The Pursuit of Happiness by Tara Altebrando To give you an idea of how far behind I've gotten on my reviews -- I read The Pursuit of Happiness a month ago (though I don't necessarily write the reviews in exactly the same order I read the books in).
A few confessions: I was a bit wary of a book published by MTV press, and I only read it when I did because it was the only Cybils nomination that I had in paperback, and I needed a book that could fit in my carry-on luggage, but honestly, I was pleasantly surprised.
The novel begins with the death of Betsy's mother. It is the summer before Betsy's senior year of high school and she has a summer job at a colonial village. There, she becomes friends with Liza, the school misfit, and James (okay, I'm sure as soon as I mentioned a boy's name, it was obvious where that would lead)
This could have easily turned into a very typical coming-of-age novel -- girl's mother dies, girl meets boy, learns about herself, and thus, comes of age, but Altebrando's attention to details (such as the colonial village where Betsy works, and her silhouette project) helps this novel to stand out among similar titles. I would definitely recommend this to readers who like Sarah Dessen or other similar authors.
1 comments:
*grins widely*
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