March 5, 2011

The Education of Hailey Kendrick by Eileen Cook

Release Date: January 4, 2011
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 244
Review Source: Library


Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Hailey Kendrick always does exactly what's expected of her. She has the right friends, dates the perfect boy, gets good grades, and follows all the rules. But one night, Hailey risks everything by breaking a very big rule in a very public way...and with a very unexpected partner in crime. Hailey gets caught, but her accomplice does not, and Hailey takes the fall for both of them.

Suddenly, Hailey's perfect life--and her reputation--are blowing up in her face. Her friends are all avoiding her. Her teachers don't trust her. Her boyfriend won't even speak to her for long enough to tell her that she's been dumped.

They say honesty is the best policy--but some secrets are worth keeping, no matter the cost. Or are they?

My Thoughts:
I found this to be a quick, but very enjoyable, read. Hailey is a likable character: she’s popular and wants to be liked, but she’s not a brat. I appreciated how she was generally a nice girl and wanted to do the right thing. Normally this is a good thing, but this good intention of Hailey's has spun out of control. Hailey wants to impress her absent Dad so badly that she tries too hard to be perfect, something which just isn’t possible. With this in mind, the book shares a great lesson that, metaphorically, it’s okay to colour outside the lines every once in a while.

I liked that none of the characters in the novel were cliches. It was refreshing that while Drew helps Hailey realize things about herself, he’s not that typical Guru character. He might recognize things about Hailey, but Hailey works things out for herself, learning through making mistakes. The romance subplot is cute, but it’s just that: a subplot. While romantic entanglements make up the backbone of the story, the book isn’t about boys, and in this case that’s a good thing. This is a strong book about a girl educating herself, learning how to stand up for herself and be who she really wants to be. Overall, I would highly recommend this modern day Scarlett Letter-inspired tale.

Rating:


Find The Education of Hailey Kendrick by Eileen Cook on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.ca

P.S. Happy Birthday to my amazing friend, Mistee!! <3

4 comments:

  1. I've really never heard much about this book, but I love how you describe it. Plus, if the heroine is likable despite her desire to be popular, that makes it better for me! Fab review :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fantastic review! This book sounds interesting :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for stopping by, Ashley! I'm glad you've been enjoying the psychology + reading survey stuff I've been doing :)

    And this one looks super cute as a younger YA read - I may check it out at some point!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I really like the fact that Hailey figures things out for herself instead on being shown the light by a boy :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking the time to comment; I appreciate each one!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...