Dorian Cirrone does a fabulous job in her book Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You, which deals a lot with how girls seem to so readily believe that they have to change how they look in order to gain approval. This book is great for anyone 16 and older!
Kayla is one of the best ballerinas around and spent the last summer studying in New York with the American School of Ballet. She should easily be able to get the lead role in the upcoming ballet, except for one small problem: her less than small breasts. Her size double D makes her the complete opposite of the desired ballerina body. However, Kayle never really thought it would be that big of a problem, since she is such a good dancer. When she is cast as an ugly stepsister in the school’s production of Cinderella she realizes that her body could keep her from achieving her dreams.
When someone starts leaving threatening messages attached to red pointe shoes, Kayla is made to look like the prime suspect. As her sister Paterson faces censorship issues from the school administration Kayla and her best friend Joey try to figure out who is behind the threats. When Paterson and Kayla speak on a radio show about a demonstration that is supposed to support Paterson and her art project, the red shoes are brought up and Kayla ends up confessing to a crime that she didn’t commit.
As Kayla struggles to figure out who was placing red shoes all over the school, she begins to wonder if the message was for her and what exactly it meant. Will she be able to find out who did it and escape the blame? Or will everyone believe all the rumors that some is starting about her? You’ll have to read to find out!
Anna Godbersen does an incredible job with The Luxe, the first book in a thrilling new series. This book is perfect for anyone ages 16 and up!
Elizabeth Holland just returned from Europe and quickly discovered that she is the star of Manhattan’s social scene. With her breathtaking appearance and flawless manners, she is the image of perfection. After her father’s recent death, Elizabeth finds out that her family is no longer as well off as they appear and her mother makes it clear that Elizabeth must save the family from ruin.
Diana Holland is tired of society’s rules and the responsibilities that come with being part of the elite. She is thrilled to learn that her family is in financial distress and hopes that it will allow her more freedom. But when she starts to fall in love with her sister’s sudden fiance, Henry Schoonmaker, she becomes even more bitter about society. Her sister is about to enter into a loveless marriage with the man that she has fallen for, a man whom she is sure loves her back.
Penelope Hayes is Elizabeth’s best friend and confidante, not because she truly cares, but because she believes she must keep her enemies close. When she finds out that Elizabeth is engaged to Henry, the man she had picked for herself, she is determined to make sure that the wedding never happens. And when Lina, Elizabeth’s former maid, comes to Penelope with information that would shatter Elizabeth’s perfect image and her family’s hopes for survival, Penelope knows just what she must do.
Will Penelope ruin Elizabeth’s reputation or will she find a way to get what she wants without ruining Elizabeth? This book is full of twists with almost every page! With all the drama, jealousy, and backstabbing of a modern day high school this book manages to capture the social scene of late 19th Century New York City. With its beautiful step back into history, this book shows that girls are all the same, no matter what time period it is. This book is a must read!
By the Book was given the opportunity to interview Anna and this is what she had to say!
When did you first realize that you loved writing and wanted to pursue it as a career?
I’ve been an obsessive scribbler and a big reader since I was a child, so I always knew literature would be a part of my life, but I didn’t think of writing as a career until I started ghostwriting YA novels. That was when I was twenty-four, and it made me feel that I might be able to make a job out of it.
What made you want to write about this specific time period and place?
I wanted a glamorous setting, and I thought it would be interesting to research the time period since it is sometimes said that we are now living in a new gilded age. But I also thought that it would be interesting for teens to read about a time period when there was a whole lot more ‘No.’ We live in such a permissive culture now, but I think there’s a lot of drama and excitement to be had from this world with many more rules of behavior.
All of the historical details in your book make it such much more spectacular. In your research, was there anything that you found particularly surprising or interesting?
Thank you! I think the thing I was most surprised by was how few generations separated the nouveau riche from the old money families. There was great drama around whether Caroline Astor ( a.k.a. The Mrs. Astor) would attend the Vanderbilt ball of 1883, even though there was only about a generation separating these families’ social ascendance.
All of your characters seem to have such different personalities. Is there a particular girl that you feel you can best relate to?
They all have bits of me in them—even Penelope, I am ashamed to say; even Henry—but I think the character I most relate to is Lina. She’s this character who is outside of society but also close enough to be fascinated and repulsed by it, which is often how I feel, being a Californian of no particular social distinction living in this incredibly wealthy, cosmopolitan city.
Where did you get most of your inspiration for your characters?
I wanted them to embody different aspects of the time—adherence to etiquette in Elizabeth’s case, social ambition in Penelope’s—but as I said they all have little parts of me in them. For Elizabeth I also thought of young women today who have perfect grades and so many extracurriculars—she’s that kind of perfectionist.
Do you think you would have enjoyed living in 1899?
No, to be honest. I think that the clothes and parties would be really fascinating, and I think it would also be really cool to see what it felt like to be an American at that moment when the country’s role in the world was really changing. But I think the culture would have been really stultifying—that’s what’s giving Elizabeth and Diana so much trouble—and I’ve never been very good at conforming, despite my occasional best efforts.
What was the last book you read?
Edith Wharton’s short novel Summer. It’s known as her “hot” book, but it’s also really a YA book in the sense that it follows a young woman from a small town who is limited by her own experience and upbringing but who longs for something more, and in the sense that it dwells at length on a crush and on a young woman’s first sexual experiences.
What can we expect from the next book in the series? Do you have an estimate of when it will be released?
There will be a wedding or two and some really extravagant backstabbing, of course. And lots more gowns and meaningful stares. It’s called Rumors, and it comes out in May.
How did you feel when you found out The Luxe was named a New York Times Best Seller?
Relieved! It’s really frightening putting a book out there in the world so any sign of approval from readers is really reassuring. And happy, of course—it really adds to the feeling of accomplishment, which is nice.
So far we have contacted 4 winners for the Hollywood Girls Club giveaway! Those 4 wonderful winners are:
Katie from California!
Leann from Pennsylvania!
Jennifer from California!
Jenn from New Jersey!
We are still trying to get in touch with our fifth winner and once we do so we’ll post the name here! Congratulations to our winners!
Marta Acosta has a great interview with Mary Castillo, author of Switchcraft on her blog! Here is the link, be sure to check it out! www.martaacosta.blogspot.com!
Mary Castillo’s Switchcraft is without a doubt one of the best books I have read this year! This book is great for anyone 18+.
Aggie and Nely have been best friends for as long as they can remember, but their lives couldn’t possibly be more different. Nely is married with a baby and has a mother-in-law who is constantly stepping in to try to take over and make her feel like an unfit mother and wife. Plus, she is feeling completely undesirable because she is unable to get rid of the weight she gained while pregnant with her little girl.
Aggie is stylish and slender, exactly what Nely wishes to be. However, Aggie’s chain of bad relationships has left her wanting what a husband and a baby, just like Nely. As her upscale boutique quickly continues its plummet into the red and she continues to deal with the pain she experienced when her mother died, she makes plans to go with Nely to a New Age Spa.
During a ritual at the spa the unthinkable happens: Nely and Aggie switch bodies and along with that switch families, closets, and friends! They both quickly realize that the life they had envied is not all its cracked up to be. The girls struggle to deal with their new lives while they wait to be switched back.
Will Nely’s husband choose to think the worst about his wife or will he believe her story? Will Aggie be able to salvage her business with Nely currently running things? You’ll have to read to find out what happens to these two friends!
Dorian Cirrone does a fantastic job with her book Prom Kings and Drama Queens. This book is great for anyone ages 15 and older, especially for anyone who has every struggled through high school because they weren’t part of the popular crowd.
Emily has begin plans for the the school year and she is determined to see them all through. One of those things is to become editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. But to do this, she has to beat Daniel, her longtime rival. When the two of them follow some of the schools basketball players to a rival school they end up in more trouble than they bargained for. When the players try to cut down a tree the police are alerted and Emily and Daniel are the one’s who get caught and arrested. The fact that they took the fall for the team may just help Emily with another task on her list: winning her long-time crush, Brian Harrington one of the star players.
When Emily starts visiting Brian’s grandmother he starts to really notice her and thats when things start heating up. When he asks her to prom she is ecstatic, that is until she remembers that she is working on an alternative prom in order to win the position of editor of the paper. Will she stick it out and go to her alternative prom to make a statement? Or will she cave and give up on all her hard work?
You’ll have to read this book for yourself! And if you like this book, check out Dancing in Red Shoes, another Dorian Cirrone book!
The Nanny Diaries, by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus is a great book for anyone who has ever provided child care for someone else! Its great for anyone ages 18 and old!
Nanny is not just a nanny, she is an NYU senior, struggling to graduate while working to afford live in the city. While walking through the park she meets a seemingly normal family, the Xes. After giving her number to Mrs. X, she is hired as a nanny for her four year old son, Grayer. Everything starts out well, until she finds out that she is more of a servant than a nanny. As she finds herself caught dealing with the demanding Mrs. X, she must also deal with the fact that the Xes marriage is falling apart in she is right in the middle.
Is Grayer and Nanny bond, Mrs. X grows increasingly erratic as she not only seems to be losing her husband, but her son clearly favors his nanny over his own mother. This book is great for anyone looking for a little humor! Also, if you like the book check out the movie!
Girl in a Funk: Quick Stress Busters by Tanya Naper and Jen Kollmer is full of dozens of quick ways to reduce stress. It also helps you learn about the science of stress and how the tips work. This book is great for all girls who have to deal with stress from school, jobs, boyfriends, families and countless other issues.
Every had to pull an all-nighter to finish a project or paper and then had to deal with parents who are constantly on your case? In these types of situations it is easy to become stressed, but this book has tons of tips to make even the busiest girl relax. My favorite was dancing out your stress, either in a structured dance class or just alone in your room, sometimes you need to just step away from your work and get your body moving!
With its quick, mellow out tips and do it yourself spa treatments, this book is a must have for every girl!
Sienna Mercer is back with twins Ivy and Olivia in the third book in this humorous series. My Sister the Vampire: Re-Vamped, is great for anyone ages 17 and under!
Ivy and Olivia have finally told their friends that they are twins, but their adoptive parents are still in the dark. When Olivia tells her parents they are thrilled and immediately want to meet Ivy. But when Ivy tells her dad, he doesn’t even want to meet Olivia and from that point on does his best to avoid her completely.
When Olivia and Ivy decide to do some digging about their biological parents, vampire officials quickly realizes that Olivia knows the truth about vampires. They demand that she past three tests to prove that she is worth of holding such a life-threatening secret. If she passes, things will continue as they are. If she fails, her memory will be completely erased of Ivy.
Will Olivia pass the test or will she lose the memory of her sister forever? You’ll have to read to find out! And look out for the 4th book in this series, which should be released in March of 2008!