Lily Speaks!

I read this book in order to familiarize myself with the author's work before a convention. I had no expectations going into it, but I figured it was your typical teen series, yada yada. Instead I was blown away by how well Rue gets into the head of a teenage girl! The situation is a pretty normal one that any teen could find herself in--she and a friend inadvertently end up in the same competition, and their mutual friends become divided between them. Lily fights between her desire to win for winning's sake and her desire to keep her friendships together. The solution is very believable and the feelings are true. I can't think of higher praise for the story than to say it is accessible to any teen and would speak to the heart of any girl torn between her own success and her friendships. There's a tightrope to walk with teenage girls, and some stories seem to discourage a young woman's successes if they come at the price of her relationships. Rue does not make this mistake at all. Lily's successes are encouraged by all those around her, but she also learns to put success into perspective, a skill every modern woman needs to have. The only thing that I found irritating was a character whose name is Zoe but spells it "Zooey." I kept pronouncing it as it was spelled: Zoo-ee. **shudder** But this is a personal quibble and in no way affected the power of the story. This was quite an enjoyable read. I demolished it in two sittings--and I have three children! :-) I surprised myself by wanting to read the rest of the series. Well done!