Book: The Princesses Of Iowa by M. Molly Backes

Published by Candlewick Press

Purchased for my Nook (286 pages)

Genre: YA: Contemporary

Find out more: Goodreads~Barnes And Noble~Amazon~M. Molly Backes

Goodreads Summary: What does it mean to do wrong, when no one punishes you? A smart and unflinching look at friendship, the nature of entitlement, and growing up in the heartland.

Paige Sheridan has the perfect life. She’s pretty, rich, and popular, and her spot on the homecoming court is practically guaranteed. But when a night of partying ends in an it-could-have-been-so-much worse crash, everything changes. Her best friends start ignoring her, her boyfriend grows cold and distant, and her once-adoring younger sister now views her with contempt. The only bright spot is her creative writing class, led by a charismatic new teacher who encourages students to be true to themselves. But who is Paige, if not the homecoming princess everyone expects her to be? In this arresting and witty debut, a girl who was once high-school royalty must face a truth that money and status can’t fix, and choose between living the privileged life of a princess, or owning up to her mistakes and giving up everything she once held dear.

I really liked The Princesses Of Iowa.  I wasn’t sure about it at first, but by the end, I really enjoyed it.

It’s about nothing and everything all at the same time.  You mostly see how much the accident impacted Paige, but you also see how much of an effect it had on Nikki and Lacey…on a much smaller scale.

It was hard to feel sorry for them, even Lacey, who still had to go to physical therapy months after the accident.  But I really felt for Paige as she dealt with what happened through her creative writing class.  If I could have guaranteed I would have a teacher like Mr. Tremont, I so would have taken creative writing. Actually, if I had the time, I probably would have taken it in college, but maybe it would have jumped to the top of the list if I knew the teacher would be cool.

I wanted Paige to do the right thing, and in the end, she did.  She did make some questionable choices, but who doesn’t?

There is a touch of romance, and honestly?  If it were cut from the book, I would have been fine.  It almost felt like an afterthought.

There’s a lot going on, issue wise…not just drunk driving and the consequences, but other things too.  It didn’t feel like there were that many, but looking back, she threw a lot in, and did it well.

I loved that the characters did a really stupid thing and actually faced consequences for those actions.  It’s a nice change from the characters who do stupid stuff and never have to face any consequences for their actions.

I also liked the focus on becoming homecoming queen, and how it was something Paige thought she wanted…until she realized she didn’t want it.  I loved seeing her grow over the course of the novel.

It gets a 4 out of 5.