| Just Call Me Goody-Two-Shoes |
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| 01:58pm 11/03/2006 |
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mood:  tired music: Death Cab For Cutie *The Sound of Settling*
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Just Call Me Goody-Two-Shoes is by Julie A. Gorges.
Jade makes lists. She's very organized, takes care of her little sister and older brother, and is a supportive best friend to Stephanie.
All that changes when Rob moves to town. Stephanie decides that she has a crush on him. However, Rob seems to have different ideas--could it be that he likes Jade?
Jade somehow manages to stay sane through drama with her best friend and Rob, her mother's pregnancy, and fights between her brother and her father. Just Call Me Goody-Two-Shoes is a sweet story perfect for younger teens. Jade is a believable character just trying to get through high school, a familiar situation for tons of people. I would definitely recommend it to any young teenager. |
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| Mae-Be Roses |
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| 07:57pm 24/01/2006 |
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mood: fine music: Caetano Veloso *O Leaozinho*
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Mae-Be Roses is by Rebecca Bloomer.
Mae is a normal Australian teenage girl--until the day she finds out that she's pregnant. However, her parents and boyfriend, Jamie, are supportive. Her school isn't expelling her and her friends understand. Mae's pregnant--in the best of circumstances.
Life isn't as peachy as it starts out to be, though. Mae is not cut out to attend school AND be a mother. We follow her story from pregnancy through college, and watch as the young mother struggles to be her own person as well as a mother to her young son. Mae's own story is paralleled through her mother's, who had an illegitimate child and was forced to give the baby up for adoption. Just weeks after Australian adoption law changes, Mae's half sister calls to meet her birth mother.
Mae-Be Roses is an inspiring story with a good message. It could easily have been made better and far easier to read had it gone through a few more bouts of editing to diminish the hundreds of misplaced commas and other errors. However, the truthful narration and interesting story make it worth the read. This is one condition when, for the sake of the story, I say put those problems aside and appreciate the novel. It should inspire anyone in a similar situation to stay in school and stay positive.
Author's website: www.bloowillbooks.com
--Look for a new review of mine on TeenReads soon! |
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| Pretty Little Devils |
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| 07:21pm 03/01/2006 |
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mood:  sleepy music: Ashlee Simpson *L.O.V.E.*
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Just when I was beginning to think that teen fiction was getting boring, here came a book that was just what I needed to regain my faith in the genre: Pretty Little Devils, by Nancy Holder.
Pretty Little Devils starts out like an average teen book about wanting to be in the popular crowd, getting your wish, and then regretting it. This novel does not abandon that formula completely; however, it adds its own twist.
When Hazel Stone becomes a part of the popular Pretty Little Devils at Brookhaven High School, she thinks her life is starting to turn around. She has a great group of friends, a new boyfriend, and she's on top of the world.
Then Hazel's fairy tale of a junior year changes, when she and the rest of the PLDs begin to receive strange and threatening text messages and phone calls. Thing get even scarier when one student at school is killed, followed by two more before the end of the school year.
Pretty Little Devils is spooky and chilling. It was a real page-turner. It reminded me of the Fear Street and Lois Duncan books I read when I was younger (fourth grade and eighth grade, respectively), and I appreciated it for being different from the cookie-cutter crap out there in the world of YA now. The last page of the epilogue was completely disappointing, as it seemed like a way for the author to cop out on coming up with a better ended. However, if you just didn't read the last section of the epilogue, you would be fine. This was still a completely enjoyable book. I'm glad I read it, even though I'm against YA books now on principle.
Check out my formal review at TeenReads.com later this month. |
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| my reading list |
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| 10:59am 10/09/2005 |
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mood:  calm music: *Chori Chori* from "Chori Chori Chupke Chupke*
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Here's my reading list. I'll be crossing them off as I read them. Expect some reviews soon!
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (reread)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Day the Mississippi Ran Backward by Jay Feldman
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
Caucasia by Danzy Senna
Gotham Diaries by Tonya Lewis-Lee
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes by Anita Loos
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (reread)
The Gift Bag Chronicles by Hilary de Vries
Beijing Doll by Chun Sue
13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
The Orpheus Obsession by Dakota Lane
The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur
The Ivy Chronicles by Karen Quinn
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Girls on the Verge by Vendela Vida
Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty
Slave by Mende Nazer and Damien Lewis
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende.
The Warrior Woman by Maxine Hong Kingston
Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger
Vita Nova by Louise Gluck
Symptomatic by Danzy Sena
Ghost Girl by Amy Gerstler
Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Pretties by Scott Westerfield
Cherries in the Snow by Emma Forrest
The Truth About Diamonds by Nicole Richie (i'm curious)
The One Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech (reread)
Dubliners by James Joyce |
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| The Princess Pawn |
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| 04:45pm 09/08/2005 |
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mood:  accomplished music: Michael Buble *Save the Last Dance for Me*
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The Princess Pawn is by Maggie L. Wood.
I'm officially addicted to fantasy again. The Princess Pawn is a wonderful story about Willow, a ninth grader who is content with living with her grandmother, listening to made up stories about a place called Mistolear, and playing games of chess against her computer--although she would take a little popularity if it were thrown her way.
So imagine her surprise when Willow, a completely normal girl, comes home to find Nana worried about a "summoning" and a swan pendant Willow has had since she was a baby. Willow thinks it's just part of Nana's Alzheimer's, until she starts to notice strange things around her.
When Willow wakes up the next day in Mistolear, the land she believed her grandmother had thought up. She learns that she is not just Willow Kingswell, but Princess Willow, and she, her family, and her entire kingdom are trapped under an evil spell by an elf named Nezeral. The spell causes the entire kingdom to be inside a chess game, in which all the pawns, rooks, kings, and queens are real people, and she, Willow, a mere pawn, is at the center of it all.
Wood weaves together Willow's modern, technology-driven world and the fantastical world of the kingdoms Gallandra and Keldoran expertly. Willow is a completely believable character. Whether or not you normally enjoy fantasy, this cleverly written fantasy adventure is a must read. |
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| To Come |
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| 11:40am 29/04/2005 |
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mood: calm music: Kara's Flowers *Future Kid*
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Reviews to come:
Prep
Gossip Girl 7
Ruby Tuesday
The Au Pairs
Currently reading:
Uglies
Spirited
Check out my Amazon wishlist for the things I'm hoping to get my hands on.
Finished reading these reviews and want more? See my reviews at TeenReads.com.
Want book lists? You can see all the Listmania lists I've made at Amazon.
I want to expand this to have link exchanges so people actually read this, as well as author interviews and zine and magazine reviews. If anyone has any suggestions, please tell me.
Does anyone know if Melissa de la Cruz has a website? |
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| Vegan Virgin Valentine |
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| 11:17am 29/04/2005 |
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mood: calm music: Ashanti *Every lil thing*
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Vegan Virgin Valentine is by Carolyn Mackler.
This may be my favorite of Mackler's books. It stars Mara Valentine, a high school senior determined to be valedictorian. She's not far from it: she's taking tons of college courses and she's already been accepted early admission to Yale. Mara's life is going perfectly according to plan.
That is, until her niece V comes to stay with the family. V is only a year younger than Mara, and her mother, Mara's older sister, has decided to move to Central America to be a cook.
Mara hates V. She's everything that Mara isn't, and having her there is screwing with Mara's perfect life. The two have to learn how to live together without driving each other crazy.
I really liked the characters in this book. The story was cute. It's an easy read and will definitely keep you entertained. |
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| The Diary of Ma Yan |
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| 10:22pm 29/03/2005 |
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mood:  blah music: Los Lonely Boys *Heaven*
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The Diary of Ma Yan is a true memoir by Ma Yan.
Ma Yan is now 16 years old and lives in the same town in China that she has lived in all her life. Her family is not wealthy and has to make many sacrifices to keep their daughter in school. Most girls in China quit school at a young age and work to make money for their families.
However, Ma Yan was so determined to get an education that she and her parents risked everything to make that happen. She wrote in her diaries from a young age about her struggles and triumphs in school. Because they're true and written so recently (only a few years ago), they really hit the reader hard and you are drawn into her story as if it's your own.
This was a powerful book and a very good one. It's not hard to read and doesn't take very long, but it will really open your eyes and make you appreciate everything you have. Absolutely everyone needs to read this book. |
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| Revenge of the Wannabes |
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| 04:23pm 01/03/2005 |
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music: Jason Mraz *The Remedy*
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Revenge of the Wannabes is the third Clique novel by Lisi Harrison.
At last, a third Clique novel is here! I am unhealthily addicted to this new series about 7th grade girls in private school. Revenge of the Wannabes is the thickest volume so far, and I read it in one night.
We meet up with Massie, Claire, Alicia, Dylan, and Kristen after OCD's uniform designing contest, which Alicia and her new friend Olivia won because they cheated. Massie Block, the queen bee of the clique, is not about to let her off easy. Get ready for cat fights galore!
Meanwhile, Claire is becoming the newest member of the clique, as well as spending time with Cam Fisher, who has a crush on her. But alack--Massie has a crush on Cam, and she's not about to let Claire have him without a fight.
Alicia tries to start her own clique, Massie struggles to keep her own, and the rest of the members have to decide which girl to go with. This third Clique novel is completely enjoyable and fun, and I'm sure you'll read it in one sitting like I did. |
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| Soccer |
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| 03:58pm 01/03/2005 |
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Soccer: A Humorous Look at the World of Soccer is by Charles S. Hellman and Robert A. Tiritilli.
This is a cute cartoon book all about soccer. Starting at the creation of the sport, each page features funny drawings, quotes, and descriptions of some aspect of soccer. The drawings are pretty funny and the book is chock full of jokes.
I'm not really a sports person, although I do enjoy watching soccer sometimes, so this book didn't interest me as much as it might someone who is really into the sport. It would make a great gift for someone who plays the sport.
It's available at amazon.com and sportcartoonbooks.com |
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| The Dating Game |
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| 07:47pm 02/02/2005 |
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music: John Mayer *Not Myself*
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The Dating Game is by Natalie Standiford.
This the latest series that is striving to be like Gossip Girl, The A-List, and The Clique. It stars Holly, Madison, and Lina, high school sophomores working on a porject for their Interpersonal Human Development class. They decide to start a website with a survey, to find out who is more sex-obsessed: girls or boys. Those who fill out the survey will be matched up with potential dates for the school dance.
The project has lots of effects, most of which are unexpected. Holly earns an unsavory reputation that she strives to get rid of. Lina matches up others with dates, but the only person she wants is her creative writing teacher. Madison's date has disastrous results.
The story was cute and the characters seemed real. It was pretty realistic as to what high school is like now. It's not a challenging book to read, but if you just want something to keep your attention and have fun with, it's the one to pick. The sequel will be out in June. Enjoy! |
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| banner! link me |
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| 09:52pm 21/01/2005 |
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music: Kanye West *School Spirit*
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Link to Miss Thang Reads book reviews on your own journal and website. PC users: right click and then choose Save As. Save it, upload it to a host like photobucket, and then place a linking code into your page. The URL to link to is http://www.livejournal.com/users/missthang_reads
Thanks for your support!
Upcoming Books
The Dating Game by Natalie Standiford
Citizen Girl by Nicola Krauss and Emma McLaughlin |
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| Colors Insulting to Nature |
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| 09:42pm 21/01/2005 |
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music: Kanye West *Last Call*
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Colors Insulting to Nature is by Cintra Wilson.
I really loved this book. Probably two of the biggest reasons why I loved it are because a) I see my life as a movie, and b) I am writing a book about someone who sees her life as a movie, and the book is written sort of like a movie. This book is just so clever that I want to slap myself for not thinking of it myself.
Colors Insulting to Nature stars Liza Normal, a young girl growing up in the 1970s-80s. Her mother, Peppy Normal, is quite a character, who is obsessed with getting her children, Liza and her older brother Ned, into show business. She buys a house, turns it into "family theatre" and tries desperately to get Liza into show business.
The book covers a long period of time, and we watch Liza go through puberty, high school, a punk phase, a move to Vegas, and more. In the words of Jack Black, it is the story of life, and "why the earth is so fantasically f**ked up." That is a perfect explanation. It's full of such quirky characters and craziness that you'll be sucked in, living the lives of the characters along with the characters themselves.
A hard book to sum up, as you can see, but definitely worth the read. |
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| Gossip Girl 6: You're the One That I Want |
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| 04:28pm 19/10/2004 |
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You're the One That I Want is by Cecily von Ziegesar.
I love Gossip Girl. I especially loved number 5, when everyone went on spring break and they had the crazy heiress thrown into the mix. Sadly, spring break is over now and things at Constance Billard School have slowed down to the point of almost being dull.
But not quite. It's Gossip Girl, after all! College acceptance letters are coming and everyone is stressing about who is getting in where. Save for a few characters, such as Jenny, who is still a freshman. Imagine the shock when certain characters get into colleges they didn't want to go to, and others don't get in anywhere!
Cecily von Ziegesar does not disappoint diehard fans of the series in this sixth installment. There's drama, meanness, name dropping, shopping, and a few surprises at the end, like a very important one for Blair! But that's all I'm going to give away. But while there were a few good surprises thrown in, this book seemed much more serious than the previous ones, and I was somewhat disappointed. I hoped for a continuation of book 5, one of my favorites so far.
However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't read this book, because everyone should. And look out for the seventh installment in May! |
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| The A-List 3: Blonde Ambition |
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| 05:12pm 20/09/2004 |
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mood: tired music: Thalia *Tu y Yo*
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The A-List 3: Blonde Ambition is by Zoey Dean.
Drama drama drama! That's not any different than the first two A-List novels, but if you loved those two (which you should have), you'll definitely love this third installment.
We meet up with Anna Percy again with her new boyfriend. In case you haven't read both previous books yet, I won't spill. Later, we see her back in Beverly Hills at her internship job, where she's getting yelled at after ditching a client at a party.
More drama insues as Anna's enemy becomes aware that her father is Anna's boss, characters fall in and out of love, and some people get a hard hitting dose of karma.
This soap opera-esque series is so complicated and with so many catfights, fake pregnancies, and twists and turns, it's impossible to summarize. I don't want to give anything away!
In any case, I definitely recommend that you read it and its predecessors as soon as you can! |
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| About books |
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| 09:22pm 15/09/2004 |
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mood: sleepy music: Mariah Carey *My Saving Grace*
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So, I finished Secrets of the Tomb almost, which is good. I finished The A-List 3: Blonde Ambition which of course was as great as the first two. I finished Sixteen today which was sadly not PHENOMENAL but I still liked it a lot. You may not see reviews for those all, though.
My reading list for upcoming months:
-Bling
-Gotham Diaries
-Citizen Girl
-The Au Pairs
-Anna Karenina
-Trickster's Queen
-Beijing Doll
-The Heart of a Young Girl
and right now I'm reading Candy by Mian Mian. It's supposed to be really good.......it was banned in China. But yeah, if you have seen any of those books, you'll notice most are really super long.
I also reread Gingerbread yesterday and I forgot how much I loved it. And now I have to get writing so I have something to submit to my critique group next week.
But keep reading, enjoying, giving me recommendations, and I'll try to get reviews up whenever I can!
You can also go to http://kiwibox.com/archive.asp?morefromauthorof=32083 and find lots of book reviews as well. They're a lot more well written, too.
Enjoy, and happy reading! |
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| Can You Keep A Secret? |
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| 09:17pm 15/09/2004 |
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music: Mariah Carey *You Got Me*
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Can You Keep a Secret? is by Sophie Kinsella.
This book was so cute, just as Kinsella's Shopaholic books are. It stars Emma Corrigan, who, when on a business trip, gets scared of the turbulence of the plane and ends up telling not only her life story, but all of her secrets as well, to the stranger sitting next to her.
So after we learn that Emma tells her boyfriend she weighs 118 pounds instead of 128, and she accidentally killed her parent's goldfish, we go with her to work, where she meets her company's CEO. Who else could he be but the same American she met on the plane?
A little unbelievable, but the story is cute nonetheless, and I can definitely see Kate Hudson in the lead role for the movie, for which the rights were sold months before the book was even published. It's the type that makes you laugh out loud, because even if you aren't English, have never blurted out all of your secrets to a stranger, and don't work in an office like Emma's, you'll relate to her and love her.
I definitely recommend this book. |
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| 04:05pm 24/08/2004 |
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music: Maroon 5 *She Will Be Loved*
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Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. Just started school.
Books possibly to come:
-Life of Pi by Yann Martel
-One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones
-Best Friends For Never by Lisi Harrison
-Sam's Letters to Jennifer by I forget
Anyone want to volunteer to also help me with reviews? I want to continue doing this, but I also have to do reviews for:
teenreads.com
kidsreads.com
bookreporter.com
thecelebritycafe.com
lb-teens.com
kiwibox.com |
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| Confessions of a Back-up Dancer |
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| 10:25pm 19/07/2004 |
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music: Etta James *At Last*
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Confessions of a Back-up Dancer is by "Anonymous, as told to Tucker Shaw."
This book had an interesting format as being a sort of computer diary--or at least, that's what I gathered. I liked that it used casual language as if the character was speaking. However, some of it seemed sort of off, for some reason.
The story is about Kelly Kimball, a teenager living in San Diego. When she goes to an audition for a teen pop singer, she ends up catching the eye of the tour manager for Darcy Barnes, a Britney Spears-type character. Kelly ends up with a contract to be a back-up dancer for the upcoming summer tour, and she can't wait to begin.
Kelly becomes "friends" with Darcy as the summer goes on, as well as corresponding with her friend Tito and her brother, as her mother's marriage falls apart. She feels torn as what to do, as she also wants to use the huge check she'll be earning to pay for her brother's school tuition.
The book was kind of funny in all the characters it used, which mirror real life ones. Darcy dates the lead singer of a boy band, who is very hot (although Justin Timberlake most certainly is NOT), she has a rival who has a much better singing voice (Katrina Riviera....clever) but isn't as good of a dancer. And so on and so forth.
The book was cute, but somewhat lacking. The writing could have been better. |
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| The Truth About Forever |
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| 10:13pm 19/07/2004 |
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music: Nelly Furtado, Juanes *Fotografia*
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The Truth About Forever is by Sarah Dessen.
Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite authors. It's been a few years since her last book, but this one was worth the wait. It's just as wonderful as her previous ones, complete with a cool-sounding title, great characters, and a story that's all close to our hearts while still being romantic and sweet and a perfect story.
This was about Macy, a high school junior whose smart, perfect boyfriend is leaving to go to Brain Camp for the summer. Macy's stuck working at his unbearable job at the library information desk, until she meets the quirky character of Wish Catering on one fateful night.
Macy takes a second job and, while learning how to cook and cater, learns more about herself and how to live, with her older sister Caroline helping her along. She and her mother learn how to work out their differences after her father's death.
The book was really sweet and romantic; it was exactly the kind that you can imagine and see as if it's on the big screen. I'm sure it will end up being one of my favorite of Dessen's books. I definitely recommend it. |
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