As many of you guys know, I have been furiously reading the less expensive Girl-Girl stories on Amazon, and thoroughly enjoying myself, for the most part. Some of the outstanding authors I have encountered there are: Kristen Zimmer; Olivia Waite, Siera Maley, Natasha West, (I'm going to add to this list as I remember the other names).
Here is a review on Kristen Zimmer's story When Sparks Fly.
When Sparks Fly by Kristen Zimmer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a wonderful book, nicely written, and certainly was a lot of fun to read, though it was suspenseful at times.
I'm comparing it to a number of other stories that take place in the senior year in high school, and what sets this one apart is that the two girls are thoughtful adults. There's a lot about (1) photography, which caught my attention, a lot about (2) high school education, a lot about (3) finances and economics, and about (4) the foster care system. All, or most, of these topics were handled seriously by Kristen Zimmer.
What I did not know much about, at all, was the geography of the greater Boston area, the restaurants, the parks, the tourist attractions, etc, and at times Kristen seemed to think of these as background information that anyone ought to know! Of course it was quite possible to follow the story along very closely without this added information, but that doesn't make it any less annoying!
But the personalities of the three main protagonists, and the parents, were brilliantly delineated, and it was they who kept me riveted. I have read other books by K.Z, but none came close to the quality of this one; and I conclude that this story was based on girls that Kristen knew well—fortunate woman!—and how fortunate the author who has led a life rich enough to have it as a source for delighting her readers.
Let me add that the title of the story: "When Sparks Fly" reveals less than nothing about the theme of the story. 70% of the books on Amazon have nondescript, or actually misleading titles. Amazon must have a policy of requiring crappy titles from its authors.
A word about British author Natasha West. This woman is insanely funny! Of course, those who live in Britain will find the stories even funnier, because of her extensive use of colloquialisms, in particular, catchy net words and expressions, used by young people, which doubtless convey associations and meanings we can't even hope to catch. (On the other hand, Brits might well be jaded enough to simply read right through these expressions, since they might be so familiar.) But the humor is only interjected to keep our attention; there are fraught situations that the more emotional reader might need a tissue to handle. One thing I love about Natasha West is that she writes about couples both women of which are definitely femmes. The story of hers I read most recently is about two girls—women, really; they're about 28—who are girls through and through. One is a little more combustible, but you could never imagine her as a guy; you simply couldn't.
Another of these authors that I love, is Siera Maley. I have read a half-dozen of her books, but the one I love the most is: Dating Sarah Cooper. This one is funny, just thinking about the story, and the characters, especially the aforementioned Sarah Cooper, a crazy BFF who launches herself headfirst into almost any project, however risky. You're wincing throughought the story, in anticipation of what Sarah might do, but you have to love her. I had friends like that, and I loved them to pieces! Luckily, none of them were as heedless as the fabulous Sarah.
Kay
