VOYA
- Amanda MacGregor
Fifteen-year-olds Jacobi and Kassidy are both adjusting to their new lives in Los Angeles. Jacobi's family moves from a poor neighborhood to a nicer one, putting physical and emotional distance between Jacobi and her old life. Kassidy, a model, moves from New York to Los Angeles, where she immediately has trouble maintaining a relationship with her boyfriend back home. Kassidy is also horrified to have the brash and blunt Yummy for her new stepsister. Life gets more complicated for both Jacobi and Kassidy when they start to catch the attention of multiple boys in their neighborhood. When the girls finally cross paths, they form a tentative friendship and try to help one another sort out their boy issues. Kassidy, especially, is one-dimensional, and flirts with every boy she meets—all of whom blend together, due to poorly developed characterizations. The girls in the story sometimes interact with one another, but are mainly fixated on, and spend time with, boys. Jacobi and Kassidy feel at once older than fifteen (they rarely have parental supervision) and younger (Jacobi has yet to get her period, and neither girl does more than kiss, at most, a boy). An author's note and a reading guide stress thinking about morals, self-esteem, and respect. As the characters cheat, lie, and scheme, it is sometimes hard to see how these ideals are reflected in the text. The urban setting and heavy focus on relationships, however, will appeal to fans of series such as Drama High or Kimani Tru. Reviewer: Amanda MacGregor
School Library Journal
Gr 8–11—A large cast of characters stars in this contemporary story centered around two African American girls new to Los Angeles. In alternating chapters, Jacobi and Kassidy struggle with boys, friendships, and family. Kassidy, a teen model from New York, is busy juggling multiple boys: New Yorker Brent, flirty biker Romero, chivalrous Carsen, and super-hot male model Diggs. Her new stepsister, Yummy, struggles with her weight and is heartbroken when Kassidy snaps up Romero for her male harem. In the meantime, Diggs's younger sister, Jacobi, is an academic achiever, successfully making money in the stock market and producing amateur short films. At 15, she is mortified to be the only girl she knows who hasn't developed a chest or had her period yet. Jacobi's family has worked hard to move away from their rough neighborhood, but she still misses her friend Katydid and her longtime crush, Shooby. Kassidy reaps what she sows when her friend Faith backstabs her over a modeling job. Jacobi discovers a shocking secret that Katydid has been hiding from her and learns that her new friend, Malone, likes her. Up-to-the-minute slang, lots of pop-culture references, and a lightning-fast plot will lure in reluctant readers. This is a welcome addition for most urban libraries.—Madigan McGillicuddy, Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, GA
