{"id":967,"date":"2009-01-05T14:21:43","date_gmt":"2009-01-05T19:21:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/\/?p=967"},"modified":"2009-01-05T14:21:43","modified_gmt":"2009-01-05T19:21:43","slug":"be-strong-and-curvaceous-all-about-us-series-book-3-by-shelley-adina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=967","title":{"rendered":"Be Strong and Curvaceous (All About Us Series, Book 3) by Shelley Adina"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It is time to play a Wild Card<\/span>!<\/strong> <\/span>Every now and then, a book that I have chosen to read is going to pop up as a FIRST Wild Card Tour<\/a>. Get dealt into the game! (Just click the button!) Wild Card Tours feature an author and his\/her book’s FIRST chapter!<\/p>\n

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Today’s Wild Card author is: <\/strong><\/div>\n
Shelley Adina<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

and the book:<\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Be Strong and Curvaceous (All About Us Series, Book 3)<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

FaithWords (January 2, 2009)<\/p>\n

Plus a Tiffany’s Bracelet Giveaway<\/em><\/span>! Go to <\/span>Camy Tang’s Blog <\/span><\/a>and leave a comment on her FIRST Wild Card Tour for Be Strong and Curvaceous<\/em>, and you will be placed into a drawing for a bracelet that looks similar to the picture below.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>Shelley Adina is a world traveler and pop culture junkie with an incurable addiction to designer handbags. She knows the value of a relationship with a gracious God and loving Christian friends, and she’s inviting today’s teenage girls to join her in these refreshingly honest books about real life as a Christian teen–with a little extra glitz thrown in for fun! In between books, Adina loves traveling, listening to and making music, and watching all kinds of movies.<\/p>\n

It’s All About Us<\/a> is Book One in the All About Us Series. Book Two, The Fruit of my Lipstick<\/a> came out in August 2008. Book Three, Be Strong & Curvaceous<\/a>, came out January 2, 2009. And Book Four, Who Made You a Princess?<\/a>, comes out May 13, 2009.<\/p>\n

Visit the author’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Product Details:<\/p>\n

List Price: $ 9.99<\/p>\n

Reading level: Young Adult<\/p>\n

Paperback: 256 pages<\/p>\n

Publisher: FaithWords (January 2, 2009)<\/p>\n

Language: English<\/p>\n

ISBN-10: 0446177997<\/p>\n

ISBN-13: 978-0446177993<\/p>\n

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:<\/span> <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

BE CAREFUL WHAT you wish for.<\/p>\n

I used to think that was the dumbest saying ever. I mean, when you wish for something, by definition it\u2019s wonderful, right? Like a new dress for a party. Or a roommate as cool as Gillian Chang or Lissa Mansfield. Or a guy noticing you after six months of being invisible. Before last term, of course I wanted those wishes to come true.<\/p>\n

I should have been more careful.<\/p>\n

Let me back up a little. My name is Carolina Isabella Aragon Velasquez . . . but that doesn\u2019t fit on school admission forms, so when I started first grade, it got shortened up to Carolina Aragon\u2014Carly to my friends. Up until I was a sophomore, I lived with my mother and father, my older sister Alana and little brother Antony in a huge house in Monte Sereno, just south of Silicon Valley. Papa\u2019s company invented some kind of security software for stock exchanges, and he and everyone who worked for him got rich.<\/p>\n

Then came Black Thursday and the stock market crash, and suddenly my mom was leaving him and going to live with her parents in Veracruz, Mexico, to be an artist and find herself. Alana finished college and moved to Austin, Texas, where we have lots of relatives. Antony, Papa, and I moved to a condo about the size of our old living room, and since Papa spends so much time on the road, where I\u2019ve found myself since September is boarding school.<\/p>\n

The spring term started in April, and as I got out of the limo Papa sends me back to Spencer Academy in every Sunday night\u2014even though I\u2019m perfectly capable of taking the train\u2014I couldn\u2019t help but feel a little bubble of optimism deep inside. Call me corny, but the news that Vanessa Talbot and Brett Loyola had broken up just before spring break had made the last ten days the happiest I\u2019d had since my parents split up. Even flying to Veracruz, courtesy of Papa\u2019s frequent flyer miles, and being introduced to my mother\u2019s boyfriend hadn\u2019t put a dent in it.<\/p>\n

Ugh. Okay, I lied. So not going there.<\/p>\n

Thinking about Brett now. Dark, romantic eyes. Curly dark hair, cut short because he\u2019s the captain of the rowing team. Broad shoulders. Fabulous clothes he wears as if he doesn\u2019t care where he got them.<\/p>\n

Oh, yeah. Much better.<\/p>\n

Lost in happy plans for how I\u2019d finally get his attention (I was signing up to be a chem tutor first thing because, let\u2019s face it, he needs me), I pushed open the door to my room and staggered in with my duffel bags.<\/p>\n

My hands loosened and I dropped everything with a thud.<\/p>\n

There were Vuitton suitcases all over the room. Enough for an entire family. In fact, the trunk was so big you could put a family in it\u2014the kids, at least.<\/p>\n

\u201cClose the door, why don\u2019t you?\u201d said a bored British voice, with a barely noticeable roll on the r. A girl stepped out from behind the wardrobe door.<\/p>\n

Red hair in an explosion of curls.<\/p>\n

Fishnet stockings to here and glossy Louboutin ankle boots.<\/p>\n

Blue eyes that grabbed you and made you wonder why she was so . . . not interested in whether you took another breath.<\/p>\n

Ever.<\/p>\n

How come no one had told me I was getting a roommate? And who could have prepared me for this, anyway?<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMac,\u201d she said, returning to the depths of the wardrobe. Most people would have said, \u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d back. She didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Carly.\u201d Did I feel lame or what?<\/p>\n

She looked around the door. \u201cPleasure. Looks like we\u2019re to be roommates.\u201d Then she went back to hanging things up.<\/p>\n

There was no point in restating the obvious. I gathered my scattered brains and tried to remember what Mama had taught me that a good hostess was supposed to do. \u201cDid someone show you where the dining room is? Supper is between five and six-thirty, and I usually\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCarrie. I expected my own room,\u201d she said, as if I hadn\u2019t been talking. \u201cWhom do I speak to?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Carly. And Ms. Tobin\u2019s the dorm mistress for this floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFine. What were you saying about tea?\u201d<\/p>\n

I took a breath and remembered that one of us was what my brother calls couth. As opposed to un. \u201cYou\u2019re welcome to come with me and my friends if you want.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pop! went the latches on the trunk. She threw up the lid and looked at me over the top of it, her reddish eyebrows lifting in amusement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks so much. But I\u2019ll pass.\u201d<\/p>\n

Okay, even I have my limits. I picked up my duffel, dropped it on the end of my bed, and left her to it. Maybe by the time I got back from tea\u2014er, supper\u2014she\u2019d have convinced Ms. Tobin to give her a room in another dorm.<\/p>\n

The way things looked, this chica would probably demand the headmistress\u2019s suite.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a mo guai nuer,\u201d Gillian said over her tortellini and asparagus. \u201cI can\u2019t believe she snubbed you like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou of all people,\u201d Lissa agreed, \u201cwho wouldn\u2019t hurt someone\u2019s feelings for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to\u2014if I could have come up with something scathing.\u201d Lissa looked surprised, as if I\u2019d shocked her. Well, I may not put my feelings out there for everyone to see, like Gillian does, but I\u2019m still entitled to have them. \u201cBut you know how you freeze when you realize you\u2019ve just been cut off at the knees?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened to your knees?\u201d Jeremy Clay put his plate of linguine down and slid in next to Gillian. They traded a smile that made me feel sort of hollow inside\u2014not the way I\u2019d felt after Mac\u2019s little setdown, but . . . like I was missing out on something. Like they had a secret and weren\u2019t telling.<\/p>\n

You know what? Feeling sorry for yourself is not the way to start off a term. I smiled at Jeremy. \u201cNothing. How was your break? Did you get up to New York the way you guys had planned?\u201d<\/p>\n

He glanced at Gillian. \u201cYeah, I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Argh. Men. Never ask them a yes\/no question. \u201cAnd? Did you have fun? Shani said she had a blast after the initial shock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gillian grinned at me. \u201cThat\u2019s a nice way of saying that my grandmother scared the stilettos off her. At first. But then Nai-Nai realized Shani could eat anyone under the table, even my brothers, no matter what she put in front of her, so after that they were best friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandmother\u2019s like that, too,\u201d I said, nodding in sympathy. \u201cShe thinks I\u2019m too thin, so she\u2019s always making pots of mole and stuff. Little does she know.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a fact that I have way too much junk in my trunk. Part of the reason my focus is in history, with as many fashion design electives as I can get away with, is that when I make my own clothes, I can drape and cut to accentuate the positive and make people forget that big old negative following me around.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou aren\u2019t too thin or too fat.\u201d Lissa is a perfect four. She\u2019s also the most loyal friend in the world. \u201cYou\u2019re just right. If I had your curves, I\u2019d be a happy woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Time to change the subject. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about my body in front of a guy, even if he belonged to someone else. \u201cSo, did you guys get to see Pride and Prejudice\u2014The Musical? Shani said you were bribing someone to get tickets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cClose,\u201d Gillian said. \u201cMy mom is on the orchestra\u2019s board, so we got seats in the first circle. You\u2019d have loved it. Costume heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have.\u201d I sighed. \u201cWhy did I have to go to Veracruz for spring break? How come I couldn\u2019t have gone to New York, too?\u201d<\/p>\n

I hoped I sounded rhetorical. The truth was, there wasn\u2019t any money for trips to New York to see the hottest musical on Broadway with my friends. Or for the clothes to wear once I got there\u2014unless I made them myself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s it, then.\u201d Gillian waved a grape tomato on the end of her fork. \u201cNext break, you and Lissa are coming to see me. Not in the summer\u2014no one in their right mind stays in the city in July. But at Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe we\u2019ll go to Veracruz,\u201d Lissa suggested. \u201cOr you guys can come to Santa Barbara and I\u2019ll teach you to surf.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat sounds perfect,\u201d I said. Either of Lissa\u2019s options wouldn\u2019t cost very much. New York, on the other hand, would. \u201cI like warm places for my winter holidays.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood point,\u201d Gillian conceded. \u201cSo do I.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNotice how getting through the last term of junior year isn\u2019t even on your radar?\u201d Jeremy asked no one in particular. \u201cIt\u2019s all about vacations with you guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVacations are our reward,\u201d Gillian informed him. \u201cYou have to have something to get you through finals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight, like you have to worry,\u201d he scoffed, bumping shoulders with her in a chummy way.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe does,\u201d Lissa said. \u201cShe has to get me through finals.\u201d<\/p>\n

While everyone laughed, I got up and walked over to the dessert bar. Cr\u00e8me brul\u00e9e, berry parfaits, and German chocolate cake. You know you\u2019re depressed when even Dining Services\u2019 cr\u00e8me brul\u00e9e\u2014which puts a dreamy look in the eyes of just about everyone who goes here\u2014doesn\u2019t get you excited.<\/p>\n

I had to snap out of it. Thinking about all the things I didn\u2019t have and all the things I couldn\u2019t do would get me precisely nowhere. I had to focus on the good things.<\/p>\n

My friends.<\/p>\n

How lucky I was to have won the scholarship that got me into Spencer.<\/p>\n

And how much luckier I was that in two terms, no one had figured out I was a scholarship kid. Okay, so Gillian is a scholarship kid, too, but her dad is the president of a multinational bank. She thinks it\u2019s funny that he made her practice the piano so hard all those years, and that\u2019s what finally got her away from him. Who is my father? No one. Just a hardworking guy. He was so proud of me when that acceptance letter came that I didn\u2019t have the heart to tell him there was more to succeeding here than filling a minority quota and getting good grades.<\/p>\n

Stop it. Just because you can\u2019t flit off to New York to catch a show or order up the latest designs from Fashion Week doesn\u2019t mean your life is trash. Get ahold of your sense of proportion.<\/p>\n

I took a berry parfait\u2014blueberries have lots of antioxidants\u2014and turned back to the table just as the dining room doors opened. They seemed to pause in their arc, giving my new roommate plenty of time to stroll through before they practically genuflected closed behind her. She\u2019d changed out of the fishnets into heels and a black sweater tossed over a simple leaf-green dress that absolutely screamed Paris\u2014Rue Cambon, to be exact. Number 31, to be even more exact. Chanel Couture.<\/p>\n

My knees nearly buckled with envy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that Carly\u2019s roommate?\u201d I heard Lissa ask.<\/p>\n

Mac seemed completely unaware that everyone in the dining room was watching her as she floated across the floor like a runway model, collected a plate of Portobello mushroom ravioli and salad, and sat at the empty table next to the big window that faced out onto the quad.<\/p>\n

Lissa was still gazing at her, puzzled. \u201cI know I\u2019ve seen her before.\u201d<\/p>\n

I hardly heard her.<\/p>\n

Because not only had the redhead cut into line ahead of Vanessa Talbot, Dani Lavigne, and Emily Overton, she\u2019d also invaded their prime real estate. No one sat at that table unless they\u2019d sacrificed a freshman at midnight, or whatever it was that people had to do to be friends with them.<\/p>\n

When Vanessa turned with her plate, I swear I could hear the collective intake of breath as her gaze locked on the stunning interloper sitting with her back to the window, calmly cutting her ravioli with the edge of her fork.<\/p>\n

\u201cUh oh,\u201d Gillian murmured. \u201cLet the games begin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2008 by Shelley Adina.<\/p>\n

Used by permission of the author and Hachette Book Group USA.<\/p><\/div>\n

MY REVIEW:<\/h3>\n

Be Strong & Curvaceous<\/a>, the third installment of Shelley Adina’s It’s All About Us<\/strong><\/em> series, is probably my favorite of the series so far. It has all the elements of a good story, humor, a little romance, and some action and suspense. Adina’s honest, easy to read writing style guarantees the reader an entertaining and thought provoking reading session. A strong but subtle Christian message is woven deftly throughout the plot in a way that enhances without overwhelming.<\/p>\n

As an Hispanic scholarship student at Spencer Academy, Carly Aragon feels less than confident among her fellow students. Her new roommate, a British exchange student who just happens to be the daughter of an Earl, adds even more complications to Carly’s life. After getting off to a bad start with Mac, Carly’s natural compassion draws them together as Mac’s life is threatened. As a new Christian, Carly suddenly finds herself in the position of having to trust God.<\/p>\n

I would recommend\u00a0 Be Strong & Curvaceous<\/a> for both teens and young adults and indeed for anyone who can still remember what it is like to be a teen girl with all the angst that is a part of those years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is time to play a Wild Card! Every now and then, a book that I have chosen to read is going to pop up as a FIRST Wild Card Tour. Get dealt into the game! (Just click the button!) Wild Card Tours feature an author and his\/her book’s FIRST chapter! You never know when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=967"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":970,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967\/revisions\/970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}