Category: Book Review

Kay gives a wonderful voice to the YA in me…I am left with  my own memories of school, and boys…. and how we all just wanted to fit in somewhere… ~ Sheila

What’s a girl to do when the glass slipper fits, but she doesn’t want to wear it anymore?

Sixteen-year-old Jess Parker survives by staying invisible. Then she gets the chance of a lifetime: an invitation to join the Cinderella Society, a secret club of some of the most popular girls in school, where makeovers are the first order of official business. Catching the eye of her popular crush, and with a chance to finally fit in, Jess feels like she’s found her fairy tale.

Until the Wickeds – led by Jess’s archenemy – begin targeting innocent girls, and Jess learns that there’s more to being a Cindy than reinventing yourself from the outside. She’s become part of a battle for good vs. evil, and now the Cindys need Jess on special assignment. Is honouring her new sisterhood worth destroying her dream life?

My Thoughts…

Where do I begin? I picked up Kay’s book wondering what this book would be about… a coming of age story?  Ugly duckling to swan?  No – I found out quickly that this was a different story… a story of acceptance in a school where you are the new kid…. a story of those high school years where everything is a big deal (or at least as teens you tend to think it is) prestige, parents, clothing, and of course who you hang out with.  A story with another story inside it,one that goes back 100+ years… a story of a group of strong women with *Power *Personality *Appearance *Strength ... a secret society called The Cinderella Society.

I immediately took to the main character of Jess…. trying to be strong and fit in, I think I could sense a little bit of me in this character when I was that age.  Jess and I?  Yeah… we bonded.  Jess is a wonderful character who is a typical teenager, trying to fit into her new school and trying not to be embarrassed by a very pregnant mother who Jess feels relies on her too much.   Jess has  decided that it is too late for a “mother/daughter bonding” at this point.  No matter how hard her mom may try.

And what is a book without a villain… or in this case, a wicked?  Lexy is Jess’s arch enemy.  Ever since Jess won the spot on the cheerleader squad over Lexy it has been a battle.  Lexy is after Jess and works hard to make her look stupid at every opportunity from spilling coffee drinks on her to starting hurtful rumors….  As Jess works to counteract each blow, you wonder what is the story behind Lexy’s anger?

This is one of those books that I am so excited about having this opportunity to read and want to share so much of it with you !  About the secret society (Oh yes my friends – it is that cool!) about the hot guy (what YA book would be complete without him?) and about the friendships we make through those years while we are molding into who we will become… and probably more importantly, the friendships that survive those years, the good ones… that make it through because we all know… those are the true ones. (Yes – that is an intentional run on sentence!) Yet, I don’t want to give away too much so I am going to encourage you to seriously consider this book to go on your own TBR lists for yourself or the YA in your life….. because she is going to thank you for it!

Let’s Talk about Kay Cassidy…

Kay Cassidy is the author of teen fiction she wishes was based on her real life. Her debut novel, THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY, won the 2008 Golden Heart award in the Young Adult category.  In her life B.W. (Before Writing), Kay was an award-winning professional trainer and now enjoys giving energizing motivational talks to young people around the country.

Kay is a former cheerleader and sorority girl, an M.B.A. and a member of Mensa. She thinks it’s comical when people are surprised to discover those things aren’t mutually exclusive. When not writing, Kay enjoys tennis, yoga, movies and reading.

On a personal note…I discovered Kay a couple months ago online at her blog You 2.0.  Kay’s blog is an active one!  She is always interviewing YA authors and having great contests and tips for YA authors.  It was through her blog that I won this book and now that I have read it I am beyond excited to read the sequel that she is currently putting the finishing touches on.

My Amazon Rating

I received this book from an online contest at Kay Cassdiy’s blog You 2.0

I would rate this book PG

The voice that comes alive in Viola’s character is one that spoke to the 14 year old me.  I was carried back into a time  of awkward moments of adolescence, dances you remember forever, and breathtaking first kisses…  ~ Sheila

Synopsis

I’m marooned.

Abandoned.

Left to rot in boarding school . . .

Viola doesn’t want to go to boarding school, but somehow she ends up at an all-girls school in South Bend, Indiana, far, far away from her home in Brooklyn, New York. Now Viola is stuck for a whole year in the sherbet-colored sweater capital of the world.

Ick.

There’s no way Viola’s going to survive the year—especially since she has to replace her best friend Andrew with three new roommates who, disturbingly, actually seem to like it there. She resorts to viewing the world (and hiding) behind the lens of her video camera.

Boarding school, though, and her roommates and even the Midwest are nothing like she thought they would be, and soon Viola realizes she may be in for the most incredible year of her life.

But first she has to put the camera down and let the world in.

My Thoughts:

OMG!  LOL!  Really and truly I adored this book!  I enjoyed this book from the first sentence, “YOU WOULD NOT WANT TO BE ME.”  I loved the dramatic voice of our fourteen year old Viola.  I remember those days when the world was going to end because things did not go the way you wanted.  Life was so…. intense.  So here I am deeply engrossed in a book all about Viola and her wonderful BFFAA (Best Friend Forever And Always) Andrew, her three new roommates in boarding school who seen to have already pegged her from hour one, and the possibility of a new relationship with a boy who’s love is calculated by the number of IM’s, and texts, four kisses, one hand holding, one date, one cookie and one book.

Ahhhh… first love. ♥

Tie all that in a hip and happening Grandma (Grand) who has a back ground in acting, two adoring but at this time anyway distant parents… and you have the making of one great read.

I have to thank Jennifer at BookClubGirl who introduced me to this book and then sent me a copy to read and be part of the live chat with the author Adriana Trigiani on Wednesday of this past week.  I didn’t get to say a lot during the live chat as I had to run Chance to Youth Group in the middle of it but it was fun to participate and see the conversation roll out.

A great YA…. I applaud Adriana Trigiani for this youthful book and I plan on looking into more of what she has written.

ADRIANA TRIGIANI is beloved by millions of readers around the world for her hilarious and heartwarming novels. Adriana was raised in a small coal mining town in southwest Virginia in a big Italian family. She chose her hometown for the setting and title of her debut novel, the critically acclaimed and bestselling Big Stone Gap, followed by the sequels Big Cherry Holler, Milk Glass Moon, and the fall 2006 release Home to Big Stone Gap. Lucia, Lucia, The Queen of the Big Time, Rococo and Very Valentine were all instant New York Times bestsellers. Adriana also teamed up with her family for Cooking With My Sisters, which was co-authored by her sister Mary, with contributions from their sisters and mom; the cookbook-memoir features recipes and stories dating back a hundred years from both sides of their Italian-American family. Adriana’s novels have been translated and sold in over 30 countries around the world.

You can listen to the Live Chat here

I leaped feet first into a story of a time that I had not known until now… a time of beautiful treasures and ugly grudges… a time where I met a boy and a girl that I had probably not even known existed if not for Michelle Moran… ~ Sheila

The marriage of Marc Antony and Cleopatra is one of the greatest love stories of all time, a tale of unbridled passion with earth-shaking political consequences. Feared and hunted by the powers in Rome, the lovers choose to die by their own hands as the triumphant armies of Antony’s vengeful rival, Octavian, sweep into Egypt.  Their three orphaned children are taken in chains to Rome, but only two—the ten-year-old twins Selene and Alexander—survive the journey. Delivered to the household of Octavian’s sister, the siblings cling to each other and to the hope that they will return one day to their rightful place on the throne of Egypt. As they come of age, they are buffeted by the personal ambitions of Octavian’s family and court, by the ever-present threat of slave rebellion, and by the longings and desires deep within their own hearts.

Selene’s narrative is animated by the concerns of a young girl in any time and place  —the possibility of finding love, the pull of friendship and family, and the pursuit of her unique interests and talents. While coping with the loss of both her family and her ancestral kingdom, Selene must find a path around the dangers of a foreign land. Her accounts of life in Rome are filled with historical details that vividly capture both the glories and horrors of the time. She dines with the empire’s most illustrious poets and politicians, witnesses the creation of the Pantheon, and navigates the colorful, crowded marketplaces of the city where Roman-style justice is meted out with merciless authority.

My Thoughts:

Michelle Moran has written a book that has left me with that feeling I have when I know I have read something wonderful.  Well written… I entered at the point that Cleopatra and Marc Anthony are taking their own lives in order to resist captivity and learn of their three children who are left in the enemies hands.  Three children, I am ashamed to say, that I did not know existed until this book.

And from that point on I am feasting on pages filled with the adventures of Alexander and Selene…  historical fiction at a very fine level.  I am in awe of the twins voices… as they speak I had to remind myself again and again of their age.  The voices to me seamed older but I forget how much faster children grew up then.  While they were 11, they spoke as though they were 15 or 16…

Vivid characters – I appreciated the list of who they were in the front of the book and I used that a lot as I becasme used to so any new names coming in at once, Octavian (Emporer and keeper of the children once he conquered their home), Octavia, his sister – a gentle soul who I grew to like.  And so many more from the handsome Marcellus, to the puzzling Julia who drove me nuts, then I felt bad for her, then I was mad again… and oh – you have to love the characters that make you FEEL.

I adored this book.  This is the first of Michelle’s work that I have read and I am ready for more.  A fantastic read that I highly recommend to history lovers and historical fiction loves alike.

Michelle Moran was born in the San Fernando Valley, CA. She took an interest in writing from an early age, purchasing Writer’s Market and submitting her stories and novellas to publishers from the time she was twelve. When she was accepted into Pomona College she took as many classes as possible in British Literature, particularly Milton, Chaucer, and the Bard. Not surprisingly, she majored in English while she was there. Following a summer in Israel where she worked as a volunteer archaeologist, she earned an MA from the Claremont Graduate University.

I received this review copy from Book Browse…

I would rate this book PG13 for some violence