Friday, June 22, 2007

Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress


Tina Ferraro's first young adult book was great fun. Unabashedly pink on the cover but more serious on the inside, this will be a hugely popular book.
Had to put the cover here because it is so great-- must be same illustrator as the S.A.S.S. books, Jeanine Henderson. (Who very nicely emailed me back and said she did the interior illustrations, and that the covers are done by someone named Zuko.) This illustrator must have read a lot of 1950s teen fiction illustrated by Joe and Beth Krush. The Krushes are my favorite illustrators. Couldn't find much info to share.
Nicolette is dumped right before prom, and left with the perfect dress. She needs something perfect in her world-- her father has left, remarried, and has a two-year-old daughter; her mother is struggling with her job; her best friend is not happy with the budding relationship between her brother and Nicolette. There is still schoolwork and volleyball team to contend with, so keeping all the balls in the air keeps Nicolette busy.
The tone was great-- Nicolette doesn't quite understand why the boy who dumped her and the brother are interested in her. The fact that they are interested in her makes this escapist-- the fact that things don't follow the typical teen romance formula makes the book stronger and more edifying. I cannot wait to see How to Hook a Hottie, which comes out in 2008.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:40 PM EDT

    Hello Mrs. Yingling!
    I didn't know where I could just plainly leave a comment, so hopefully, you'll notice this and take my word for it! :)
    Well, I reserved that prom dress book, and I've also read a few other books that I think are worthy of your time! Here they are:
    1)We are so crashing your Bar Mitzvah - written by Rosenbloom
    2)Switched - by Wollam, although this book was basically a complete copycat of The Princess and the Pauper by Brian, and it wasn't as good as I thought it would be, but you shoudld still read it either way! I've also got a few other books on hold that I haven't quite gotten around to yet:
    Inside Girl, Girl of the Moment, Girl at Sea, Be more Chill, Forever, and several others, including Eclipse and Harry Potter 7! Yay!
    Have fun reading and I hope you're having a fantastic summer so far!

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  2. If anyone needs to e mail me this summer, just go through the Blendon Web site to find my address!

    Trisha, I will certainly look at the books you suggested (and A Royal Pain by Ellen Conford is another fun princess one-- The Princess Diaries is just a redoing of that). I'm curious what you think of Girl of the Moment, and read Girl at Sea quickly because I'm really looking forward to that!

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  3. Anonymous5:51 PM EDT

    Will do, but it might be a while before I get back to you.
    I'll be heading to Canada and Michigan this Friday with family, so I've got to keep stocked up on books! :)
    Talk to you hopefully soon...

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  4. Hello, Ms. Yingling!

    I am delighted that you were so taken with my book, TOP TEN USES FOR AN UNWORN PROM DRESS, and that you took the time to review it here for your readers. Thank you so much.

    And while yes, I knew that Yuko had done the cover art, I didn't know the interiors were done by Jeanine Henderson, so you just taught me something!

    If you have a moment, check out my website, www.tinaferraro.com, and you will see that the cover of HOW TO HOOK A HOTTIE has a similar look, also drawn by Yuko. (I think her trademark is in the beautiful way she draws the eyes.) I understand the cover of my third book--which I am currently writing--will be drawn by her, as well. Am I lucky or what?

    Again, thanks so much for reading and reviewing my book, and for the support of wonderful people like you! And I hope your readers enjoy TOP TEN USES FOR AN UNWORN PROM DRESS, as well!

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