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.
Reviewed by Ashley B for TeensReadToo.com
Teresa Adams, aka Tere, is painfully shy. Just the thought of speaking to people feels like a glob of peanut butter is stuck in her throat.
The only time she is totally comfortable is in the privacy of her own room, her iPod pumping in her ears, and doing mock broadcasts for Miami's hottest FM radio station - SLAM - which also just happens to be owned by her stepfather.
Tere surprises herself when a slot opens up at the station and she tells Rob, her stepfather, that she could help out. Suddenly, she is the new intern. Her confident on-air persona is Sweet T. Everyone loves her. Even Gavin, her crush that she can actually talk to, raves about how great the show is.
To get more listeners, the station decides to hold a contest to win a date to the prom with Sweet T. Tere is less than thrilled. But maybe she will meet her knight in shining armor, and in the process, find her voice.
This story was really cute. At first it was kind of hard to get into, but after a while, I couldn't put it down! It was fun for me to read, because I'm a shy person, and I could really relate to Tere. I enjoyed all the made up band names - they were cool! And one of them was Shrinking Violet. I was confused by the title for the longest time, but once I came upon the band name, I understood, and there is a cute meaning behind it.
I really enjoyed this book, and when it comes out, you should pick it up. Danielle Joseph has written a great debut novel!
Teresa Adams, aka Tere, is painfully shy. Just the thought of speaking to people feels like a glob of peanut butter is stuck in her throat.
The only time she is totally comfortable is in the privacy of her own room, her iPod pumping in her ears, and doing mock broadcasts for Miami's hottest FM radio station - SLAM - which also just happens to be owned by her stepfather.
Tere surprises herself when a slot opens up at the station and she tells Rob, her stepfather, that she could help out. Suddenly, she is the new intern. Her confident on-air persona is Sweet T. Everyone loves her. Even Gavin, her crush that she can actually talk to, raves about how great the show is.
To get more listeners, the station decides to hold a contest to win a date to the prom with Sweet T. Tere is less than thrilled. But maybe she will meet her knight in shining armor, and in the process, find her voice.
This story was really cute. At first it was kind of hard to get into, but after a while, I couldn't put it down! It was fun for me to read, because I'm a shy person, and I could really relate to Tere. I enjoyed all the made up band names - they were cool! And one of them was Shrinking Violet. I was confused by the title for the longest time, but once I came upon the band name, I understood, and there is a cute meaning behind it.
I really enjoyed this book, and when it comes out, you should pick it up. Danielle Joseph has written a great debut novel!
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.
