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Princess
by Staci
Stallings
Available May, 2004
Author
page on Staci Stallings
Publicist's Overview:
"From the outside looking
in, Anthony Russell has it all. As the star basketball player
on a winning college team, everybody knows him and loves him.
His face is plastered on publicity poster after publicity
poster. He's even got offers from the pros to forego his senior
year for the glitz and glamour of the Big Show. But Anthony
has a secret that's threatening to swallow his life whole...
Heather Nolan would be the
perfect poster-girl for academic overachievers. She's got
straight A's and every professor in her cheering corner. But
the life Heather thought she was studying so hard for is in
danger of grinding to a neck-snapping halt if she can't come
up with a way to pay the bills. Bitter and angry that the
basketball team seems to get the royal treatment while "real
students" are forced to scrape by, Heather spitefully
takes the only job available - tutoring. However, the lessons
she teaches about English and what she learns about basketball
soon pale in comparison with what she learns about herself."
(c) Publicist's Information Sheet, Princess
by Staci Stallings.
This is a charming love story
that really appealed to my heart and sensibilities. Having
been a somewhat bookwormish high school student myself, I
could really relate to the main character in this novel. I
also found it quite interesting to see things from the perspective
of the ultra-cool athlete who looks as if he's got it all
together but in reality is just like everyone else - trying
to keep up the image but struggling inside. I enjoyed the
development of the character's relationship as they went from
professional tutor / student to friends ....
While some might say this
novel lacks a certain professional glamour and sophistication
seen in many novels in the inspirational romance genre of
writing, I think it's realness and genuineness is what makes
it so appealing. You could just simply see it happening. Who
doesn't like to root for the underdog in a love story? This
is definitely the "cinderella turns into the princess"
kind of story and it certainly delivers. It kind of gives
you the feeling of come uppance left over from the years of
torture in high school as you watched the cheerleader types
getting all the interest from the guys.
As I started to flip through
it again in preparation for the review, I was once again drawn
in to the story and wanting to read it all through again!
That is definitely a sign of a great book!
If you are looking for a
delightful love story between two young people who are worlds
apart in the social genres of college, then this is the story
for you. If you want to be left with a (sigh) nice love story,
this is definitely one you'll love as much as I did!
Note: It really has no overtly
"Christian" theme in it so be forewarned. While
it has no inappropriate sexual content, neither has it any
interwoven theme of God or a relationship with him.
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