Be Strong and Curvaceous (All about Us Series #3) by Shelley Adina
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(Paperback)
- Age Range: Young Adult
- Pub. Date: January 2009
- 239pp
- Sales Rank: 107,008
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: January 2009
- Publisher: Faith Words
- Format: Paperback, 239pp
- Sales Rank: 107,008
- Age Range: Young Adult
- Series: All about Us Series, #3
- ISBN-13: 9780446177993
- ISBN: 0446177997
Synopsis
After spending spring break in Mexico with her grandparents, Carly Aragon can't wait to get back to school at SpencerAcademy in San Francisco. With Lissa Mansfield and Gillian Chang by her side, she's ready for anything ... except a new roommate.
Lady Lindsay MacPhail, flamboyant daughter of the Earl of Strathcairn, quickly becomes Carly's worst nightmare. "Mac" not only swoops in and steals Carly's privacy, she's also dating Brett Loyola—Carly's biggest crush!
But when Mac starts receiving strange, threatening e-mails, she and Carly must come together to figure out who's behind them and why. In the end, the fate of one girl will lie in the other's hands. Will the two learn to trust one another and trust God?
Kirkus Reviews
Set in a ritzy prep school in San Francisco, this series entry is like an ethnically diverse, toned-down Gossip Girls with a difference-the protagonists' religious faith sets moral parameters on their behavior. The story focuses on Carly, the Latina of the group, whose difficult new roommate, Mac, the daughter of a Scottish earl, shakes up the school's social hierarchy while snubbing Carly and her religious friends. But Mac is not as invulnerable as she seems; in fact, she's been getting a series of increasingly creepy e-mails. When Mac and the school are threatened with physical violence, Carly, with God's guidance, has to figure out how to save the day, while still negotiating the tricky minefields of love, status, popularity and fashion. Except for Carly's refusal to drink an alcoholic beverage, the God part is mostly peripheral to the action, and some of the characters' concerns seem inconsistent with spirituality. Also jarring is the way the novel abruptly lurches from soap opera to thriller. Nonetheless, this definitely fills a niche. (Fiction. 10 & up)
More Reviews and RecommendationsBiography
Shelley Adina is a world traveler and pop culture junkie with an incurable addiction to designer handbags. She knows the value of a relationship with a gracious God and loving Christian friends, and she's inviting today's teenage girls to join her in these refreshingly honest books about real life as a Christian teen—with a little extra glitz thrown in for fun! In between books, Adina loves traveling, listening to and making music, and watching all kinds of movies.
Customer Reviews
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Best Book in the series so farby Deborah_K
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June 16, 2009: Everytime I read a book in this series, I really wish I could have gone to boarding school for my high school years. At the very least, I wish I could have lived the live the girls at Spencer Academy get to enjoy. It sounds majorly fun with designer clothes, never ending spending accounts, glamorous lifestyles. At the same time however one gets worried that the characters could end up superficial for being used to that lifestyle. That being sad it was really nice to see that there was one girl among them that lived a rather normal lifestyle. Carly is at the school on scholarship plus she has to get a job in order to support the lavish lifestyle she wants to keep. She's ashamed that she can't afford the same things her friends do so she keeps it a secret from them. I wish though she had been a bit more open to her friends. I don't think they would have condemned her for what she had to do although it's very understandable that teens are worried about what their friends think of them.
This was probably my favorite book of the series so far. The mystery and suspense sequences in the book were written wonderfully and really held my attention throughout the story. Mac's stalker was really scary. It's very frightening to think that situations like that happen all the time. I really liked seeing Mac's character grow throughout the book. I also loved how she's the only one that was able to put Vanessa in her place.In addition to the great clothes and the fun lifestyle, there's also once again a great sense of diversity in this book which I love. I wish more books in the Christian fiction genre were like this without resorting to typical stereotypes. Also while there's a Christian message within the story it is neither preachy or pushy. The girls share their faith but respect that not everyone will be open or accept it all the time. These girls are a total blast to be around. It's really one of the best YA series that's out there today, Christian or secular. VERY HIGHLY recommended.http://kindredthought.blogspot.comby lindseyf
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February 09, 2009:
Although this is the third book in the All About Us series, each book is a novel in itself. Be Strong and Curvaceous was my intro to both the series and the author and what an intro it was! By the time I had read to the end of chapter two, I loved Gillian, Lissa, and Carly and knew I would have been thrilled to have been friends with them as a teen (or just had this series to read). In this particular book, Carly Aragon is the focus and we're given a peek into her mind and heart.
I have to say that the author did an excellent job with the characters - when it came to Carly, I felt for her and with her as she struggled with being the odd one out in a school full of rich kids.
There's nothing boring about Be Strong and Curvaceous. Besides dealing with the social and roommate drama, Carly finds herself in the situation of being the confidant of a girl who is being stalked and is receiving some pretty creepy and disturbing emails. Her newfound faith in God may be tested much sooner than she expected.
I think any teen girl would love this series - it's one of the best clean YA chick lit books I've read, ever! Definitely comparable and much better than some of the secular young adult chick lit that is so popular right now. I highly recommend it! And don't feel guilty about reading and enjoying it yourself. :-)
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