, a rural town in upper New York. Katie is a city girl and not looking forward to country life. She is devestated to leave behind her ballerina school where she is a student with her star pupil sister Michaela. Michaela is destined for Julliard and has a rare gift that make other ballerinas envious and teachers love her. Katie has a hard time adjusting to country life but Michaela acts as if she were born in the country. She easily makes new friends, nabs the star quarterback for a boyfriend, and seems to be paying less and less attention to dancing. When Katie discovers a huge secret about her sister, everything changes. This coming of age story will especially appeal to fans of ballet.
StoriTelling by Tori Spelling
This is a great book! Tori is my age. I am a big fan of her reality TV show on the Oxygen Network. Her book explores her growing up years, her on again off again relationship with her mother, her first marriage, her second marriage, and the birth of her son. While Tori is a homewrecker (she was married one year when she met husband number 2 who was married for 12 years and they slept together the first night they met) she seems to be in a much happier place. She revisits her time on the hit show 90210 (I've seen every episode) and her father's death. This is a perfect beach read and can easily be read in one or two days. Fans of 90210 or Tori Spelling will love this book.
Bloom by Elizabeth Scott
Lauren is in high school and has the perfect boyfriend. Everybody thinks so and everybody says so. Dave is handsome, popular, a jock, and deeply religious so sex must wait for marriage. Lauren feels safe with Dave although she doesn't think their relationship is perfect. She has doubts because she feels like they don't really connect. Her world is turned upside down when Evan returns. He briefly lived with Lauren and her father when Evan's mom moved in with them many years ago. Lauren is immediately attracted to Evan and they begin a secret affair behind Dave's back. A great tale of love which is eerily similar to Sarah Dessen novels.
Pants on Fire by Meg Cabot
One of Meg Cabot's best! Very funny indeed. Kate Ellison is a big time liar. She is running for Quahog Princess even though she can't stand the clams (quahogs) that her hometown is famous for. In addition, she is cheating on her boyfriend of four years with another boy. Just when things can't get any worse, they do. Her old friend Tommy comes back to town after being gone for years after he was run out of town. Back in 8th grade, Tommy was pretty nerdy. But now he is hot. Really hot. Why did he come back to town and what does he want with Kate. Fans of Meg Cabot will not be disappointed and the story is just waiting to be made into a movie. You won't be disappointed.
Perfect Girl by Mary Hogan
A simple and fluffy novel with substance. Ruthie Bayer is fourteen years old and in love with her best friend Perry, an astronomy geek who has no idea of her feelings. Ruthie lives with her way overprotective mother who's idea of a fun night involves knitting and watching the Little Mermaid. Her father's status is unknown since her mother went to a sperm bank for a donation. Ruthie is in desperate need of some womanly advice so she turns to her famous Aunt Marty, a famous romance columnist known to the world as the Goddess of Love. The only obstacle is that her mother and Aunt Marty are exact opposites and clearly don't get along. Will Ruthie get the advice she needs to land the boy of her dreams? I really enjoyed listening to this novel and Mary Hogan is a talented writer who uses great metaphors and a unique style of writing that will appeal to any young girl in love for the very first time.
Beauty Shop for Rent...Fully Equipped, Inquire Within by Laura Bowers
This was a simply delightful read. Abby Garner is fifteen and determined to be a millionaire by age 35. She is being raised by her great grandmother after being abandoned by her mother and her grandmother committed suicide. Her great granny Po runs an old fashioned beauty parlor that is for rent. Gena, a sophisticated 35 year, old rents the space and turns it into a day spa. Abby continues to work at the spa while saving to become a millionaire. Gena immerses herself into the character's lives and she quickly becomes a likeable person. Secondary characters include Great Granny's posse of the "Widows," her elderly friends who are hilarious, quirky, and caring. I read this novel in about 2 days and couldn't wait to see how it ends. It has a very satisfying ending and the reader will not be disappointed. Highly recommend!
How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles
Amy Nelson had planned on spending her summer vacation with her boyfriend and attending tennis camp. Funny how plans change at the very last minute. Her biological father (aka the Sperm Donor) calls and decides to drag Amy off to Israel to meet her grandmother who is very ill. Amy is less than thrilled to be spending her summer in a war torn country with a father who she usually only sees once a year on her birthdays. Prior to visiting Israel, Amy is selfish and self-centered. Meeting her relatives, visiting a new country, and connecting with a mysterious boy somehow transform Amy into a much more mature young lady. This was an engaging and breezy read that teens will devour. Thumbs up in my book!
How to Ruin My Teenage Life by Simone Elkeles
Okay, I admit, I am a huge fan of Simone Elkeles and her novels are refreshing and different. This novel, the sequel to How to Ruin My Summer Vacation, finds Amy living with her father in Chicago after her summer vacation in Israel. Her hot non-boyfriend Avi is in the Israeli army and they are trying the long distance relationship thing. Amy gets into some trouble when she signs her dad up for an online dating service (without his permission) and finds trouble when she is attracted to the new boy in her building. Avi makes a surprise visit to Chicago which creates even more drama. Although Amy's character really matured in the first novel, her character seems to have regressed slightly in the maturity department. This regression only adds to her overall likability factor. I hope there is a third novel!
Haters by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez
Paski lives a comfortable life in Taos, New Mexico with her father who is a cartoonist. Her dad uproots the family and relocates them to Orange County, California because he has gotten a job offer to develop his comic into a feature film. Paski's world is turned upside down as she adjusts to major lifestyle changes the O.C. offers. It seems that everyone has money, everyone looks glamorous, and everyone dresses to the hilt. She immediately is attracted to Chris who is dating the most popular and mean-spirited girl in school named Jennifer. This novel is quality chic lit and it offers a little something for everyone. There's motocross, backstabbing, romance, and revenge to just name a few. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book because I don't usually read chic lit but this standout novel will appeal to any audience.
How to be Popular by Meg Cabot
When Steph Landry was in the sixth grade, she accidentally spilled a Super Big Gulp on the most popular girl in school. Years later, everyone still remembers and Steph only wants to be popular. Her best friend since childhood Jason and other friend Becca thinks she's gone completely crazy. In the course of one week, Steph manages to become popular, get kissed by the high school quarterback, and hold an auction raising almost $8000 for the senior trip. Will Steph manage to maintain her populararity or will it cost her dearly? Meg Cabot delivers another charmer, a Princess Mia readalike but with more substance and overuse of the word "seriously." I thought this was one of Cabot's finest novels to date.
Hazing Meri Sugarman by M. Apostolina
Loved, loved, loved this book! It's like chic lit goes to college and joins a sorority. Now, I am totally not a fan of chic lit at all; however, this novel had me hook, line, and sinker. Cindy is your average nobody who is off to college determined to make a fresh start. Her mother persuades her to pledge her former sorority Alpha Beta Delta whose members are the most elite and most popular girls on campus. Their president is Meri Sugarman, a goddess of beauty that everyone treats like a queen. Cindy takes part in a grueling week of hazing where she suprisngly finds herself a new member of the sorority. Cindy's word is transformed as she enjoys the popular life of an Alpha Beta Delta member. As the novel progresses, the storyline becomes more bizarre and far-fetched as the reader learns that Meri has blackmailed members of the teaching staff, she monitors conversations all over campus by wiretapping, and even takes shopping trips via helicopter. Readers will cheer for Meri's demise and I can't wait to read the sequel, Meri Strikes Back.
My Almost Epic Summer by Adele Griffin
Irene has a grand idea for the future. She plans on opening her own beauty salon where she'll recreate the hairstyles of literary heroines. Until then, she'll be spending her fourteenth summer babysitting the Prior children, Evan and Lainie, five days a week because she was fired from her mother's hair salon. The trio spend their days at the beach where Irene meets Starla, a drop dead gorgeous lifeguard with a diva attitude to match. Starla's antics, entertaining the Prior children, and a little romance keep Irene's summer from being a bore. This light hearted novel was a refreshing read and readers will easily breeze to the end.
Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson
Ashley is a high school senior from a lower class family with no immediate future plans. She's dating a high school drop-out, she has more detentions than she can count, her mother is about to give birth to her fifth child, and she has absolutely no desire to attend the senior prom. Ashley's best friend and next door neighbor Nat is devestated when the prom may be cancelled because the math teacher stole the prom funds. Nat takes immediate charge of the prom committee and persuades Ashley to help reorganize the prom on very limited funds in a very short time frame. An eccentric cast of secondary characters include Ashley's three brothers, her mother's three sisters, and Nat's elderly grandmother who always wears a bathing cap. Anderson shows her comedic side in this hilarious account of a senior prom on the brink of cacellation. The audio version hysterically captures the dialect and essence of each character's personality.
Fly on the Wall: How One Girl Saw Everything by E. Lockhart
Gretchen Yee is an ordinary girl who attends the Manhattan School for Art and Music. She eats alone at lunch, has a best friend Katya who is preoccupied lately, and has an obsession with the comic book superhero Spider-Man. She has a secret crush on a boy named Titus who hangs around the Art Rats. Boys are an enigma to her and she wishes she could understand them better. One day, she wishes she could be a fly on the boys' locker room wall. Poof, her wish comes true. Gretchen is magically transformed into a fly and she witnesses the male species with an upclose and personal view. She is privy to secret conversations, clandestine meetings, and the bonus is seeing all her classmates naked. She gives detailed descriptions of their physiques and even rates their booties. This novel is a fast paced read and anyone wishing to have a behind the scenes look at boys' lockerooms should read this book.