Belle by Cameron Dokey

Genre: YA Fiction

One Word Review: Charming

First Line: “I’ve heard it said—and my guess is you have too—that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

Synopsis: “Belle is convinced she has the wrong name, as she lacks her sisters' awe-inspiring beauty. So she withdraws from society, devoting her time to wood carving. Secretly, Belle longs to find the fabled Heartwood Tree. If carved by the right hands, the Heartwood will reveal the face of one's true love. During a fierce storm, Belle's father stumbles upon the mysterious Heartwood -- and encounters a terrifying and lonely Beast. Now Belle must carve the Heartwood to save her father, and learn to see not with the eyes of her mind, but with the eyes of her heart.” –GoodReads

Kathy’s Review: This was a fun retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I really enjoyed Belle’s character, she was very likable. I also really enjoyed her family and her two older sisters. I like the side story of April and Dominic, I do wish something more would have happened with Celeste. The ending came up too quickly and I thought it was all wrapped up a too fast. I would have enjoyed more time and interaction between Belle and the Beast. It was very well written though and had a great fairytale feel throughout the whole story. I love the Once Upon a Time series! They are all a little too short, but still a fun way to revisit some of your favorite fairy tales.

Throughout the whole book I kept thinking I had read it before, as I thought more about it I realized the story is very similar to Beauty by Robin McKinley. There are some differences, but I was surprised by just how similar they really were.

How NOT to Spend Your Senior Year by Cameron Dokey

Genre: YA Fiction

One Word Review: Odd (but not in a bad way)

First Line: “The story you are about to read is 100 percent true.”

Synopsis: “Jo O'Connor has spent her whole life moving around. When it comes to new schools, there's not a trick in the book about starting over that Jo doesn't know. But life is about to teach her a new trick: how to disappear entirely. They have to move again. Now. This very night. Jo knows better than to argue. Her dad is the key witness in a major case against a big-time bad guy. But Jo just can't resist one last visit to the school where she's been so happy. All she wants is to say good-bye. That can't cause any problems, can it? Now Jo's one last visit has landed her smack in the middle of a ghost story. Specifically, her own. By the time it's over, she'll have a whole new set of rules about what's real, what's make-believe, and -- most of all -- what's important." -GoodReads

Kathy’s Review: I have mixed feelings about this one. I really liked that the story was so unique and original. I like the idea that Jo and her Dad are in the witness protection program and are constantly “on the run”. It added a nice element to the story and it was fun seeing Jo’s take on transitioning through different schools. On the flip side, it was almost too unbelievable. I can’t say much without giving away details, but I will say that I found it hard to believe that people wouldn’t recognize Jo as Jo (That probably sounds cryptic, but you’ll understand once you read the book). There is a kind of love triangle (or square) going on, and I didn’t really believe in any of it. Jo’s first crush seems to happen a bit too quickly; they never really spend any time together and yet are totally in love. When that doesn’t work out she gets over it a bit too quickly, especially for someone who had been so in love. So, when she falls for someone else it makes me wonder if it’s just a passing thing. Okay, I probably gave away some spoilers there, but really the story is pretty predictable so I probably haven’t ruined anything. Overall, it was an entertaining read, I only wish there had been a little more believability with the plot. I did like the story though, it was upbeat, unique, clean and overall was pretty enjoyable.