First Kisses 1: Trust Me

I looked at this and i thought wow this is short. Little did i know that it would be such a cute book. Jess tells a story about being "trust parteners" with shawn. She thought it was stupid and crazy. That shawn was a jerk. But people can change. Then she starts to fall for him....

Jess had an amazing summer all lined up. She's finally old enough to be a counselor with all her friends at summer camp. Now, she's just found out that her partner for training week is Sean, her nemesis. Every time she thinks that he's nice, he does something drastic to change her opinion of him. This summer, she won't let herself trust him, no matter how cute he's gotten. With all the other counselors pairing off, Jess and Sean must find a way to work together. When the group goes out into the forest for a trust walk, each pair has to make their way back to camp by themselves, with one partner blindfolded. Will they make it out of the forest as friends or foes? TRUST ME is the first book in a new series dealing with first kisses, friendship, and drama. These fun reads are stand alone titles and are perfect for middle school girls. I recommend this series to girls looking for a little romance. Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel

Fourteen-year-old Jessica "Jess" Kane, and her best friend, Elizabeth "Liz" Stewart have spent the last four years at Camp Lone Star as lowly campers. But this year, the two pals want to be seen as more mature and responsible - and be noticed by some of the adorable older camp counselors. So they decide to attend Camp Lone Star as something slightly different...counselors. Sure, it won't be all fun and games, because the two will be watching over their charges, and trying to arrange different activities to keep them entertained, but they'll have the opportunity to kick-start their love lives, in preparation for their freshman year at Memorial High. However, when Jess realizes that her arch-nemesis for the past four years, Sean Reed, has also been chosen as a counselor this summer, she's furious. Sure, he has a killer smile, and eyes so blue you could drown in them, but he's also one of the biggest troublemakers she's ever encountered, having placed a snake in her bed in the past, and cheated during the end-of-summer Capture the Flag game last year. Jess can't stand to even look at his smug face. But she'll be doing a lot more than just looking at him, when she's stuck as his partner for a week of Counselor-In-Training (CIT) program, to prepare the incoming counselors for their new duties. Okay, so Jess may have to be paired up with the little snake, but she doesn't have to like it. However, when Jess realizes that the two partners will have to take part in a series of trust games, Jess feels like calling it quits, packing up her stuff, and heading home instantly. There's no way that she can trust Sean. Especially when just a glimpse of him makes her heart flutter, and every time they touch she feels an electric charge that is both exciting and scary. But Jess isn't about failure. And if she wants to make it through this week, and the next month, she'll have to suck up her pride and make the most of her situation: no matter how much it hurts. The moment I learned about the FIRST KISSES series, I was ecstatic. It seems that tween girls have very little to choose from in terms of novels, as many releases are geared towards teens (with more mature storylines), or younger readers. FIRST KISSES isn't like that. This series is proof that the tween genre is becoming a hot commodity, as it focuses on girls teetering in limbo between childhood and teenagedom. Rachel Hawthorne has done a marvelous job with the introductory novel TRUST ME. Her characters are realistic, and likable; while her storylines present extremely relatable situations that will help readers identify with Jess, Liz, Sean, and the rest of the counselors-in-training. While Jess can oft-times be slightly over-dramatic, her determination to make it through an extremely harsh week is admirable; while her ability to stick it out with someone she appears to loathe so much is refreshing. The setting is also noteworthy, as it puts the characters in a situation where they are in charge, without