Belles

Jen Calonita builds a beautiful rags to riches story with her novel, Belles.  This was a surprisingly good read!  What a great coming of age story about a high schooler, Isabelle Scott (Iz or Izzie for short) who grows up on the wrong side of the tracks and suddenly finds herself thrown into the life of the rich and elite of Emerald Cove (EC) after her grandma and legal guardian takes a turn for the worse.  

Fitting  in and maneuvering the EC social structures in this town are harder than taking care of her ailing grandmother, working as a beach lifeguard, keeping her grades up, paying the bills, buying groceries and maintaining her status of star swimmer...Will she be able to climb the social ladder?  Will she make friends?  What about the summer fling that suddenly turns up at her new school and is in the arms of the one girl who she despises?