Review: When Audrey Met Alice by Rebecca Behrens


When Audrey Met AliceWhen Audrey Met Alice
by Rebecca Behrens
YA Contemporary
Hardcover304 Pages
February 4th 2014 by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Summary

First daughter Audrey Rhodes re-creates Alice Roosevelt's infamous antics in this fun, smart middle-grade debut.

First daughter Audrey Rhodes can't wait for the party she has planned for Friday night. The decorations are all set and the pizza is on its way. But the Secret Service must be out to ruin her life, because they cancel at the last minute-citing security breach and squashing Audrey's chances for making any new friends. What good is being "safe and secure" if you can't have any fun?

Audrey is ready to give up and become a White House hermit, until she discovers Alice Roosevelt's hidden diary. The former first daughter gives Audrey a ton of ideas for having fun...and more problems than she can handle.
   


My Review

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from When Audrey Met Alice. It was such an interesting read in places. There were some spots where we go back in history as Audrey reads Alice's journal. I thought the switching back in forth from the past to the present was done really well. It was also interesting to see how things were so different in some ways and then so similar in others between these two daughters of presidents. 

I didn't love the book as much as I was hoping to. I think it was because I didn't really love either of the two main characters. I liked them and I understood where they were coming from, but they didn't make the best choices and seemed even more naive than I thought they should be. I also felt like the parents were much more oblivious than they should have been. Although, I guess they would be focusing on other things in their position. 

There was some great humor and some very fun moments. I also liked the setting. I don't think that I would like to grow up in the white house and be so contained. It would feel a lot like a prison unless you could have a friend or two over consistently or could get out on a regular basis. It's unfortunate that it isn't really safe to do so.

I have thought about President Obama's kids being so young in the white house when he was first elected. I know my kids need space to run and be able to play outside on a regular basis. I just couldn't imagine trying to keep them happy inside the white house. I haven't really thought about other presidents and their children though, until this book. It was interesting to think about what Alice's life would have been like.

Overall this was an interesting read. I got to delve into these two presidential daughters lives and find out a lot more about what goes on in the white house than I knew before.

Content: There is some teenage drinking, smoking, and some innuendo, but otherwise clean.
Source: NetGalley/publisher, which did not affect my review in any way.

The author, Rebecca Behrens, is stopping by today to share about what Audrey learned about Alice. It's an interesting list, so check that out here.



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