CONTEST! READ BELOW!

The Queen of Cool by Cecil Castellucci

Libby Brin is the most popular girl in her hip Los Angeles high school. Her parents let her do just about anything she wants, she dates the hottest guy in school, and has access to all the money she wants to spend on clothes. But she is incredibly bored. Libby decides its time to take a hold of her life and do something, anything, different. She signs on as an intern at the Los Angeles Zoo where she becomes friends with the most unlikely of people: Tina (better known as “Tiny”) a little person who seems to have life on a leash, and Sheldon, a quiet genius with bad skin. Her popular friends have a big problem with Libby working at the zoo; she is too busy with her job to hang out with them every day. With a little help from her new friends, Libby learns that there is more to life than shopping and partying and that maybe she isn’t all that bad a person after all. But will her popular friends accept the new Libby? Or will she have to give up the life she knew in order to live the life she dreams of?

Cecil Castellucci has written an easy to read, fun, and thought provoking teen novel in The Queen of Cool, that I highly recommend for reader’s ages 14+. There are some scenes that involve teen parties, relationships, and language that may be inappropriate for younger readers. This book deals with the question nearly every teen has to face at some point in her life; is she becoming the person she wants to be or being the person her friends expect her to be? Libby feels as though she is losing everything that was once important to her – including her boyfriend - only to realize that she was never all that happy with what she had to begin with. The ending of this novel is sweet, real, and just what teens need to be reminded of as they travel through their own journeys of self- discovery.

Teen readers, if you are interested in winning a free copy of The Queen of Cool, leave me a comment about the problems with popularity in school. A winner will be chosen at random and the book will be sent to you. Happy reading!