BOOKSPARKS SUMMER READING CHALLENGE: Beautiful Girl by Fleur Philips

Paperback: 150 pages

Publisher: SparkPress

Date of publication: June 9, 2015

ISBN: 1940716470

Genre: Young Adult

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Melanie Kennicut is beautiful. Her entire life revolves around this beauty because her overly controlling mother has been dragging her to casting calls and auditions since she was four years old. According to Joanne Kennicut, Melanie was born to follow in her footsteps.

But Melanie never wanted this life. When a freak car accident leaves her with facial lacerations that will require plastic surgery, she can't help but wonder if this is the answer to her prayers. For the first time in her life, she has a chance to live like a normal teenager--at least for a little while--away from the photo shoots and movie sets that have dominated her entire existence.

But after Melanie allows her best friend to come to the house to see her, Joanne decides to hide her daughter in Montana for the remainder of the summer. There, Melanie won't be seen by anyone they know, and her face will heal in time for the scheduled surgery in late August. Joanne’s plan backfires, however, when Melanie meets Sam, a Native American boy hired by the home's owner to tend to the property. Sam is nothing like the Hollywood boys Melanie knows--he¹s poor, his father's a drunk who possesses a bizarre gift inherited from a Kootenai Shaman, and his only brother disappeared into the mountains after the death of their mother eight years before.

What transpires over a mere 36 hours after Sam and Melanie meet changes both of their lives in ways they never thought possible.

Review: I was disappointed by this book. I expected a story of a young girl who learned that beauty comes from within, but I didn't find that at all. Melanie started out as a spoiled little rich girl. After a car accident, she is TEMPORARILY disfigured, and her mother sends off to Montana to be hidden from the world. 

In Montana, she meets Sam, and after two conversations with this total stranger, she is head over heels in love with him--and the previously "life-altering" injury was seemingly forgotten. And at the second meeting, this virgin teen who has never even dated gets naked with Sam, after running away with him--what was that?

Part of the problem with this book might have been that it was so short. With only 150 pages, much of the plot was rushed, where in a longer story it could all have been played out better.

I received a copy of this book from Booksparks in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

Rating: Three stars

About The Author

Fleur Philips is an award-winning author who holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Montana. Her first novel, I Am Lucky Bird, was selected as a General Fiction Finalist for the 2011 Book of the Year Award from ForeWord Reviews. Her current novel, Crumble, was named Young Adult Winner from the 2013 San Francisco Book Festival and was selected as a Young Adult Fiction Finalist by the 2013 International Book Awards. Additionally, Crumble is a Silver Medalist in the 2013 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards in the category of Young Adult, Mature Issues. Most recently, it was named a YA Fiction Finalist in the USA Best Book Awards from USA Book News. Fleur lives in Whitefish, Montana with her son. Connect with Fleur at fleurphilips.com.