Review and Giveaway - Dancing With Ana by Nicole Barker

Dancing With Ana by Nicole Barker




rating: 5.0/5.0




Check out my interview with Nicole Barker here.






Book Description:

Beth is a lucky girl…
She comes from a loving family. She has three best friends. She loves to surf and lives five minutes from the beach. She also recently discovered that the boy she’s grown up with has the most amazing green eyes…Beth has every reason to smile. Every reason to be happy. Every reason to feel blessed.
Then why is she sticking her fingers down her throat?

Sixteen year old Beth Baxter’s life merely resembles the one she’s always known. Her father has left. She is falling for Jeremy Duscana and the diet she started has
somehow turned into an obsession. Yet her three best friends remain the same, always there for her.
But even their love can’t save her from herself.

Dancing With Ana. A story about the journey to acceptance of one’s own reality, the incredible bond that exists between friends and a love that truly endures all things.

What can I say about this book. First I read it in one sitting. As in told my DH to wait to go out to eat so I could finish it. I honestly couldn't put it down. Second, I have often said in reviews that the characters feel real in a book. That's how Beth and her friends are in this book. Ms. Barker has the teenagers pegged, nothing sounded contrived, all their actions made sense in the context of them being teenagers. The problems, conflicts, emotions and actions were very typical of teenagers. I also like the fact that she used different types of girls for the four best friends. These aren't your cookie-cutter, all the teenagers are the same, they all four have different backgrounds, different problems and different ways of dealing with teenage life. There is a healthy way and a not healthy way, but none of it seems preachy. The reader just accepts each girl for who and what she is. There is no judgement, just learning about the girls and enjoying watching them grow and learn as teenagers.

I don't know anymore to really say than that - it is an excellent book. It can be read by young adults and older adults just the same, it has something in it for each of us. And it's able to do that while being an entertaining story. I am definitely looking forward to reading Nicole Barker's next book.

Binding: Paperback
On-sale Date: August 1, 2009
Publisher: Golden Road Press, LLC
Pages: 170

Also I would like to give away my copy of this book, which was kindly provided by the author. I will open the contest today through September 7th. US and Canada residents only please. Please enter by:

1. Commenting on my blog, make sure I have a way to contact you. (+1)
   
2. Become a blog follower or let me know if you are already a follower (+1)
3. Answer this question: What do you consider to be a main issue to teenage girls today? (+1)
4. Answer this question: What is a good interview question to ask an author? (+1)
   
5. Tweet about this review and giveaway, use @cfulcher in the tweet so I can find it (+1/per day)
6. Follow me on Twitter (or let me know if you are a current follower) (+1)
7. Blog about this contest and let me know the link (sidebar or post is fine) (+1)

So there you go - 7 ways to get an entry into this contest. You can leave them in separate posts or one post, it doesn't matter, I will make sure you get your entries, just make sure to let me know what you do.

Other reviews (if you have a review up on this book, let me know and I will link to it):
Kay's Bookshelf
Bloody Bad
A Few Minutes with Michael
Merry Weather
The Maiden's Court
Tales of a Book Addict
Melody's Reading Corner
Crazy for Books
Barney's Book Blog