This young adult book was just OK for me - I was uncomfortable with certain language used around disability. The inappropriateness of the language is never addressed at all. Maybe this book is just a product of its time.

I swear there is some formula out there that goes like this for some of these YA books.

1. Girl is popular
2. Girl does something stupid, friends get mad at her
3. Girl sees life as an unpopular person
4. Girl discovers what a bitch she was
5. Girl starts to fall for "nerd"
6. Girl's friends/boyfriend start accusing her of changing
7. Girl discovers life on the other side isn't bad
8. Girl messes up and alienates "nerd"
9. Girl realizes she is in love with "nerd" and chases after him, in the rain, kissing him and ending the book

Bleh... ( )

http://teensniper.tumblr.com/post/43589778397/150-books-in-2013-16 ( )

Paige Sheridan seems to have it all- a picture-perfect boyfriend, the adoration of her high school, and the likelihood of being the homecoming queen. However, a drunk-driving accident with her two best friends gets her sent to Paris for the summer before her senior year and when she comes back, everything seems to have changed. The Princesses of Iowa has more substance than many teen novels do, while still being a fun, engaging read. Paige shows realistic growth, moving from refusing all responsibility for her actions to taking the blame for the actions of others, before taking only the responsibility that she should. The fairy tale ending is a little neat, but overall shows the painful process of deciding who you want to be- and shows a popular girl in a light that doesn’t make her life seem charmed. The book includes descriptions of the main character kissing, and other characters going a little further, but nothing too graphic; there is a lot of underage drinking and a little marijuana use, but no harder drugs. Drunk driving is shown as having real consequences, and characters are shown dealing with the fallout of their decisions throughout the novel. All in all, a good book for readers who want a teen girl novel with a little heft to it. Recommended. ( )

Paige Sheridan and her two best friends Lacey and Nikki have always dreamed of being Homecoming royalty -- but now that their senior year has finally arrived, it seems that too many things may have changed. At the end of their junior year, there was a party -- and then the was a car accident. While it could have been much worse, it left Lacey injured, Nikki riddled with guilt, and Paige isolated -- first, by distance (her mother hustled her off to Paris to be an unpaid au pair for the summer) and then by a complex web of secrets, resentments, and misunderstandings. As the school year begins, Paige finds that she is not as close to Lacey and Nikki as she had been in the past, but as she explores new relationships and starts to reinvent herself, she may unwittingly cause a great deal of pain to friends both old and new.

This book had more depth than I was expecting: Paige is surprisingly easy to relate to, and her character development is well-written and believable. Even Lacey and Nikki are more than superficial Mean Girls, and the supporting characters are all fully realized and interesting in their own rights. The plot is sprawling and would not have been hurt by a little judicious pruning here and there, but all in all this is an enjoyable and well-written book. ( )