WILL WORK FOR PROM DRESS by Aimee Ferris

Title: WILL WORK FOR PROM DRESS
Author: Aimee Ferris
Publisher: Egmont USA
Release Date: February 8, 2011
Number of Pages: 240
Source of Book: Book Divas review
Author's Website: aimee-ferris.livejournal.com

Goodreads Summary:
Quigley Johnson has, reluctantly, given up the rest of her last year of high school to take part in her best friend Ann's Betterment Plan, which will turn them into the best-dressed, most sought-after, most admired girls at their senior formal. Because - hey - who doesn't want the perfect prom, complete with a dream dress and a devastatingly handsome date?

But the prom costs money - lots of money - and even though the girls could easily have Ann's mom design their dresses (she's only Victoria Parisi, one of the most famous designers in the world), Ann insists that they pay their own way.  And that's how Quigley gets stuck making artistic topping masterpieces on frozen pizzas canvases, before becoming a live model for Ms. Parisi's fashion design class, where she meets Zander.

He's cute, and cool, and funny, with a killer design sensibility (even if he can't sketch).  But is he too good to be true? And what about David, the hot, talented artist at school, who's also kind of a jerk, but won't leave Quigley alone? And Ann - she started the Betterment Plan to improve Quigley and herself, but it seems like it's ripping their friendship to shreds.

This road to the prom dream may just end in disaster.
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WILL WORK FOR PROM DRESS was a really cute, fun read. It ended up having more heart than I expected, but it did take a little while to get to it. This book has elements of celebrity and fame; friendship and honesty; figuring out what's important in life; choosing which direction to go with life's path; learning to like oneself as is and learning to like others for who they really are. Ferris did a great job of adding humor and comedic misunderstandings into this story and creating ridiculous working situations for these two girls as they try to find jobs to earn money for their prom dresses. They're working on bettering themselves to find dates to prom, and numerous antics happen along the way that take them a direction they didn't expect with boyfriends and family and school.

I really appreciated the message that comes at the end of the book when Quigley makes decisions about her life that relate to her realizing what home and family really means. It was a light, cute book with some good messages; however, it was a little bit predictable and I felt it lacked some character depth in places. One thing I noticed also was the "YA pet peeve" of the missing parents - Quigley's parents are mentioned, but never appear in the book; however, Ann's mother is well represented and serves as a mother-figure in many senses. The romantic subplot is enjoyable as well especially because Zander is a really good and sweet guy and nothing goes too far, something which can sometimes be missing in books like this. Also, it is a very honest relationship beginning/progression as it's not lust at first sight. It's a very real growing of feelings based on how he treats her, while she is confused and doesn't know where she stands with him. Their relationship also endures a major conflict that is resolved in a good way. Overall, I enjoyed the book for the plot, humor, unique take on celebrity, realness of the relationships, and the relationship between Quigley and Zander, and I think many teen girls will as well.

3.5 STARS for WILL WORK FOR PROM DRESS

WHERE I BELONG by Gwendolyn Heasley

Title: WHERE I BELONG
Author: Gwendolyn Heasley
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 8, 2011
Number of Pages: 289
Source of Book: Bought the paperback
Author's Website: www.gwendolynheasley.com

Goodreads Summary:
Meet Corinne. She's living every girl's dream in New York City—shopping sprees at Barneys, open access to the best clubs and parties, and her own horse at the country club. Her perfect life is perfectly on track. At least it was. . . .

When Corinne's father is laid off, her world suddenly falls apart. Instead of heading to boarding school, she's stripped of her credit cards and shipped off to the boonies of Texas to live with her grandparents. On her own in a big public school and forced to take a job shoveling manure, Corrinne is determined to get back to the life she's supposed to be living. She doesn't care who she stomps on in the process. But when Corrinne makes an unlikely friend and discovers a total hottie at work, she begins to wonder if her life B.R.—before the recession—was as perfect as it seemed.
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So...I didn't love it, but I liked it (and a few of my students have already read it and really liked it).This is a really light-hearted book that's not too deep and a little predictable, but it's entertaining. It's a familiar storyline - city girl out of her element in the country learns to like the people and not be so shallow and becomes more likable in the end. I think my biggest struggle was that I really didn't like Corinne throughout much of the book - and I find it tough to get through a book where I don't like the main character, even if I know that they're going to come around in the end (although, Corinne's letter to the reader at the start of the book warns that you're not going to like her very much - cute idea!). And I did really like where Corinne ended up at the end of the book. I do think this book has the potential to become dated pretty quickly because there are a lot of brand names and pop culture references thrown in throughout the book and they're very current right now. I also thought it wrapped up pretty fast - I was finally liking Corinne and where she was headed, so I wanted a little more of the story with her at that point.

It was a fun book with the Texas themed stuff and the small town setting. One of the best parts of the book was the secondary characters - I loved the little brother, new best friend, the jock boy who we're not sure about in the beginning, etc. I thought they were the most entertaining part. It's a little stereotypical, but it's exactly what you might be looking for in this kind of book - and it delivers for that expectation. There were two main themes for this book that hit home with me: "The company you keep is the most important part of life." and love is "the ability to go away and to come back again as if nothing has changed even though everything has changed." Those two ideals are something Corinne has to learn and the reader enjoys her journey getting there.

3 STARS for WHERE I BELONG

Book 8 of 12 for DAC 2011

THE ANTI-PROM by Abby McDonald

Title: THE ANTI-PROM
Author: Abby McDonald
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Release Date: March 8, 2011
Number of Pages: 288
Source of Book: ARC from Star Book Tours
Author's Website: abbymcdonald.com

Goodreads Summary:
Three unlikely allies team up for a night of rebellion, romance, and revenge in a high-stakes dramedy from acclaimed young author Abby McDonald.

They’ve spent years at the same high school without speaking a word to one another, but that’s all about to change. Popular Bliss was having the perfect prom until she found her BFF and boyfriend making out in the back of a limo. Bad girl Jolene wouldn’t be caught dead at the prom, yet here she is, trussed up in pink ruffles, risking her reputation for some guy - some guy who is forty minutes late. And shy, studious, über-planner Meg never counted on her date’s standing her up and leaving her idling in the parking lot outside the prom. Get ready for The Anti-Prom, Abby McDonald’s hilarious, heart-tugging tale about three girls and one unforgettable prom night.
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I ended up really enjoying this book, although I wasn't sure if I would when I first started reading it. It ended up being much more meaningful and deeper than I expected from the beginning, so I was happily surprised by the time I got to the end.

This story is told from three different perspectives - that of Bliss, Jolene, and Meg in alternating chapters - throughout prom night. The opening scene of the book starts off with Bliss catching her boyfriend cheating on her with her best friend - at prom. This leads to the unlikely alliance between the three girls who would never have spoken to each other if not for the circumstances that led to them meeting up that night. This turns out to be one of the best things for them. I didn't care for Bliss very much at the beginning because she was a stereotypical, shallow, mean girl type character - and I never relate to them very well, but she came around in the end, but it took awhile.

I so enjoyed the journey of this story. It was written in a classic - tale of one night - type of plot where one thing after another happens throughout just that one night that brings the characters closer together, to a deeper understanding of their goals, and shows them the type of people they want to be. It's one night that leads to self-discovery and inner changes that changes the direction of their lives. It's about getting out of bad situations, needing to accept oneself first before being able to open up to others, and not judging people. These three girls go on an adventure that shows them that opening up to others does not make them weak, but instead can create better relationships.

It's a great story about friendship and not bowing to the stereotype of high school groups and being open to understanding the experiences that others may be going through. This book does it in such a fun way with an endlessly turning plot and all-night adventure to get what each girl wants. It's about finding one's own way and deciding what kind of person you want to be and how you want to be seen by others. And that is a great message to send to teen girls. I'll definitely be putting this one into my classroom and am sure the girls are going to love it.

4 STARS for THE ANTI-PROM

RIVAL by Sara Bennett Wealer

Title: RIVAL
Author: Sara Bennett Wealer
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 15, 2011
Number of Pages: 336
Source of Book: Won from The Contemps Challenge
Author's Website: www.sarabennettwealer.com

Goodreads Summary:
What if your worst enemy turned out to be the best friend you ever had?

Meet Brooke: Popular, powerful and hating every minute of it, she’s the “It” girl at Douglas High in Lake Champion, Minnesota. Her real ambition? Using her operatic mezzo as a ticket back to NYC, where her family lived before her dad ran off with an up and coming male movie star.

Now meet Kathryn: An overachieving soprano with an underachieving savings account, she’s been a leper ever since Brooke punched her at a party junior year. For Kath, music is the key to a much-needed college scholarship.

The stage is set for a high-stakes duet between the two seniors as they prepare for the prestigious Blackmore competition. Brooke and Kathryn work toward the Blackmore with eyes not just on first prize but on one another, each still stinging from a past that started with friendship and ended in betrayal. With competition day nearing, Brooke dreams of escaping the in-crowd for life as a professional singer, but her scheming BFF Chloe has other plans. And when Kathryn gets an unlikely invitation to Homecoming, she suspects Brooke of trying to sabotage her with one last public humiliation.

As pressures mount, Brooke starts to sense that the person she hates most might just be the best friend she ever had. But Kathryn has a decision to make. Can she forgive? Or are some rivalries for life?
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All right Gleeks - this is your book (and you've got two more weeks until a new Glee episode - just enough time to read RIVAL!) Before I start raving too much about the book, I just have to share that I read this book on a plane flight, and I am now typing my review based from my notes on airplane beverage napkins as I didn't have any paper with me (what was I thinking?!)

I ADORE this book about the roots of friendship, and popularity, and the fleetingness of acceptance in the high school social hierarchy. It's about figuring out what one really wants, what's really important, and who really matters. Both of the main characters have voices that were so true and honest. It was refreshing that they were both well-rounded and the focus wasn't on boys (although boys do, of course, play a secondary role to the main point of the story-this is YA after all!), but it was refreshing that wasn't the main focus - it was about this friendship, why it started, why it failed, and if it could be saved. It was about girls and the pressures they feel about friendships and rivalries, even if they don't want them that way. It was one of the most interesting contemporary books that I have read recently and the vocal music piece added another level of sophistication to it and heightened the drama.

I love that we get to hear the story from both Brooke and Kathryn's points-of-view in alternating chapters, and that it alternates sections from senior year and junior year (when it all went down). It was a very effective way to tell this story (instead of strictly chronologically) to leave the reader in a bit of suspense as to why these two girls are such staunch rival - and then to find out that they were friends at one point. Tension built throughout the story as we get clues and eventually get the full story of what happened and what turned these two girls into friends and rivals. The big competition looming at the end adds the perfect prize at the end. Wealer writes in a straight-forward and engaging style as we see into the minds of both girls and how they perceive the same situations so differently. One of my favorite lines from this book highlights the writing style and voice and gets to one of the themes in this book about rivalry, "But I don't shatter; I'm not made of glass. Anyway, the parts that break aren't on the outside."

Ultimately, this book shows that sometimes you really don't know someone else, nor can you see yourself clearly as others do. It's a fascinating look into perceptions and intentions and misperceptions and true desires. This is a fantastic new addition to the contemporary genre - and a great YA book! I highly recommend getting this one - it will be a quick read because you won't want to stop until you find out who wins the big competition at the end.

4.5 STARS for RIVAL