Review: Swept Away, by Nicole O’Dell

What’s a girl to do when faced with big decisions?

High school seniors Amber and Brittany have been best friends forever, but only one of them can win the car for perfect attendance and top grades. At first the competition is good-natured, but Amber is determined to win. After all, their family car is on its last wheels and her dad lost his job. She needs the prize more than Brittany does. Why can’t her so-called best friend concede and let her win? When Amber discovers the perfect way to make it happen, what will she choose? High Stakes offers two endings as the reader follows Amber’s two possible choices.

In Essence of Lilly, no one understands sophomore Lilly like her boyfriend, Jason. Certainly not Lilly’s mom or stepdad. She begins pretending youth group activities so she can spend more time with her boyfriend. Soon she’s inventing a sleepover on a weekend when Jason’s parents are away. Will Lilly go through with it? Or will she choose purity after all? Again, the story offers two endings to explore the results of each choice.

These two novellas are offered in one volume as Swept Away, volumes five and six in the Scenarios for Girls interactive series. Four previously published stories have been re-released as two-for-ones as well. Dare to be Different contains the stories Truth or Dare and All That Glitters. Risky Business contains Magna and Making Waves. Each story deals with issues from self esteem to stealing to drugs to peer pressure in a format that allows tween/teen girls to see the repercussions of their choices–hopefully before they face similar situations in their own lives.

This is a totally unique fiction concept and, as one of Nicole’s critique partners, I’ve been thrilled to be part of the the journey with her. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend these stories to any tween/young teen girls.

Nicole O’Dell is the mother of six–including two-year-old triplets! She’s the host of Teen Talk Radio, a weekly program with special guests and topics of interest to teens, and the author of six Scenarios for Girls books plus two upcoming series for older teen girls. Nicole loves to speak to teens and parents at conventions and churches. She has several nonfiction books coming out in 2012 attempting to bridge the gap between parents and teens. Not only that, but she’s one of the authors who will be writing one of the novellas in the At Rainbow’s End anthology along with my story.

I received a copy of Swept Away for the purposes of review, though opinions, as always, are mine alone.

Check back on Friday for an exclusive interview with this busy author!