vanilla

some people go for the hardcore stuff -- rocky road, and the like. others prefer cookie dough, or mint chocolate chip, or espresso fudge. and then there are those who like vanilla. simple, dependable, and sweet.

Something to Blog About, by Shana Norris, is vanilla in book format. nothing too elaborate here, plotwise: Girl likes Boy, Girl has Arch-Nemesis, Arch-Nemesis turns out to be Misunderstood, Girl gets Boy. pretty classic stuff. Norris's strengths are her writing (Libby has a strong and funny voice) and her sense of the thin line for teens between the funny and the heart-wrenchingly embarrassing. what could have been bland is, instead, vanilla.

plus i LOVE the cover. who can resist a girl that cute with her hair on fire?! i will be heartbroken if they change it because the chains didn't like it for some reason or other. the cover sells this book. don't you think?

safe for middle schoolers but really speaking to the jr high/highschool crew, Something to Blog About hits the shelves February '08 (according to my ARC, but Amazon says April 1 so who knows).