Pretty Tough by Liz Tigelaar

Title: Pretty Tough
Author: Liz Tigelaar
ISBN: 9781595141125
Publisher: Razorbill
Page #: 246
Source: From My Library

Summary:
"Charlie: My older sister Krista and I used to be friends. We'd hang out, go to the beach together. Krista watched me while I surfed. I couldn't wait to go to high school.

But now? Everything has changed. Krista is perky, popular, and pathetic. All she cares about are designer clothes, her fake friend Brooks, her boyfriend Cam, and her image as the most perfect girl in school.

Straight-A student, star athlete - when I stand next to her, I might as well be invisible! But this year, I've been recruited to Krista's soccer team. Shin guards? Twelve dollars. Uniform? Thirty five bucks. The look on Krista's face when she finds out I'm playing? Priceless.

Krista: My sister Charlie is a total freak. She thinks she''s some kind of surf-girl rebel. But the truth is, she's just mean. That's why she has no friends.

Charlie is always giving me a hard time. She has no idea what my life is like! Between Brooks critiquing my outfits, and Cam pressuring me, I feel like I'm going to lose it!

Now, Charlie's joining the soccer team. My soccer team. And I'm supposed to be captain this year. She doesn't even care about soccer. She's just doing it for the same reason she does everything - to be a brat. Well, if she thinks she can beat me at my own game, she's got another thing coming."
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First Lines:

"For nearly twenty seconds, Charlie was convinced she was dead. Strangely, the thought didn't sound half bad. With her sophomore year of high school looming on the horizon, she'd already come to the conclusion that her first fifteen years on the planet were a bust...
And yes, a lot of that had to do with her name."
Page 1
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Review:

I do realize that the summary is amazingly long. I guess they just wanted you to get a sense of the two main characters before you opened the book. The story is told from their two perspectives, so I suppose it makes sense.

This was such a fun book! Of course, I tend to have a soft spot for soccer stories. I have no idea why that is - it's not like I've ever played it. But I love movies and all that involving this sport. This book is no exception. I don't think that's the reason I liked this book so much. I think it was mostly the wonderful writing and interesting story that pulled me right in.

I know some people don't enjoy reading from different points of view within one book. I really didn't have any issues with it in this one. It always made sense when the speaker changed. And there was so much going on with both of the girls, you almost have to get their entire story. I loved the sisters. It felt like a real relationship and normal sibling rivalry... but with some extra umph thrown in. They are both characters that I feel like I've met before.

The setting itself was interesting because of the beach, the soccer field, the school, the other parts of town... they were all just so well described and so fun that it kept the story very fluid. There's also the amount of drama that kept the story moving along - there were so many things that went into the relationships of the sisters. But you really end up loving them both without too much difficulty.

I know this book was published a few years ago, but I'm going to recommend it and say it was totally worth getting. It's a fun, quick, sisterly story that gives you a case of the "aww"s :). I loved it. I think there's a book after this one, so I'm going to see about getting it. Oh! I just looked it up - it's a companion novel with the same setting, but about a girl playing football. I'm so there.

I wish I could find a website for this author, because she's definitely got a great talent for the realistic teen romances. I know I'll be watching for more from her! Dude, she writes for a tv show?!? I'm gonna have to investigate.
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