Graffiti Girl by Kelly Parra

Title: Graffiti Girl

Author: Kelly Parra

Publisher: MTV/Pocket Books
Address

9781416534617, $9.95, May 2007, 256

Genre: YA Fiction

Summary: Angel Rodriguez wants to take her art further and the school's competition for painting a mural seems to be the place. Angel isn't selected as one of the three finalists, but finds herself torn between the good boy who was and the bad boy who should have been.

The Take-Away: I loved how Angel was positioned between the good kids and the bad kids. When Nathan Ramos -- the good guy -- and Miguel Badalin -- the bad boy -- both try to lure her into their own worlds of art, Angel has to make tough decisions about who she is and what she stands for. Her feelings of alienation from her mother and best friend force her to decide without guidance from those she cares about. Angel, inspite of her name, is one tough kid. Reading about her decision will captive the teen in us all.

One unique aspect of the title was the introductory lines to each chapter. Angel's intimate thoughts about her growing graffiti career give the reader insight to the slang used by graf artist as well as providing the reader with a sneak peek of what's to come in the chapter. They were probably my favorite part of the book.

Recommendation: Get this one for the teenage girl in your life.

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