Name: Belles
ISBN: 9780316091138

Jen Calonita

Fifteen-year-old Isabelle Scott loves her life by the boardwalk on the supposed wrong side of the tracks in North Carolina. But when tragedy strikes, a social worker sends her to live with a long-lost uncle and his preppy privileged family. Isabelle is taken away from everything she's ever known, and, unfortunately, inserting her into the glamorous lifestyle of Emerald Cove doesn't go so well. Her cousin Mirabelle Monroe isn't thrilled to share her life with an outsider, and, in addition to dealing with all the rumors and backstabbing that lurk beneath their classmates' Southern charm, a secret is unfolding that will change both girls' lives forever.

Belles

Cindy Lee

You can also read this review here.

So.. umm.. WOW.. (I guess that's all I can say)

The book Belles really widened my horizons. Really, never knew people could backstab like that. Really, just, Wow!

The story starts with Isabelle Scott who moves to live with her rich uncle in Emerald Cove because her grandma has Alzheimer's. Emerald Cove is all preppy and stuff and she doesn't really fit in. The story goes on from there. 

Now Belles has tons of drama. LIKE, DRAMA.. It taught me how shallow some girls can really be (just reminding you, this is fictional *whew*). Really, the queen bee Savannah got everyone wrapped around her perfectly manicured fingers. Ugh.. just school drama, y'know. Savannah is such a bitch; she's just jealous 'cause she thinks her boyfriend likes Izzie. 

Belles has got everything! With backstabbing southern belles, high school rich people drama, stealing a million-dollar necklaces, and cute boys, Belles by Jen Calonita is a must-read!

Cortnie

I'm not sure that I can actually properly express my love for this book. There's a lot to process, but here goes nothing!

Belles follows the life of two girls with very different lifestyles. Mirabelle Monroe is a rich girl whose father is running for a seat on the state senate. She's from a town called Emerald Cove which is all about fast lives, fast money, and social status. Isabelle Scott is from nearby Harborside, a town that is poor and known on the news for knife-fights, theft, and other petty crimes.

Isabelle's world is ripped apart when her grandmother, diagnosed with Alzheimer's, has to go into a nursing home. Her social worker said there were only one of two options: a) move in with her Uncle Bill Monroe, or b) go into a foster home- something that her grandmother definitely didn't want. Izzie has to change her entire life. She loses her swim team, and her job as a lifeguard, and gets deposited into Emerald Cove- a world that she could never imagine being in. She falls out quick with her cousin Mira and her queen-bee best friend Savannah Ingram.

Soon, Izzie is trying hard to fit in at school, but because of where she's from, and the fact that she thinks spending thousands of dollars on clothes is ridiculous, quickly becomes an outcast. Savannah hates her, and because of that, naturally everyone else in the school goes out of their way to be fake nice to her, and never have any real intentions in being friends. Izzie's life turns around when she makes friends with Violet and Nicole, and finds out that one of her other friends- cute surfer boy Brayden, whom she met during the summer at Harobrside- attends Emerald Prep.

There are many ups and downs in the book: Izzie gets bullied by a campaign manager, finds out her cousin is being unnecessarily cruel and helping Savannah sabotage her at every turn, and finds out that a boy who was taken has feelings for her. Every time she seems to make a little ground, something else gets snatched away.

To be frank, this was a refreshing change. There were no love-triangles, or ridiculous insta-love. The characters weren't just two-dimensional, but had real personality and I fell in love with every one of them (or nearly- Savannah was more a love-to-hate). I would like to see the other characters fleshed out a little more in the other book(s), but time will tell.

Five out of Five stars, for not getting boring or going too slow.