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WHO MADE YOU A PRINCESS?

In an installment from the All About Us series, readers find 17-year-old Shani in a boarding school for the super-wealthy, dealing with the important issues in her life: designer clothes, two hottie boys, friends, parties, curiosity about God and, when she can fit it in, schoolwork. After she’s already developed a strong attraction to Danyel, a handsome, poor Christian surfer, she meets Rashid, a gorgeous billionaire prince who’s attracted to her. It turns out that Shani’s oil-company–owner dad, who depends upon his relationship with Rashid’s royal father, has promised Shani as Rashid’s bride. Shani faces a difficult choice: to accept the arranged Islamic marriage to Rashid, whom she likes enormously, or to choose Danyel and Christianity, thereby destroying her father’s company, impoverishing her family and throwing 2,000 people out of work. The plot is absurd and the “surprise” at the end laughable, but there is much to appeal to young female readers, and Adina keeps her writing sprightly. She portrays the wealthy as having the same emotions as the rest of us, and also needing God. Many girls will love it. (Fiction. 12-18)

Pub Date: May 13, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-446-17962-1

Page Count: 230

Publisher: FaithWords

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2009

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THE WAY I USED TO BE

Eden’s emotionally raw narration is compelling despite its solipsism. (Fiction. 14-18)

In the three years following Eden’s brutal rape by her brother’s best friend, Kevin, she descends into anger, isolation, and promiscuity.

Eden’s silence about the assault is cemented by both Kevin’s confident assurance that if she tells anyone, “No one will ever believe you. You know that. No one. Not ever,” and a chillingly believable death threat. For the remainder of Eden’s freshman year, she withdraws from her family and becomes increasingly full of hatred for Kevin and the world she feels failed to protect her. But when a friend mentions that she’s “reinventing” herself, Eden embarks on a hopeful plan to do the same. She begins her sophomore year with new clothes and friendly smiles for her fellow students, which attract the romantic attentions of a kind senior athlete. But, bizarrely, Kevin’s younger sister goes on a smear campaign to label Eden a “totally slutty disgusting whore,” which sends Eden back toward self-destruction. Eden narrates in a tightly focused present tense how she withdraws again from nearly everyone and attempts to find comfort (or at least oblivion) through a series of nearly anonymous sexual encounters. This self-centeredness makes her relationships with other characters feel underdeveloped and even puzzling at times. Absent ethnic and cultural markers, Eden and her family and classmates are likely default white.

Eden’s emotionally raw narration is compelling despite its solipsism. (Fiction. 14-18)

Pub Date: March 22, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4814-4935-9

Page Count: 384

Publisher: McElderry

Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016

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WATCH US RISE

A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment.

A manifesto for budding feminists.

At the core of this engaging novel are besties Chelsea, who is Irish- and Italian-American and into fashion and beauty, and Jasmine, who is African-American, loves the theater, and pushes back against bias around size (“I don’t need your fake compliments, your pity. I know I’m beautiful. Inside and out”). They and their sidekicks, half-Japanese/half-Lebanese Nadine and Puerto Rican Isaac, grow into first-class activists—simultaneously educating their peers and readers. The year gets off to a rocky start at their progressive, social justice–oriented New York City high school: Along with the usual angst many students experience, Jasmine’s father is terminally ill with cancer, and after things go badly in both their clubs, Jasmine and Chelsea form a women’s rights club which becomes the catalyst for their growth as they explore gender inequality and opportunities for change. This is an inspiring look at two strong-willed teens growing into even stronger young women ready to use their voices and take on the world, imploring budding feminists everywhere to “join the revolution.” The book offers a poetic balance of dialogue among the main characters, their peers, and the adults in their lives. The exquisite pacing, which intersperses everyday teen conflicts with weightier issues, demonstrates how teens long to be heard and taken seriously.

A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment. (resources for young activists, endnotes) (Fiction. 12-18)

Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-5476-0008-3

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2019

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