Belles

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY FEB 27, 2012

There's plenty of drama but few surprises in this contemporary rags-to-riches story from Calonita (Reality Check), first in a four-book series. When 15-year-old orphan Izzie's grandmother/guardian is placed in a nursing home, Izzie is whisked off to live with her senator uncle and his family, whom she's never met. Although Emerald Cove, N.C., is only 20 minutes away, it couldn't be more different from the "rough" community where Izzie was raised. Despite being greeted cordially by the Monroe family, Izzie has trouble fitting in. Her feelings of isolation increase when her cousin Myra and other girls at school give her the cold shoulder. Told from the alternating viewpoints of the two cousins, the book traces Izzie's struggles to adjust and the growing pressure Myra is under from Savannah, the queen bee of the school, to sabotage Izzie's every attempt to prove herself decent and trustworthy. Although the premise and the mean-girl pranks are slightly larger than life, the protagonists' emotional development and changing attitudes are realistically expressed, as their priorities are redefined and their loyalties are tested. Ages 12 up.