Review: The Queen of Kentucky

Title: The Queen of Kentucky
Author: Alecia Whitaker
Publisher: Poppy
Release Date: January 2, 2011
Format: ARC & Hardcover
Source: From Publisher
Rating: Acquire
 

Fourteen-year-old Kentucky girl Ricki Jo Winstead, who would prefer to be called Ericka, thank you very much, is eager to shed her farmer's daughter roots and become part of the popular crowd at her small town high school. She trades her Bible for Seventeen magazine, buys new "sophisticated" clothes and somehow manages to secure a tenuous spot at the cool kids table. She's on top of the world, even though her best friend and the boy next door Luke says he misses "plain old Ricki Jo."
Caught between being a country girl and wannabe country club girl, Ricki Jo begins to forget who she truly is: someone who doesn't care what people think and who wouldn't let a good-looking guy walk all over her. It takes a serious incident out on Luke's farm for Ricki Jo to realize that being a true friend is more important than being popular.

My Review

The Queen of Kentucky is a book that I, as a Kentucky native myself, could relate to. Being able to relate to the characters and the surroundings really made me enjoy this book. The Queen of Kentucky is one of those books that has such a great message.

I live on a farm, in fact it used to be a tobacco farm, so picturing the setting was easy for me. Ricki Jo lives the more country lifestyle in Kentucky I learned a lot about the process of tobacco from the novel, along with a lot of other things!

As much as I liked this book their were a few flaws. I liked Ricki Jo as a main character. She had a perfect mix of humor and seriousness. The only problem I had was that she is still very young, both mentally and physically, But that was the point of the novel. Having this girl grow into who she is in life, and being comfortable with herself. I loved Luke! He reminded me of the perfect sweet country boy every girl dreams of! He was such a great guy, and he really cares for Ricki! He was my favorite character in this novel, Ricki Jo being a close second!

I loved the humor in this novel! I remember reading along at school and trying so hard to containing my laughter. Alecia really shines in writing funny scenes that really get the reader laughing. I think being funny comes naturally to her, because at her signing she had the whole crowd laughing!

This novel had such a great message or well messages, thats why I think I loved it so much! It's all about realizing who you are and excepting yourself! I think every freshman girl should read this book! It touches on everything that girls face going into high school, from relationships, to cheating, to self image, to teen drinking. I think The Queen of Kentucky is a perfect book for coming of age readers. It also touches of domestic violence. 

The ending was adorable! One of my favorite quotes is at the ending, but I can't tell you all in fear of it being a huge spoiler! So you are just going to have to read it and find out! :D

Key Points

• I loved Luke! He was the perfect country boy.
• Their are so many great messages that are present in this novel, I feel that it may really help people. 
• The Queen of Kentucky is a cute and light contemporary read that will have you laughing out loud.