Rica’s Summer, by Patricia Penny is a great book about the trials of sisterhood. Its a great book for ages 16 and older.
Rica is spending yet another summer vacation camping together. Her older sisters are off having fun and flirting with boys while Rica, the “baby” is stuck with their parents. But that all changes when Rica gets hit in the head with a volleyball and meets Stefan. As she begins spending more time with Stefan she starts to feel optimistic until she realizes that one of her sisters is also getting close with the cutie.
When the sisters realize that they are both being played by Stefan they come up with a plan that is sure to leave Stefan embarrassed and a little less full of him-self. However, things go terribly wrong and Rica ends up lost, alone, and cold in the woods and her family must search for her.
Will Rica be able to reconnect with her family or will she be forced to face consequences that are more than she can handle? You’ll have to read for yourself to find out!
Patricia Penny does a great job in her book, Chelsea’s Ride, a great book for anyone 16 and older.
Chelsea Davison has been in two car accidents and received a parking ticket all in the last year. So, her parents take away her car keys. Now she has to find some other way to get to practice, work, and to any fun activities that she wants to do. After a horrible experience with public transportation, Chelsea tries desperately to found another way to get around. Then she remembers Denny, the geek who has a major crush on her.
When Denny starts driving Chelsea around she thinks she has it made! When she starts seeing a guy that she meets while working she can’t imagine things getting better. Until Denny starts to realize that she is using him. Unfortunately, Chelsea is being used too but she doesn’t realize it until its too late and her pride is already damaged.
This book is a great read and one that I would recommend!
Daisy Jordan does a great job capturing college life, relationships, and all the trials one may enduring during this time in her incredible book, Everything Happens for a Reason. I would recommend this book to just about anyone!
Jill has always been the good girl, but one drunken night changed her life and the lives of her friends for ever. When she drunkenly spends the night with Adam, a cute ladies man, she ends up pregnant and confides in Hilton, her best friend. When their roommates, Laney and Natalie friend out that Hilton bought pregnancy test they don’t even suspect that it was for Jill and they become increasingly suspicious of Hilton and Jill and the secrets they are hiding. They aren’t the only ones who are suspicious tho, Luke, Hilton’s boyfriend finds out about it and doesn’t believe the story that Hilton tells him and they have a nasty breakup. When Jill finally tells Adam, everyone finds out the truth, but Adam is not at all happy with the news and he causes Jill to flee.
When Jill goes to her friend, Todd, they both profess their love for each other and end up spending a passionate night together. However, when Jill goes back to school she finds Adam waiting and ready to be a father. But does Jill want to be with Adam, the father over her baby or with Todd, the guy she has loved for five years?
This book is full of twists and turns at every page! I was unable to put it down and I strongly recommend that you check it out!
Kim Baccellia does a good job combining two very different worlds in her book, Earrings of Ixtumea. This book is great for anyone 17 years and younger!
Lupe Hernandez lives with her grandmother and has grown up hearing stories of a secret world, stories that she is sick of hearing about. When her grandmother gives her ruby earrings, a treasured family heirloom she does not realize their importance. But when Lupe comes face to face with a stranger who doesn’t seem to fit into her world, she finds herself in a parallel world.
When Lupe is told that she is the only hope for both her world and this strange new one that she finds herself in. However, an evil rebel leader has made it his goal to keep her from fulfilling her destiny. As Lupe trains under the Spider Goddess she learns many of the things that she needs to know in order to save the two worlds. But when Lupe comes face to face with the mother she has never known, she begins to doubt herself even more and let her anger and fear rule her.
Will Lupe be able to save the worlds and herself? Or will her mother do the unthinkable? You’ll have to read it yourself to find out!
By The Book Reviews recently had the opportunity to interview Aimee Friedman about her books, South Beach, French Kiss, and Hollywood Hills. Here is what she had to say!
What insipired you to write South Beach?
The story of how I came to write SOUTH BEACH makes me almost believe in fate. In 2004, I was working as an associate editor at Scholastic (where I still work, now as a senior editor, and which is where I still publish most of my books). My boss was encouraging me to try my hand at writing teen fiction, which I hadn’t ever done before. I was curious to try it, but I was busy with work, and writing more literary fiction on the side. In the meantime, an editor at the company wanted us to publish a teen novel that was set in South Beach, Miami. When the original author she’d lined up for the project fell through, I had just returned from a fabulous trip to, yes, South Beach, with my older sister. We’d had so much fun lying on the beach sipping lattes and going out dancing in Little Havana, and the trip left me feeling very inspired. All the stars somehow aligned, and I was asked to write the novel. I loved inventing the characters of Alexa and Holly and a lot of their adventures in the story grew out of the adventures I’d had with my sister on the trip.
Did you intend it to be part of a series?
Not exactly. The story just sort of poured out of me, fully formed. But by the time the book was done, I’d come to care about Alexa and Holly so much that I wasn’t ready to let them go! Also, the book began to do very well in stores, and even became a New York Times bestseller, so there was a lot of clamor for sequels. That was when I came up with the ideas for FRENCH KISS and HOLLYWOOD HILLS. I adore traveling, and I liked the idea of following Alexa and Holly on these trips to see how their friendship (and respective romances) changed.
Are there any plans for a fourth book in the series or have readers seen the last of Holly and Alexa?
My editor and I did intend for HOLLYWOOD HILLS to be a finale of sorts, with the girls heading off to college. However, I still love Alexa and Holly, and still have ideas for more adventures for the two of them. Though I am working on new projects right now, I wouldn’t rule out a fourth book in the future!
Which of the girls do you relate to the most?
I relate to both of them a great deal on different levels. Like Holly, I can be a little bit shy, a little bit cautious–especially when I was her age, I tended to get that way around boys. Like Holly, I am close to my family and they mean the world to me. But, unlike Holly, I am not good at sports (though I always wished I was). I am probably more like Alexa in that way–I can be a bit princess-y when it comes to physical activity and the outdoors! Also like Alexa, I love fashion, drama, and travel (even though, like, Holly, I don’t like flying), and Paris is probably my favorite city in the world. So I am sort of a mix, a blend, of the two girls. Each of them have qualities that I wished I possess, and other qualities that I relate to very much. Which makes writing about them so fun and so rewarding.
Are you currently working on anything new?
My first-ever hardcover novel, THE YEAR MY SISTER GOT LUCKY, is in bookstores now! And it’s gotten some very nice reviews; Booklist called it a “funny, insightful, delightful journey” and PW called it a “happy confection.” It’s the story of two sisters who are best friends and real New York City girls. But all that changes when they are uprooted and move to a small rural town in upstate New York. First crushes, new friends, and hikes up mountains suddenly are in the picture…and will the sisters be torn apart? Read this book to find out! I’ve also JUST started writing another new novel, slated for next summer, about a love story set on an island off the coast of Georgia. I’m really excited about, and hope readers will be, too!
When did you realize that you wanted to pursue writing as a career?
I’d written all my life–ever since I was little. It was simply what I loved doing best. I think I wrote my first story at age five or six, and my first novel at age ten, and just kept going! I think as soon as I realized writing COULD be a career, it was something I wanted to do. It seemed incredible to me that one could be paid for doing something they found such joy in. Of course, now I see writing for the hard work it is, but it is still an amazing job to have, incredibly challenging but also deeply engaging and full of surprises and rewards.
What was the last book you read?
I’m now devouring the PRIVATE series by Kate Brian. It’s wonderful! Totally suspenseful and fast-paced and gripping. I usually mix up my YA reading with adult books, but I’ve been on a teen streak for a while! I also read an early galley of Meg Cabot’s newest YA book AIRHEAD, which is coming out this summer, and is just breathtaking!
Aimee Friedman does a fabulous job in the third book following teens Holly and Alexa. Hollywood Hills has the girls going on yet another adventure, this time right after senior year! This book is good for anyone 16 and older.
Holly and Alexa are off again, this time on their third trip together. Senior year has finally ended and the girls have one week before the official graduation ceremony. When Alexa meets a famous movies star and finds herself invited to her wedding in Hollywood, she brings Holly as her guests. Alexa ends up dating Jonah, a famous actor, but only until she realizes that he will never really “get” her.
Holly is loving LA and actually begins thinking about attending UCLA. When she starts fighting more and more with her boyfriend, Tyler, she realizes that she wants adventure. She doesn’t want to follow the path that has been laid out for her. She realizes that this may cause some problems, but with Alexa on her side, she is sure she can figure things out.
Will Alexa finally find love? Will Holly finally be able to stand up for what she wants? You’ll have to read to find out! These books are great and I definitely hope that there is a fourth!
Congratulations to the winners of our Hollywood Girls Club Giveaway. Unfortunately we have only heard back from 4 of the winners. Once we hear back from the other we will post her on here as well.
Katie from California
Leann from Pennsylvania
Jenn from New Jersey
Jennifer from California
Congratulations ladies and you will be receiving your books soon!
Aimee Friendman does a fantastic job in her book, French Kiss, the follow up to South Beach. This book is great for anyone ages 16 and older and I would definitely recommend reading South Beach first.
Alexa and Holly are almost through with their senior year and are ready for spring break! Holly is going to a track invitational in London and Alexa and her boyfriend, Diego are going to Paris. Alexa knows her trip is doomed as soon as Diego mentions he wants to see the Eiffel Tower and Alexa, who views herself almost like a native, doesn’t want to seem like a tourist. There fighting leads to them breaking up for good and spending all of spring break apart. When Alexa breaks down and calls Holly, who was injured in a meet and can no longer perform, Holly does the unthinkable and leaves London to be with her friend.
When Holly leaves London, her two best friends promise to cover for her, as long as she gets back in time. However, circumstances in Paris make her unwilling to leave and then unable to. After she gets in a huge fight with Alexa she is more than ready to leave but makes the decision to spend time with Alexa’s cute cousin. Then when she oversleeps and misses her chance to get back to London on time she finally patches things up with Holly, who reassures her that things will work out.
Will Holly get caught for ditching out on the school trip? Will Alexa ever get back with Diego? You’ll have to read to find out!
So, I decided that since I am constantly reading and reviewing books I would join the 100+ Reading Challenge and I suggest you all try it to! Here are the books that I have read so far this year!
1. Pretty Tough by Liz Tigelaar
2. Getting Warmer by Carol Snow
3. In Times of Violence by Karina Kantas
4. The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
5. Prom Kings and Drama Queens by Dorian Cirrone
6. Switchcraft by Mary Castillo
7. The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
8. Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You by Dorian Cirrone
9. South Beach by Aimee Friedman
10. Hollywood Hills by Aimee Friedman
11. French Kiss by Aimee Friedman
12. Everything Happens for a Reason by Daisy Jordan
13. The Upper Class by Hobson Brown, Taylor Materne, and Caroline Says
14. Earrings of Ixtumea by Kim Baccelia
Check out our 100+ Reading Challenge page for an updated list.
Aimee Friedman does a great job with her book, South Beach. This book is great for girls 16 and older, especially anyone who has enjoyed a crazy and scandalous spring break!
Holly and Alexa used to be best friends. But that was in grade school and things have changed. After breaking up with her boyfriend and canceling her spring break plans, Alexa is left alone and stuck at home for Spring Break. While going through some old things her former friend, Holly pops into her head. Sure that Holly couldn’t possibly have any Spring Break plans, she calls and it turns out that she is right. Will Holly agree to go to South Beach for Spring Break?
Holly is more than a little surprised when Alexa calls her and annoyed whenn Alexa assumes that she has no plans. Unfortunately, she caves to Alexa and when her parents surprise her by giving her permission, she agrees to go to South Beach. Unfortunately, they have to stay with her grandmother. When the arrive in South Beach, circumstances change and they find themselves staying in a crummy motel. As Holly and Alexa start to bond, Holly finds herself doing things she thought she would never do.
Holly and Alexa are having the time of their lives and managing to get along in fabulous South Beach. Until a boy comes between them. Will these girls let a boy come between the friendship they have managed to restore? You’ll have to read it to find out!