* Studying abroad isn't at all like Kelly thought it would be. Instead of shopping for fine Italian leather and living in an elegant apartment with a view of the Colosseum, she is stuck in a stuffy dorm room with three other girls, and is sharing one shower with the entire floor! This is not the bella Roma that she'd dreamed of. But there is one part of Italy that Kelly doesn't mind - Joe, a really cute guy who's in the study-abroad program too. Joe's into staying up late and partying hard, two things that Kelly used to love doing. Bad habits are hard to break, and she soon finds herself on thin ice with the program coordinators. If Kelly's not careful, she just might get the boot....One of my goals in life is to travel in Europe. I also want to travel the world but I'd like to spend most of my time traveling across Europe. My Dad has been to different countries in Europe and he has fascinated me with stories about his trips there. So I plan to go there and experience things for myself. Since this book is set in Italy, one of the countries in Europe, I did not think twice in buying this book. I've read books and seen movies set in Italy and I'm always amazed by what I saw. All those historical structures still standing after thousands of years. Wow.
The story revolves around this American teenager, Kelly, who went to Italy one summer to study. She's a popular cheerleader in her school, loves to party, and into fashion. However, things didn't go her way when she went to Italy. Her life there was the opposite of her life back home. So the story revolves around how Kelly was able to learn more about herself with the help of the beautiful places in Italy and her new friends.
Kelly and the rest of characters went to different places in Italy like Florence, Pompeii, and the Vatican City. Though the descriptions were not very detailed, I still saw the beauty of the places in my head. I also think that it's fine not to have detailed descriptions so as not to bore the readers. I once read a book before where lots of pages where devoted to describing a place. I somehow lost track of the story and it bored me so much I almost didn't finish reading it. If I want to know more about a place, I'm better off reading the Lonely Planet books or seeing it personally.
I am somewhat prejudiced against young adult novels these days because most of them revolved around sex, drugs, backstabbing, and how to be on top at the expense of others. This book, however, is not as shallow as I thought it would be. Kelly matured and became a responsible person while having fun. Being a teenager is hard. There are a lot of mistakes committed. But there's always a choice of rising above those mistakes and not going in the opposite direction. Kelly was able to show that it is possible. This book is a fun read for every teenage girl out there.
Rating: 4/5
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