Wednesday, October 3, 2012

To Be Maria by Deanna Proach


To be Maria
Seventeen-year-old Anya Preschnikov wants to become a famous actress but she's faced with
two problems. Her father ignores her and doesn't have any money to support her. At school,
she's bullied on a daily basis, yet she believes that she will gain her stepping-stone to stardom
if she's accepted by her peers.

All of this changes when Maria Hernandez--an immigrant from Spain--comes to Peach Valley
Senior High. Maria knows what it takes to fit in. She's assertive, confident and she dresses
suggestively, characteristics that all of the popular kids admire. Yet she sees in Anya what no
one else sees: beauty and talent.

When Maria extends her hand of friendship, Anya is elated. Her rise to popularity is about

to become a reality, but it ends at a house party when a boy's rude comment sends her into a
rage.


Desperate to belong somewhere, Anya and Maria seek new friends outside of school. They
meet Alex and Marissa, a young couple who eagerly welcomes them into their world of
parties and drugs. Anya and Maria soon find out that Alex is a drug dealer, but they are so
lured by his wealth, good looks and aggressive confidence that they can't resist his friendship.
They don't know that Alex's gang is at war with a rival gang--one that's run by Anya's older
brother, Adrik--until one incident puts their lives in danger's path. To make matters worse,
Alex won't let Anya and Maria out of his sight. The two teens are forced to make a decision
that's a matter of life or death.






Deanna Proach
Deanna Proach:






Deanna Proach is also the author of Day of Revenge (Inkwater Press), a historical
fiction set in 1793 France, and she's an avid reader and blogger. When Proach is not
writing, she's actively involved in her local theatre community as an actress, and she's
learning the art of Medieval sword fighting. You can learn more about her at http://desstories.blogspot.com.


Links to Purchase:



Jen's Review


This was a good book - The life of Anya and Maria in their high school years, explains that not everyone is treated the same. 
The book reminded me of the movie "mean girls" where the school popular girls are picking on the less fortunate girls.

Maria is a new student from Madrid Spain. She is beautiful, smart and runs with Clary and her friends in the popular crowd.  Maria thinks everything is going great, but she starts to get to know Clary, and she doesn't like who she is. 
Clary is a self-centered Bitch. But since Maria is new to the school, she is worried about making Clary mad and losing her status in the school. 

Anya is a looser. she knows it. But she doesn't like it. She's always wanted to run with the "in" crowd, but she is dirt poor and can't afford the stylish clothes. Patrick has been her best friend for 5 years. He doesn't think of himself as a loser, and he really doesn't think of Anya as a loser. He's happy with the two of them being really good friends. 

When Maria meets up with Anya, Maria is instantly impressed with her. She knows that Anya is the type of person that Maria wants to be friend with. But Clary hates Anya, so there is no way to be friends with both. 

That's when Clary decides to take Maria up on her challenge and gives Anya a few tests to see if she's "worthy" of being part of their crowd. 

Anya is skeptical about being friends with Clary and Maria and their group, but it's something she has wanted forever. 

Unfortunately not everyone agreed. Patrick was appalled and walked out of Anya's life. 

Things started going downhill from there. Being part of the "In" crowd isn't all its caked up to be. And Anya decides that she's had enough. Maria just wants to do the right thing, but what is the right thing in a situation like this? 

Can Anya put up with the BS that the popular kids dish out? Can she learn to be confident and easy going like Maria is? 

There are a lot of twists and turns in this book. it's not all high school drama, though. We go through Anya's life and Maria's life with their problems at home, on the streets, meeting new friends, 

All and all it was a pretty good book. A lot of bad choices were made by these 17 year old girls. But were they strong enough to live through them?
  


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October 1- YA Book Addict Promo Post, 

October 2-NightlyReading Promo Post, 

October 3- Up All Night Review

October 4- Happy Tails & Tales Promo Post & Author Interview, 

October 5- A Bibliophile's Thoughts on Books Promo Post

October 5- LovLivLife Reviews Review & Promo Post 





2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for being part of the tour;)
Heather

De's Stories said...

Thanks for this great review, Jenn:)