The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl

by Melissa Keil

[Kelly]

Cool main character ✔
No instant love ✔
Quirky ✔
No dodgy love triangle ✔
Intelligent ✔
Uniquely Aussie ✔
Witty ✔

Loved it? ✔
Haul ass and buy a copy, you won't be sorry.
http://www.divabooknerd.com/2014/09/incredible-adventures-of-cinnamon-girl.html
I really enjoyed Melissa Keil's debut novel Life in Outer Space, but I absolutely adored The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl. Alba, a nickname derived from her surname, isn't your typical small town girl. She dreams of taking her comic book characters to the world, but as her circle of friends and best friend Grady graduate from school, she realises that she may only have a few months before she is forced to say goodbye. She struggles to leave the only life she's known behind and venture out into the world, which is something I too experienced when I finished school all those years ago.

Her sidekick is best friend Grady, the two of them growing up together both being raised by single mothers. He's the typical boy next door with a twist. He's not perfect, but he complements Alba's personality, it's a pity his drive an ambition has yet to encourage her to see the world outside of Eden Valley. Life is seemingly perfect, until Daniel breezes back into town. Daniel isn't the same overweight child that left the valley, and now returns as a low grade soap star. The secondary characters were incredibly vivid and well developed, and although don't play a pivotal role in the storyline, they provide sassy banter and each bring a unique and charming element each in their own way.

Alba is brilliant. She's sassy, strong and has an offbeat and unique sense of style, a rockabilly pinup girl who lives for her characters. She's not flirtatious, she doesn't expect compliments, she knows she's an attractive girl with curves that draw attention. But besides from doubting her own future, I loved that she was confident with a healthy and realistic body image. Something we don't generally see in young adult today. She doesn't need a boyfriend and doesn't seek the approval of others for validation. She's what teen girls should be portrayed as. Young adult authors take note, this is how you create a quirky and off beat young adult contemporary, that no doubt readers will fall in love with.