“a compelling page turner, beautifully told” – Natasha Boyd, USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of Eversea
“heartfelt, relevant, and incredibly thought-provoking” – Natasha is a Book Junkie
From the national bestselling author of the Ten Tiny Breaths series and The Simple Wild comes a poignant coming-of-age story about a girl trying to change her future while evading her past.
Almost … Breaths series and The Simple Wild comes a poignant coming-of-age story about a girl trying to change her future while evading her past.
Almost sixteen-year-old Aria Jones is starting over. New postal code, new last name, new rules. But she doesn’t mind, because it means she can leave her painful regrets behind. In the bustling town of Eastmonte, she can become someone else. Someone better.
With the Hartford family living next door, it seems she will succeed. Sure, Cassie Hartford may be the epitome of social awkwardness thanks to her autism, but she also offers an innocent and sincere friendship that Aria learns to appreciate. And Cassie’s older brother, Emmett–a popular Junior A hockey player with a bright future–well … Aria wishes that friendship could lead to something more. If he didn’t already have a girlfriend, maybe it would.
But Aria soon finds herself in a dicey moral predicament that could derail her attempt at a fresh start. It is her loyalty to Cassie and her growing crush on Emmett that leads her to make a risky move, one that earns her a vindictive enemy who is determined to splinter her happy new world.
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KA Tucker is an auto-click author for me and I was thrilled to see this arrive on my Kindle! Although I am sometimes hesitant to read YA, I was drawn into this story and heroine from the start. Aria Jones was a mystery from Chapter 1 – you know she has a troubled past, and I was immediately intrigued. As her story unfolds, you will feel everything for this girl – she is desperately trying to start over, searching for forgiveness – but you don’t know who from, and she is 110% infatuated with her neighbor, Emmett, who is charming, popular, athletic, and above all compassionate and kind.
This story is not just about first love, but it addresses the issues of bullying, social media use among teens, and autism. It is about acceptance, forgiveness, self-love; and as Aria’s story unfolds…you will cry both tears of joy and sadness for her. KA Tucker told this story beautifully, and you will turn the pages faster and faster to uncover Aria’s troubled past and cheer on her future.
The secondary characters were all amazing and so real, especially Emmett’s sister, Cassie, who has autism. It was an eye-opener for me to truly read how a teen with autism is both seen and accepted in our world today, and I have so much admiration for KA Tucker for writing about a topic so near to her heart. Well done once again KA Tucker!
It seems there’s a bit a wave right now for authors to move out of their normal genre, and write “YA” books. But most of the books I’ve read about teenage love are not necessarily intended for young adults, but books that are intended for adults. KA Tucker’s newest book, BE THE GIRL is the exception. This truly is YA, and as a parent of two young adults, BE THE GIRL is a book I would encourage them to read.
Tucker takes on a subject that has become a buzz word in our time, bullying, and does it in such a way, that at some point the reader begins to gain a little understanding behind the motives of the bully. We may not agree with the actions taken, but a bit of understanding does occur. We see how easy it is to get caught up in the wake as things begin to snowball. While at the same time, I had so much empathy for those that were being bullied. I was so angry on their behalf.
Something Tucker also does brilliantly, is the creation of the character, Cassie. From the descriptions of her mannerisms to her voice inflection it was clear Cassie was born from love. (One of my favorite parts in the book comes when Cassie asks Aria if they will still be friends next year when Emmett goes away to college. Those paragraphs were written with such love and evoked such compassion, I couldn’t help but cry.)
BE THE GIRL was poignant, funny, heartwarming and redemptive, it was about looking past each other’s differences and accepting others for who they are. But above all, it’s about being kind to ome aother.
What an amazing story! Its clean writing going hand in hand with sensitive themes such as autism and bullying, it’s the perfect book to teenagers who love romances.
Be the Girl is definitely a book that should be read by everyone no matter their age, actually.
As this was my first from K.A. Tucker, I didn’t know what to expect. I absolutely loved her writing style, the easy flow of the words without intricacies, making it a delicious and fast paced read.
Mostly this book is about the life of a teenager in high school, crushes, friendship, bad choices and forgiveness.
I will not forget this story soon. The characters and the plot will stay with me forever.
I can still remember how it was like to be in high school and being fat. Yes I can still remember the jokes, the pushes, the disregard, the loneliness. I still feel all this today sometimes and I’m an adult. A mother, with a son in junior high. A son who is quite emotional and worried about everyone and everything around him. I dread the day something happens to him…
I hope you grab this great book. I know you wont regret it and it will touch you as well as it touched me.
Be the Girl is more than I thought it would be. I never read blurbs. I know, but maybe I love the surprise.
Aria has a past, one that she tries to distance herself from. Moving to a new city, she can start a new life with her mom. But still, the past clings to her in such a way, that she can’t deny who she was. There is a lot that goes on in this story. It brought me to tears because for one; there’s so much to learn. Bullying is never ok, and as you navigate this story, it will touch you deeply. Because I think we’ve all had some bullying in our lives. Or maybe we insulated the bullying without even knowing.
Aria’s story is one that will stick with me. Which seems to happen with a lot of books written by Tucker. This is a perfect story for any teen. I think it’s one that I’ll keep and give to my daughter. So she knows that there’s always going to be those that are different. But that’s ok, and we should never bully anyone. We don’t know what they deal with on a daily basis.
This is a brilliantly written story. That I believe can also be used to raise awareness.
Overall, Five Boundless Stars.
I don’t read as much Young Adult novels like I used to, but if one of my favorite authors decided to write one, you know I’ll be one of the first ones in line to get a copy. I won’t go into the plot of the story, because I think the blurb gives you the perfect insight into the story without spoiling it. I will go into how the story and characters made me feel. The characters were really great and Cassie in my opinion stole the show. She is such a beautiful and innocent person, and I would’ve loved to meet someone like her in high school (or now). She will always be honest and what you see is what you get with her. And that isn’t always the case, and especially in high school people can be absolutely awful. When Aria moves to a new town, Cassie is the first one to adopt her as her new friend. She always can’t stop talking about her great big brother Emmett. He was such a great guy and very protective of Cassie. Aria develops a crush on him right away, but who can blame her.
I think Be the Girl is a very important book for people to read because it sheds light and creates awareness on certain topics that is very relevant especially with social media. It also show the other side, which I loved. I thought I had this story all figured out, but then the author hit me with a plot twist and left me speechless. This book had me on edge and in tears a couple of times. I do wish the book was longer, or that the last couple of chapters weren’t that fast-paced. It left me wanting more, and I kind of want a New Adult sequel. The connection between Aria and Emmett was there, but not enough that I 100% believed in it. But on the other hand, I also kind of liked that because it felt real. They are teenagers and they still have a lot of growing up to do. K.A. Tucker did an amazing job with this book and it was obvious that it was personal to her. I really hope she will write more books in this genre.
This book was phenomenal!!!! It was so amazingly written!!!! The meaning is so very powerful!!!! K.A. Tucker really did a superb job on this book!!!! I could NOT put this book down, I honestly read it twice since!!!! I am so in love with this book!!!! The characters and storyline and their journey has me from page one!!!! I wish I could give this book well over five stars!!!!!
Once again, K.A. Tucker has delivered an engaging and tender story that has left me smiling through my tears. With Be the Girl, I was fully immersed in this tale of redemption of one young woman’s past that she was desperate to put behind her. Aria Jones is starting over with her newly-single mom and it is both daunting and exciting for both of them. Right from the start, I found myself really liking this soon-to-be sixteen year old despite the unknown whys of how she needed to leave her old life behind and start anew.
Tucker has this uncanny way of allowing me to fall into step with her characters from the first few pages and with Be the Girl, I was instantly smitten with Aria, her grumpy Uncle Merv, her mom Debra and the 18 year old heartthrob that is Emmett. But it is Cassie, Emmett’s younger sister, who continually stole the show with her honesty, her oft-time childlike reactions and the unconditional love in her heart. Cassie’s world is on the spectrum and it truly takes a strong person to give her the time and attention she needs in order to fit into a not always patient world. I loved that Aria gave her the true friendship Cassie craved, made her a part of her life and just simply enjoyed her company. It’s what Emmett saw in Aria, his AJ, the new girl with a big heart that started the path to their budding romance and Aria’s road to vindication.
They say actions speak louder than words and in this new reality for Aria, those words were never more relevant. Navigating a new life, a new school, trying hard not to be ‘that girl’ once again is hard. But she continually takes the high road and I was impressed by her maturity at such a young age. Even as she is caught up in a ‘war of sorts’ with the detestable Holly, Aria in both her letters to the mysterious Julia and in her chats with her mom, never wavered in her hope that she was always better than the bullies of the world even when she was desperate to fight back. But I loved that she found the courage to continue to do the right thing especially when it meant protecting the innocent soul that was Cassie or the presumed misfits she slowly became closer to at her new school. Her capability for compassion was to be admired and I was very impressed by her desire to be a better person to both man and beast. And it was wonderful that everyone around her noticed, even when admissions of past transgressions were finally revealed and it threatened her newfound existence.
Both Aria and Emmett, who in his own right is such a selfless and loving young man, not to mention sexy as hell (!), are simply trying to find the path to a good life and watching as they fall for one another is just another beautiful layer to this potent story. They are quite great together and Aria’s understanding of Cassie’s needs just makes Emmett adore her more.
This coming of age book is both innocent and seasoned. We have in Aria the girl who just wants to do the right thing while she battles a past that doesn’t quite want to let go. We have in Emmett the man who is friend to all and protector of those he loves, yet has his faults just like any other teenager. Together with the formidable Cassie and the other well-placed and well-written characters, we get the perfectly imperfect tale of young love and the desire to make things right when they sometimes seem to go horribly wrong.
I applaud K.A. Tucker for writing about a tender subject wrt Cassie and her grasp on the world. This is close to her heart and it shows and is presented admirably. I have fallen hard for this book and the people who fill the pages with their hopes, dreams and missteps along their way to happiness. It is simple yet intense. Joyful yet full of anguish.
In a word, it is magnificent and worthy of 5+ huge stars.
Prepare yourself, dear reader, to meet a character as indelible as Scout Finch and Starr Carter.
Prepare yourself to meet Cassie.
While she is not the main character in this beautiful, spellbinding, and moving book, Cassie nonetheless is the one who captures your heart and holds it with all the reverence she gives to dogs and Junior Mints.
Before we get to her, though, a few words about Aria and Emmett. When Aria arrives in eastern Canada, miles and a lifetime away from her hometown of Calgary, she brings with her no shortage of emotional pain and necessary recovery. K A Tucker drops a few clues as to the cause of that, but she waits to reveal it, letting you–and Aria–get comfortable and begin to feel some relief. But as K A Tucker unveils effectively and heartbreakingly, you do not deserve such relief until you have atoned.
Until you have allowed yourself to become The Girl.
Our hero, Emmett, is the sort of guy you wish you’d known in high school. And Emmett, perhaps more effectively than Aria or Cassie, stands as proof of the skill K A Tucker has when it comes to crafting characters. He could be so one-note, so predictable, so straight out of Central Casting, and yet in Tucker’s hands, he is more complex, more intriguing, more substantive. I wanted more of him, in fact. (Memo to K A Tucker: Please give me Emmett’s book of what happens next. Please. PLEASE.)
Aria’s growth arc makes you feel her pain, remorse, and yearning to be the girl she knows she can be. I appreciated that her thoughts and behavior make her tangible and real. She is someone you know from high school; maybe she’s even you in high school.
Cassie, though. Cassie is unique and powerful. It is impossible not to love her, even as it’s impossible not to sympathize with her parents and Emmett. She is so wonderfully her. Cassie, more than any other character, is herself, unaware of how to be anything else.
I loved this book from start to finish, and I am in awe of how K A Tucker delivers her message about bullying. Teenagers–and those of us who are a little removed from the teen years–need to read this book. In fact, I hope you pardon me while I go write up a grant request to get a class set of this novel. I want my students to read it.
* A review copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review *
Be the Girl is a poignant story about regret and redemption. I think this book is a book that everyone from High School age and up should read!!!
I will say that this book hit very close to home for me. I can’t explain why because I feel it would be a spoiler, but just know there are some tough spots to read but it’s a story that needs to be told. I truly believe a lot of readers are going to connect to this story in one way or another. I think this story a has a very strong and important message to get across!!!
Be the Girl is a standalone novel. It is a YA novel told solely in Aria’a POV. This story is based in high school so the characters are all in their teens. This book really does depict what high school students are faced with today and I thought this was an accurate portrayal of how kids feel and react in certain situations. Now don’t get me wrong this isn’t only about the drama, there is actually a very sweet love story, not just between Aria and Emmett. But between Aria and her mother and Aria and Cassie.
This book truly sucked me in and I didn’t want to put it down. I think this might be my favorite K.A. Tucker book to date!!! And that is saying something since I have loved many of K.A.’s books in the past.
If you only read one book by this author or this year….I believe Be the Girl should be that one. Even if you aren’t a huge fan of young adult stories, this is one you won’t want to miss!!!
*I received a free copy of Be the Girl from KA Tucker. This has in no way influenced my review which is honest and unbiased.*
I knew this story would break my heart! Bullying is such an ugly word. And now – with all kinds of social media, those who are bullied must feel like it never stops.
I think all teens, as well as all people who deal with teens should read Be the Girl! Highly recommended.