Candid

I was surprised by how much I liked this book and wanted to get back to it when I had to do something else. YA romance is *not* my favorite genre at all, but I knew this book had been featured on Clean Indie Reads, so I trusted it not to be embarrassingly steamy. I'm so glad I got the book. This is the perfect book for teens who want a little romance, but don't want to lower their moral standards. Pennington places her characters in realistic situations, with all the drama and twitterpation of the age, without things getting crude or R-rated. The main characters were very well-developed and relatable, and I found myself rethinking how I look at people--through what "lens", so to speak. Kudos, and I will be passing this to my tween daughter next with no qualms at all about the content.

Life is simple for high school senior, Sienna Whitfield. With a few good friends, a camera, and a dream, she has everything she needs to be happy. But when Jordan Rubio, the most popular girl at Haskins High, makes her mad, she decides to use the power of photography to right a few social wrongs. As if that doesn’t cause enough drama in her life, she realizes she’s falling for the new guy, Lee Franklin. Strong and protective, he’s just what she needs to survive the craziness she’s stirred up at school. If only she didn’t have to keep her feelings for Lee a secret from her mom…My Review...I first want to start off by saying LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the cover of this novel! It always draws me to read the description after seeing just the cover. I feel like a cover has to be essence of what the novel is and the words are the soul of the novel. I might be dramatic as my daughter would say but that's just me!Secondly, the characters and the storyline. Sienna and Lee a story that's told over and over again and never gets old. A boy and girl meet fall in love are some how pulled apart by some force that's been there all along but some how now it's a problem. Blah, blah, and blah! However, what sets this book apart from all others is the characters that you fall in love with, the storyline that intertwines them in which we often fall right in love with. We live with them in our story book like!Lastly, this was such an adorable coming of age, high school novel about putting aside your happiness to make the world a little better.I recommend this story for anyone whose a romantic at heart.

Sienna is finishing up her last year of high school and decides to shake things up. She's a photographer and takes her job on the school paper and yearbook staff serious. She'd rather spend her money on camera equipment than on clothes and makeup. When she decides to use her photos on her blog to make some of the nice kids at school more popular, she angers the reigning popularity king and queen. I'm the type of person who likes to stay in the background and not ruffle any feathers, so it was hard for me to understand why in the world she would want to stir things up and cause problems for herself. I had to admire her for trying to build others up and not caring too much about the consequences, because there's no way I was that mature at her age. It's refreshing to see a high school character who can see beyond herself, as I wish I could've been more like this back then.When new boy, Lee, moves in, there's an immediate attraction between the two, but there's also one huge complication--her very overprotective mother. Lee is such a great guy that shows characteristics of a true gentleman. His patience, strong will, and protectiveness are very appealing. As for Sienna's mom, I'm so glad she isn't my mom! A past mistake leads her to believe that Sienna needs to be shielded from everything and controlled, almost to the point of treating her like an inmate. I felt that she went over the top in her reactions and rules, even coming across as a hypocrite in a way, but as a mother myself, I can understand where she is coming from and I could feel her intense love through the mess.The story unfolds in a very progressive way and I felt like I was back in high school again--almost. The feelings, rivalries, and drama are all there. I liked the bits of conflict and the way things were resolved, although not always completely. There are a few little mysteries to be solved. I really enjoyed the story and I'm eager to read the next book.Content: mild romance (kissing, implied past relationship). Clean!*I received a copy in exchange for an honest review*

I really enjoyed reading this book! It took me right back to high school and my experiences as part of the newspaper staff. I especially liked the way that the high school football games were described.I loved Sienna, and the way she doesn't seem to care what anyone thinks about her. She's not afraid to be herself and she is not afraid to stand up to the popular kids to try to make people who are kind more popular than they started out.I liked Lee too! He's a great guy, a gentleman really and I loved the way he's always watching out for Sienna, even though Sienna's mom won't allow her to really date anyone.I remember girls just like Jordan Rubio who went to my high school, so it was kind of fun to see Sienna trying to bring them down a peg or two! I liked the way the supporting characters in this book were done. They were all just like kids that I knew and went to school with when I was in high school.This is a cute, clean book that I will be passing on to my teenager to read! I'm excited to read the next one in the series!