Monday, June 6, 2011

The Queen Bee of Bridgeton - Leslie DuBois - Blog Tour Review

When fifteen-year-old Sonya Garrison is accepted into the prestigious Bridgeton Academy, she soon discovers that rich girls are just as dangerous as the thugs in her home of Venton Heights. Maybe more so. After catching the eye of the star, white basketball player and unwittingly becoming the most popular girl in school, she earns the hatred of the three most ruthless and vindictive girls at Bridgeton. Can she defeat the reigning high school royalty? Or will they succeed in ruining her lifelong dream of becoming a world class dancer?
Synopsis taken from goodreads.

Title: The Queen Bee of Bridgeton
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Little Prince Publishing
Publication Date: May 17, 2011
Format: Softcover
Source: Received from author courtesy of Teen Book Scene. Many thanks goes to Leslie (Sybil) for sending me a copy of this book for review. I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
Tour: Teen Book Scene. You can follow along with the rest of the tour here, or by clicking through the banner located below the review.
Look for it: Amazon
My rating: 3.5/5

Sonya and Sasha have lived in the ghettos of Venton Heights all their lives. When given the chance, they both eagerly accepted the chance to attend school at Bridgeton Academy. Little does Sonya know, but once she attracts the eye of the star basketball player, she will also attract the unfavorable attention of the most popular girls in the school. She will have to be very careful, lest they ruin her dreams of becoming a world-famous ballet dancer. 
It is very refreshing to read from Sonya's point of view. She is straightforward, compassionate, strong, and driven. She is competitive, and is bent on turning herself into the next Natalia Karleskaya. There isn't much else, other than ballet that she wants to do, so it is a surprise to her when Will Maddox, the basketball star from her school, starts asking her out. She doesn't have time for guys, but relents and goes out with Will. What she doesn't know is how much she is going to end up liking him. I loved how compassionate she was, and burst out laughing when she mentions that she cried when Bart failed fourth grade on an episode of The Simpsons. I could completely commiserate with her compassionate side. 
With characters straight out of Mean Girls and a plot that twists and turns on itself more often than not, this one will leave you wondering if the perpetrators will get their just desserts. They are downright cruel to many of the students at Bridgeton Academy, and I was happy to see Sonya take up the torch for both herself, and those who had been hurt by said group. 
I thought this read would center more on Sonya's dance classes and performances, but enjoyed the glimpse we get into her everyday life outside of the studio. She is a strong character, yet naive in certain aspects. I wasn't as invested in the book as I would have liked, but it was still a fun read.
All in all an intriguing and enjoyable read. One certain to enrage those who would stand up for Sonya against the brigade of ruthless girls out to get her. Though I didn't absolutely love this one, I did enjoy it, and would recommend it to others looking for a humorous, yet driven read. Sonya does stand up for herself, and it was refreshing to see her do that. I'm especially intrigued by what is going to happen next in her life as the teaser in the back of the book gives us a look at what's to come in book two. 

1 comment:

Jillian said...

Thislooks like a real cute read. Sounds perfect for summer.