From Embassy Row to a Chihuahua – Book Reviews for All

Hello, ya’ll, and Happy 2022!

Is time flying or what? I’ve been busy, busy so I’m pulling out a few of my older book reviews for this post.

First let me recommend a light, funny young adult book called Freaky in Fresno.

Freaky in Fresno by, Laurie Boyle Crompton

Life is rough right now and a light read may be just what you or your teen needs.

In Freaky in Fresno, two female cousins switch bodies.  You’ve probably seen to move Freaky Friday. In that story, a mother and daughter switch places.

I have always enjoyed this concept and that’s what drew me to this book.

Here is an excerpt from the book blurb.

Ricki has one goal: save the Starlight Drive-in movie theater from going dark forever. Okay, make that two goals … she may also want a first kiss from her cinema-rescuing partner and major crush, Jake. Lana definitely has only one goal: grow her online makeup channel to keep her momager off her back, even if the posts attract ugly internet trolls.

The two cousins couldn’t be more different, but their opposite personalities come crashing to a head when their aunt gifts the girls a vintage cotton candy-pink convertible. To share. After a major fight and a minor electric shock, while wrestling over the wheel, Ricki wakes up as Lana, and Lana wakes up as Ricki.

Ricki and Lana have only a day to un-Freaky Friday themselves. But it turns out experiencing a day as each other—with a mini road trip and Chihuahua wrangling—may be the one thing that helps the cousins see each other and themselves more clearly.

Though this book is funny it also shows us the importance of family and that we never know what another person is feeling.  Lana appears to be the perfect beauty queen, but Ricki soon learns that she is not as happy-go-lucky as she appears.

Even the girls’ mothers learn that they need to accept one another and appreciate the gift of a loving family.

Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor by Ally Carter

Ally Carter writes both young adult and middle-grade books. I have read several of her YA books and enjoyed them, especially her Embassy Row series.

Winterborne would fall more in the MG category because the main character is twelve years old. I enjoyed this story a lot and I am much older than twelve! 

The book blurb is below.

April didn’t mean to start the fire. She wasn’t the one who broke the vase. April didn’t ask to go live in a big, creepy mansion with a bunch of orphans who just don’t understand that April isn’t like them. After all, April’s mother is coming back for her someday very soon.

All April has to do is find the clues her mother left inside the massive mansion. But Winterborne House is hiding more than one secret, so April and her friends are going to have to work together to unravel the riddle of a missing heir, a creepy legend, and a mysterious key before the only home they’ve ever known is lost to them forever.

This book is exciting and suspenseful. The characters are great. Each child has a very unique personality with quirks that make them come to life. The mystery is very compelling.

P.S., I’ve already read the sequel and hope there is a third book on the way.

Embassy Row by Ally Carter

You can probably tell that I really enjoy Ally Carter’s writing

I like the Embassy Row series because it has the same feel and excitement as my Divine Destiny series.

The series involves a group of friends who live on Embassy Row in Adria. I don’t find a lot of books with groups of characters like my series so that drew me to Embassy Row. 

The young characters in Embassy Row come from different countries and live in Adria because their parents work at the embassies.  America, Russia, Israel, Brazil, and Germany are all represented. In my series, a group of diverse friends attend high school together.

The main character in the ER series is Grace Blakely. Grace is very troubled and has good reason to be.

This might be too deep or depressing for some readers but I enjoy getting into the psyche of a damaged character and Ally Carter never gets too morose or carried away with Grace’s problems.

Grace can be very comical. She’s a bit klutzy and always getting into trouble.

I love character-driven books.

Of course, there is romance. It wouldn’t be a book for teen girls without it. Grace and Alexi have a special relationship

Alexi has his own baggage because his mother abandoned him when he was a child and his father is cold and unfeeling.  He cares a great deal for Grace

She isn’t always certain that she should trust him but the two are very attracted to one another and Grace grows to depend on Alexi.  They both offer each other the support and love they need.

There is a ton of mystery and suspense in this series. This is what I love in a book. Several twists to keep up the interest and lead the plot in a different direction and a lot of heart-stopping action.

I hope these short reviews have been helpful and will point you or your teen to some great reading!