Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Some Long Overdue "Revenge"

Steph Hale is a good friend and a fellow Buzz-girl, so I was prepared to be biased when I plunked down one Saturday afternoon at my favorite coffee shop TerraBite with a copy of REVENGE OF THE HOMECOMING QUEEN. I'd heard good things about the book and I love all of Steph's blog posts, so I knew the book, if nothing else, would be a fun read.

What I was not prepared for was the tantalizing mystery that captured my attention, had me on the edge of my seat and made me laugh out loud (earning questionable looks from my fellow coffee shop patrons).

I love this story...it's definitely NOT your typical, fluffy high school romance or coming-of-age novel. It's smart, mature and incredible realistic. The characters came alive and reminded me very much of people I've known in my day. While I loved the progressive love story of the nerdy-turned-hottie Rand and Aspen (love her!), my favorite thing about the story was Jonny's love story and how Aspen deals with her best friend's *unconventional* romance.

The mystery is the icing on the cake and I loved that our heroine...turns out to be the school heroine at the end!!!!

SOOOO great! I now cannot wait to see what Aspen does in college in TWISTED SISTERS.
So, thank you to you Steph Hale...for giving me one of the most unconventional and suspenseful teen-reads I've had this year!
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Dona Sarkar-Mishra
http://donasarkarmishra.com
HOW TO SALSA IN A SARI - January 2008
SHRINK TO FIT - August 2008

6 comments:

Wendy Toliver said...

Such a great review, Dona. And I agree with every word of it.

Isn't it extra nice when someone we know and love also writes wonderful books? :)

TinaFerraro said...

Yes, Dona, I loved this book, too, and like you, I am anxiously looking forward to the sequel!

I need more Aspen!

stephhale said...

Dona, what a sweet review! It means so much that SO far everyone who knows me has liked Revenge, or they are very convincing liars! ha! Thanks for the awesome review!
xo,
Steph
ps-Aspen wants me to set you straight on one thing. Her b/f/f's name is Tobi. Sorry, she's kind of anal. You were close, it was a b/g name! :)

Dona Sarkar-Mishra said...

Ok, I don't know where I got Jonny from...sorry Steph!

Jessica Burkhart said...

I can't wait for Twisted Sisters either. :)

Marley Gibson said...

Love your review, Dona! I just ate up this book in an afternoon. Can't wait for TWISTED SISTERS!

Marley = )