The Sweetheart of Prosper County

The Sweetheart of Prosper County by Jill S. Alexander
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was very easy to fall into. It was a well written story with characters, plot, struggle and resolution. I appreciated the spiritual aspects featured in the book - and if this was written as a YA Christian book, it was very REAL. This book didn't preach, it talked about boobs, and boyfriends, and squishy feelings. It also talked about prayer and letting God be God. I would have no problems loaning this book to any of my Youth Group kids - which is probably the first time I have said that about a Young Adult book, EVER.

This is the author's first book and I'm looking forward to adding more of her books to my reading list.



Synopsis: Almost-15-year-old Austin Gray is tired of standing at the curb and watching the parade pass her by. Literally. She decides this is the year she’ll ride on the hood of a shiny pickup truck in the annual parade, waving to the crowd and finally showing the town bully that she’s got what it takes to be the Sweetheart of Prosper County.
 But far from simply being a beauty contest, becoming Sweetheart involves participation in the Future Farmers of America (FFA), raising an animal, and hunting or fishing. Austin will do almost anything to become Sweetheart, and has the support of her oldest friend, Maribel, her new FFA friends (including the reigning Sweetheart, and a quiet, cute cowboy), an evangelical Elvis impersonator, a mysterious Cajun outcast, and a rooster named Charles Dickens. If only her momma would stop overprotecting her, and start letting Austin live her own life. But Austin can’t move on until Momma moves on, too—and lets the grief of losing Austin’s daddy several years before out into the open.
 Here is a bighearted story that will leave readers agreeing with Austin that sometimes, it’s not what you ride, it’s how you roll.


Recommended Reading:
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
Pop by Gordon Korman
All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg
Donut Days by Lara Zielin
Prophecy of the Sisters… by Michelle Zink
Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler