by Jenna Guillaume
Just released (US): April 1, 2020
Publisher: Peachtree Publishing Company
Genre: YA, Romance, Australia
Hardback: 304
Rating: 5
Goodreads
Excerpt
First sentence(s):
3 things I discovered today:
1. Ms. Singh is a sadistic sumbitch who thinks it's a great idea to assign homework over vacation.
You know all those movies where teenagers have, like, THE SUMMER OF THEIR LIVES?
This summer is probably not going to be that.
Source: Everything that's happened since yesterday ...
The last thing sixteen-year-old Maisie Martin thought she'd be doing this summer is entering a beauty pageant.
Not when she's spent most of her life hiding her body from everyone.
Not when her Dad is AWOL for Christmas and her gorgeous older sister has returned to rock Maisie's shaky confidence. And her best friend starts going out with the boy she's always loved.
But Maisie's got something to prove.
As she writes down all the ways this summer is going from bad to worse in her school-assignment journal, what starts as a homework torture-device might just end up being an account of how Maisie didn't let anything, or anyone, hold her back...
My two-bits:
Fun YA story told in a journal entry mode. Just right for these days in shelter. Might get you interested in binge-ing action films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger or the Rock. Maybe even a re-watch of Dirty Dancing - more specifically, the final dance scene ;-)
I liked the self-discovery and growth with the protagonist. Issues of body weight, image as well family dealings keep this gal writing in her journal and kept me reading.
Also, lots of romance, crush-ing and friend interactions to keep the drama flowing.
* review copy courtesy of publisher
