"Shayla Witherwood: A Half-Faery Tale" by Tamra Torero

NOTE: I received this book from Netgalley to review.

Well, what can I say? I didn't expect to give such a high rating to this novel, but it definitely earned it. The writing style was really nice, and except for a couple of places, there were no grammatical mistakes. Nothing that needed to be fixed.

It was a light and bright read with a really positive twist. It had been a while since I read a book that made me see pink in the world, so I really loved that. Most books leave me with an emotional overload that has me either depressed or exhilarated. This book left me with a calm, peaceful feeling in my heart. It's truly amazing.

The story was paced neither too fast, nor too slow... just the perfect in-between. There was some action, there was friendship, and sweet romantic twist that made my heart flutter.

Some real-life teen issues were touched - like popularity, jealousy, power hunger, cliques and so on. But the way the author dealt with it all was so subtle, so positive and powerful that it had a really sweet effect on the 'bad' (but not evil) characters.

Now let's talk characters:

*Shayla - well, when I started reading the book, I thought that I wouldn't love a girl who isn't comfortable in her own body. But the way she grew up into her skin was really awesome, and I just loved the changes. I loved her thought process, and how she didn't put herself as the most important. She was ready to sacrifice herself for the people she loved, and that was really altruistic.

*Josi - the ever curious friend, who made me laugh throughout the book with her sarcasm and observations. I wasn't at all surprised when she figured out what Shayla was all on her own.

*Jace - I can only say that I loved the transformation in him. He really turned into a sweet guy in Shayla's hands. For a second, when he learned what she was, I thought he'd freak out and run. But he didn't. Perhaps that was sort of unrealistic, but then again, she had kissed him by then and I think he was really pulled into her. In any case, I loved the guy :)

*Bree - popular girl numero uno, who fell off her cheer-leading-queen-of-everything throne thanks to Shayla. The change in her was just... smack awesome!

*Nadia - evil person with agenda, who played her game pretty well. I had no idea who she really was until the end though. But I was sure she was the one who 'observed' and caused trouble in Shayla's peace.


I give this book