More Beginnings (Beginnings #2)

Iris
Blobel
Genre: 
Contemporary

Mia Levesque has a lot going on in her life at the tender age of fourteen. Shes lived with her older sister since the death of their mother several years earlier. Her sister, Sophie is married with a baby soon to arrive. The arrival of a stranger on the doorstep has its consequences.  Add to that that the hunky, close friend, occasional "babysitter", and neighbor across the street is taking a liking to Mia's "dragon" of an English teacher and Mia finds herself embroiled in angst with little room for boys, one in particular!  

 

Blobel captures a feel for the Australian lifestyle in Hobart, yet she overlooks the painting of scenes that could bring rich color to her tale. This 143-page novella, with its share of misspelled and missing words as well as awkward sentences, is clearly in need of tighter editing. None of the youthful dilemmas are explored in depth and the reader is never given a solid goal to root for in the heroine's corner, causing one to wonder at the author's purpose  There is clearly a lot going on in this story and, although youth rarely care to read self-examination books, more depth into the characters would have enriched the experience.  Even with the skimming over, Blobel's effort to cross readership lines of young adult and adult is very well done.

 

Shaunna Gonzales