Review/Giveaway: Boys, Beauty & Betrayal

A WINNING READINGS GIVEAWAY!

Title: Boys, Beauty & Betrayal
Author: JC Conrad-Ellis
Genre: Teen Fiction
How to enter: Leave a comment on THIS post right here! If you're a subscriber or a follower, leave a second comment for a second entry.
Entry deadline: October 15, 2009
Restrictions: Open internationally

That's right, enter right here for this giveaway. Please note: we are giving away our review copy. Handwritten on the inside covers in several places is "Review Copy Only; Not for Sale."

Now, on to the review...

Overview

Tanisha is a 14-year-old going through all the typical 14-year-old stuff. Interested in boys, trying to figure out where she fits in the popularity game, and a fairly responsible kid with a few brothers. She's also got a few extra challenges; a recent divorce between her parents, significant mom problems, and a childhood secret. This book chronicles her journey through middle school and all the relationships involved.

Author

Author JC Conrad-Ellis is a mom with a degree in political science and a Masters in Industrial Relations. She's stepped down a few rungs in the corporate ladder to have more time with her kids, and this book is written as a story her daughters could one day enjoy.

My Review

This book kept my attention throughout. I enjoyed getting to know Tanisha and her friends, and the suspense factor was just right.

One interesting aspect was Tanisha's propensity for white lies. It does make her a "real" character - you can see the motivation behind the lies and that she's a good kid underneath - and I'm hoping the future books go into this aspect a little more.

The dialogue portions of this book were written well. The parts written in the third person jumped around between characters' perspectives; it felt a little awkward occasionally - as if the narrative was intended mainly to rush the storyline along.

I don't know if this is considered a spoiler, but since it was my only significant complaint about the book, I'll include it anyway. Right towards the end, I was getting a little nervous because too many ends still needed to be tied to complete the story. And sure enough, the book ends with the words: "To Be Continued..."

Now, I like a series book that is good enough that you want to read the next book, but still can stand alone. This one would have made me want to read the next book, but it doesn't stand alone. (In fact, I understand that the original project was too long, so it was split up into a series of books.) So I will be getting the next book!

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and would be happy to recommend it to a teen female reader.

Thanks to the author and Review the Book for this review copy.

Blessed reading,
Jane