Books,  Reviews

Review: My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris

My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris
Reviewed by: Lori Twichell
Genre: YA, Romance, Supernatural
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: September 18, 2012

Cat Crawford doesn’t enjoy the spotlight. She hates being on magazine covers and does not like the press. Normally for a teenager this isn’t a problem, but when your father ranks up there with Steven Spielberg as a Hollywood icon and your mother is a famous actress, avoiding the paparazzi becomes the story of your life. When Cat’s father becomes engaged to a super excited woman who loves the spotlight, it doesn’t bode well for Cat’s 16th birthday party. Cat doesn’t want a big production with television cameras and lots of famous people. She enjoys fading into the background and would much rather just study art and work on her own creative passions.

A trip to Florence, Italy, is a perfect getaway for Cat – even if it does include her future step-mother. She knows it’s a peace offering from her father and she plans to spend as much time as she can soaking in the history and the culture. The last thing she expects is to be transported into history by a gypsy fortune teller.

One moment she’s in a fortune teller’s tent and the next, she’s dressed in Renaissance clothes and standing in the middle of a quiet street in Firenze. Not only that, but a group of people have begun calling her Patience and they insist that she’s supposed to come with them. A little research and Cat discovers that they are her ancestors. Rather than fighting it, she decides to enjoy whatever time she has in the past.

Hanging out with her cousins and her aunt and uncle, Cat learns a great deal about not only herself, but her modern day family as well.

And then there’s Lorenzo Cappelli. He’s hot. He’s an artist. And he’s perfectly her type. But when Cat accidentally gets herself into a potential marriage mess, can she and Lorenzo get things straightened out? And how will she get back to her own time?

When time travel and romance is involved, I’m pretty much a goner. I love Doctor Who. Quantum Leap was a favorite. And you all know how I feel about Lisa Bergren’s River of Time series. So when I got the email about this book, I knew I had to try it. A fast read, the book was lighthearted and fun. Cat has her moments like any teenager does and there were a few things that I felt were wobbly in the time travel crossover that geeky science type nerds might take issue with, but on the whole, it was a fun book. Don’t look for deep mind bending issues or changing history sort of plotlines. It’s a teenage girl gone back in time and having fun while she does it.

Cat’s adventures were interesting enough to keep me engaged throughout the book and fun enough to keep it humorous in places. Though it was clean and there was no violence, sexual comments or issues, the tone of the book keeps it a good read for those who are 15-16 years old. I must also mention that the plot device used to get Cat back in time involved some sort of magic at a Fortune Teller’s tent. Later, when things come out about how she actually went back in time, there are some ‘visions’ and some ‘goddess’ conversations, though the story isn’t heavy with it. It’s literally only a page or two throughout the whole story, but it is there.

All in all, it was a fun read that promises more adventures for our favorite characters in the future. We’ll see where Harris goes with things in the next book.

Rated PG-13: ** Please note that I chose PG-13 for the rating, but this book really is better suited to those around 15-16 years old. There are discussions that are a little more on the mature side and though it’s definitely not rated R, it’s a little older than 13 year olds.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Thank you!