New Release Review and Giveaway! JESSE’S GIRL by Miranda Kenneally (Hundred Oaks series)

A new Hundred Oaks book–squee!

Jesse’s Girl
by Miranda Kenneally

Review:

I’m way behind in my Miranda Kenneally reading, but since I’d read and loved  Catching Jordan back when it first came out, it seemed appropriate to jump back in and read Jesse’s Girl ASAP, since it stars Sam Henry’s little sister Maya, now a senior herself…with big brother Sam being all freaking adorable, ready to take on anyone who gives his baby sister grief.

Adorable! 🙂

Maya’s always felt like the outcast in her family, since she’s the only one who doesn’t live and breathe sports. Music’s her passion–especially 80s music (think Madonna and Queen). So when the Hundred Oaks High senior shadow day comes around, she doesn’t have high hopes for it–after all, when Jordan, her big brother’s girlfriend, said she wanted to play in the NFL, she ended up shadowing the manager of the Athletic Superstore at the mall.

But then she finds out that her principal’s nephew is Jesse-freaking-Scott, teenage country superstar, and she’ll be spending the day with him.

Seems awesome, right?

Except:

1) Maya hates country music.

2) Jesse acts like a total tool when she meets him before the shadow day, and the day of he answers the door wearing nothing but boxer shorts and a major ‘tude.

(Well, come to think of it, the boxer shorts aren’t really all that much of a downside, except that the overall image is rather distracting…and Maya really was hoping to come away from this experience with something that could help her music, not just a day of ogling eye candy.)

Add to the above the fact that the band she put together just dumped her, as did her sort-of boyfriend, and yeah, Maya’s not exactly having the best week ever. All she wants to do is play her music for an audience (except not solo, because she’s got a disastrous history there)–is that too much to ask?

But then her day with Jesse turns into a Ferris-Bueller-style adventure–one that’s totally worth the detentions it earns her afterwards. And she and Jesse might just be friends.

Or…more than friends.

Or not.

Can you say “mixed messages”?

Will Jesse help Maya to find the courage to give solo a try? Will she help him find a way to keep doing what he loves and finally have a somewhat-normal life too? You’ll have to read Jesse’s Girl (love that title!) to find out!

I knew this book and I were going to get along just fine when the following allusion to
Pride and Prejudice
showed up in chapter one:

The lighting is dim, and he doesn’t seem to notice I’m here, which is good, because I’ve moved from ogling the guitar to ogling him. Who wouldn’t? He was one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People,” and it is a truth universally acknowledged that you should stare at people who’ve made that list.

Sing it, sister.

I also loved the way the book was set up as if it were a vinyl record album. Part one, leading up to and the shadow day, was called “Side A”; part two, what comes after was “Side B”; and the epilogue was the “Bonus Track”. Each chapter title was a song title. Too cute! The playlist that Miranda Kenneally includes in the back is a mix of country and 80s rock; I’m definitely going to have to put it together to play in the background when I re-read this one.

And I will be re-reading it 🙂

Just as soon as I catch up on the rest of the series…

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A-

I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

AUTHOR BIO:

Growing up in Tennessee, Miranda Kenneally dreamed of becoming an Atlanta Brave, a country singer (cliché!), or a UN interpreter. Instead she writes, and works for the State Department in Washington, D.C., where George W. Bush once used her shoulder as an armrest. Miranda loves Twitter, Star Trek and her husband.

Author links:

mirandakenneally.com

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