Title: The Whole Story of Half a Girl
Author: Veera Hiranandani
Summary: Sonia's whole world changes when her father loses her job and falls into a state of depression. Due to lack of money, Sonia is forced to go to her local public school instead of the private school she has grown up with her whole life. Sonia doesn't mind her new school, and she meets a few friends; Alisha, a more middle-class girl who isn't really in the "in" crowd and Kate, the "in" crowd leader who is captain of the cheerleading team and extremely popular.
But Kate might not be who she seems. With a wild party and a few other instances, Sonia finds out who her true friends are.
Comments: I enjoyed this book. Sonia and her family and all the characters were well-developed and I felt, had a lot of background. I felt like there was a bit less stereotyping with the new girl (Sonia) buddying up with the popular girl right away. I liked that.
However, this book is probably inappropriate for anyone under age 12 - maybe even 14(my ratings are always conservative, by the way). There are inappropriate details of a wild party that Sonia goes to with her friends and they play "spin the bottle" and "2 minutes in the closet." Honestly, I don't think any conservative parent would want their kid to read that (my parents wouldn't want me to either, but we did not realize that the book was going to be like this). Not only was this part of the book inappropriate, but I also found it unrealistic for 6th grade! I mean, I don't think it is appropriate for ANY age, but at least make her in 8th grade if there are going to be scenes like that in the book.
Also, there were a lot of race and religion conflicts and questions, which could be a bit touchy for young readers, yet for older readers experiencing these same questions and conflicts, it could hit close to home.
The book dealt with a lot and it wasn't that long of a book either. However, I think the author handled everything well; except for the inappropriate parts. Ugh.
Rating: 3 stars (I didn't enjoy hearing about their wild party antics - sorry, I'm just NOT interested at all - plus, the mom barely did anything about it, which I found unrealistic and unsettling. My mom and dad would be ALL OVER that and VERY upset.)
