Thursday, September 1, 2011

Jersey Tomatoes Are the Best by Maria Padian


 
 
Henry and Eva have been best friends since they were five years old.  Henry is a super competitive tennis player with a coach / dad from hell.  He is obnoxious, rube, and likes to play head games with the other players.  Eva is a ballerina that hates to compete; she just wants to be perfect.  She has a stage mom that puts down other dancers, drives everywhere for dance shows, and accuses anyone she thinks slighted her daughter.  When both girls get the chance to go away to prestigious summer camps to improve their skills, their parents have no choice but to let them.  This book is the story of the summer that changed their lives.  

Told in alternating chapters, we get to see the story from both girls’ point of view.  I thought this would be a fun light hearted summer read.  I was right and I was wrong.  It was a fast and easy read.  I liked the characters.  They are not cute characters to be read once and never thought of again.  All of the characters in the book are fully fleshed out and realistic.  No one is all good or all bad. I appreciate the layers.  When the book started I didn’t expect the story to go where it did.  I’m glad I read it.  I would recommend this book to girls who like realistic fiction, or who are not sure what they like.  I usually think every book could be made better with a liberal application of zombies, but I wouldn’t change a thing about this story. I can tell for a fact, having been to Jersey many times, that Jersey Tomatoes really are the best. 

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Teen librarian living in Colorado.

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