Finding What's Real

January 15, 2017
This sequel to Escaping Perfect (2016) finds Cecilia battling her own selfish tendencies even as she accuses everyone else of the same.Cecilia is mixed-race, with a black dad and a white mom, but this plays little part in the story. Her powerful U.S. senator mother has decided to run for president and needs to keep up appearances. Her mom is authoritative and manipulative, but impulsive Cecilia constantly gets herself into trouble anyway. Cecilia's white boyfriend, Jasper, is a rising country singer who attracts female fans, triggering jealousy. She agrees to go to parties whenever one of her friends suggests it, always becoming seriously drunk and getting caught on camera doing embarrassing things. As these photos and videos inevitably make the news, Cecilia becomes famous in her own right. Nevertheless, no matter how many times she screws up, Cecilia continues to party and lash out at her friends, her mother, and Jasper, even though he remains devoted to her. Cecilia appears to be on a path to nowhere when she finally has an epiphany and thereupon becomes strong, supertalented, and instantly mature. Harrison's plot resolution, then, simply involves changing Cecilia's character overnight. Her historical research fails, as she appears to believe that photography was common in 1815. Romance and fame, plus exasperating immaturity for those who like that sort of thing. (Romance. 12-18)

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April 1, 2017

Gr 7-10-This sequel to Escaping Perfect shares many of the flaws of its predecessor. Cecilia Montgomery, daughter of politicians and famous for having been nearly kidnapped as a small child, spent the first book running away from home and finding adventure (and a hot guy) in a small town. The second installment begins just after she's been found, with her parents trying to orchestrate damage control. For the rest of the book, Cecilia tries and fails to assert her independence even as her mother moves to the small town and announces her candidacy for president of the United States. As Cecelia's friends get caught up in the hype, she wonders who is a true friend and who might be using her for her fame. It's an interesting premise, but it doesn't ring true. There are unrealistic elements: a senator can't just uproot to a new state because her daughter ran away, and the friendships and romantic relationship that Cecilia managed to form seem a bit more intense than the two-week span of her initial running away would allow. VERDICT Skip unless the first volume is popular.-Sarah Jones, Clinton-Macomb Public Library, MI

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