Escaping Perfect

February 22, 2016
As a Montgomery, 18-year-old Cecilia is Kennedy-esque political royalty, with an ambitious U.S. senator as her mother and other powerful politicos in the family tree. Ceceliaâs mother has kept her under lock and key ever since a failed kidnapping when Cecilia was a child, never allowing her to appear in public. Miserable, Cecilia flees Massachusetts for a tiny town in Tennessee where she changes her name to Lia and hopes that no one will discover her secret. Harrison (Snow Queen) emphasizes small-town charm over fame and politics in this lightly suspenseful romance about starting over. For the bulk of the novel, Cecilia is only occasionally worried that she might be found out, and she restarts her life with little trouble; everything comes quite easilyâwonderful new friends, a place to live, a job, and a gorgeous boyfriend. No one thinks to question Liaâs mysterious appearance in town or suspect that she might be the Cecilia all over the news since her disappearance. The cliffhanger ending leaves Liaâs story a little too unresolved. Ages 14âup. Agent: Sarah Burnes, Gernert Company.

December 15, 2015
The daughter of a mixed marriage between an attorney and a powerful U.S. senator from a Kennedy-style family cannot stand the restrictions put on her life. Cecilia was nearly kidnapped when she was a child, and ever since, her white mother, one of Massachusetts' senators, has completely controlled her life. She lives in a private room at an exclusive boarding school, watched over constantly by a bodyguard. Her mother tells her what to study and even dictates her hobbies. At her black grandmother's funeral, Cecilia takes advantage of an opportunity to escape and makes her way to Sweetbriar, Tennessee, where her grandmother had lived years ago and where she is readily accepted. Calling herself Lia and bleaching her hair blonde, she finds a waitressing job and a shared apartment on her first night. She also meets white Jasper, apparently the town rake, who instantly captivates her. Sadly, bitchy, Asian Shelby claims him, but of course Jasper's attracted to Lia, triggering drama. Lia's cold, careerist mother and passive father defy credulity, as does the fact that race is apparently a nonissue in this small Tennessee town--and indeed to Lia's sense of self. Writing white as a default despite her biracial narrator, Harrison focuses on standard romance themes, using standard romance cliches. Ho-hum. (Romance. 12-18)

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January 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-Cecilia Montgomery has not had a normal life since she was nearly kidnapped as a young child. Her mother, the powerful Senator Montgomery, has assigned her a full-time bodyguard and personal assistant. The press has not seen a picture of her since the kidnapping attempt. When the opportunity arises to escape at her grandmother's burial, Cecilia takes it. She arrives in Sweetbriar, TN, where her grandmother used to live. With a new name, she is able to act like a normal teenager, including skinny dipping and eating a muffin full of sugar for breakfast. But always in the background are her real name in the news and a town car that shows up in town, cruising the streets. Some things don't quite ring true in this narrative. Would this protagonist really be trained in three different martial arts and do meditation exercises to calm down? Would she play fiddle like a professional, even though her mother made her give it up? The female characters in the story are strong, and the small Southern town is full of quirky denizens. As her boyfriend's music career takes off, things come to a head. Readers will be taken by surprise at the ending and feel sure that a sequel is in the works. Reminiscent of Morgan Matson's Since You've Been Gone (S. & S., 2014), but with the extra suspense of the protagonist actually running away. VERDICT General purchase for readers looking for stories of young people trying to make it on their own.-Deanna McDaniel, Genoa Middle School, OH

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