SERIES: My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century, book 1
PUBLISHER: Entangled Teen
PUBLICATION DATE: Sept. 18, 2012
ISBN: 9781620611357
PAGES: 260
SOURCE: my library
GENRE: historical romance/chick lit
GIVE IT TO: MS, HS girls
SUMMARY: The daughter of two very famous parents, Cat is tired of constantly being in the spotlight, always having to put on a smiling face. And Cat definitely doesn’t want the enormous Sweet Sixteen party her father’s girlfriend is planning for her in Florence, Italy. When she arrives in Florence, Cat is excited to explore the city and see Michelangelo’s famous David sculpture. But when she enters a gypsy tent on a whim, life gets very interesting for Cat. Emerging from the tent in 1505 Florence feels like a dream come true. Not only will she avoid the Sweet Sixteen party, she gets to rub elbows with artists in Italy during the Renaissance.
REVIEW: How cute is this book? It’s easy to get into, engrossing throughout, and ends with a fun little surprise. Okay, it may be a little predictable, but with such a swoon-worthy, sweet little romance, who cares if it’s predictable?
While I didn’t care for Cat’s character at first, I came to admire her spunk as I got to know her. She does grow and change throughout the story, so that’s also a huge plus.
My middle school girls are going to LOVE this book! I plan to talk it up plenty, so I know it will be a hit in my library. The sequel, A Tale of Two Centuries, is due out in just a couple of weeks, and it is at the top of my TBR list.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Cute, fun, romantic, and full of Renaissance culture, My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century is a must for MS and HS libraries.
STATUS IN MY LIBRARY: We have it, and now that I have read it, I know I can get my library girls reading it.
READALIKES: Keeping the Castle (Kindl), Ruby Red (Gier), Time Between Us (Stone)
THEMES: friendship, fathers/daughters, abandonment, stepfamilies, first love
RATING BREAKDOWN:
- Overall: 5/5
- Creativity: 5/5
- Characters: 5/5
- Engrossing: 5/5
- Writing: 5/5
- Appeal to teens: 5/5
- Appropriate length to tell the story: 5/5
CONTENT:
- Language: none
- Sexuality: mild; kissing, hand holding
- Violence: none
- Drugs/Alcohol: mild; wine-drinking at a party (Renaissance Italians apparently couldn’t drink the water)
- Social issues: arranged marriages, forbidden romance, women’s rights, remarriage of parent