Ambitious

Ambitious by Monica McKayhan follows Marisol a latina dancer from a rough neighborhood and Drew a wealthy African American boy who have just started attending a Premiere, a performing arts high school.  Marisol and Drew both have to navigate this new world and deal with families and friends who do not understand why they gave up their normal lives and schools to attend Premiere.

This book was written specifically for reluctant readers and because of this it may not appeal to the general audience.  It is not complex and the performing arts aspect is not well researched.  However, this is a book that very low achieving and reluctant readers will enjoy.  The characters are not rich white teens who have perfect lives but are ethnic and come from rocky neighborhoods/families.  The book is fairly short, the plot is clear and easy to follow, and the teenagers act like teenagers (which is rare with books that are this easy to read).

Appropriateness:  There is a bit of adult behavior in this novel but nothing major and there is no sexual activity.  One of Marisol's friends smokes constantly (to which Marisol makes many catty comments) and there are some gang situations.  I would recommend this book to reluctant readers 14+ (however it is appropriate for younger teens).  

Review copy provided by Amazon Vine