Hundred Oaks Series
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 7th 2015
Review Source: Sourcebooks
Everyone at Hundred Oaks High knows that career mentoring day is a joke. So when Maya said she wanted to be a rock star, she never imagined she’d get to shadow the Jesse Scott, Nashville’s teen idol.
But spending the day with Jesse is far from a dream come true. He’s as gorgeous as his music, but seeing all that he’s accomplished is just a reminder of everything Maya’s lost: her trust, her boyfriend, their band, and any chance to play the music she craves. Not to mention that Jesse’s pushy and opinionated. He made it on his own, and he thinks Maya’s playing back up to other people’s dreams. Does she have what it takes to follow her heart—and go solo?
Another great novel written by Kenneally in the Hundred Oaks world. Even though our favorites we fell in love with many books ago have grown up, Kenneally continues to write new characters that win our hearts over and over again, so we don't miss too much the old ones. Jesse's Girl (yes every time I write/say the book title I start singing in my head the song) was fantastic, a bit different than most books from Hundred Oaks. I say different because there wasn't much of the school involved in this book. You actually get to visit many places with Jesse and Maya, which was a treat.
So in this chapter we meet Maya and Jesse. Maya has been given the opportunity to shadow country music superstar Jesse for the Hundred Oaks career shadowing day. Normally when you are assigned someone, it's not someone so popular. So of course Maya was beyond surprised and nervous. Then she finally meets Jesse, and they don't hit it off right away. He has his idea of this whole shadowing thing and Maya has hers. So after several bumps and remarks, they begin to get along and move forward and all the plans they were suppose to be following have been thrown out the window.
Maya begins to loosen up and allow Jesse to see the real her, she ends of singing in front of him, even though she is terrified. This leads to Jesse telling her she should try going for a solo career. To forget the band that kicked her off, because she has amazing talent. But Maya and her confidence have other plans. Now the two begin to build a spark, it doesn't happen right away. They actually learn so much about themselves in that one day then many do in a year. The story really grabs you by this time and you basically just want to inhale the story and see both of them have their happy ever afters.
Jesse's Girl will deliver so much in its pages. You will have your swoon worthy moments, your drama lama parts and some musical moments as well. Did I mention Maya is a fan of the 80s? When you partner up a country superstar with an 80s aficionado, what do you think is gonna happen? Once again I highly recommend reading this book. Its a perfect book for this summer.
And in case you have no idea what song I was talking about when I mentioned I start singing Jesse's Girl, here you go:
Excerpt from Jesse's Girl:
As much as I love music, I am generally not a fan of country. I don’t like banjos. I don’t like sappy lyrics about trucks and hauling hay. Dolly Parton is my mortal enemy—my mom plays “Jolene” over and over and over and over, and it makes me want to chop my ears off like van Gogh. Yeah, yeah, I’m from Tennessee, where it’s a crime if you don’t love country, but I like deep, rumbling beats and singing loud and fast and hard. I do not like closing my eyes and crooning to a cow in the pasture. Yet here I am at a Jesse Scott concert, getting ready to meet him and to see if he’ll let me shadow him next Friday.
My school requires every senior to “shadow” a professional for a day. It’s their way of helping us figure out what kind of career we want. Like, if you want to be president when you grow up, you might get to shadow the mayor. Want to be a chef? Have fun kneading dough at the Donut Palace. When I said “I want to be a musician,” I figured they’d send me to work in the electronics section at Walmart.
I certainly never expected to shadow the king of country music.
It turns out that Jesse Scott is my principal’s nephew. Jesse won TV’s Wannabe Rocker when he was ten and has gone on to become very successful. In sixth grade, every girl in class—myself included—took the Teen Beat quiz: “Would Jesse Scott Like Your Kissing Style?” (Obviously the answer was yes.) In middle school, I had a Jesse Scott poster on my ceiling. It’s hard to believe he’s only eighteen, because he’s already won three Grammys. When he was younger, his songs were about family, fishing, and playing baseball, but lately they’re about love and making love and all things sexy.
I wouldn’t say I’m a fan anymore, but I would never give up an opportunity to learn from a professional with such a gorgeous, pure voice. I want to learn what it’s like to perform day in and day out. Despite what everyone and their mom says—that I’ll struggle as a musician—all I want is to play guitar in front of a crowd and hear people cheer for me.
I can’t believe I’m backstage at the Grand Ole Opry! I bounce on my toes. Jesus, is that an archtop Super 4, the model Elvis played? I’ve never seen one in real life. It probably cost more than my house. I’m ogling the guitar when Jesse Scott comes out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. He pads across the room to the couch, wearing nothing but a pair of rugged jeans with more holes than Swiss cheese. The lighting is dim, and he doesn’t seem to notice I’m here, which is good, because I’ve moved from ogling the guitar to ogling him.
Who wouldn’t? He was one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People,” and it is a truth universally acknowledged that you should stare at people who’ve made that list. The guy’s gorgeous. Like in the boy-next-door way. His wet, wavy, brown hair curls around his ears and nearly hits his shoulders, and while he doesn’t have a six-pack or anything, his body is fit. I wish he’d look my way so I can see his famous brown eyes. They always remind me of those caramel chews Poppy gives me when I visit. Jesse has some sort of Gaelic symbol tattooed on his left shoulder blade. I want to reach out and trace the design.
God, get ahold of yourself, Maya. Don’t be a horndog. Besides, he’s so not my type. I don’t do pretty boys.
Order Links:
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Indiebound, Indigo, iTunes
About the Author:
Growing up in Tennessee, MIRANDA KENNEALLY dreamed of becoming an Atlanta Brave, a country singer (cliché!), or a UN interpreter. Instead she writes and works for the State Department in Washington, D.C., where George W. Bush once used her shoulder as an armrest. Miranda loves Twitter, Star Trek and her husband. Visit www.mirandakenneally.com, and follow Miranda @MirandaKennealy &www.facebook.com/miranda.kenneally.
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Loved this one! I love the fact that Kenneally uses the same story world for all her books and has crossover characters. (Plus Jordan and Sam are my favorites...)
ReplyDeleteThanks for participating in Hot Off the Presses this week!Jen @ YA Romantics