First Date

November 21, 2011
McGee debuts with a contemporary Cinderella story featuring reluctant heroine Addy Davidson. When the principal of her small, struggling Christian school nominates Addy to be one of a hundred contestants on a new reality TV show, Addy is dismayed. She’s shy and doesn’t want the limelight. Her goal is to study hard and make it to an Ivy League college, not to compete on national television for a date with the son of the U.S. president. As a Christian, Addy feels out of place among the cutthroat contestants. Despite her lack of polish, Addy survives week after week, surprising herself and infuriating her ambitious competitors. Struggling to understand God’s plan for her, Addy comes to see her role is to “show grace” to the others around her. Like the biblical figure Esther, on whom McGee bases the story, Addy must represent her religion in a hostile environment and sets herself the goal of winning over the show’s angry producer, Hank, who hates Christians. Written in serviceable prose with sparks of wit, the story offers a positive message about being true to oneself, as well as a fairy-tale ending. Ages 12–up. Agent: Lauren Yoho.

November 15, 2011
This light teenage romance with a reality-show twist is entertaining and forgivably predictable. Getting good grades and into an Ivy League college are 17-year-old Addy's two goals in life. So when her principal taps her to represent her school on the new reality TV show The Book of Love, Addy isn't thrilled, despite the show's prize of a date to the prom with Jonathon Jackson, the son of the president of the United States. Looking to be sent home quickly, unlike the other 99 girls, Addy doesn't fawn over the First Son and instead chooses to just be herself, which, to her dismay, endears her to viewers and prolongs her stay. Addy's positive attention attracts some serious nastiness from her competitors and the show's director, Hank, which convinces Addy that her purpose on the show is to really share her faith. Relying on Christianity, Addy musters the courage to persevere, just like her deceased missionary parents, who are referenced throughout. Short transcripts of interviews with the show's participants are sprinkled between chapters, underscoring the vapid nature of the other girls. Although reality shows and religion don't usually mix, this text blends both well and serves up Addy as a believable and endearing heroine. (Fiction. 12-15)

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April 1, 2012

Gr 7 Up-When 16-year-old Addy's small Christian school is randomly chosen to appear on a reality TV show, with the prize being a prom date with the son of the President of the United States, the teen agrees to participate to bring publicity to her school. She vacillates between being a shy girl who would prefer to shun the limelight and being a peevish whiner who is intentionally unpleasant. This is jarring, and her adherence to God's word and will seems less a result of a struggle with her faith and more of a lack of plot consistency. Random subplots like assassination attempts and digs at paparazzi and fame-seekers feel somewhat dissonant and heavy-handed, but this book's humor and wish-fulfillment aspects might appeal to some teens. Didactic religious references and story elements make this title of interest to those readers looking for Christian fiction.-Natasha Forrester, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR

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