busy* I didn't make it beyond the first 20 pages.
** I made it to the end, but I either skimmed or skipped large sections.
*** I might have skipped/skimmed, but I liked it and might read it again.
**** I read at least 95% of the book and it was good -- probably will be reread.
***** I read every word, and I loved it! A favorite and definite reread.
Rival, by Sara Bennett Wealer
sbennettwealer ***** Yep, my first five-star read of the year. I loved this book! Shall I count what I loved? :) 1) the dual POV -- I really like getting into the heads of both girls and seeing not only their strengths and weaknesses, but also how the same situation looked so differently in each set of eyes; 2) the singing -- as I rambled on about yesterday, this took me back to my own high school days so completely; 3) the depth of all the characters, including periphery ones -- I felt like I'd been dropped into this world, and everyone there was real and complex. The story: Kathryn and Brooke are rivals, although they were once friends. Mistakes on both their parts, along with jealousy, tore them apart, and now, for the first time since then, they are up for the same scholarship (even though one is a soprano and one an alto). Past grievances fuel both of them, and soon they must face their own fears and weaknesses. (YA contemporary, releasing 3/11, publisher: Harper Teen)Currently Reading: Pathfinder, by OSC
On Deck: Hero, by Perry Moore; Enchanted Ivy, by Sara Beth Durst