Viola in the Spotlight by Adriana Trigiani

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

I am in the midst of a conundrum.

Viola is finally where she belongs—back home in Brooklyn, where there are no khakis or sherbet-colored sweaters and people actually think her yellow flats are cool. With two whole months of nothing to do but hang with her two best friends, Andrew and Caitlin, this is going to be the best break ever!

But her BFFAA, Andrew, has started acting weird around her, and a new boyfriend has her friend Caitlin ditching her every chance she gets. When Viola's roommates from Prefect Academy show up for a visit, she starts to wonder—is Brooklyn where she wants to stay? When a tragic event shakes everyone's world, Viola realizes it's not where she belongs that matters—it's who she's with that really counts.

In this heartwarming follow-up to bestselling author Adriana Trigiani's teen debut, Viola in Reel Life, Viola just may be ready to get out from behind her trusty video camera and take the starring role in her own life.

Review:

Sometimes there's nothing better than a light and hilarious contemporary read, and Viola in the Spotlight, the follow-up to the fabulously fun Viola in Reel Life, is just that and much more!

Viola in the Spotlight opens up just as Viola's summer is about to start. Happy to be back in New York with her family and best friends, Viola can't wait to get her break underway. Alas, her friends have other plans. For one, Andrew is acting oddly around, as if they are not BFFAAs anymore, and she just can't figure out why. Furthermore, her other friend Caitlin keeps ditching her for her new and secret British boyfriend. Left with truly no plans, Viola doesn't know what to do. Thankfully, she gets offered a summer internship - one that will test her abilities as well as bring her awesome boarding school friends back her in life. Along with this also come plenty of surprises to keep Viola questioning certain things as well as making decisions that may or may not change her life once again. For the better or for the worse? Well, only time and some more pages will tell.

Just like in Viola in Reel Life, Viola and her many friends were easy to relate to. Viola, in most ways, feels like the ordinary teen girl, and that's what I like most about her. She faces real situations that teens, as well as adults, face every day, and she still manages to hang her head high and power forward. Better yet, I love how Adriana puts such an emphasis on friendship rather than romance; because it's such a refreshing change from your average YA. Mentioning that, I also enjoyed the further development put into characters such as Caitlin and Andrew as well as Viola's boarding school friends.

The plot of this also held strong, and even though it's very predictable at times, I still found the overall story to be not only engrossing but intriguing too, thanks to the characters and setting. I also liked that while this story was light, it still had plenty of depth to it to keep it a fun yet serious read.

If you love realistic YA, Viola in the Spotlight is the book for you. Full of laughs, great characters, and plenty of fun, it’s sure to have readers adding a new character to their list of favorites - Viola.

Now if there only was a third one…

Grade: A+

Viola in the Spotlight is now out!

Source: Provided by author/author's assiatant for review- thanks Adriana and Kelly!