The Story is About   +  young adult

Savvy Girl

Savvy Girl by Lynn Messina

Release Date: Aug. 1, 2008
Publisher: Harcourt
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 272

“In this fast-paces paperback original, seventeen-year-old Chrissy Gibbons has landed her dream job– a summer internship at her favorite magazine, Savvy. It’s hard work, but the job becomes a lot more fun when Chrissy is befriended by a glamorous fashion editor why takes her to all the best parties. As the summer winds down, though, Chrissy realizes that in the whirlwind of parties and boys, she’s been neglecting what could be her big break in the magazine business: an opportunity to compete against other inters to become Savvy’s first teen columnist. Can Chrissy prove herself before it’s too late?”

Savvy was light, fun and fast. This was a feel good novel that was more about discovering yourself than working at a magazine.

With that said, there were a few things that did bother me. Jessica, the fashion editor, takes Chrissy under her wing, because she reminds her of her sister, which was very sweet and endearing. Jessica was also a model and when Chrissy asked her why she quit to become a fashion editor, she tells her this very touching story of how her sister was turning into someone else, struggling with her weight, smoking, etc. because she wanted to be like Jessica. Awww, what a great big sister. So, why would she take underage Chrissy to these lavish parties and let her get drunk and then not even make sure she gets home okay? Didn’t really fit the character profile I got from the model turned fashion editor to save her sister insight??!

Then two words. Michael Davies. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me! Come on, how many times does Chrissy have to run into this guy ogling model’s boobies before she realizes he is a jerk! I know having a crush and over looking flaws is completely normal behavior, but come on, seriously.

I also would have liked to gotten to know Chrissy’s friend Lily and the obvious romantic choice Graham, better. They just sort of skirted the outside of the storyline and didn’t really come into play until the end.

However, I did enjoy Messina’s writing style and think that the lesson portrayed in the novel is important. I'm looking forward to reading more of her YA novels in the future. Sometimes light, fun and fast is just what I'm looking for!