Book Review: Summer in Paris by Michele Ashman Bell

Kenzie Williams is used to having her own way. To escape from their own emotional pain, her parents have created a world of social events, shopping, and high-end living, and that's the way Kenzie believes things should be - she's never known differently. But when her father declares bankruptcy, her entire existence is shattered. Without her wealth, who is she? Things are made worse when her parents announce they are sending her to Paris until everything gets straightened out ... Paris, Idaho, that is.

Kenzie goes from the land of Prada to the land of potatoes faster than she can swipe a credit card, and she doesn't know how to cope with the sudden change. In the past, she always turned to ballet for her stress relief - she's in line for a scholarship to a prestigious ballet school - but now she doesn't even have that. Where is she supposed to dance? In the barn?

A little at a time, she begins to realize what has been missing from her life, and she yearns to have a normal, healthy family. But her parents have already separated. Is it too late to find their own happy ending?

Michele Ashman Bell is a well-loved author in the LDS market, with "Summer in Paris" being her debut book on the national market. She has combined a series of winning elements: friendship, comedy, romance, mystery - and given us a heroine who truly lives up to that name. Kenzie is not perfect, and at the start of the book, she might not even be very likable. But every experience she has changes her and softens her, and by the end, you're in her corner, cheering her on. The transformation isn't too sudden, nor is it cheesy, but it comes about naturally, and you can easily see how a teenager would think and feel in those circumstances and identify with the changes that took place.

"Summer in Paris" is one of five books being debuted next Tuesday evening in Salt Lake City:

Tuesday - 16 March 2010 - 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Barnes & Noble Booksellers
The Gateway
6 N Rio Grande Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84101-1184

If you are unable to attend the signing, you can also order "Summer in Paris" here.