Author: Sarah Dessen
Year Published: 1999
Genre: YA fiction
Pages: 228
Rating: 4 out of 5
Location (my 2017 Google Reading map): USA (NC)
FTC Disclosure: I borrowed this book from my school's library
Summary (from the back of the book): While her mother, aerobics queen Kiki Sparks, spends the summer touring Europe, fifteen-year-old Colie is stuck in sleepy Colby, North Carolina, with her aunt Mira. At first, she's sure it's going to be the worst summer of her life--but she finds herself changing her mind. For one thing, Mira's a sweet, laid-back eccntric; for another, no one in Colby knows that, back home, Colie is seen as a loser--formerly fat, and "easy." And then, by fate or by accident, Colie lands a waitressing job where she meets Morgan and Isabel. The two wisecracking--and wise--twenty something waitresses help her see herself in a new way and realize the potential that has been there all along.
Review: A friend was saying that she thinks of Sarah Dessen books as the Jodi Picoults for teenagers (right, Lori?) and I think she's right. I have only read one other Sarah Dessen before and it was a really long time ago. I picked this one up because Sarah Dessen won the Margaret A. Edwards Award for 2016, which goes to a YA author for his/her body of work. I am glad she did as it reminded me of how good and fun her books are.
Colie is like so many of us: unsure of herself and unable to forget the way she has been treated by mean teenagers. It takes moving to live with her aunt for the summer and meeting new people who don't know the (untrue) rumors to teach her that she is worthwhile, interesting, smart, and beautiful. Along the way, Colie learns that who she is is determined by her and not by others. This is a lesson we could all be reminde of more often.
I liked the idea of the small town of Colby, North Carolina with it's beachside attitude, local diner, slow pace, and July 4th bonfires. It sounds like a good place to go for a getaway.
Challenges for which this counts:
FTC Disclosure: I borrowed this book from my school's library
Summary (from the back of the book): While her mother, aerobics queen Kiki Sparks, spends the summer touring Europe, fifteen-year-old Colie is stuck in sleepy Colby, North Carolina, with her aunt Mira. At first, she's sure it's going to be the worst summer of her life--but she finds herself changing her mind. For one thing, Mira's a sweet, laid-back eccntric; for another, no one in Colby knows that, back home, Colie is seen as a loser--formerly fat, and "easy." And then, by fate or by accident, Colie lands a waitressing job where she meets Morgan and Isabel. The two wisecracking--and wise--twenty something waitresses help her see herself in a new way and realize the potential that has been there all along.
Colie is like so many of us: unsure of herself and unable to forget the way she has been treated by mean teenagers. It takes moving to live with her aunt for the summer and meeting new people who don't know the (untrue) rumors to teach her that she is worthwhile, interesting, smart, and beautiful. Along the way, Colie learns that who she is is determined by her and not by others. This is a lesson we could all be reminde of more often.
I liked the idea of the small town of Colby, North Carolina with it's beachside attitude, local diner, slow pace, and July 4th bonfires. It sounds like a good place to go for a getaway.
Challenges for which this counts:
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