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The Black Sheep

by Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout

This teen romance is rather wholesome, and that’s not just because it’s about a girl who goes to live with a save-the-earth, granola-eating hippie family. Sandy Rideout and Yvonne Collins depend on the formulae of popular chick lit of the Princess Diaries variety, but they embed into their improbable plot esteem-building lessons suitable for growing girls — wholesome lessons, unlike the ones to be found in such series as Gossip Girls.

New Yorker and single child Kendra wins a chance to participate in the reality show Black Sheep by writing a rant about her repressed banker parents. She is chosen to exchange families with a girl from Monterey, California. Judy, the show’s bumptious producer, insists on filming Kendra’s every move and moment, as she adjusts to life in a family of eight with one bathroom, daily chores, and a commitment to saving endangered sea otters.

Kendra gets off to a bad start with the oldest son, Mitch, who’s a “hottie,” but soon her growing interest in recovering sea otters unites them. Can their love survive the intrusions of brash Judy, whose only interest is good ratings? A plot to have Kendra divorce her parents, a sleazily edited film, a stint in jail over a protest, and a degrading self-help show are only a few of the obstacles in the way of true love.

Considering how truly dumb so many of the shenanigans in this novel are, one might expect a little irony, a clever send-up. But earnestness comes with the entertainment: Kendra learns “the thrill of working with a group toward a common goal” and “how to stand up to [her] parents and fight for the right to make [her] own decisions.” And so on.

In some ways, this book is to popular sharp (or sleazy) romance novels what the Tammy doll was to the Barbie doll: all intend to be silly, but Tammy and The Black Sheep throw a little “health food” in with the mix.

 

Reviewer: Deirdre Baker

Publisher: Hyperion Books/ H.B. Fenn

DETAILS

Price: $19.99

Page Count: 348 pp

Format: Paper

ISBN: 978-1-4231-0156-7

Released: May

Issue Date: 2007-5

Categories:

Age Range: 12-16