SHRINKING VIOLET is gentle but ultimately underwhelming read that will perhaps be best received by shy girls who can relate to Tere's position and revel in her predictably happy ending. While the majority of the characters are three-dimensional and interesting, the slow pace of the plot makes it hard to get into Tere's story, especially as the description on the back cover is rather misleading in terms of the book's objective. Ultimately Tere spends very little time actually developing into a more outgoing personality over the air, a development that I believe would've contributed greatly to our understanding of and empathy for Tere. In the end, the mild character development is not enough to make SHRINKING VIOLET an emotional read in any senseâwhich is a shame, as the premise held so much potential.
My Thoughts: We begin the story with Teresa Adams being a really shy girl. I could relate to her on so many levels. She just wanted to do what she could to stay away from being embarrased. The mean girl picked on her. She just wanted to go to school, not get noticed very much, and do what she was supposed too. Even her mom was on her case a lot. Her stepfather owns the radio station and she goes on the radio and starts to do a few segmants. She is truly herself on the radio. Nobody there to hold her back. Nobody there to make her feel shy. The main DJ sets up a contest for the winner of a music demo to win a date to prom with her. But of course she likes someone else, Gavin. She would much rather go to prom with him. Too bad he's already got plans with his brother that night. She may just be on her own for prom, hopefully she don't get stuck with a horrible "prom date."
I'm surprised this is Danielle Joseph's first novel. You could tell she is a very comfortable writer and she truly writes from the heart. I really enjoyed reading this book and I could definitely feel myself in the writing. I could relate to Tere. I could even relate to her crush on Gavin.
Overall: Wonderful story. Loved it! I, myself, as a teen listened to the radio all hours of night so I could totally see where Tere was coming from. If you have this book sitting in your TBR pile, don't wait any longer, go pick it up NOW and read it!
I'm surprised this is Danielle Joseph's first novel. You could tell she is a very comfortable writer and she truly writes from the heart. I really enjoyed reading this book and I could definitely feel myself in the writing. I could relate to Tere. I could even relate to her crush on Gavin.
Overall: Wonderful story. Loved it! I, myself, as a teen listened to the radio all hours of night so I could totally see where Tere was coming from. If you have this book sitting in your TBR pile, don't wait any longer, go pick it up NOW and read it!
This book was great, although I had trouble getting into it at first, but then I just couldn't put it down.
