Strange Occurences Part 1

 Title: The Queen of Second Place
                                          Queen B
                                  Author: Laura Peyton Roberts
                                  Previous Work: (In Alphabetical Order)
                                                        Clearwater Crossing Series
                                                     
                                                        Ghost of a Chance
                                                        
                                                        Green

                                   Summary:

My Personal Philosophy of Talent
by Cassie Howard

                                 I have this theory that everybody has a talent. Rich, poor,

                                 clueless—it doesn't matter. I honestly believe that every human

                                 being on earth is born with one special gift. The problem is, 
                                 not all talents are created equal. People think that talent means 
                                 you sing, or dance, or act. But those are the glory talents, the
                                 ones that everyone wants, and for every diva out there, about 
                                 a million other people are walking around with one of the 
                                 lesser gifts, the kind that don't get their own videos.    

                                  
                               Everyone has a talent, is Cassie's philosophy. They could
                            be normal and simple, like whistling. Or they could be like
                            hers- always getting second place. She's tired of her
                            talent and so when her nemesis sets out to have the new
                            boy Kevin (who Cassie has a crush on) as her boyfriend
                            Cassie is determined to stop her in any way possible.
                            (Queen  B is about what happens after this book.)  
                              Rating: 4
                              Awards: (For Queen of Second Place)
                                       Florida Teens Read List

                                       Young Adult Sequoyah Masterlist

                                       (For Queen B)
                                  
                                        Flamingnet Top Choice Award Winner
                      
                                        Sweet 16 Magazine "Super Summer Read"

                                        Kliatt starred review    

                                 Opinion: This book has a really interesting format. You
                                 start in the middle, with Cassie in detention, and she
                                 catches you up. The characters are quirky and Cassie is
                                 real. The only reason these books aren't a 5 is because at
                                 points the book  is stressful. These are really good books
                                 to read.