BOOK REVIEW: BE THE GIRL BY K.A. TUCKER

Title: Be The Girl

Author: K.A. Tucker

Genre: Young Adult, romance

Published on: January 21, 2019, self-published

From the internationally bestselling author of Ten Tiny Breaths and The Simple Wild comes a poignant novel about a girl trying to change her future while evading her past.

Aria Jones is starting over. New postal code, new last name, new rules. But she doesn’t mind, because it means she can leave her painful regrets behind. In the bustling town of Eastmonte, she can become someone else. Someone better.

With the Hartford family living next door, it seems she will succeed. Sure, Cassie Hartford may be the epitome of social awkwardness thanks to her autism, but she also offers an innocent and sincere friendship that Aria learns to appreciate. And Cassie’s older brother, Emmett—a popular hockey player with a bright future—well … Aria wishes that friendship could lead to something more. If he didn’t already have a girlfriend, maybe it would.

But Aria soon finds herself in a dicey moral predicament that could derail her attempt at a fresh start. It is her loyalty to Cassie and her growing crush on Emmett that leads her to make a risky move, one that earns her a vindictive enemy who is determined to splinter her happy new world.

 

Most of the books I read are part of a series. I slightly prefer those because it means you spend more time with the characters (it’s great when you like them). Still, there are times I feel like reading a standalone book, which is why I picked Be The Girl. This is a young adult romance from an author who has written great novels in the genre. The main protagonist is Aria Jones. At the start of the story, she and her mother Debra have just moved to Eastmonte in Canada. It’s obvious something bad happened that caused the move.

Part of the reason the Joneses moved is because Debra got divorced. She found out her husband had a secret family somewhere in the city. The jerk didn’t even love Aria anymore. She’s starting to move past it, though. Aria is ready to start a better life. Debra and Aria decide to stay with the latter’s elderly Uncle Merv. He’s been living alone ever since his wife passed away. Uncle Merv’s house needs a lot of TLC, which makes Debra get a little carried away. She spends tons of money renovating first one thing, then another. Debra can afford it--she used to be a successful lawyer.

The next-door neighbors are introduced next. They seem to be great people. Aria and Debra first meet Heather Hartford and her daughter, Cassie. The latter is an extremely friendly, jovial girl. It’s soon revealed Cassie has autism. Despite this, she and Aria click right away. Not long after, the book’s love interest shows up. He’s Emmett, Cassie’s older brother. The first time Aria meets him, it’s kind of awkward and funny at the same time. When Aria and Emmett see each other at school, she realizes he has a girlfriend. Aria tries not to show her disappointment, especially when she sees how good Holly Webber is.

Although Be The Girl is a romance, most of the focus is on Aria’s growing friendship with Emmett and Cassie. Aria is the new girl, but that’s not all that gives her appeal. She gets along super well with Cassie, which Emmett clearly likes. Some people wouldn’t be able to put up with Cassie or understand her. She may be fifteen, but behaves like a much younger girl. Cassie is so innocent and very literal, which makes it easy for others to take advantage of her. Aria’s friendship with her is genuine, though. She doesn’t “put up” with or tolerate Cassie. Aria also doesn’t befriend the girl just to get close to Emmett.

A big part of this book’s appeal is Aria’s secret. You don’t learn the full truth of why she started over in a new city until well near the ending. That twist was something I didn’t see coming. By then, I could see how well-developed and unique Aria is as a character. But to find out that about her past…it makes you see her in a new light. Not a bad light, though. Still, Aria has come a long way for the better. Emmett’s a good character as well, but his character arc isn’t as rich as Aria’s. That’s not to say he’s lackluster. Emmett’s a hockey player, which I found fresh in a genre full of football players (particularly quarterbacks). Likely it’s because of the setting, since hockey isn’t very popular in the U.S. And the fact that Be The Girl takes place in Canada was also fresh for me. I haven’t read many books set outside my country, and not because I prefer it that way. Overall, I thought this novel was great. It handles touchy issues really well, and the romance between Aria and Emmett is so genuine. I really enjoyed reading this book.

 

My rating: ★★★★ 1/2

4.5 stars - A fantastic page-turner!