Teen Girls Will Like, Love This
Reviewed by Phee Paradise
Tidings of Great Boys by Shelley Adina
The problem with novels for teenage girls is that their culture is constantly changing. What was popular yesterday is, like, so last year. Fashion, language and even friendships are, like, random. Tidings of Great Boys and the other books in the All About Us series are relevant today, but may be laughed at by girls who read them in five years. Aside from that, it’s a fun book. I enjoyed it because I like teenage girls. It has less talk about high fashion and gourmet cuisine than the other book from the series I have read, and that made it flow better for me.
All of the books are told in the first person, but each has a different narrator. The girls are friends at an exclusive boarding school and move in circles that include royalty and Hollywood producers. But they face the same problems with family, friends and boys that any teenager does. Lady Lindsey, the narrator in this book, is just Mac, a girl trying to reconcile two worlds while scheming to bring her divorced parents back together. Except that she lives in a castle and knows people like Prince Harry of England. Except that she can confidently face down the paparazzi. Except that she can easily buy a friend's plane ticket to Scotland with her allowance.
It’s Mac’s lifestyle that gives the book the extra spice to attract her audience, but the well told story and complex characters will keep them reading. She and her friends act like any modern teen trying to live her faith. Some of the problems she faces are of her own making, but some are part of growing up. With the help of her friends, parents and her burgeoning faith, she resolves them wisely, yet the plot is not predictable. I would recommend this book to all the teen girls I know.
Pros: Strong characters with an exciting setting and plot. In spite of the title, there is just enough romance to be realistic.
Cons: The book is solidly set in 2009 which may outdate it for teens in a few years.
This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Tidings of Great Boys
FaithWords (September 8, 2009)
by
Shelley Adina
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Award-winning author Shelley Adina wrote her first teen novel when she was 13. It was rejected by the literary publisher to whom she sent it, but he did say she knew how to tell a story. That was enough to keep her going through the rest of her adolescence, a career, a move to another country, a B.A. in Literature, an M.A. in Writing Popular Fiction, and countless manuscript pages.
Shelley is a world traveler and pop culture junkie with an incurable addiction to designer handbags. She writes books about fun and faith--with a side of glamour. Between books, Shelley loves traveling, playing the piano and Celtic harp, watching movies, and making period costumes.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Finals week is approaching and Mac is still undecided on where to spend the holidays. Normally she'd go home to Scotland, but spending two weeks alone in the castle with her dad isn't as appealing as it used to be. So she invites Carly, Lissa, Gillian, and Shani to join her for the holidays!
Mac is determined to make this the best Christmas ever. She even decides to organize the traditional Hogmany dance for New Year's Eve. If she can get her mother involved in the dance, maybe her parents will finally get back together.
But when Mac and the girls arrive in Scotland, they are faced with bad news: the castle is falling apart and Mac's parents are struggling financially. Not only that, but Shani is in big trouble with Prince Rashid's royal family. Can the girls find a way to celebrate the holidays, get Mac's parents back together, save the castle, and rescue Shani from her relentless pursuers? There's only one way to find out...
To read the first chapter of Tidings of Great Boys, click HERE
Tidings of Great Boys by Shelley Adina
The problem with novels for teenage girls is that their culture is constantly changing. What was popular yesterday is, like, so last year. Fashion, language and even friendships are, like, random. Tidings of Great Boys and the other books in the All About Us series are relevant today, but may be laughed at by girls who read them in five years. Aside from that, it’s a fun book. I enjoyed it because I like teenage girls. It has less talk about high fashion and gourmet cuisine than the other book from the series I have read, and that made it flow better for me.
All of the books are told in the first person, but each has a different narrator. The girls are friends at an exclusive boarding school and move in circles that include royalty and Hollywood producers. But they face the same problems with family, friends and boys that any teenager does. Lady Lindsey, the narrator in this book, is just Mac, a girl trying to reconcile two worlds while scheming to bring her divorced parents back together. Except that she lives in a castle and knows people like Prince Harry of England. Except that she can confidently face down the paparazzi. Except that she can easily buy a friend's plane ticket to Scotland with her allowance.
It’s Mac’s lifestyle that gives the book the extra spice to attract her audience, but the well told story and complex characters will keep them reading. She and her friends act like any modern teen trying to live her faith. Some of the problems she faces are of her own making, but some are part of growing up. With the help of her friends, parents and her burgeoning faith, she resolves them wisely, yet the plot is not predictable. I would recommend this book to all the teen girls I know.
Pros: Strong characters with an exciting setting and plot. In spite of the title, there is just enough romance to be realistic.
Cons: The book is solidly set in 2009 which may outdate it for teens in a few years.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Award-winning author Shelley Adina wrote her first teen novel when she was 13. It was rejected by the literary publisher to whom she sent it, but he did say she knew how to tell a story. That was enough to keep her going through the rest of her adolescence, a career, a move to another country, a B.A. in Literature, an M.A. in Writing Popular Fiction, and countless manuscript pages.Shelley is a world traveler and pop culture junkie with an incurable addiction to designer handbags. She writes books about fun and faith--with a side of glamour. Between books, Shelley loves traveling, playing the piano and Celtic harp, watching movies, and making period costumes.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Finals week is approaching and Mac is still undecided on where to spend the holidays. Normally she'd go home to Scotland, but spending two weeks alone in the castle with her dad isn't as appealing as it used to be. So she invites Carly, Lissa, Gillian, and Shani to join her for the holidays!Mac is determined to make this the best Christmas ever. She even decides to organize the traditional Hogmany dance for New Year's Eve. If she can get her mother involved in the dance, maybe her parents will finally get back together.
But when Mac and the girls arrive in Scotland, they are faced with bad news: the castle is falling apart and Mac's parents are struggling financially. Not only that, but Shani is in big trouble with Prince Rashid's royal family. Can the girls find a way to celebrate the holidays, get Mac's parents back together, save the castle, and rescue Shani from her relentless pursuers? There's only one way to find out...
To read the first chapter of Tidings of Great Boys, click HERE
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment