Bella’s parents split, and before this NYC diva can get her bearings, Mom remarries—to an Oklahoma farmer, and moves her into the Boondocks. Dad bails, so Bella must leave her privilege, popularity and boyfriend to be the newbie in a small town high school, and deal with her two new step brothers who resent her snootiness and intrusion. Bella’s penchant for diarrhea of the mouth—and keyboard land her in the ranks of the banished. But with a willingness to grovel, and some help from above, she works her way back into society at Truman High School where she smells a scandal. She investigates, but what will she discover at the end of the rabbit hole?
With snark and wit, Jenny B. Jones creates another interesting teenage character whose glaring flaws conceal a lovable, if naïve person. In So Not Happening, Bella evolves from a shallow, whinny socialite with even shallower faith, into a determined, caring and wiser young lady. The sharp first person, present tense and deep point of view place the reader right in Bella’s shoes. On the other hand, the male viewpoint of dating and athletics wasn’t as resonating, and there were more editorial errors than expected in this Kindle edition. But GREAT HUMOR.
Age Range: 11 and up
Genre: Contemporary, Humor
Series: Book 1 of The Charmed Life series
Thomas Nelson 2009