Tuesday, October 12, 2010

My Little Phony by Lisi Harrison

Summary: In this installment of the Clique series, Claire has finally broken free from Massie's hold, forming her own group of friends and introducing a new "Clair-a" where people are free to be themselves.


My thoughts: This may be my favorite Clique book so far. I have always seen the underlining theme in the series: that girls in a clique are just like regular girls and are probably even more insecure. This book had that idea come full circle as Massie finally realizes what it's like to be on the outside looking in and what real friendship is. I'm looking forward to the last book in the series.


This series is a good read for middle school girls. It opens a dialogue about fitting in and what lengths girls will go to be popular.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Latte Daze by Erynn Mangum


Summary from back of book: Maya Davis already has many titles--Christian, barista, maid of honor (new), possible girlfriend (newer)--and her life is about to become even more complicated. Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, her ex-boyfriend proposes to her roommate and best friend, Jen. It's not long until their apartment becomes Wedding Central. As if that weren't enough, Jen's obnoxious mom moves in to help plan the wedding, and Maya's genius brother and sister-in-law announce that they're expecting. Then to top it off, there's the whole matter of Jack---is it love? Who wouldn't need a coffee break!

My thoughts: I am a huge Erynn Mangum fan. I've loved all of her books, and this one is no exception. Her writing voice is fun, and her characters are too. Erynn is also one of the best about including a spiritual concept or truth without sounding preachy. The new character of Ethan was a good addition to the cast, and I am eager to see what happens with him in book three. I also love that this book showed a little more depth in the relationship between Maya and her mom.
While I enjoyed the book (especially the development of Jen's mom), I felt this book moved a little slowly. There are a lot of subplots that could have been developed a little more instead of focusing on food/drink/movie details quite as much. The plot developed, but it didn't move as quickly as I would have liked until the end! The last chapter of the book was the best and left me excited about the release of the third book in the series.