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.

My Review:
  
Belles is a story of Southern secrets, scandal, backstabbing, and more.  I completely enjoyed this book.  I started it one night and finished it by the next afternoon.  

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

The plot kept me turning the pages, wondering what would happen next.   There were many dramatic events in the story, and it was always interesting to see them unfold.  Since the summary had mentioned a secret, I kept reading, wondering what this secret could be.  At the end of the story, you do find out the secret, and it was a great twist to add to the story.  I loved seeing the characters' reactions to this secret (I won't say what the secret is).


I liked reading the POVs of both the main characters.  I immediately liked Izzie.  She was a nice girl who had been dealt a bad hand in her life.  Her mother had died when she was young, and now her grandmother was in a nursing home.  She made the best of what she had, and she was a sweet girl.  It took a bit longer for me to warm up to Mira.  She at first seemed like the stereotype of a rich, popular girl, but she was better on the inside.  She did not like everything that Savannah did, and I liked her more as she began to separate from Savannah.  Mira really grew as a character through the story.

I also liked both Hayden and Brayden.  I liked Brayden when I first met and I was surprised when I found out he was dating Savannah.  I didn't understand why a nice guy like him would want to date her.  Hayden is Mira's older brother.  He was the one in the family who seemed to really reach out to make Izzie feel welcome.  Mira was not trying to reach out to Izzie, but her brother was.  He was just a really good guy.

If you like YA books with a lot of drama and some romance, read this book.

Katie