Viola in the Spotlight

Viola in the Spotlight by Adriana Trigani is the second book following filmmaker Viola.  Viola has returned from boarding school to spend the summer with her parents and friends.  She plans on spending time with her two best friends and is unhappy to find that they've already made summer plans.  Viola then throws herself into many projects (filming them all) including an internship with her grandmothers broadway show that is opening.  How will she handle her best friend Andrew who wants to be more than a best friend and another friend using her to sneak around with a boy, can she live all summer without the roommates she's grown to see as sisters?

I love Viola and her friends.  This book transported us to a new setting and gave us some new characters (while keeping the old).  Viola experiences highlights and low times over the summer.  She's a strong girl who isn't boy crazy and who cares about her filmmaking and helping out her friends.  I sped through the book and loved reading Viola's story.

Appropriateness:  This is a great contemporary novel that young adult readers will enjoy.  There is no adult content in the book and Viola's attitudes towards relationships in the series is refreshing when compared to most boy crazy heroine.  I would recommend this book to readers 11-15 however it is not inappropriate for younger readers (although Viola is 14 and in high school).