Recently banished, unfairly, by the school’s popular crowd, former “it girl,” Miranda Prospero, finds herself in a brave new world: holding dominion amongst a rag-tag crew of geeks and misfits where she works at the Hot-Dog Kabob in the food court of her local mall. When the worst winter storm of the season causes mall workers and last-minute shoppers to be snowed-in for the night, Miranda seizes the opportunity to get revenge against the catty clique behind her social exile. With help from her delightfully dweeby coworker, Ariel, and a sullen loner named Caleb who works at the mall’s nearby gaming and magic shop, Miranda uses charm and trickery to set things to right during this spirited take on Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Review:
The other night I was looking for a light, possibly mysterious book, and thought Tempestuous by Kim Askew & Amy Helmes would be the perfect fit. I was 100% right, as not only did Tempestuous manage to intrigue and compel me but it also had me laughing as well as rooting for these underdogs to overthrow the "popular" ones every step of the way.
Tempestuous begins the story of Miranda Prospero, former queen of the social ladder and girlfriend of one of the hottest boys at her exclusive private school. Her fall from the social graces started when she managed to get the majority of her school in huge trouble. Now they can't forgive nor can they forget her. What sucks even more than her low popularity on the social ladder, though, is the fact that she has to work at the Hot-Dog Kabob counter in the mall. However, some good has come with it: she's made a really good friend in her co-worker Ariel, which is why she's throwing Ariel the best surprise party ever after closing hours. The weather, though, has other plans for them. With a huge snow storm outside, everyone is stuck in the mall: workers and customers (namely Miranda's former best friends and boyfriend) and a creepy robber. As people begin to disappear, Miranda know it's up to her to figure out what's going on as well as to wreck some havoc on her former friends. The only problem? She's handcuffed to Caleb, a boy who may just rival her own sarcasm and who seems to hate her.
There were so many aspects I enjoyed about this one and one was definitely the characters. From the first page, I instantly took a liking to Miranda's sarcastic, tell it like it is attitude. Sure, she tended to be a bit mean and self centered because of it, but it was not hard to see that Miranda did have a big heart under it all. One areas in which that specifically came out was with her friend Ariel as well as some of her other coworkers. She really managed to be there for them throughout the book, showing that she was a good friend. Better yet, I loved the addition of Caleb. I loved how he didn't take any of Miranda's crap as well as his funny comments. He was such a great guy, and without a doubt, my favorite part of the book.
The plot in this was also a lot of fun! I loved that Kim and Amy used the mall as a setting, because it was interesting to see how the teens used it to have fun as well as wreck havoc. I especially loved seeing Miranda, Caleb, and their friends strike against the kids from her school. It always funny to see the news ways they came up with to harass them. I also really enjoyed seeing Caleb and Miranda's relationship begin to develop. It was the typical "will they or won't they?" and I just ADORED it! The whole robber thing was also super scary and managed to strike up a lot of suspense in the book as well.
In all, Tempestuous by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes is a book I thoroughly enjoyed. It reminded me of an early Meg Cabot book, and really what's not to love about that?
Grade: A+
Tempestuous (Amazon, BN, Goodreads) is now out!
Source: Publicist
Tempestuous begins the story of Miranda Prospero, former queen of the social ladder and girlfriend of one of the hottest boys at her exclusive private school. Her fall from the social graces started when she managed to get the majority of her school in huge trouble. Now they can't forgive nor can they forget her. What sucks even more than her low popularity on the social ladder, though, is the fact that she has to work at the Hot-Dog Kabob counter in the mall. However, some good has come with it: she's made a really good friend in her co-worker Ariel, which is why she's throwing Ariel the best surprise party ever after closing hours. The weather, though, has other plans for them. With a huge snow storm outside, everyone is stuck in the mall: workers and customers (namely Miranda's former best friends and boyfriend) and a creepy robber. As people begin to disappear, Miranda know it's up to her to figure out what's going on as well as to wreck some havoc on her former friends. The only problem? She's handcuffed to Caleb, a boy who may just rival her own sarcasm and who seems to hate her.
There were so many aspects I enjoyed about this one and one was definitely the characters. From the first page, I instantly took a liking to Miranda's sarcastic, tell it like it is attitude. Sure, she tended to be a bit mean and self centered because of it, but it was not hard to see that Miranda did have a big heart under it all. One areas in which that specifically came out was with her friend Ariel as well as some of her other coworkers. She really managed to be there for them throughout the book, showing that she was a good friend. Better yet, I loved the addition of Caleb. I loved how he didn't take any of Miranda's crap as well as his funny comments. He was such a great guy, and without a doubt, my favorite part of the book.
The plot in this was also a lot of fun! I loved that Kim and Amy used the mall as a setting, because it was interesting to see how the teens used it to have fun as well as wreck havoc. I especially loved seeing Miranda, Caleb, and their friends strike against the kids from her school. It always funny to see the news ways they came up with to harass them. I also really enjoyed seeing Caleb and Miranda's relationship begin to develop. It was the typical "will they or won't they?" and I just ADORED it! The whole robber thing was also super scary and managed to strike up a lot of suspense in the book as well.
In all, Tempestuous by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes is a book I thoroughly enjoyed. It reminded me of an early Meg Cabot book, and really what's not to love about that?
Grade: A+
Tempestuous (Amazon, BN, Goodreads) is now out!
Source: Publicist
Ooh-I love your Cabot comparison! I definitely see that in the lightness as well as in the bluntness of Miranda. This was just such a fun, fast read and I really loved it!
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