#2 Firegirl by Tony Abbott

Title: Firegirl

Author: Tony Abbott

Series: N/A

Format: Paperback

Release Date: June 6, 2006

Genre(s): YA, Realistic Fiction

Rating:

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Summary

"...there is..." Mrs. Tracy was saying quietly, "there is something we need to know about Jessica..."

From this moment on, life is never quite the same for Tom and his seventh-grade classmates. They learn that Jessica has been in a fire and was badly burned, and will be attending St. Catherine's while getting medical treatments. Despite her horrifying appearance and the fear she evokes in him and most of the class, Tom slowly develops a tentative friendship with Jessica that changes his life.

Review

Plot: Basically it's about this young boy who's perfectly normal for his age. Goes to school, has a crush on the prettiest girl, has a best friend, etc. Then one day this new girl comes into school and shakes everything up because of one detail: she was in a fire. It was to the point where she just barely made it so the burns are pretty bad. No one wants to look at her, much less talk to her. It's really sad actually! After a while he starts to have this small, awkward, almost-friendship with her and that's really all it progresses to. She ends up having to leave and that's that.

Character(s): Tom- He's a pretty simple boy who acts just like any other. The only thing I can say that stands out about him is that he is very defensive of the girl. His best friend starts bad-mouthing her (which I couldn't stand) and he tells him to shut up. In fact they pretty much stop being friends because this guy's such a jerk to the poor girl. 

Cover: I liked the cover so much more after I realized what it was. A little ways into the book they have this prayer circle in the beginning of class and everyone has to hold hands. See, her hands are burned so the boy on the other side of her refuses to hold her hand. But the main character does, even though it's a little scary to him. That's what the cover is and when I realized that I went "oh my gosh, this cover is so great!"

Closing Thoughts: I feel like a bad person giving this book a two. The thing is I LOVED the plot. It was so cute and I really liked the idea. It's just that I felt things weren't very developed. I wasn't very attached to the characters and right before anything really happens she leaves and the book ends. I was a little bored by it (hence it taking so long) and it just... I don't know didn't really do it for me. But I think it's a cute story to read and the book isn't very big at all! So it's worth reading if you just want a quick story. 

Where to find Tony Abbott:

Goodreads

Sweet Daydreams,

Brooke

#1 The Secret of Boys: Hailey Abbott

Title: The Secrets of Boys

Author: Hailey Abbott

Series: N/A

Format: Paperback

Release Date: May 30, 2006

Genre(s): Romance, YA, Fiction

Rating:

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Summary

Eric: Loves surfing, has killer abs, an even better smile, and a heart of gold.

Joe: A sarcastic goofball who gives great advice, which no one ever takes.

Zach: Sophisticated college boy, wise in the ways of French painting as well as other French things.

A California girl like Cassidy Jones should be out on the beach, not stuck in summer school! But her life heats up when she meets the worldly and romantic Zach – she can't stop thinking about him, even though she already has a boyfriend. Cassidy wishes her pal Joe were around to help her figure out the secrets of boys, but he's hundreds of miles away. Will she be able to ignore her feelings for Zach – or will temptation be too strong to resist?

Review

Plot: Cassidy is a very shy, timid girl working to get into the best school. Her best friend is the craziest, most outgoing girl ever and her boyfriend of two years is practically perfect. After her mom decides she has to go away to summer school instead of working with her friend all summer she starts leading a whole new life. She meets Zach. He’s the TA for her French class and is amazingly gorgeous and charming. When she starts being with him, she learns to be more outgoing and confident. But things get a little… complicated, what with her real boyfriend and all.

Character(s): Cassidy- I have to say at first I related with her. Shy, quiet, girl who cares way too much about her studies. A serious boyfriend who’s just perfect for her. A fashionable, outgoing best friend. All of it seemed relatable. But then she starts making some choices that just bug the heck out of me! She cheats on her boyfriend and doesn’t even officially dump him until way too late and it’s just very annoying to me. After a while she seemed whiny and annoying. Although, I will give her that her best friend is really not a good friend and it made me really happy when she finally stood up for herself.

Cover: I liked the cover and I didn’t. I liked it because the couple on the cover didn’t seem like the usual “picture perfect” book cover models. In fact it just looked like a normal couple someone just snapped a picture of. However, I did feel like I needed to hide the cover from the people around me. Two people in their underwear? I felt like I needed to assure everyone I wasn’t reading a dirty book!

Closing Thoughts: I only gave this a two because I think I’m more strict about books than I used to be. It was a good read! I read it in only about a day. But it just wasn’t amazing. The characters bugged me and really the only character I liked was Joe. I liked Eric too, but he got dumped so I didn’t really get stuck on him. It was realistic though which was nice. She learned valuable lessons I think a lot of girls should learn from. So it’s a good read, just nothing amazing.  

Where to find Hailey Abbott:

Goodreads

Sweet Daydreams,

Brooke