Bowers, Laura. Just Flirt.

Bowers, Laura.    Just Flirt.   Macmillan/Farrar Strauss    325p  $16.99     

978-0-374-35515-9       ms/hs       VG    Realistic fiction

Just Flirt has just enough surprises to entertain the early teen reader.  The basic conflict is a competition between Dee and Sabrina; the former helps her mother run the family campground after her father’s death, and the latter attempts to survive a divorce and a wacky mother.  Author Laura Bowers uses an alternating point of view, going back and forth between Dee and Sabrina.  This keeps the reader guessing, and the technique works in this book!  Unbeknownst to Dee, her best friend Natalie writes a blog in which she shares ideas on how to flirt as well as advice to readers of the blog.  Who is the consummate flirt?  Dee, of course!  When Dee flirts with ex-boyfriend Blaine, Sabrina finds them and accidentally falls.  Who hopes to capitalize on this?  Sabrina’s mother is the wacky divorcee who needs money to build her relationship with Blaine’s father and decides to sue Dee and her mother for millions!  The plot reads like a soap opera, and not surprisingly, rising action builds into a climax that is fun, but predictable!   This book is all about relationships, growing up, and female empowerment.  Some interesting secondary characters such as Jake, one of Dee’s “flirtees” and Roxanne, a quirky wannabee car mechanic, add punch to a book that would not be nearly as entertaining without them!  Readers will have fun guessing who both moms are dating, as well as which girl will win Blaine and Jake!   Bowers knows all the elements of storytelling, and she uses them creatively to entertain teen female readers.  This is a good choice for middle-school readers and high-school readers who are looking for a good beach book.  There is very minor profanity that would not detract from the book’s message for young teenagers.   

Romance-Fiction, Realistic fiction                                             -- Martha Squaresky