Belles by Jen Calonita

(#1 in the Belles series)
Genre: Young Adult
Format: Kindle
Read: 7/1/12 – 7/4/12

Links

Jen Calonita – Website
Amazon – Paperback ~ Kindle
Add to: GoodReads ~ LibraryThing

Summary

Fifteen-year-old Isabelle Scott loves her life by the boardwalk on the supposed wrong side of the tracks in North Carolina. But when tragedy strikes, a social worker sends her to live with a long-lost uncle and his preppy privileged family. Isabelle is taken away from everything she’s ever known, and, unfortunately, inserting her into the glamorous lifestyle of Emerald Cove doesn’t go so well. Her cousin Mirabelle Monroe isn’t thrilled to share her life with an outsider, and, in addition to dealing with all the rumors and backstabbing that lurk beneath their classmates’ Southern charm, a secret is unfolding that will change both girls’ lives forever.

My Thoughts

Belles by Jen Calonita is a fun, if not predictable, contemporary read. Izzie is ripped from the home that she knows in the beginning of the book and transplanted amongst the rich and famous. Every teenage girls fantasy right? Well what that fantasy doesn’t include is the loneliness that comes with being surrounded by people that you have only known for days. Not being able to go to school with your friends and knowing your place in the world. What that fantasy actually contains is being on the outside looking in because you haven’t known these people their entire lives and cliques have been long established.

One of the things that I liked best about Belles is that Izzie stayed pretty true to her character. She didn’t let the sudden wealth surrounding her change her too much. Sure some things were made easier but other problems were constantly being brought to the forefront. Savannah being one of those pesky problems. And by pesky, I mean bitchy. In Savannah we find the stereotypical mean girl. We are meant to hate her and all that she stands for. We know that Savannah is never meant to have the hunky boy (Braydon). In fact, we root for her to be tossed aside like yesterday’s garbage. Calonita does not vary from this line of thinking. If you’re looking for more of a meaty book, I would pass on this. If you want some fluff (and there is nothing wrong with fluff) this is an entertaining read.

The only other issue that I had with Belles by Jen Calonita is that I knew before I even cracked the book that [spoiler]Izzie was actually the senator’s daughter and not some cousin/niece.[/spoiler]

Other Reviews

Between the Pages – 5/5
Ruby’s Reads – 1/6
Xpresso Reads – 4/5

Series Reading Order

1. Belles
2. Winter Girls