So Not Happening (2009)

New York's social darling just woke up in a nightmare: Oklahoma. Problem is, it's right where God wants her.Bella Kirkwood had it all: A-list friends at her prestigious private school, Broadway in her backyard, and Daddy's MasterCard in her wallet. Then her father, a plastic surgeon to the stars, decided to trade her mother in for a newer model.When Bella's mom falls in love with a man she met on the Internet--a factory worker with two bratty sons--Bella has to pack up and move in with her new family in Truman, Oklahoma. On a farm no less!Forced to trade her uber-trendy NYC lifestyle for  down-home charm, Bella feels like a pair of Rock & Republic jeans in a sea of Wranglers.At least some of the people in her new high school are pretty cool. Especially the hunky football player who invites her to lunch. And maybe even the annoying--but kinda hot--editor of the school newspaper.But before long, Bella smells something rotten in the town of Truman, and it's not just the cow pasture. With her savvy reporter's instincts, she is determined to find the story behind all the secrets.How can a girl go on when her charmed life is gone and God appears to be giving her the total smackdown?From School Library JournalGrade 6–9—Isabella Kirkwood is a popular, privileged Manhattan socialite who is in for a big awakening when her mother remarries, and the teen is forced to move to Oklahoma farm country. Shortly after starting at her new school, she posts a blog on her former New York private academy's Web site insulting everything and everyone in her new town. Almost immediately, her new classmates find out about it, and Isabella becomes a social pariah. The series is labeled Christian fiction, but other than scattered references to prayers and church attendance, there is little in the story to indicate any kind of spiritual awakening or growth on the part of the main character. In addition, a number of situations stretch the bounds of plausibility, such as when Isabella accepts a reporting assignment requiring her to sit for hours in a Dumpster in order to "investigate" the school's lack of recycling. Her stepfather is secretly training to be a pro-wrestler, and one of her classmates attempts to burn down her house while she is babysitting her stepbrother, and later holds her at gunpoint. Although much of the story is predictable, there are also some genuinely humorous moments mixed in. This is an additional purchase for libraries seeking chick-lit series that are free of sexual content and coarse language.—Jessica Marie, Renton Public Library, WA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. About the AuthorJenny B. Jones writes Christian Fiction with equal parts wit, sass, and untamed hilarity. When she’s not writing, she’s living it up as a high school teacher in Arkansas. Since she has very little free time, she believes in spending her spare hours in meaningful, intellectual pursuit such as watching E!, going to the movies and inhaling large buckets of popcorn, and writing her name in the dust on her furniture.