High school freshman Martine (Teenie for short) is a good student, with a bright future ahead of her. She's desperate to be accepted into a prestigious study abroad program in Spain so that she can see what life is like beyond the streets of Brooklyn. She wouldn't mind escaping from her strict (though lovable) parents for awhile either. But when the captain of the basketball team starts to pay attention to her after she's pined away for him for months and Cherise, her best friend, meets a guy online, Teenie's mind is on anything but her schoolwork. Teenie's longtime crush isn't what he seemed to be, nor is her best friend's online love. Can Teenie get her act together in time to save her friendship with Cherise, save her grade point average so that she can study in Spain, and save herself from a potentially dangerous relationship?
My Thoughts:
"Teenie" is about a girl who lives in Brooklyn, New York and is all about getting good grades so she can be accepted into a program that takes students to Spain for one semester. But life becomes complicated, from one minute to the next. Having a BFF that has an online love and having the attention of the Captain of the Basketball Team in her school, can become overwhelming and distracting. Just when you think things are looking up for you, life teaches you another lesson.
One thing I can say about this book is, I'm so happy I don't have a daughter. Because if I had a daughter and she came home with the drama this poor child went through, I'd definitely be arrested. Teenie certainly is not your average teenager. Today's teen girls are all about boys, drugs and sex. And I know this because I have teenage nieces and nephews and I see what messes they sometimes go through. But Teenie is different, she is more about her grades and her books. She's also a bit on the naive side. As things are looking up, she has the attention of the Captain of the Basketball Team, her grades are good and her BFF and her are closer than ever. But things aren't always what they seem to be. Stuck between doing what's right and not losing her BFF or her new love interest, is when everything changes. And that's when she goes through the most life changing experiences alone.
Christopher Grant wrote a story that touches you immediately. And what's sad about it is, that these things really happen. And some of these things have happened to "us". He shows how life as a teenager today is so much more intense and more complicated. Makes me thankful that I had my teenage years in the 90's. Though my teenage years weren't a breeze either, but I handled myself correct and I'm a pretty grounded person. But for today's teenagers, when it comes to drugs, sex and peer pressure, they get lost in the struggle. If we as parents don't pay close attention to our children , we will never really know what's going on and why our children are acting the way they do. Christopher Grant has definitely opened my eyes more to today's teens and what they go through.
I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars and a definite Good Choice for Reading. I recommend this book to anyone who has teen daughters. Read it first and then hand over to your daughters. Have them read it and then sit down with them and discuss it. Ask questions and most of all LISTEN.
More information on Teenie and the author:
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published October 12th 2010 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
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