Information taken from the author's website:
David A. Bedford writes a moving coming-of-age tale about a young girl who learns important life lessons and fights for what’s right in Angela 1.
Angela Fournier is a fifteen-year-old girl who has to leave her school, her friends and her home when her parents divorce.
Angela’s mother moves her and her little sister to a lovely coastal town in Texas. Angela, being an outgoing girl, makes friends easily in her new school, enrolls in the Honors Program and becomes one of the best dancers in dance class.
Although Angela has two best friends she can confide in, she finds herself the target of a very popular group of girls who thrive on making life miserable for her. Angela is bewildered at the girls’ treatment of her since, from the time she was very young, her mother taught only tolerance and kindness.
Ms. Mara Petty, the haughty high school principal, seems to turn a blind eye to bullying, especially when it comes to this popular group of girls. Angela and her two best friends appear to be on their own when it comes to dealing with this crew, but then they discover something far more sinister than having to fend off the verbal attacks from the mean girls and principal’s disdain.
Evidence of corruption from some powerful people may prove to be more than they bargained for. The girls have a few teachers they can trust, but as time goes on, they wonder who they can depend on. Can Angela and her friends set an injustice right and what price will they have to pay for doing so?
David Bedford’s adolescent characters spring to life with his spot-on dialogue and enormously entertaining storyline. Angela 1 will resonate with teens and sends an important social message about fighting injustice, standing up for one’s beliefs, and risking all to reveal the truth.
David A. Bedford is a faculty member and Spanish instructor at Texas Christian University. Bedford is writing the two sequels to Angela and has published a book of Spanish short stories. He lives in Fort Worth, Texas.
MY REVIEW
I think this is a story that most young girls would enjoy. The story is well written with a good plot and a strong message. I found it easy to picture what the author was describing. I liked the main characters and thought the author did an excellent job writing from a teen-girl's perspective. Angela 1 is also 100% family friendly. There is not even one single objectionable phrase in the entire book. My only complaint with the book is that the main character seems a little too good to be true at times. But other than that I would definitely recommend it.
1 comment:
Tara:
Thank you so much for your kind review. As to Angela Fournier, I will be going deeper into her character and personality in the two sequels. People are not perfect and Angela is no exception, though admitedly she is unusual.
I can say a couple of things to explain her. Angela is a strategic thinker. She always asks herself "What is likely to happen?" if present trends continue, if her friends make a certain decision, of if she makes a decision to do A versus B or nothing at all. She feels compelled to think things through before acting. That is why she avoids the self-destructive behaviors most teenagers engage in: she does not want the consequences for herself. She also loves to learn, so being in school keeps her happy. Moreover she is other-centered (as opposed to self-centered) and very affectionate. Such such people are much happier than most. Finally, she is more a perceiving person than a judging one. She's always considering the world and learning. All this keeps her mind too busy to get down on herself or others as much as most of us do at that age.
But stay tuned for the sequels. Her kindness will be tested.
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