My Faire Lady

Gr 8 Up—Rowena Duncan has plans for the summer before her junior year, but then her longtime boyfriend cheats on her, and she makes an impulsive decision: to take a job as a face painter/serving wench at an out-of-town Renaissance Faire. She jumps at the chance to be elsewhere, even if it means leaving her friends behind to live in a tent and wear corsets. She quickly settles in to life at the Faire, making friends with her tent-mate Suze and Will the whip-cracker, and pining after Christian, an actual knight in shining armor. As the summer progresses, she comes to realize how art is changing her view of the world. She gains the courage to challenge her practical parents' expectations of her, and she learns to look beyond others' exteriors to see who her true friends are. Wettersten offers a whimsical setting, engaging characters, and plenty of summer romance, making this an easy sell for teens.—Laurie Slagenwhite Walters, Brighton District Library, Brighton, MI