3 Willows the sisterhood grows by Ann Brashares

3 Willows the sisterhood grows by Ann Brashares fits into the juvenile fiction genre and was published in 2009. It is recommended for readers ages 12 and up.

3 Willows is a companion novel to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants where the pants girls are something akin to an urban legend and have long since moved on with their lives. 3 Willows follows the summers of three girls in their early teens. Polly, Jo, and Ama. Polly had always been a bit of an outsider and marched to the beat of her own drummer. Through some crazy whim she decides that she wants to be a model and somehow convinces her artist mother to let her go to a summer modeling camp. Jo spends her summer at her family’s beach house with her mom. Her parents are having a “trial separation” basically making official what they’d been doing since her brother’s death. To keep her mind off of it Jo gets a job as a bus girl at a local restaurant and surprises herself with her newfound popularity and a fun summer with an unexpected boy. Ama signed up for a summer academic camp to further her studies and add to her future college applications. In a random twist of fate and paperwork she ends up in Wyoming at an outdoor camp the only black girl in the bunch she is convinced they did it to make the camp look more diverse. While struggling with the outdoor and having her mind set on having a bad summer Ama surprises herself by actually learning something and enjoying herself in the end, although it took getting lost and a call home to make up her mind. Meanwhile Jo comes to grips with her parent’s separation and learns, through a series of frustrating experiences, who her true friends are and what they’d do for her. Polly discovers the sad truth about her mother and that she is not model material, which is a good thing. Together they find new ways to be happy and set reachable goals. 3 Willows is a great book that teaches about how to find true happiness and what really matters in life. Brashares manages to address big topics while maintaining a fun reading experience making this a great book for any girl.

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The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

Love and Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Love and Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson fits into the juvenile fiction genre and was published in 2008. It is recommended for readers ages 16 and up.

Love and Peaches is the fun and fitting conclusion to the Peaches books. We follow Murphy, Leeda, and Birdie though one last summer that brings their lives more heartache and changes than any of them thought possible. At the beginning of the summer none of the girls are home in Georgia. Leeda and Murphy are off to college in New York City and Birdie is in Mexico City with her boyfriend Enrico as an exchange student. While they were supposed to be doing a casual study date Birdie found an engagement ring in Enrico's backpack and was shocked when he proposed but she said yes, but she soon learned that she wasn’t ready to be engaged and in a moment of recklessness wrote a letter to Enrico and hopped on an airplane back to Georgia. Leeda and Murphy have already arrived and while Leeda deals with the death, funeral, and will reading of her late Grandmother Murphy decides to go visit Rex, her ex-boyfriend. As it turns out Leeda landed a large inheritance with an even larger responsibility. Murphy discovers how big a mistake she made leaving Rex and also the truth about her paternity, which by the way I suspected all along. Through many adventures, some expected and some unexpected the three girls learn a lot about themselves and about each other. They grow to be wonderful individuals going in directions that they didn’t think were possible. It was a well-written book full of interesting conflicts and really believable characters that can inspire young girls while keeping them thoroughly entertained.

 

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Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson

The Secrets of Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson

She Went all the Way by Meg Cabot

She Went All The Way by Meg Cabot fits into the romance fiction genre and was published in 2002. It is recommended for adult readers.

When I first picked up this book I wondered what the title was hinting at and why the random shoe and clouds on the front. After reading it I think the title is referring to her sex life and the meaning of the shoe and clouds still escapes me. The she in the title refers to Lou Calabrese a screenwriter who made it big writing the movie Hindenburg for her struggling actor live-in boyfriend Barry, also known as Bruno di Blase. The only problem is that Bruno falls in love with his costar Greta Woolston and runs off and marries her leaving Lou bitter and alone to contemplate what went wrong. Greta, in the process of marrying Bruno, also left a boyfriend, actor Jack Townsend. The most predictable thing next would be to have Lou and Jack pair up, which is exactly what happens. However, the way this happens is quite unpredictable. Jack and Lou are on a helicopter on their way to remote Alaska and the set of a new movie in which Jack is the star and Lou the screenwriter. Unexpectedly the helicopter crashes and Jack and Lou find themselves running for their lives from crazed killers on snowmobiles. While on the run they irritate and frustrate each other and every turn then it randomly turns to lust which they satisfy in a remote cabin that they miraculously happen upon. After a good meal and a romp in the sack the two head on trying to find civilization so they can get help. In the end they find out the identity of their would be killer but not without further risking their lives and falling in love. The idea of this story was interesting and at time executed nicely but I thought it was a tad too predictable and I've never been a fan of detailed love scenes. Overall it was a quasi-entertaining read and while interesting not great.

Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot

Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot fits into the romance fiction genre and was published in 2007. It is recommended for readers ages 16 and up.

I enjoyed Queen of Babble in the Big City a lot more than the first book (Queen of Babble). For one thing it didn't have detailed love scenes, thus the reduced age recommendation. For another the problems were more interesting to me. There was also the fun added bonus of “Lizzie Nichols's Wedding Gown Gide” at the beginning of each chapter. These fun little segments gave advice about which shape and style of wedding gown to pick, how to choose a veil, and how to do your hair and makeup. The actual story puts Lizzie in New York city shortly after the last book ended. She decides to live with Luke instead of her friend Shari and with the help of Chaz, her old friend and Shari's boyfriend, she manages to land a good job as a receptionist at a law firm. This paying job lets her afford to work for free at a wedding gown shop. This job gives her the experience she wants in her dream career. Through her job as a receptionist she meets Jill Higgins who is marrying into a high class family and is stressed about her upcoming wedding, especially the dress. Lizzie offers her assistance which gains Lizzie and her gown shop fame and notice in the city. However, it's not all goodness and glory for Lizzie. After months of living with Luke she grows to expect a proposal and when she brings up marriage Luke freaks out and she finds herself homeless. Then the law firm she is working at discovers how she met Jill Higgins and fires her for breaking their privacy policy. It is through good luck and an amazing amount of courage that Lizzie is not only able to solve her problems but even improves her life beyond her dreams. Overall it's a great book with an interesting plot that kept me reading happily.

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Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot

Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot

Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot fits into the romance fiction genre and was published in 2006. It is recommended for Adult readers.

As might be expected Queen of Babble follows the story of Lizzie, a young woman who can't manage to keep her mouth shut. This inability leads her into a great deal of trouble. As her story begins we find her getting on the plane in London on a trip to see her boyfriend Andrew that she hasn't seen in three months. The only problem is that she can't remember his face. We follow her thought process, a truly random yet entertaining trail, as she encounters him and is shocked by his choice of outerwear. We then follow their time together and are shocked, along with Lizzie, at who Andrew really is and the things he asks her to do for him. When she learns he is stealing money from the government in order to pay for a better lifestyle she leaves him and hops on a train to meet her friend Shari who is working for the summer in France. On the train she meets Luke, a nice handsome boy who kindly lets her babble away about all her problems even though Lizzie tends toward over sharing. Lizzie feels comforted until she discovers that he is the son of the owner of the Chateau where she is meeting her friend. This mortifies her and it's where the story really gets interesting. Lizzie's trying to make up for running her mouth but only ends up running it more and getting into all kinds of trouble. Through luck, persistence, and amazing skill with fabric she manages to solve her problems, save a wedding, repair a once broken marriage, and find love for herself all while entertaining the reader with her amusing yet erratic thoughts. While I did enjoy this book quite a bit there were a few parts that made me uncomfortable and prompted the recommendation for adult readers. Cabot goes into quite a bit of detail when Lizzie and her boyfriend then later Luke have sex. I don't think it adds anything to the book having it in so much detail. I think the problem is genuine, especially for someone of her age group, but I think we could have used less. Otherwise it was a great read and if things like that don't bother you then pick it up and enjoy!

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Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot

Forever Princess by Meg Cabot

Forever Princess by Meg Cabot fits into the juvenile fiction genre and was published in 2009. It is recommended for readers ages 14 and up.

Forever Princess is the final installment in the Princess Diaries books and was a fabulous conclusion to an overall wonderful series. It is the end of Mia's senior year and she is getting into every college she applied to, she has a dedicated boyfriend J.P. who confesses his love daily, and she has finished her senior project. Unfortunately she is still unhappy with what life has to offer. She feels she is only getting into every college because she is a princess and the colleges want the publicity so she lies to her friends telling them that she hasn't been accepted to any college. Also Mia is not in love with J.P. and only wants to be with him so she has a man while she pines away for Michael. This is further complicated by the return of Michael from Japan and their happy reconnection. Mia's senior project is surrounded by a complicated mess of lies because she is worried that people with mock her real project, a historical romance novel. On top of this she is having trouble with her family and the consequences of her big announcement we read about it “Princess Miya”. I enjoyed the plots and subplots but often found myself wondering if anyone in real life is really this dense. Throughout the novel Mia questions things that every other character and the reader seem to know for certain. For example, when Michael comes back and they have a spicy reunion in Central Park she wonders endlessly if he still has feelings for her, which is obvious to anyone else. Putting this irritating inability aside I enjoyed the rest of the novel and was happy to finally read the conclusion of the series and to learn of Princess Mia's happily ever after.

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Princess Mia by Meg Cabot

All-American Girl by Meg Cabot

Ready or Not by Meg Cabot

Jinx by Meg Cabot

How to be Popular by Meg Cabot

Princess Mia by Meg Cabot

Princess Mia by Meg Cabot fits into the juvenile fiction genre and was published in 2008. It is recommended for readers ages 14 and up.

Princess Mia is basically a continuation of Princess on the Brink. It begins two hours after the last one ended. Mia is waiting for Michael to notice her email, forgive her, and then get back together. Only this doesn't happen and as a result she becomes depressed and has to see a psychologist named (really not joking here) Dr. Knutz, nice! Also her best friend Lilly is no longer friends with her because Mia kissed her ex boyfriend of a few hours J.P. She finds comfort in J.P. who has become a really good “friend”. Until he admits that he likes her, and they begin to date, which I think everyone saw coming as with most things in this particular volume of the Princess Diaries books. For example, Mia has been asked to speak at a gala for Domina Rei and while trying to find material from her ancestors she finds a diary Amelie, a princess from the 1600s who only ruled for twelve days before dying of the bubonic plague. For her speech she tells the story of Amelie and shocks the world with a decision that goes against what most of her family would ever want. There were, however, a few things that were not expected. Mia becomes friends with Lana, her former archenemy. Principal Gupta took Mia's journal away, considering how this is the main source of the story line it was totally unexpected, but the story continues on through various other means. The last thing that I didn't expect was that Kenny blew up the biology room right as J.P was confessing his love. Overall it was an alright book mostly redeemable because of the story line and not the actual application which was overly predictable and frustrating because it seems like Mia is the only one who doesn't get it sometimes.

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