Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Confessions of a First Daughter


Author: Cassidy Calloway
Pages: 214
Published: HarperTeen, 2009
Genre: Realistic fiction
Age Range: 12 & up
Cover Score: B-
Overall Grade: A-

Aside from nearly identical looks and manners, 18 year old Morgan Abbott is nothing like her mother. Accident prone and klutzy, every single one of Morgan's many slip-ups makes the front page of newspapers and gossip mags. Why? Because her mom is the president of the United States. To top it off, her already nonexistent social life is being ruined by her clingy, serious, barely-older-than-she-is (but still slightly cute) new Secret Service agent, which makes dates with her boyfriend impossible. But when Morgan's mom needs to slip away on secret business, she needs a good decoy, and Morgan is the only one who can cover for her. Can she pull it off? Or will it be another Morgan Abbott Mess-Up?

My thoughts: Fun, fun, fun! Morgan's story was hilarious, engaging, and still managed to be realistic.
I loved the "first daughter" aspect. It was fresh and interesting, and I appreciated how Ms. Cassidy included real information about the White House and a president's responsibilities. Morgan made a great, well-rounded character that teenage girls will be able to relate to. She was clever, charming, and funny. Readers will be rooting for her throughout the novel! I do think that Max, the Secret Service agent and possible love interest, could've been better developed. I feel that if the book were longer, I could've gotten to know and like him better.
The entire book took place over 214 pages, and I wish that there could've been less buildup, getting straight to the best part of the book (when Morgan impersonates her mom), which was too short for my taste. Nevertheless, it was a fun, fast, and super-cute read that stays light but also is easy to get into and hard to put down.
While the ending of Confessions was very predictable and on the cheesy side, I still can't wait to sink my teeth into the second book, Secrets of a First Daughter, coming out this fall.

2 comments:

Briana said...

I think I might really like this!! :)

Anonymous said...

i loved this book! it was an easy read, but a fun and laughable book!