On the Flip Side

February 1, 2012
The fourth installment in Carter's (Not a Good Look, 2010, etc.) Fab Life series sees R&B sensation Sunday Tolliver starting her first year at Spelman College. Enjoying her fame but staying level-headed, Sunday quickly makes a new group of friends at college, including down-to-earth roommate Gia, elitist Meagan, and white former foster kid Piper. Characters from previous volumes reappear, including Sunday's now-long-distance boyfriend Sam, her superstar mentor Mystique and her cousin Dreya, aka Drama. Upheaval, dubious marketing schemes and double-crosses abound at the record company that has signed the cousins to its label, and readers are treated to an insider's view of the music industry through Sunday's healthily skeptical eyes. Longtime readers of the series will notice that Sunday has grown subtly: Club Pyramids, once the domain of the adults in Sunday's life, is now a few stops away on a local party bus, and a buildup of frustrations leads to a believable slip in Sunday's normally even-keeled demeanor. Another hit for Sunday Tolliver. (Fiction. 12 & up)

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April 1, 2012

Gr 7 Up-This book continues the adventures of rising pop star Sunday Tolliver. She's now a freshman at Spelman College in Atlanta, but she's also won a coveted music award and earned enough money for her and her mother to live comfortably. What's left? Drama, that's what. Carter excels at creating situations for her heroines that find them in conflict and turmoil, and Sunday has troubles on every front. She can't trust her boyfriend. Her music company has gone through a hostile takeover, and plenty of people hate her. The friendships she's making at Spelman are the one solid in her life. Sunday is smart, ambitious, hardworking, and wise beyond her years. She's a loyal friend and exceptional daughter who has her priorities in order. In short, she's a good role model for Carter's readers. On the Flip Side would be an excellent addition for urban fiction collections.-Carol Jones Collins, Hanover Park High School, East Hanover, NJ

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