Willa by Heart Book

It's almost summer on Cape Cod, where Willa Havisham and Joey Kennelly are finally enjoying their status as the most compatible couple at Bramble Academy. When the community theater advertises auditions for Our Town, Willa and Joey seem fated to play the romantic leads. But when Marielle, the dazzling new girl, offers up some dramatic competition, Willa turns greener than the lawn at her parents' inn.

With two inn weddings the same weekend in June, Willa, who is now the official assistant wedding planner, has enough to do just helping Chef Rosie bake the wedding cakes of the century, and keeping sixteen beauty pageant bridesmaids in check. When a dance with a Southern gentleman sends her spinning under the stars, there's no telling what is destined for Willa and Joey.

Children's Literature

A book with an imprint logo that is fashioned to look like a bottled frosty pink lip gloss (or perhaps nail polish) must be pretty far from something I would want to read. That was my immediate impression, and it was reinforced by the flowery pink cover and wispy cover art. I was sure from the outset that it would be a predictable frippery of a book. I am pleased to admit that I was wrong. Potential readers should be urged not to judge this book by its cover, as the story itself should appeal to many more than will be drawn to the cover itself. While there is romance—the main character's mother is a wedding planner, after all, and the plot here includes not one but two weddings—the focus is on Willa Havisham, a likeable fourteen year old, and one tumultuous summer. The arrival of an intriguing new girl, Mariel, inspires jealousy in Willa. She worries about her relationship with her boyfriend. She pines for the lead role in the community theater production of Our Town. She adjusts to her mother's pregnancy and a good friend's relocation. Best of all, she shifts her interests from building a library to building a community, and the results are terrific if somewhat unrealistic. Coleen Murtagh Paratore has written Willa with a voice that rings true, and readers will enjoy this third book in "The Wedding Planner's Daughter" series. Reviewer: Heidi Hauser Green