STUDYING BOYS

Author: Stephie Davis ISBN: 0843953829 8/2004 YOUNG ADULT Publisher: Smooch

From ancient druid lore, springs the tale of a mysterious, dark warrior, a fiery Pict Princess, and the shadowy secret standing between them. Bethoc, a Pict Princess, looses her father and her betrothed in the massacre of McAlpin's treason. After a failed attempt to slay the Scot King, Kenneth McAlpin, she is forced to wed the king's cousin, Malcolm. Malcolm must somehow forge a strong enough friendship with the Pict princess to get her to help him guard the Scot's greatest treasure, the Stone of Destiny, as they carry it to Scone. For Kenneth means to be crowned in Scone on the jewel of destiny. Both Malcolm and Bethoc's friendship soon turns to love. But just when their relationship develops to the point where Bethoc declares her love for Malcolm, he reveals an unbelievable, dark secret.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

In this sequel to PUTTING BOYS ON THE LEDGE, Frances' friends have an intervention for her after deciding that she needs to have more of a life than just studying and hanging with them. They give her an ultimatum to join any extra-curricular club at her school. Faced with the possibility of her friends telling Theo about her crush on him, she agrees to join the school newspaper staff. At her first meeting, the advisor gives her the assignment of starting a Homework Club for the students at the all-girl North Valley and the all-boy Field School, and then writing an article about it. Faced with the reality that her club isn't popular at all, she blackmails her best friend's brother (and her crush), Theo, into helping make her club a success. By showing her that there's more to him than she thought, Theo helps Frances lighten up about life, and encourages her to take some risks.

I've been looking forward to reading this book ever since February when I finished LEDGE. These four friends, each with distinctive personalities, caught my interest immediately, and I love reading more about them. Frances’s book more than lived up to my high expectations. Ms. Davis has fine-tuned her teen voice, and it’s even more accurate than in LEDGE, and I could definitely picture teens I know talking and acting like Frances and her friends. Ms. Davis is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors in this genre, and I won’t hesitate to recommend her to teens. I’d compare her style to that of Meg Cabot, and I see a bright future for her voice in the genre of teen romantic comedies. Now I’m bummed because I have to wait until July 2005 for Allie’s story, and who knows how much longer for Natalie’s story. For fans of teen romances, STUDYING BOYS is a must-read.

Kendra Patterson