{REVIEW} WINTER WHITE (BELLES #2) by JEN CALONITA

Series: Belles #2
Genre: Contemporary YA
Publisher: Poppy
Publication Date: 10/9/12
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 368
Source: Received from publisher.

Isabelle Scott and Mirabelle Monroe are still reeling from the revelation that they share more than just the roof over their heads. The media has pounced on their story and the girls are caught up in a flurry of talk-show appearances and newspaper interviews. They’ve put on a happy public face, but someone is leaking their true feelings to the press, and while it seems like the world is watching their every move, at least they have each other. But with cotillion season right around the corner, Izzie and Mira have barely had time to process their newfound sisterhood. Mira has dreamed of making her debut in a gorgeous white gown forever-now, if only she could find an escort. Izzie, meanwhile, is still struggling to find her place in Emerald Cove and it’s seeming ever more impossible with EC mean-girls, young and old, doing their best to keep her down. As cotillion preparations heat up, though, there are dance steps to learn, manners to perfect... and secret initiations to complete? As if sophomore year wasn’t hard enough! It’s time for the gowns to go on and the gloves to come off.

 

Why I Read Winter White: I was a huge fan of Belles. That made Winter White one of my most-anticipated books of the Fall.

Oh...how I love this series. With Belles, author Jen Calonita created a story with charming and infuriating characters, in a society that's perfect at first glance, and a family in which drama is an everyday occurrence. Winter White continues the story of the Belles, Mirabelle and Isabelle, and their struggle to come to terms with their new lives.

I adore Izzie and Mira. The two girls are opposite in so many ways, but thankfully, complement one another. The only worry that I had when starting this story was that Mira would be resentful of Izzie coming into the family, or that Izzie would take her hostility towards her father and Emerald Cove out on Mira. That the two girls were able to not only understand, but also embrace, their differences made Winter White so enjoyable.

That's not to say that Izzie and Mira have it easy, not by a long shot. Savannah Ingram is still furious with Izzie for being with Brayden, and she's not giving up on winning him back. Brayden's mom isn't too thrilled, either, and will not make things easy for the two. Then there's Izzie resentment of her father's secret, it's a sore spot for both her and Mira. I was surprised by my feelings for Mira in Winter White. Even though she didn't make things easy for Izzie when she first came to town, Mira really stepped up to embrace her. That choice cost her her friends, she no longer has a boyfriend, and she feels lost. Like an outsider in her own family. Kellen is still there beside her though, in the art studio and as a friend. Now if only she can get the courage to tell him she's into him!

Not only do Mira and Izzie have to deal with their personal drama, but also the fact that someone is gunning to bring down their dad's Senatorial run. Someone who is closer to the inside than they can even imagine. Oh, and this is all happening during the Cotillion preparation, the ceremony that will announce Mira and Izzie to Emerald Cove society.

Winter White has it all: Drama, Heart, Young Love, Heartbreak, and Deceit. There is nothing scarier, or more awesome, than an Angry Belle.


Favorite Quote:

  "He looked at her carefully between sips of cocoa. He had a small white line on his upper lip from the whipped cream, but she didn't tell him. He looked cute like that. 'I like hanging out with you, too.'
  And that's when Mira felt it. Hope. The hope that maybe, just maybe, Kellen liked her back."  (pg.151)


  "Izzie wished she had the nerve to tell him to stop talking, but part of her wanted to hear what he had to say. She didn't know her mom shared the same need to give back that she did. There was no one left to tell her what her mom was like. Sometimes she even craved hearing her mom's name spoken out loud so it wouldn't disappear."  (pg.161)


  " 'I'll go with you,' Brayden told her. He pulled his wallet out for fare.
   Izzie laughed. 'You don't even know where I'm going!'
  'So?' Brayden took her bag. 'All I need to know is I'm going with you.'" (pg.167)


You can purchase Winter White at:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

 

The Belles Series

(click on cover to read my review)

 

 

BELLES GIVEAWAY and Q&A with Author Jen Calonita

 

photo courtesy of Pick a Poppy

I am very excited to be taking part in the celebration of author Jen Calonita's tour in support of her new book, BELLES. If you've visited this blog before, you might know that I am a huge fan of this book. BELLES was a true delight to read. You can find my review here. You can find tour information here. I am thrilled to be going to tonight's tour stop in Memphis!!!

Today, I have a Q&A with Jen, along with a giveaway, courtesy of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

But first, take a look at BELLES.

Fifteen-year-old Isabelle Scott loves her life by the boardwalk on the supposed wrong side of the tracks in North Carolina. But when tragedy strikes, a social worker sends her to live with a long-lost uncle and his preppy privileged family. Isabelle is taken away from everything she's ever known, and, unfortunately, inserting her into the glamorous lifestyle of Emerald Cove doesn't go so well. Her cousin Mirabelle Monroe isn't thrilled to share her life with an outsider, and, in addition to dealing with all the rumors and backstabbing that lurk beneath their classmates' Southern charm, a secret is unfolding that will change both girls' lives forever.  ~From GoodReads

Now for a Q&A with Jen Calonita!

Andrea: How would you describe BELLES in 140 characters or less?
Jen:  I'm stealing the tagline for this one because it says it all: "Belles is about two Southern girls with one life-changing secret."
Andrea: Perfect!


Andrea: What was your inspiration for BELLES?
Jen:  I liked the idea of pulling a girl out of her comfort zone. Throwing Izzie into a place like Emerald Cove was a great chance to see how she conquered a world completely different from her own and changed the lives of everyone she met.


Andrea: Is there a character from the story with whom you identify the most ?
Jen:  I think I identify with Mira and Izzie in different ways. I love Izzie's ability to not let people get to her. She fights for what she believes in and I would hope I do the same in my own life. With Mira, I love how she strives to be a true belle. I don't think there's anything wrong with that! I know I feel best when I'm dressed up, wearing nice jewelry and have actually found the time to blow out my hair!
Andrea: A flat-iron is a must in the South.


Andrea: What is the one message you'd like readers to take from BELLES?
Jen: Not to sound cliche, but I would hope readers see that it's okay to be yourself. Izzie doesn't completely transform herself to fit in. If anything, she shows Mira that it's okay to be different. People shouldn't be cookie cutter replicas of each other. What makes you different, makes you stand out.
Andrea: That message is what makes BELLES a great read for teens.


Andrea: What are you reading right now?
Jen: I just finished Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult for the book club I'm in. Now I'm reading Elizabeth Eulberg's Take a Bow and getting ready to read Jackson Pearce's Purity. I wanted to read both before I headed out on tour with the girls next week (Atlanta, Memphis, and Nashville, we're coming to see you!).

Andrea: I actually have PURITY sitting here beside me!

Andrea: Before you go, is there anything you can share with us about book two in the series, WINTER WHITE?

Jen: It's time for Emerald Cove's annual cotillion season! Izzie and Mira will have different reactions to that news, of course! But I think readers will really enjoy seeing how both girls tackle the tradition, and deal with the underground hazing that goes along with it, in different ways.

Andrea: Oooh, exciting. I can't wait for October!

I'd like to extend a thanks to Jen for stopping by my little blog!

Giveaway

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers is generously giving one winner a BELLES Prize Pack that contains a finished copy of the book, along with BELLES lipgloss. Pucker up, kids!

Rules:

• Entrants must be 13+ years of age.
• Must be a US Resident (per publisher).
• Must fill out the Rafflecopter form
• The only mandatory entry is name/email address, all other entries are optional.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review ~ BELLES, by Jen Calonita

Fifteen-year-old Isabelle Scott loves her life by the boardwalk on the supposed wrong side of the tracks in North Carolina. But when tragedy strikes, a social worker sends her to live with a long-lost uncle and his preppy privileged family. Isabelle is taken away from everything she's ever known, and, unfortunately, inserting her into the glamorous lifestyle of Emerald Cove doesn't go so well. Her cousin Mirabelle Monroe isn't thrilled to share her life with an outsider, and, in addition to dealing with all the rumors and backstabbing that lurk beneath their classmates' Southern charm, a secret is unfolding that will change both girls' lives forever.  ~From GoodReads





  

Gossip Girl meets Mean Girls, in the South.

I think it's a universal truth that 99.9% of all kids have a fantasy: One day they will be whisked away from their drab, parent-addled life into a world filled with clothes, money, new cars...you get the idea. Back when I was a kid, I hoped my "real parents" were a king and queen. These days, I think kids will settle for unlimited texting and a bottomless iTunes account.

But not Isabelle "Izzy" Scott. She's happy with her life on the wrong side of the tracks. She doesn't even mind the run down home she lives in, or the fact that her only family after her mother's death is her increasingly forgetful grandmother. She has her friends, including the adorable yet mysterious Brayden, her school, her beach. This life is her's and she wouldn't trade it for anything.

So when her grandmother, in a lucid state, has her sent to previously unknown family, Izzy's world is shattered. Who wants the glam life where people treat you like a charity case, act like your a criminal because of your upbringing, or act like you don't deserve to be there? Where your perfect new "cousin" is one of the mean girls trying to bring you down? And what will Izzy do when she finds a face from her old life and learns long-hidden truths about her background?

There was so much that I adored about BELLES.. I love the premise of a girl being offered the good life, and seeing how she responds. Izzy was determined, yet vulnerable. It would be so easy to slip like a warm glove into the new world she's offered. I mean, who doesn't want the best money can offer? But she is determined to remain the same girl she was before.

BELLES is also told from Izzy's new cousin, Mira's, point of view. The alternating points of view really helped keep me from completely hating Mira. Without knowing what she's actually feeling, she could have become a heartless, spineless brat. It was nice to see her vulnerabilites, even though  I was never on her "side".

There are some nice dramatic bits to the story, usually courtesy of the Mean Girls, lead by the awful Savannah. This girl was a pill, without becoming a caricature. If I could have climbed into the story and throttle her myself, I would have. Thank goodness I never had to face girls like this back in school. I would have been in the principal's office, or at the police station, on a regular basis.

Another dramatic turn comes fairly soon after Izzy moves. In the interest of not spoiling the story, my lips are sealed. But it was a nice surprise I didn't see coming at all. It upped the "WTF Factor" in Izzy's world and totally made me love this story so, so much.

My only small complaint would be that the BIG revelation came too late in the story. This was something I figured out pretty quickly and waited the entire book for the bomb to drop. I would have liked to have seen more of the fallout, but with book two coming this Fall, I don't have to wait long to find out what happens next.

All in all, I really, really enjoyed this book. Author Jen Calonita's writing flows flawlessly, making it an easy, fast read. If you're a fan of Contemporary Young Adult with healthy doses of drama and heart, BELLES should be a great fit.


Favorite Quote:

"She'd lived here for her whole life and she had half an hour to put her world in a duffel bag and say goodbye?" (pg. 29, ARC)

Hardcover, 356 pages

Expected publication: April 10th 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

You can preorder BELLES at:
Barnes & Noble  |  Amazon  |  Book Depository

Source: Received for an ARC tour hosted by Southern Book Bloggers.