[description from goodreads]Abbey Garner has a plan: to earn a million dollars by the time she's thirty-five. Financial independence will allow her to break the cycle of unhappiness endured by the women in her family. Determined to fulfill her dream, Abbey works at Granny Po's struggling beauty shop, where the feisty Gray Widows go to primp, polish, perm . . . and, of course, gossip. There, among the hair dryers and perm rods--and with the help of a new friend--Abbey finds the courage to open her heart and take risks required for her to live life to its fullest. Debut author Laura Bowers creates a funny and touching first novel about family--both the one we are born to and the one we create ourselves.
Review:
*happy sigh* It's books like these that remind me of why I like contemporary fiction so much. Beauty Shop for Rent, while not the most exciting book ever, is sweet, fun, and just plain good.
Abbey is a refreshingly normal main character because she's just so practical. She's not completely obsessed with boys (she gets annoyed with her friend Sarah's obsession with her boyfriend) popularity (she hates when her friend, Kym, tries to make friends with the varsity cheerleaders), and she gets nervous easily, but always for a good reason. Instead she focuses on her future and relationships with her friends and family. Abbey's interaction with her Granny Po was funny and realistic; they both understand each other and got along together well, but they still frustrate each other and teas each other constantly. Her mixed feelings and reactions to the other characters were realistic as well; she was annoyed with her friends but wanted to help them, she was nervous and excited about the new potential renter of the beauty shop, and she was angered by her mother even though she really wanted her in her life. She was a perfect narrator, and I loved seeing her deal with all her problems.
There's a lot going on in Beauty Shop for Rent, and, for the most part, all the events are balanced well. Some could have been developed a bit more, especially because they seemed rushed at the end, but others were done perfectly. A potential renter comes in to the book early so the action gets started right away, and reading about Abbey's apprehension and Granny Po's annoyance with it was both fun and made things a little less predictable. Abbey's search for the truth about her mom and the rest of her family could have perhaps been developed more, but the constant ups and downs in Abbey and her mother's relationship were realistic and provided plenty of drama. Abbey's friends, her dad, and her potential-boys all kind of got put to the side and made occasional appearances, but even though they weren't present much they still provided plenty of entertainment.
Beauty Shop for Rent is a feel-good sort of book- it's heartwarming to see Abbey find all the answers she's been looking for, and perhaps more importantly, it's just really fun to read.
Links: Laura's website
0 comments:
Post a Comment