Jensen, Melissa The Fine Art of Truth or Dare, 380 pgs. Speak, 2012. $8.99 Content: Language: PG-13 (39 swears; 26 God); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG.
Ella considers herself at the bottom of the social ladder of her school, yet she still holds out hope for the coveted Alex Bainbridge who sits at the top of said social ladder. Ella against her two best friends’ opinions puts herself on Alex’s radar and Alex and Ella become friends. When they become more than friends, they keep their relationship a secret from Alex’s crowd as well as Ella’s two best friends. When Ella begins to wonder about Alex’s intentions she realizes that their relationship can’t move on without her having more confidence in herself. Throughout the story, Ella is researching an artist for her AP art history project and learning about life and love from his story, so the two stories intermix.
This is a sweet enough story, I love Ella’s family and her two best friends are great characters, but I felt like the relationship between Alex and Ella had some holes in it that made the relationship seem unbelievable. Ella’s character development was good, but the story between her and Alex didn’t develop as well. Also, the art history parts might be distracting and boring for younger readers. Overall, it’s a fun teen romance that is clean and you wouldn’t have to worry about putting it on your library shelf, but on the other hand there are better teen romances out there.
MS, HS - OPTIONAL. Reviewer, C. Peterson.
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