Book Review: Rebel in Blue Jeans

One thing that I’m finding lately, with limited time to read, is that I am really enjoying reading books aimed at teenagers and young adults. They’re a quicker read for me, so I can actually finish a book within a reasonable amount of time – and I enjoy the storylines that are much less graphic and convoluted than regular adult fiction. One of my current favorites, is Rebel in Blue Jeans by Beverly Stowe McClure.

What it is:

Rebel in Blue Jeans is a book written from the point of view of sixteen-year-old Rebel, an only child who lives on a ranch and is struggling with many of the issues that face all young girls – who to date, who to trust, and how to reconcile the young girl she’s been with the woman she’s becoming. However, Rebel has a few additional issues to face as well, as described in this synopsis:

When sixteen-year-old Rebel Ferguson’s mother runs away from home with the drummer in a rock band, Rebel decides to do whatever is necessary to bring her mother home. Problems plague Rebel from the start, however. Her emotions keep switching from loving her mother, Liz, to hating her mother and Bo, the guy responsible for destroying Rebel’s life, or so she believes. Rebel’s father, Phillip, complicates matters when he declares the marriage is over.

To add to Rebel’s confusion, her friendly relationship with Will Garret, who lives on the neighboring Rockin’G Ranch, is changing. She cares deeply for Will and his cousin, Sully, but she also has fallen for Rick, a handsome college boy who has taken an interest in her. He, too, proves that people are not always what they seem, and she’s a lousy judge of character. How can Rebel forgive everyone who has disappointed her?

The book is 160 pages (paperback edition) and was published in 2005 by Twilight Times Books.

Here’s my take on it:

This is one book where from the very first page you are pulled right into the characters and their story. The book opens right as Rebel’s mom is leaving her and her father, and she begins to struggle with the emotional impact that this ‘betrayal’ has on herself and her loved ones. Interwoven with the main plotline is an underlying romance as Rebel tries to decide between the affections of dashing college student Rick and the ‘boys next door’, Will and Sully. Even the minor characters – Mimi, a darling little girl the gang helps by working on her house, and Rebel’s menagerie of animals (everything from horses to puppies, and even a wounded hawk) help to bring the story to life and bring the reader inside the lives of Rebel and those she cares about.

Many of today’s young people will be able to relate to the sense of betrayal that Rebel feels by her mother’s moving out, and how she struggles between wanting to like her mom’s new boyfriend once she meets him, but feeling like she is then betraying her father. Yet, even as Rebel grows, changes and learns more about herself and the people she cares about, she remains a very level-headed girl who is exactly what I hope my own daughters will be like when they reach the teenage years.

The bottom line:

I read Rebel in Blue Jeans in one day, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope that Beverly Stowe McClure writes more about Rebel and the Garrett cousins – I’d love to find out more about their future adventures and how the romance between Rebel and Will affects her friendship with both boys in general. This book is absolutely something that I will be giving to my girls to read once they’re a little bit older and ready for ‘young adult’ storylines.

Where can you find it?:

Rebel in Blue Jeans by Beverly Stowe McClure can be purchased at general retailers where books are sold, or online at Amazon. The list price is $14.95. You can also read more about Rebel at http://rebelinbluejeans.wordpress.com.

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