Reviewed by Cat for TeensReadToo.com
Fifteen-year-old vintage fashionista Veronica Walsh is not a people person. Luckily, she's found the ideal summer job sorting through Dollar-a-Pound's clothing pile, deciding which items make it to the main floor of the resale clothing shop and pretty much avoiding all contact with the human race.
Veronica believes herself content in isolation, until she comes across two snarky yet engaging sales girls on break.
When Zoe and Ginger encourage her to spy on their equally self-contained (but in their opinion somewhat shady) co-worker, Len (aka "The Nail"), Veronica can't resist. Unfortunately, Veronica finds herself liking Len, and soon feels the pangs of conscience over her own less-than-honorable intentions.
Can Veronica regain her integrity, maintain a budding romance, *and* win the approval of her newfound friends?
VINTAGE VERONICA is one of my favorite reads from 2010, and for someone incapable of naming a favorite because there are just so many great books in the world, I think that says a lot. I loved this book! I loved the details about vintage fashion, the Dollar-a-Pound's quirky staff, scenes depicting store regulars picking through The Pile to find their own personal gems, and the parallel discovery Veronica makes of the human "gems" populating her world.
Fifteen-year-old vintage fashionista Veronica Walsh is not a people person. Luckily, she's found the ideal summer job sorting through Dollar-a-Pound's clothing pile, deciding which items make it to the main floor of the resale clothing shop and pretty much avoiding all contact with the human race.
Veronica believes herself content in isolation, until she comes across two snarky yet engaging sales girls on break.
When Zoe and Ginger encourage her to spy on their equally self-contained (but in their opinion somewhat shady) co-worker, Len (aka "The Nail"), Veronica can't resist. Unfortunately, Veronica finds herself liking Len, and soon feels the pangs of conscience over her own less-than-honorable intentions.
Can Veronica regain her integrity, maintain a budding romance, *and* win the approval of her newfound friends?
VINTAGE VERONICA is one of my favorite reads from 2010, and for someone incapable of naming a favorite because there are just so many great books in the world, I think that says a lot. I loved this book! I loved the details about vintage fashion, the Dollar-a-Pound's quirky staff, scenes depicting store regulars picking through The Pile to find their own personal gems, and the parallel discovery Veronica makes of the human "gems" populating her world.
VINTAGE VERONICA is a top-notch light-hearted coming-of-age YA contemporary novel. With excellent characterization, a fantastic setting, and a heartfelt lesson that everyone can relate to, VINTAGE VERONICA is truly delightful.
Erica Perl has gotten the authentic and appealing teen voice down pat. Veronica may claim that shed rather spend time with fabrics than people, but if so, then she is a shrewd observer in her self-imposed naivety. The way she describes the consignment shop makes the place feel like the only place youd ever want to work, a building filled with ancient machinery, quirky coworkers, and the most interesting customers and clothing youll ever encounter.
This is not a book about self-esteem, body image, losing weight, and the like, for which I am thankful. Veronica does make note of her size, but instead chooses to devote more of her attentionand, to our delight, her narrativeto the observances of her workplace. She is intelligent and fashion-savvy, and yet has the insecurities and desires that every 15-year-old girl wants, despite what she says: friends, a boy who will love her the way she is. Therefore, she ends up making the same mistakes that other people make for the sake of social interaction, and then eventually learning from those mistakes.
VINTAGE VERONICA contains a wonderful cast of minor characters that you feel like you know a lot about just from Veronicas descriptions. Len is an unusual love interest, with his slowness and love of reptiles. The development of Veronica and Lens romance felt just a bit unnaturally quick to me, for two people who have so many issues. But that was the only part of the book that I felt was overly dramatic. Len may be an unusual love interest, but he is also kind of adorable, for those of us who have a soft spot for dorky, geeky guys.
Overall, VINTAGE VERONICA was a pleasure to read from cover to cover. It reminded me of the best kind of contemporary novels I remember loving as a teen: good writing, a smart and appealing protagonist, and a feel-good lesson at the end of the day.
Erica Perl has gotten the authentic and appealing teen voice down pat. Veronica may claim that shed rather spend time with fabrics than people, but if so, then she is a shrewd observer in her self-imposed naivety. The way she describes the consignment shop makes the place feel like the only place youd ever want to work, a building filled with ancient machinery, quirky coworkers, and the most interesting customers and clothing youll ever encounter.
This is not a book about self-esteem, body image, losing weight, and the like, for which I am thankful. Veronica does make note of her size, but instead chooses to devote more of her attentionand, to our delight, her narrativeto the observances of her workplace. She is intelligent and fashion-savvy, and yet has the insecurities and desires that every 15-year-old girl wants, despite what she says: friends, a boy who will love her the way she is. Therefore, she ends up making the same mistakes that other people make for the sake of social interaction, and then eventually learning from those mistakes.
VINTAGE VERONICA contains a wonderful cast of minor characters that you feel like you know a lot about just from Veronicas descriptions. Len is an unusual love interest, with his slowness and love of reptiles. The development of Veronica and Lens romance felt just a bit unnaturally quick to me, for two people who have so many issues. But that was the only part of the book that I felt was overly dramatic. Len may be an unusual love interest, but he is also kind of adorable, for those of us who have a soft spot for dorky, geeky guys.
Overall, VINTAGE VERONICA was a pleasure to read from cover to cover. It reminded me of the best kind of contemporary novels I remember loving as a teen: good writing, a smart and appealing protagonist, and a feel-good lesson at the end of the day.
