Shrinking Violet

By: Danielle Joseph
Released: May 5, 2009

Summary (from Amazon):
High school senior Teresa Adams is so painfully shy that she dreads speaking to anyone in the hallways or getting called on in class. But in the privacy of her bedroom with her iPod in hand, she rocks out -- doing mock broadcasts for Miami's hottest FM radio station, which happens to be owned by her stepfather. When a slot opens up at The SLAM, Tere surprises herself by blossoming behind the mike into confident, sexy Sweet T -- and to everyone's shock, she's a hit! Even Gavin, the only guy in school who she dares to talk to, raves about the mysterious DJ's awesome taste in music. But when The SLAM announces a songwriting contest -- and a prom date with Sweet T is the grand prize -- Sweet T's dream could turn into Tere's worst nightmare....

Written Review:
I've been seeing a LOT of great reviews for this book and yes this book is good but to be honest SHRINKING VIOLET is definitly not a book that I fell in love with. At least not in the beginning.

It took me a while to get into. It just seemed to me that the intro period of the book lasted longer then it should have. Instead of about 50 pages to really build the characters with background info and life and such it lasted more like 150 pages. Which is totally OK. It just made the book a little slower but more in depth. Once the prom contest was in place the pace of the novel picked up and at THAT point I was hooked and couldn't put the book down.

The good news is that the very in depth introduction made the characters seem deeper too. Tere's personality was very sarcastic and witty. She was just very afraid to let others see that. I liked seeing Tere's character progress gradually to become a little more social and outgoing. Not much more (which is good because then it wouldn't be realistic to the story) but she did improve some at a pace that was really believable and on cue with how the rest of the story was playing out. (what I mean by "on cue with the rest of the story" is that her progress with Sweet T was helping her personality show through in real life so it made sense)

There was also romance (It was very subtle because obviously someone who is very shy isn't going to have the courage to talk to guys much at all let alone date them) but it was still there.

The ending was predictable but sweet and satisfying. Much like the whole book.

Overall I really did enjoy this book. It is a very cute and light read perfect for a lazy summer day.

Grade: B+