Jordon
Written on Feb 15, 2013
Fifteen-year-old Isabelle loves her impoverished North Carolina beach community, but when her grandmother must enter a nursing home, Izzie is placed with distant relatives she never knew--a state senator and his preppy wife and children.
Fifteen-year-old Isabelle loves her impoverished North Carolina beach community, but when her grandmother must enter a nursing home, Izzie is placed with distant relatives she never knew. Book #1
- ISBN10 0316091138
- ISBN13 9780316091138
- Publish Date 10 April 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Little, Brown & Company
- Imprint Poppy
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 368
- Language English
Reviews
Stephanie
Written on Jul 4, 2012
Belles by Jen Calonita is a fun, if not predictable, contemporary read. Izzie is ripped from the home that she knows in the beginning of the book and transplanted amongst the rich and famous. Every teenage girls fantasy right? Well what that fantasy doesn’t include is the loneliness that comes with being surrounded by people that you have only known for days. Not being able to go to school with your friends and knowing your place in the world. What that fantasy actually contains is being on the outside looking in because you haven’t known these people their entire lives and cliques have been long established.
One of the things that I liked best about Belles is that Izzie stayed pretty true to her character. She didn’t let the sudden wealth surrounding her change her too much. Sure some things were made easier but other problems were constantly being brought to the forefront. Savannah being one of those pesky problems. And by pesky, I mean bitchy. In Savannah we find the stereotypical mean girl. We are meant to hate her and all that she stands for. We know that Savannah is never meant to have the hunky boy (Braydon). In fact, we root for her to be tossed aside like yesterday’s garbage. Calonita does not vary from this line of thinking. If you’re looking for more of a meaty book, I would pass on this. If you want some fluff (and there is nothing wrong with fluff) this is an entertaining read.
The only other issue that I had with Belles by Jen Calonita is that I knew before I even cracked the book that Izzie was actually the senator’s daughter and not some cousin/niece.
Suz @ Bookish Revelations
Written on Apr 27, 2012
Izzie is such a wonderful character, full of determination, pride, and strength. She's proud of where she comes from and the accomplishments she's made, but she's also had sort of a tough life. Losing her mother at the tender age of ten and then later having to take care of her grandmother who was suffering from dementia and learning how to survive in a world where she didn't feel like she belonged. She's tough though and does her best to not let others who look down on her in Emerald Cove get to her too much. Mira, on the other hand, comes off a bit shallow and fearful of doing the things she likes to do and being true to who she really is. The two girls struggle to get along with one another, until Mira starts to grow and beings changing her perception on people and certain things. She begins to develop her confidence a little more and it adds a redeeming quality and appeal to her character.
The romance in Belles is hopeful and charming at best, both Kellan and Brayden are wonderfully matched with the girls. It doesn't overtake the story that's being told, which is a breath of fresh air. It adds its own hint of sweetness to the story, which softens the blow of some of the twists thrown out. There is subtle mystery that makes it even more intriguing and readers simply will not want to put this beautifully written and touching story down. It's a fun filled fast paced story full of gossip, heartache, touching romance, and a wonderfully poignant storyline that will leaves readers aching in the best of ways possible. I would definitely recommend this as the perfect summer poolside/beachside or lazing it up in a hammock sipping on some homemade lemonade or iced sweet tea in the backyard on a perfect warm and sunny day full of relaxation and a fantastic read.